One Simple Change That Helped Me Use My Planner More

Having been an advocate of planning and writing things down for many years, you’d think I would have my planner permanently chained to my body. Not so. Although I’ve spent LOTS of money on different models over time, most of them were used sporadically. Even though I settled on a particular type and have used the same model four years in a row (that’s a world record for me), I didn’t stick with it day in and day out. I’d use it for a few weeks, then drift back to post-it notes and scribbled lists in a small notebook.

When I first found my Planner Pad, I fell in love with the clean white pages, thick paper and clear black lines. As a visual person, I don’t care for colored pages and ink in a planner. I don’t want flowers or verses adorning the pages, and I don’t want pastel paper. Just the facts, ma’am, black and white.

It’s important that your planner “feels” like you. If you love busy colored pages, by all means go for it. That makes me nervous, but no judgment here.

When a business coach advised me to schedule my days and write to-do’s in my planner, I had a hard time doing so. The crazy reason was because I didn’t want to mess up my nice new planner. The coach was incredulous. Someone else in the group felt the same way, so I guess I’m not the only crazy one. I think it had to do with a mindset issue of fear of committing something to paper because then I’d be accountable for it, but at the time I didn’t realize that.

Fast-forward. Bought the same planner this year. Realized that for business tax purposes, I needed a January-to-December version so I bought another one on clearance and transferred information to it. Since then, I’ve used this planner more than any other one, ever. And here’s the simple change that made a big difference for me.

I decorated my planner.

I’m embarrassed to admit it. You’re probably thinking “I read all the way down for THIS?” Hang on, it gets better.

The Planner Pad comes in “Seasons,” “Black” and “Green.” Seasons is colorful, so you know I didn’t choose that one. I almost fell for the pretty light green one, but visions of stains by the end of the year brought me to my senses. So that left me with black.

My wardrobe contains no black, believe it or not. A few years ago I realized that black made me look harsh as I’ve gotten older, so brown is my black.

So here I am with a sturdy, durable, black planner. That I didn’t use consistently.

I had taken a course that encouraged making a dream board. So one day it hit me–why not make my planner my dream board? After all, if I was using it like I wanted to, I’d be handling it and looking at it several times a day. Why not make it a reminder of my dreams and goals?

Armed with a color printer, wide clear tape and laminating sheets, I transformed my plain black planner into a personalized dream board.

First I added beautiful inspirational sayings, most of them from Rhonna Designs (a photo app for the iPhone):

Then the inside cover and title page became my dream board, with goals for this year and beyond:

Next I added stickers for birthdays and holidays, and seasonal stickers for months. I had used stickers before, but not to this extent. They added a nice touch of color and beauty and seasonal warmth. I’m big on minor holidays and seasonal decorating, you know.

I also started using colored pens for categories (I already used colored pencil for trips and longer appointments). I’m thinking of trying some highlighting, too.

Sharing this feels a little silly. But it transformed my feelings about my planner. I love every image I chose. I’m constantly reminded of my dreams and goals, and looking at the pictures makes me happy. At last my planner feels like home, so I’m using it constantly. Win-win.

Moral of the story: Life’s too short to live ugly. Make sure that the things you use every day are beautiful, as much as lies within you to do so. Owning a planner won’t make you organized, but using a planner will. And if a planner “feels” right to you, it increases the chances that you’ll use it.

{Planner Pads can be ordered at PlannerPads.com}

What do you look for in a planner? Do you have a favorite kind?