Recommend your planner

[panicfoot]

Especially if you're extremely unorganized

I try so hard, and shit gets done, bills get paid, etc, but it's a struggle. I'm starting school in a few weeks to get my masters and I'm really worried about things slipping through the cracks.

I did Erin condren a few years ago and liked it, but it was kind of overwhelming. I've tried bullet journaling but I think I need more structure or something?

[panicfoot]

Jan 10, 2017 22:31:09 GMT -5 mofongo said:

I downloaded the moca calendar app on my phone. You can set alerts for reminders. As far as bills go, could you set monthly set bills for auto-pay? As an adult, with all the bills that come along with home ownership, cars, insurance, etc, there's no way I could remember it all.

Yes they are all set up! But a year ago, my card got stolen and my electricity was shut off because I forgot to update the card for autopay! Such a fucking idiot. so I check every time they are supposed to go through to make sure there were no snafus.

Can you share the moca calendar with your h?

[sunshineluv]

I love my ec, but there is a good deal today on the michaels happy planner, $14.99 shipped.

hip2save.com/2017/01/10/michaels-com-free-shipping-today-only-create-365-the-happy-planner-only-14-99-shipped/

[W.T.Faulkner]

When I was in grad school, I really needed a paper planner to write down assignments. I kept this separate from my other calendar that I use for social events and bills.

H and I use a Google calendar for that stuff. I use a paper planner at work that stays at work; I got it at Target.

[panicfoot]

I probably just should have named this thread, "help me adult". Lol

[arehopsveggies]

I love my Happy Planner

I bought the holepunch for it, and added in my own pages (printed from Pinterest) for bills, chores, budget etc

[panicfoot]

Jan 10, 2017 22:56:45 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

I love my Happy Planner

I bought the holepunch for it, and added in my own pages (printed from Pinterest) for bills, chores, budget etc

This is good to hear! Thanks!

[lilac05]

I'm having success with a combination of a version of bullet journaling (the non-Pinterest way) & google calendar.

For my "bullet journal", I use a disc bound notebook from Office Max (like Happy Planner, but plain). I bought tab dividers, so I have different sections for different things. You could even do one per class. I keep my appointments on my calendar on my phone & everything else (to do lists, notes from phone calls, projects that need to be done around the house, gifts that I have purchased for birthdays/Christmas, etc.). I love having all of that in one place, but using my bullet journal as a future calendar didn't work for me.

As of right now, I just use whatever paper I got at Office Max, but as soon as I purchase a punch, I'm going to print out other pages (like bill paying pages) that I find on Pinterest.

As far as adulting goes, I made myself a super simple monthly habit tracker. It's oddly motivating to check those boxes at the end of the day!

[nicbreeful]

Jan 10, 2017 22:58:17 GMT -5 panicfoot said:

Jan 10, 2017 22:56:45 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

I love my Happy Planner

I bought the holepunch for it, and added in my own pages (printed from Pinterest) for bills, chores, budget etc

This is good to hear! Thanks!

I also have (and love) my Happy Planner and hole punch.  Amazon has them and Michael's always has sales on planner stuff.  Love, love, love it!

[panicfoot]

Jan 10, 2017 23:12:29 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

I'm having success with a combination of a version of bullet journaling (the non-Pinterest way) & google calendar.

For my "bullet journal", I use a disc bound notebook from Office Max (like Happy Planner, but plain). I bought tab dividers, so I have different sections for different things. You could even do one per class. I keep my appointments on my calendar on my phone & everything else (to do lists, notes from phone calls, projects that need to be done around the house, gifts that I have purchased for birthdays/Christmas, etc.). I love having all of that in one place, but using my bullet journal as a future calendar didn't work for me.

As of right now, I just use whatever paper I got at Office Max, but as soon as I purchase a punch, I'm going to print out other pages (like bill paying pages) that I find on Pinterest.

As far as adulting goes, I made myself a super simple monthly habit tracker. It's oddly motivating to check those boxes at the end of the day!

Ooooo what's a habit tracker?

[lilac05]

Jan 10, 2017 23:15:29 GMT -5 panicfoot said:

Jan 10, 2017 23:12:29 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

As far as adulting goes, I made myself a super simple monthly habit tracker. It's oddly motivating to check those boxes at the end of the day!

Ooooo what's a habit tracker?

I use grid paper to make it super simple.

I turn the page sideways so I can put the dates all along the top.  Then put whatever habits I want to do daily down the left margin.  Some of mine are address the mail (I.e., don't just throw it in a pile somewhere, drink goal# oz of water, one load of laundry, make bed, 7 hrs of sleep, dishes done at 5PM, 15 min clean, etc.  Thanks to ADHD, I have several things on my list that other people are able to do without even thinking.  But that just doesn't happen for me.  If I have a daily reminder of whether or not I did something, it helps keep me on track.  I even put dashes on days where I don't have the chance to do something (mail on Sundays), LOL.

It has made a HUGE difference in my life.  Some people do theirs weekly, but I find that seeing the trends through the month keeps me on track.

ETA:  Here's an example 

http://instagr.am/p/BG2BMuht6Cj

Mine looks similar, except it's all black & I use Xs instead of dots.  

[Deleted]

Very happy with my plum paper planner (Etsy), it's the family planner and I have customized sections, one for me, h, ds, work, to dos and meal planning. Tabbed, easy to use, plenty of room to write, lots of extra spots for lists and notes. Love it so much, I'm on my third one. Also, you can make it an 18 month planner if you pay extra.

[textbookcase]

I use the happy planner. I was doing that kid interview going around on fb and K answered the question "what is my favorite thing to do?" With "write in your calendar thingy" 😂

[nicbreeful]

Jan 11, 2017 0:32:45 GMT -5 loonylunalovegood said:

If you have one of these bigger planners, how do you carry it around? I have a smaller one that I keep in my purse and I never use it. I use a reminder app in my phone for things I need to do daily and it buzzes at me until I say I completed the task, but I SUCK and remembering appointments and I don't want to lug around a big planner.

Everyone in my city carries huge bags so carrying my planner is easy. Also, with Happy Planner, I can take out months that have passed or months in the future and just keep the current month plus 2. Lightens the load a lot.

[gilmoregirl]

I had an Erin Condren a few years ago but it became to big to lug around daily. I switched to Homemade Kraft inserts (Etsy) and with a Traveler's notebook cover. That was still too big for me to lug around. So now I use the Quarterly planner from Inkwell Press. This is my second year using it and I really like how it's so small. There's lot of flexibility in it for goal and habit tracking and it's light enough I can bring it everywhere.

[carrotsmakemefat]

I've used a lot of planners, inexpensive up to EC. I really love my inkwell planner. I don't have cell access and other things at work, and I love it for that reason but I would use it regardless. I plan to repurchase when my dates run out in June. Plus, they do have sales from time to time which I love. EC is hard to get on a sale, but I think you can get a new customer code.

Plum paper is a good option for a lower priced option. I just wasn't as much of a fan.

[AutumnRose25]

I have to write everything with pen and paper to get it to "click" in my brain. So, I make lists, scribble notes etc.

I typically use the Erin Condren planner, the format works well. I get a basic one with only my name personalized, and try to use a coupon when I order it so I've kept the price down, because it is pricey.

This year for the sake of travel related saving, I got the Day Designer planner from Target. Super cheap and similar format but not as many space/list options.

[panicfoot]

I ordered the happy planner last night to take advantage of the sale. Thank you all for the recommendations!

[ohgillian]

Jan 11, 2017 8:12:00 GMT -5 panicfoot said:

I ordered the happy planner last night to take advantage of the sale. Thank you all for the recommendations!

You're going to LOVE being able to punch and add stuff onto it. Get the punch at michaels when they have a sale or coupon. I got it 60% off a few weeks ago and already can't believe I used to use a spiral bound planner. 

[brooke77]

I have a Lilly Pulitzer medium agenda. It's the perfect size to carry around with me. In it, I track mostly everything but bills. I list doctor's appointments, work out classes, races, travel, birthdays, etc. Most of my bills are autopay or I get e-mail reminders when they are due.

[ksun]

I'm on my 2nd Plum Paper and it has a ton of options. I give it a good workout and it's sturdy plus has many add ons for bills, to-do, etc.

[BaliHai]

I just purchased a Bloom Daily planner for this year, and, while it's on the larger side, I am really enjoying it so far. I use my aCalendar+ app on my phone as a backup, but it's nice to be able to put pen to paper, too. I will say it's pretty basic; this is my first year I am really committing to a paper planner, so I didn't want to dive in to a million pages/customizations and use it for a week before discarding it.

[followyourarrow]

My favorite is the Plum Paper Planner, but this year I went with Sugar Paper from Target. Much cheaper, but I don't love it as much. In the monthly section, I write bills and then highlight them as they get paid. I keep a running to-do list and menu plan in the weekly section.

[pinkdutchtulips]

I'm on year 3 for planners from personal planner.com, a poor girl's EC planner ... totally customizable and it comes in a few sizes that will fit a purse easily.

[melissa]

I was doing some research based upon what others have said and saw that Michael's is having a 50% of the Happy Planners although most seem to be in store only sales.

[bma]

I have the monthly EC. It's closer to $25. It has a monthly spread and then lots of pages for notes. I have a page marked for budget stuff with all the bill info that I use to check when we get paid. I also use it for to-do lists. There are lots of pages for notes so I think it will last all year.

I don't plan my day by the hour so the monthly really worked for me. This is fairly thin as well for all the pages I have.

[sookie]

I used to use EC and Plum Paper, but this year I'm doing Inkwell Press and really love it.

ETA: one thing I didn't love was the divided sections are so little and I can't use them the way I'd love to. I used washi paper to divide it out to two main boxes.