I am not normally one to use planners or organizers. I’m a pretty organized person and if I need to remember appointments, I put them in my phone. I also write a lot of lists out the old-fashioned way ie. on pads of paper. But for 2018, I thought that I’d give having a daily planner a shot.
One of the many life lessons I picked up in 2017 was just how unconsciously I made assumptions about certain things and passed judgement without really thinking about it or trying it first. I began thinking about a lot of things in a different way and I now realize that things that might have been obvious to me before really aren’t that obvious.
For example, I emitted my fair share of negativity in these past 12 months and rather than just rely on the knowledge that I should do better and try harder to be positive and allow myself to be happy, maybe writing it all down will make all the difference. Maybe it’ll take writing it down on paper to really have it sink into my psyche.
So I picked up a simple notebook and a set of coloured markers and went to work creating a 2018 planner. It has your average “To Do” list boxes and what-have you, but I was also keen to add space to brainstorm for blog ideas and perhaps most importantly, a monthly mood tracker (which will be colour-coded of course).
This may sound dumb, but hear me out. In an effort to combat all the negativity I allow myself to feel, I want to visualize what’s happening on a daily basis, in order to understand myself, my moods, and my thought processes better. Maybe this won’t change much in terms of my behaviour, but I think it’s worth trying. You never know.
And of course, what planner would be incomplete without some doodles and stickers? I like reminding myself of all the fun things to come, holidays, birthdays, changing seasons….I guess ’cause I’m a visual person, it really makes me look all the more forward to these special things when there’s a colourful reminder.
I really enjoyed making my own planner. I’ve never done that before and now I really understand the value of making your own. You can customize it any way you want, with whatever you want to prioritize in your life. It’s a bit time-consuming if you care about it looking pretty, but also really satisfying, as DIYs tend to be.
Will you be using a planner in 2018? Do you like making your own or just buying one? And please let me know if you have any tips on how I can improve on mine!
xoxo
