The new year always brings a fresh perspective! We're thinking about the year to come, making resolutions and trying to be better than last year and for those reasons, and many more, we're talking all about planners this month! We've put together some great options for all of you out there looking to have a year better planned and more productive!
{Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.}
Google Calendar VS. Planner
Our first stop in this journey all about planners is to discuss Google Calendar versus a traditional planner. Some people just like to have everything at the tips of their fingers on their phone! On the other hand, some people need to write everything down. And if you're anything like Amanda or her assistant, you'll use a mix of both! Let's take a deep dive into each.
Google Calendar is a really great tool that's available for free though Google. There are so many great features about this digital planning tool. You can update items on your computer and it will reflect on your phone if you have the calendar app downloaded on your phone. One great thing we love about Google Calendar is that you can share your calendar with other people. For example, if you have to manage many people's appointments and events, you can create a calendar for each person. Give each person a different color so it's easy to see which event or appointment is for which person!
Using a classic planner is a great option too! The thing that's nice about a classic planner is that you can not only put events and appointments in it, but some planners give you the ability to plan and/or track other things as well. Some planners include a grocery list pages, note sections, habit tracker areas, budgeting features, and more. They're also great if you like to write things down or prefer to be a bit more creative. You can also use different colors with planners to color code people or appointment types.
There's also the option to use a little bit of both. The Google Calendar is great for collaborative planning, while traditional or digital planners are great for the individual.
Different Planner Types
Did you think we could talk all about planners without talking about different types of planners? There are so many options on the market now that there is an almost perfect fit for everyone! Let's take a look at a few popular options.
First up is a digital planner. This is something Amanda loves using. It gives you all the great aspects of a traditional planner without having to lug around a planner book and pens. There are so many digital planners available through Etsy, niche websites like Archer & Olive, and more. Amanda's favorite is My PA Digital Planner. This is a great for the small business owner. It gives you all the prompts and tools to plan out your business but it also give you prompts and tracking for your personal life too! They also offer paper planners too if that's your preference.
If you're into paper planners, we have some great and versatile options for you as well. There is always the traditional planner that we all grew up with. This will give you monthly and weekly planning options with some note sections. Planners have really evolved in the last few years and there's a more customizable option offered by Happy Planner. Happy Planners give you the traditional planner but on steroids. You can add and remove sections. Purchase themed planners and accessories, and even plain paper for notes or classic journaling. They are super customizable with several add-ons and accessories.
The last planner option we want to highlight in our all about planners post is a Bullet Journal. This is the most customizable planner option you can find because you literally create it yourself. This is the type of planner Amanda's assistant, Brittany, loves to use. A bullet journal is a completely blank journal (more often a dot grid journal) that the owner draws out spreads in for their week/month/year. You can make it as basic or as involved as you want and really use any type of journal or notebook. The original concept of a bullet journal was a list of bullet points you had to complete that day. You either completed them, migrated uncompleted tasks to another day or scrapped the task completely. It's was intended to be a continuous checklist. It has really evolved into something different. You can create spreads for monthly planning, yearly planning, weekly and daily planning, spreads to track the movies you've watched throughout the year, habit tracking, meal planning, budgeting, and more. Each person's bullet journal will be very different from the next.
Top 5 Planner Accessories
Since we love planners so much, we also wanted to include our top five planner accessories this month as well! These can be used with all of the planner types we discussed above! If you opt for the digital planners, you can find digital pen collections, fonts and stickers on Etsy and other places online. Just make sure they're compatible with your digital planner app!
1. Fashionable Binder Clips - we love these to keep your journal open while you work or for a great way to mark your place so you can easily turn to the page you need to.
2. Zebra Pen Mildliners - These are perfect for highlighting and color-coding, or just to add some color to your planner. Pro-Tip: Highlight the space FIRST then use your black pen to add the details. This prevents smearing!
3. Staedtler Pigment Liners - Yes, they're great for sketching, but they're also great for your journal. The different line widths give you so many options. Use the thicker lines for titles or a bolder look, use the thinner lines for everyday writing. The carrying case is super convenient as well.
4. Washi Tape - Washi tape is a great way to decorate your planner but also great for color coding among other things! Put the washi tape on the edges of your pages to color-code all of the pages in a month.
5. Stickers - These are a really fun and easy way to designate important dates or reminders in your planner and to add a little decoration as well!
Just bought my planner! I'm excited.