My 2019 Planner Line-Up for Peak Productivity

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As I reflect on 2018, I am very happy with my planning system, so I will push through with much of the same into 2019. I prefer paper planning, and/or a mix of paper and digital planning for much of what I do. I have a lot of buckets to manage, so it is imperative that I find a system that organizes, but doesn’t overwhelm. I chose to use four planners in 2018 and thought that I would go full paper. However, in February I began a hybrid of digital and paper planning, and since then I find that I enjoy that balance most.

The goal is to balance work, my business, blogging, and finances. All while keeping an eye on my goals for the year, and incorporating habits to achieve said goals by the end of the year. In the past, I have tried putting everything in one planner, and although possible, that creates so much clutter. Also, I prefer to keep a simple planner at work, that doesn’t contain any information related blogging or my finances. Plus, I am not enamored of the idea of opening my planner in my various meetings and having people key in on stickers. There is nothing wrong with stickers, but I do not want my stickers to become the focus of any professional interaction.  

The Lineup

2018 is the first year I tried Bullet Journaling, and although I enjoy the flexibility, I plan to use the new Erin Condren Focus planner for 2019 instead. The layout of the focus planner very closely resembles my BUJO spreads and still allows for greater flexibility than your typical paper planner. The color scheme is also very minimal with a simple black cover, which adds to the professional quality of the product. I enjoy using various pen colors at work, so the lack of color in the planner will allow what I write to stand out. My work planning is a hybrid system due to the fact that I use Outlook to keep track of meetings on the monthly calendar. Then I use my paper planner to assign myself tasks to complete projects. I do not take my work planner home, instead, it stays in my office on my desk. Choosing to leave my planner ensures that I rarely, if ever, take my work home. I have found that the work I do can get done at the office and that I do not need to take any work home. Not taking my work home allows my tasks at home to be focused on my entrepreneurial endeavors.

At home, I use a planner to keep track of my business, life tasks, and achieving my goals. Since 2015, I have used an Inkwell Press planner to corral those aspects of my life. The Inkwell Press system is EXCELLENT for goal setting and goal tracking. I have learned that setting goals, and actually achieving them requires keeping your goals visible and the creation of action steps to achieve said goals. I chose the Flex Discbound planner to not only house my goals, but also my day to day tasks, business tasks, as well as blogging tasks. I do not keep a content calendar in this planner, nor track blogging stats, my IWP is truly dedicated to helping me manage tasks and responsibilities that have nothing to do with my 8 to 5.

I manage my blogging content with the use of a hybrid Google Drive and Travelers Notebooks system. Travelers Notebooks are small journals corralled into a single cover. My TN’s are not time specific, but instead house ideas, stats, and content outlines. I keep an actual Calendar via Google Calendar on which I add specific information about what will be posted where. Using Google Calendar allows flexibility within my content via color coding. I plan 3 Youtube videos, 2 blog posts, and one IGTV video a week. Plus, daily Instagram photos, and soon daily posting on the ALove4Me Healthy Hair Challenge hosted on Facebook. This aspect of my planning system needs to remain fluid, so a mix of digital and paper planning works best for me.

Last is my Budget Planner. Now, I know most people prefer digital planning when it comes to budgeting, and I have in the past. I used to enjoy YNAB (youneedabudget.com), but now that I spend most of the day on my computer, I find myself wanting to paper plan instead. So, I purchased the Erin Condren Deluxe Monthly planner to continue paper budgeting in 2019. I use my budget planner very functionally, using few stickers. This planner is a daily constant for me, but it never leaves my home. I keep my financial plan in the notes section and am able to even keep track of daily spending with this planner. If I let things back up, it takes much longer to paper plan, so that motivates me to spend 5 minutes a day keeping track of my finances. I have ambitious financial goals for 2019, so budgeting is essential to success.

Writing about the use of four planners does make me realize that four planner is a lot. BUT, having physical buckets for the various things I juggle in life is actually quite helpful. I find these paper planners ensure these buckets remain visible and allow me to “close the book” on work each day. My owning four planners is interesting because when I was a single planner girl, I couldn’t understand how people used several planners at once. Now, I wouldn’t want to manage life any other way.

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