My Tokidoki Dividers!

Here is a peek at the dividers I'm making for my planner this year. These are color copies of the Tokidoki calendar I arc'd. I took the pages to Staples and had them color copy them as I did not want to use the originals. I was worried I would ruin them and not have a back up. So I copied first, and like that I have the originals to use for another project if I like. There are 17 dividers and each has artwork on the back and front. That is 32 pages of Tokidoki goodness! 

I really am working on doing what works for me AND enjoying my planner as a creative outlet that lets me decorate and have fun with my stationary supplies. 

Systems are SUPER important, but having fun and enjoying what you're doing in your planner is just as important. 

I'll be posting again soon on my system and how I'm keeping it working for me. 

I think I am sticking with Pillowfarmer as my handle. It's weird. And unusual. Which I like. :) 

-Pillowfarmer OUT. 

Taking my own advice...

So I made a post about picking a planner and sticking to it. I...should take my own advice!

I printed out my September DIYFish inserts, then I realized...I HAVE NO PLANNER PAGES LEFT! I had purchased a year last October and now my year of Fish is over. :(
This occurred right about the time I sat down to write my weekly post on using your daily pages.

What happens next happens to all of us planner nerds. You begin to think and wonder if your system is working.

Well DUH.

Of course mine are working.

Wait.

Are they? Hmmmm. Trying to write a post about my daily pages and noticing my STRUGGLE each day to decorate and plan. It was really noticable that I use my weekly to-do and my monthly chart. However my daily is very sporadic.

Then I'm asking myself if I "need" these pages? Should I purchase whole new year with these if I'm not even going to use them?

Fast forward to a trip to Hastings.

When I came across a Tokidoki weekly planner I bought that sucker so fast it woulda made your head spin! I love cutesy, kawaii, japanese type sorts of items, and this is right up my alley. Size-wise it's a bit bigger than an A5. Which perfect because...*deep breath*

I plan on arc-ing it.

There.

I think I will probably use this system for a while and see where it goes. I like a lot of things about it.
Probably going to stick with it until the end of the year at least.

I know I should take my own advice...I give really good advice. lol.

OH well.

Pictures to come.

(PSSST!! Do you see the struggle?? Do you see our struggle non-planner people who read this page?? haha)

PS. I also don't know what/how I should refer to myself? I used to go by the handle "Pillowfarmer". But, in years past have also been known as "Wayword". I am having all sorts of identity crisis' aren't I??

-Pilloward.haha

Planners, Pantsers, & Trackers!

I used to believe there were two kinds of people in this world. Planners and Pantsers.
Planner people are those sorts that know what's up. They know what time an event is, they usually have some sort of calendar system and they always arrive early. :)
Then there are Pantsers. You know, people who fly around by the seat of their pants. They seldom arrive early or on time and they usually don't know what's coming next.
I'm definitely a combination of both of these...but I really want to be a planner sort of person through and through!
Lately I have discovered that the third sort of person who exists are Trackers. People who keep track of what they watch, eat, buy and do.
My husband has a notebook that is over 6 years old that has every movie, tv show and video game he's ever watched or played. And I have another friend who tracks all her online purchases in her planner and she loses weight by tracking her exercise habits.

So after you've picked your planner. You're left with picking a system!
I pick Diyfish inserts. There's a lot to be said for this system; you could devote hours to talking about how to use these! But, I am simply talking about my re-vamp and what/how I am using my planner.

I pick this system because I am a planner, pantser and a tracker. :)

Most people will almost always need or want a view of the month. Some people like their view to be a full page, half page, or like me a 3.75 x 6.75 page. Whatever size...it's a good idea to figure how to utilize this page. I use mine to plan upcoming events. This is the page I look to whenever anyone asks me to do something. I use color coding to mark my days with whatever is coming up. (I will explain my color coding later) However you plan, pants or track...this is a good page and place to just mark down that you're busy on any certain day. I know that on the 5-6th of this month my Mom was scheduled to have a defibrillator put in. I knew not to plan anything that day because I have a tiny square on that day reminding me to not double book myself. 

A nice plus to the Diyfish inserts is the monthly chart behind the main calendar page. This page is ideal for the tracker in all of us. I re-did this page because it was very jumbled and hard to read. I simplified things so you could see that the top half is explanations of my upcoming events that are also listed on my monthly view page.

My son (green) has ensemble practice and my daughter (pink) has cheer practice. These are revolving events. However, I outline the day they're scheduled and color in the box when they complete a practice. By keeping track of this, I could dispute lesson fees or mark their attendance should there ever be the need to do so. 

The middle part of the page are events that don't revolve, but rather they are one time events that may fall under the same category. Such as doctor appointments, open houses, or class dates. I color code these events and use the same line if they're the same type of event. For open house, I had one on the 17th and I have one on the 23 for two different kids. 

The bottom part of the page are true tracking events. My instagram posting, blog postings, going to the gym and when one of my kids takes a day off from school. I only use this as a reference usually. My kids will ask to stay home when they're feeling slightly ill and I can remind them that they have missed two days this month already and it's probably best to trudge through. This is really helpful for the kids that love to play hookey, because you can't dispute my monthly chart! 

If you don't use this sort of monthly chart, you could always make yourself a tracking page or a page for explanations of your blocked out dates on your monthly view. I use this because I like seeing what I've done and when. 

Our nutshell. 

1) Find a monthly view. 

2) Block out dates/times you WILL be busy. So not to double book yourself. 

3) Create an explanation page or a tracking page if your calendar is too small to go into detail as to what you're keeping busy with. 

Very small apologies for the length of this post, but there's so much thought that goes into how to effectively use this page I felt the words just coming out blah blah blah. So if you're still here...thanks! 

-Pillowfarmer

Ready? Ok!

Whats that saying about the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step? Yeah. That.

Where to begin? 

Let's start with this squishy business that is my Black/Pink Buffalo Touch Me Leather Van der Spek!! It has 30mm rings...which basically makes my planner a fatty. I love this planner. It smells good. It holds a lot. Has nice pocket placement and wide pen loop. The essentials. 

Where to start? Pick a planner. Decide to use it. It helps if you love it. But even if you don't, DECIDE to use it. There's a difference between using a planner and collecting them because you like collecting binders. Both hobbies are equally fun and exciting. However, what I am writing about is using a planner. 

Some of the best looking planners are the ones that are well used and bursting at the seams with appointments and information. 

If we want to get anywhere with staying organized and on top of our lives, we must decide that we will use what we have available to us. 

From composition books to this awesome VDS binder, I have learned that to be really effective I have to decide to use my planner every day. Just like in a relationship, I talk to my husband every day. We check in. We talk. We discuss. We remind each other of all the things we want the other to remember. 

It's a sickeningly sweet parallel. But it's true. Say your vow. Promise to use your planner every day. 

I do. 

I also have learned that I can't cheat on my planner...with other planners. Oh my gosh!! We're so sealing the deal and going to the chapel to get married to our planners!! 

This isn't to say you can't have multiple binders! I will maintain my kid binders, recipe binders and fitness binders...but for all information and appointments regarding my life...THIS. IS. MY. BINDER.

This is where I find my stuff. Who I check in with. Who reminds me. I can't be jotting info into my Malden, my original and my VDS and expect to maintain the same quality of relationship...can I?

No. 

Gotta be faithful to recording your life..."all in one place". 

This doesn't seem like much. But oh. 

If you had a planner bug bite you at any time. You are sick. And you will want to own every planner you see on your Facebook planner group. 

And you will want to make new set ups for every binder you meet and you will start spreading your information to all your multiple planners and never really experience planner nirvana with that ONE planner. 

So aside from making planner love sound like marriage...my point. 

1. Find a book/binder/planner and decide to use it. 

2. Stay faithful to recording and planning your life in that one planner. 

More to come! 

-Wayword

Revamp

I have been going through some planner growing pains lately. I chalk it up to a few things. 

•Having a lot of information in too many places. 

•Not focusing on my main planner due to having multiple planners. 

•Not making my systems work for me, instead working around a system. 

I use DIYFish life mapping inserts exclusively in my planners. I have two regular calendars that I use in my meal planning and kids school calendar. Lately I have really been struggling with two issues when using these inserts. 

1) Foward planning

2) To-Do lists

Have you caught on yet that I'm muddling through my issues here? Lol

I am re-doing my planner system! There will be major surgery as I gut my planner and process my mistakes and figure out how to get this system to work for me. 

What I find super duper crazy is that these inserts worked great last year! I had no trouble with my system and everything ran smoothly and I won every planner nerd mom award there was. Haha. 

This does go to show that every so often if you're feeling overwhelmed or even disinterested in your planner it's possible you're doing it wrong. What worked for me last year...is now wrong for me this year. 

People evolve. How we think, process and go about our lives changes every single day. It's ludicrous to think our planning systems would hold up over time seeing as they depend on US to be effective with it. 

This isn't to say my inserts aren't working. I LOVE these inserts. It's also not to say that I need a whole new Malden in purple to get this train running again! Haha. No. 

It's a system that needs attention. 

Over the next week I'll be posting how I'm re-working my planner system. 

Here's to a fresh page!

-Wayword

Arc Madness

According to my arc planner group, I have been going 'arc raving mad'. I am a big fan of Staples line of notebooks. I am still using a ring bound planner for my all the time every day stuff. But for some of the other planners I have in my life, I am using the Arc notebooks. I do recommend these as an inexpensive option to ring-bound planners. 

Last year I was completely overwhelmed with paperwork, information and flyers from my kids' schools. This year, I was prepared with three Arc notebooks for each of my children. I keep a yearly calendar in each notebook along with school information and I punch any flyers or notes from teachers to keep inside. I'll post in more detail about these later. 

My favorite feature about the Arc notebooks is the sizes! They have a large notebook size, which takes the letter size papers 8.5 x 11" and a half sized notebook which is 5.5 x 8.5. This is my half size meal planner. I have been keeping sale ads, coupons, food budgets, menus and my grocery lists in this notebook. Our food bill averaged about $550 a month for the 5 of us. Using this notebook for the last three months, has brought our food bill down to $450 a month instead. 

Upon scouring the internet for printables for a menu and a complimentary grocery list...I just made my own using Word. I am really careful with my ink supply and my printer use! I love pretty colorful rainbowy pages. However, I am printing pages daily and I can't afford the cost of colorful pages. So here we are. :) 

This post is really my attempt to start posting more frequently. I have been MIA for a while. I get really busy with work and family. But, sharing my planner and different ideas for the home is important to me and I want to try to keep up with this. 

Okay...out! 

-Wayword

My Week 12

Here is my week 12!

I keep looking for trends, habits and weekly rituals that I use in making my planner pages. Sort of as an opportunity to figure out how I 'tick'. Everyone uses these DIYFish inserts differently! I love that. I see some people 'plan' with them. I see some use them as they 'journal' through their week. And some people who do a bit of both! I'm noticing that I'm a bit of both!

I can't seem to get through the week without decorating! I MUST have color!

It's been a constant since I discovered these pages to chart my progress with my diabetes and blood sugar levels in the bottom left corner. Lately I have taken to writing down some of the things I'm eating during the day. I do use an app on my iPhone for keeping track of my actual carb intake and exercise regime. But! I wish I could remember to write it all down. It's just not practical for me to yank out the planner, sweaty palms and all after I've run for an hour on the treadmill. lol. 

Consistently using the bottom right 'box' on the right page for a quote or an inspiring thought. I also use it for doodles. Some days at work I spend a lot of time waiting on hold on the phone. This is a GREAT time to doodle! I encourage people to look up pictures or doodles that you'd like to learn how to create or draw better and do this while you're on the phone or talking to someone. Obviously this day I used a post it...and didn't draw...but how inspirational am I? :D 

My long box on the left page/right side with the numbered times is my bullet journaling! I think I am utilizing this as a bullet journal section. I write what I did with an asterisk * and make check boxes for things I plan on during that time/hour of the day. I also use stars as an indicator of something I wish to keep and color code. I am still quite horrible about color coding my day...but I'm hoping the stars will help me when I go back to reference and color code for the week. 

Top 'box' on the right page/right side is my daily 'TO DO' list. I seldom do everything on this list! haha! In fact it's mostly just a wish list. Like, Sarah, you wish you could do all this! haha. I did pretty good on Thursday though! I was definitely Superwoman that day. Geeze. Good job Me. 

The top left box on the left page/left side is for quote/weather/mood. Sometimes I cover up the weather and mood if my quote is longer. I will sometimes use this space as a list section. List of things I love, books I should read, things I'm grateful for etc...and sometimes I just tape in a quote! 

I have really been focused on using my planner as a dieting tool. It goes with me everywhere! I write all my important secrets and plans in it! Why not utilize it as such? So, I'm working on adding a DIYFish insert section for my diet/fitness plans. 

And on that note, I have almost strictly starting using my Malden for ONLY DIYFish inserts. I still have my A-Z sections, but eventually whatever information I have in there filters it's way into a daily page, then it's logged into the color code section and then filed away for reference later if I need it. I have been using Evernote to keep information that I need to keep an eye on for daily/weekly references. Needless to say, that using these inserts does make your Filofax bulky...however, I don't need extra sections with me ALL the time because I can file them away under older pages with my color coding to find later should I need them. 

The only thing I'm feeling like I 'need' is the fitness section. But, I made the finance section work using my DIYFish inserts, so I'm sure I can make a fitness section work out too. :) 

So stay tuned for that!

Peace Love Plan Ahead!

Sarah