Lucy Mary

There's a lovely, warm feeling in opening a brand new, blank, unfilled planner for the start of a new year. People buy planners for various reasons, whether it's to write down important dates and social engagements, for work purposes, or to keep track of their kids' parties and clubs. Or even buying one to help with wedding planning. You may be someone who keeps using their planner right through to December 31st (you trooper, I'm also in this category), or your planner ends up gathering dust by February (oops!). 

I'd be seriously lost without my planner and to-do list notepad. I have enough going on with balancing each aspect of my life, my brain can't remember things like birthdays, as well as my shopping list for Morrison's, on top of that. I need to write down the majority of my to-do list and important dates, e.g. hospital appointments. It's safe to say I optimise my planner to the max!

If you're someone who struggles to use their planner to its full potential, then this post is for you. You don't need a fancy pants planner, just one that you can use daily and get the most use out of. Once you do that, I'll guarantee you will use it every day until the Big Ben rings at midnight on NYE. 

As I said, people buy planners for different reasons. The big question you need to ask yourself is:

Once you figure out what aspect of your life needs a planner, it becomes pretty easy to choose one. Do you want one for the academic year? Do you need one to plan your wedding? Or do you need one just for everyday use? Once you know the answer, you can scour the shops and/or online for the perfect one for your needs. 

There's no point plonking it somewhere where you can't see it and then inevitably forgetting to use it. Maybe leave it on your coffee table, workspace, or bedside table; it'll be a reminder for you to fill it in when necessary. It can go anywhere as long as it fits nicely into your routine. 

This works differently for everyone, based on their daily routine. For me, I like to fill my weekly planner every Sunday. It gives me a broad idea of my schedule for the week ahead and allows me to complete tasks successfully. Some may prefer to do this on a Friday evening, after the working week has finished. 

In terms of my to-do list, I like to complete it daily, every night before sleeping. My daily to-do list changes throughout the week, so I'd rather complete the following day's to-do list the night before. 

Scheduling a time to fill out your planner becomes a habit which you'll stick to. This, in turn, allows you to get full use out of your planner.

Writing in your planner doesn't need to be a dull task. You can have different tabs for each aspect of your life, use highlighters/pens and have colour codes for each colour you use. You can bullet journal or use fun stickers to jazz up your pages. 

Thanks to Personal Planner, you can completely personalise your planner from cover to cover. You have a choice of fun and essential themed pages, which include: