In the past few months, I have become someone who cannot function without out my planner. I have a Harry Potter Moleskin planner that I got for my 18th birthday and I swear by it. I have noticed that I do get more done now that I was this time last year. In this blog post, I thought I would share with you how I use my planner to organise my life. I would like to put in a tiny disclaimer and say that certain bits of information have been blocked out to protect some private information. Although I am sharing how I use my planner, it is important to me to protect personal information and I hope you guys can understand and respect this decision.
One of the things I like the most about Moleskin planners compared to normal planners is the layout. I like having the week all on one side and then a section for notes. To me, having a section for notes is a key factor. The layout really works for me in particular as it allows me to split my week into certain sections.
At the top of each weekly spread, next to where it says the month, I like to put my overall goals for the week. It's easy for me to see what I need to get done that week without setting aside a certain day for that task. Often as the week progresses, I have to amend what I have planned, so by having my "to do list" at the top, it means I can do a task when I get some time. I also use this top section to track what week it is at university. My university plans things on the financial calendar (for some bizarre) reason and I have it converted into what week it actually is.
Down the side of each week, you will see I have blocked off a section. In this little section I have my timetable. Last year, I wrote out my timetable and it took up too much space in the day boxes. This year it means I can see what I have on each day and still put an individual plan for that day. As I'm getting busier as the term progresses, this is really helping me with making sure I don't accidentally double book myself.
I use the notes side of the spread to keep a track of my homework/uni work and to track my finances. At the top, next to a short code for each module, I will write the task and when I have to do it by. Once I have written in all my homework for the week, I will track my finances. Obviously, I have covered up this information, but typically I write where I bought something from and then the amount. I have a colour scheme to track everything in my planner to help me keep on top of everything.
I also use my planner to plan my blog posts and to plan my meals. At the top, next to each day, I write what I am planning on eating that day. I have been very bad at planning weekend meals, but throughout the week I do this to make sure I am only buying food I need and that nothing will get wasted. You'll notice at the bottom of each blog post day, I have written what I am planning on posting that day. Typically, I write all my posts a week in advance, so this helps me see what I have to write when I am working on blog related things.
My colour scheme was something I worked hard on last year and I am sticking by it. I will explain it to you as I feel that using colour makes things a lot easier to manage. You will notes that the majority of tasks in my planner are in blue in. Those are my "to-do" tasks. I found that having them in a different colour means they stand out more. General information is in black as that is typically the colour I write in. Meals are in green so that they stand out and blog posts are in orange, also to stand out. Another colour that I use to stand out is red for important tasks (such as meetings). In the weekly section, if it is near rent day I will have my payments in pink to stand out. Most of the colours I use are for my financial tracker so I can see where I am spending the most money. I found that by doing this it was easier for me to visualise where my money was going. So far this year, my biggest spending have been food and "fun". I have a category called fun so it means I can still treat myself, but within reason. My main expenditure for "fun" is books. I have a blog post all about tracking finances if you interested in going into that in more detail, you can read it here.
I believe that having a paper planner is an essential for students as I find that by writing things by hand means I am more likely to remember to do them. I am going to be so sad when my Harry Potter planner runs out, but I will 100% be buying another Moleskin one as they are the best planner for me.
Carenza :)x
