Hey Ladies and Gents, so I am all over social media and in the various groups for Planners I hear us saying we're striving, looking, trying to figure out if we've in fact found Planner Nirvana.
So let me share my thoughts on the What, When, Why and How did I get there.
***DISCLAIMER- I am not a paid spokesman***
When- I started paper planning in high school backing in the early '83 after going to Franklin Covey with my Aunt. I used that planner which was an hourly layout for I know the next 8-10 yrs. By this time technology was moving us to use devices and I went digital. Although I used this method I still managed to forget, not receive alerts and I began writing things down here and there. In October 2011 my daughters, my Aunt and two of my cousins were in a near fatal car accident.
Why- Because they were in another city and I had so much happening I found a Planner in Target because I now had to keep up with everything for 3 households at once.
What- I discovered how much I missed writing my life down. It was so much easier to answer questions about what happened, who had what appointment, when to refill meds, therapy, how are they doing and also what's going on with church and the rest of my family.
How- I decided that I wanted to upgrade so I got the one on the R- Melvedy Designs on Etsy. Once I got this planner it was to small and wasn't formatted to my liking so I gave it to my daughter who loved it. After about 100+ YouTube videos I ended up buying the Erin Condren Life Planner and I have to say I loved it so much.
This is the month-at-glance for June 2015 with enough room for several entries per day.
Here is how I use my Planner I'm not really big on going all out with decorations I'm more focused on functionality than anything else. Please don't get me wrong I love a pretty planner
but I need it to work for me as a functional Planner especially with Dr. appts, therapy, tests, specialist and home and church life.
As you can see from the photos above I have tried to figure out how to better work my Planner. What do I want to track in it? Will it be for everything like Appts., Meal Planning, Water Intake, online purchasing, when I mailed out packages, cleaning schedule for my house, church events, family events......the lists could go on and on and on!!
As I became more affiliated with FB and IG planner groups and people I learn I could take my ECLP out of the wire binding I got this Daytimer Binder and I went ahead and tore out my pages and put them inside I even made some dividers. I thought this was my peaceful place.....naw it didn't meet my real expectation. BUT..............
Then I saw this pretty Kikki-K Binder and knew this was the right Binder for me and when she arrived this was the beginning of my Planner Nirvana
As you can see this is so beautiful and What I loved also was the additional pockets and pen loop. I am beginning to be pleased with my Planner I'm figuring out what works for me and for the first time I know there's enough room to expand/decrease at anytime.
As I look forward to 2016 I was really debating what Planner do I stay with ECLP or use a Printable, create my own inserts. My concerns were; will the paper quality be the same, what is the Price Point; so back to YouTube I went and began to see MAMBI's the Happy Planner and based on the reviews and a with a bit of prompting from my Planner buddy Shirlene, I decided to go and touch it .
Well I made my way to Michaels and as you can see I got my Happy Planner along with a few extra items to sweeten the deal.
Here's my Month of December 2015 layout and really I love them. This is by far a great Planner with the quality of a $50+ Planner for half the price. The Happy Planner drew me in because it lives up to the implication that you will be happy using their planner.
Here is a weekly layout without much writing but I love this Planner so much and feel that this is the best for having you keep record of things you don't always think about. In the version I have at the beginning of each month there are prompts of what your focus is for that month, Birthdays, what are you Grateful for and Important Dates
here you have a week layout which to me is great there is a Thoughts Column to the Left which I use mine for To-Do and To Call, I love the boxes which are labeled Morning, Afternoon and Night. I love this because there is a bit more room than the ECLP. The paper quality is the same as the ECLP.
What has brought me to Planner Nirvana isn't what type of Planner I have, what fluff(Stickers, Washi Tape, PL Journaling Cards) I can use weekly. Planner Nirvana for me is finding what works for your life no matter what that entails. I'm happy and can't wait to find my Happy Planner for next year. MAMBI hats off to you for creating a product that offers more than just writing down dates and times. If you don't believe me or are still looking and not sure.....why don't you come on over to
MAMBI and see for yourself.
Until next time Be Encouraged and Be Creative.
