Choosing Your 2019 Planner: A BIG Decision!

As 2018 comes to a close, there are many decisions to make, but one of the biggest is which 2019 planner is best for you?  I'm kidding (a little) but if not one of the most important decisions, it's definitely one of the most fun! 

Planning saves time and helps us feel in control.  There are many options for planning tools from a simple notebook to a pretty planner to slick digital apps.  There is no perfect method for planning your days, but there several questions that you can answer to help you choose the right planner for you!

1. Do you prefer digital, paper or both?
2. Do you want to keep personal and professional plans separate or do you prefer one overarching system?
3. What do you want to include in your planner?  Appointments, tasks, ideas, and/or notes?
4. Where will you need to access your planner?  Will you carry it with you or leave it in one location?

Once you've answered these basic questions, you can move on to the more detailed options based on your paper vs. digital preference.  ​

Paper

• How big?  do you want to be able to fit it in your pocket or your purse, or do you carry a work bag or backpack?
• Does color matter?
• Do you like pages to lay flat?  Do you prefer spiral bound planners?
• Do you want the pages of your planner to be pre-printed or would you rather draw/write everything more like a bullet journal?
• Do you want calendar pages to have the dates filled in for you, or do you want to add your own dates?
• Do you want to have space for monthly, weekly and/or daily planning?  Is it important to have your days broken into timed increments?
• Do you want a to-do list on a separate page from your calendar or all in one area?
• What weight do you want your paper to be?  
• Do you want a hard or soft cover?  So you want the cover to be wipeable?
• How much do you want to spend on your planner?

Digital

• Do you want a calendar only or do you need a task manager as well?
• Do you want to be able to share the contents of your planning system either for others to view or to delegate?
• Do you want a free tool or a subscription based tool?  How much are you willing to spend?
• Do you want to be able to use your digital tool on a computer, a tablet, and/or a smartphone?
• Is it important to you to link to other apps? For example, do you want to integrate a task manager with your calendar or note taking apps?
• Do you want the ability to import and export information?
• Does the tool have the ability to categorize and color code items?

​I like a hybrid approach and use a digital calendar, digital task manager with digital reminders, as well as a paper planner.  I prefer to keep personal and professional somewhat separate, but do combine them in one view.  For example, on my iPhone's calendar app, I have my personal Google Calendar, my "side hustle" Google Calendar, and my work Outlook calendar overlaid on one another so I can see everything at once.  For me, I want to capture time bound meetings and appointments, deadlines, and special dates like birthdays and anniversaries on a calendar and to-dos in a task list.  I need a place to jot down notes and ideas, and a place to store a piece of notepaper as well.  It may seem redundant to have tasks in both a digital and written format, but the physical act of writing things down helps me process and remember them better.  When I transfer items from my digital task list to my physical planner during a regular planning time, it helps to cement in my mind what is truly a priority.

I am so excited that this year, I have the 5x8 size of the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley.  I'd been eyeing this online for quite some time, and then a few weeks ago, a friend who knows me well surprised me with a super cool and pretty 2019 planner!  I will set aside some reflection and planning time between Christmas and New Years to begin filling out this colorful notebook!  Here are a few tips I've learned over the years for written planners:

Buy a special writing utensil to use with your planner.   A mechanical pencil may be your best option - it's erasable, the tip will always be sharp and it won't bleed through the pages.  But there's something fun about using a special pen that writes so smoothly...  Just make sure to test pens on a small section of paper to make sure it doesn't bleed or smudge.  Different types of paper react differently to different types of ink.  Consider a couple of colors of pens/highlighters to use and make a system of what each color means.  For example, if you decide to add both work and personal obligations, you may want to use one color for work and one color for personal.
 
Create a way to keep your place.  Find a reliable bookmark, fun binder clip, or reusuable sticky note tab to mark your place in your paper planner.  My planner comes with tabs for each month, but I will still want to mark which date I'm on to make it that much quicker to do my planning.  

Decide how far out you will plan.  Most people do well to put in the big events for the whole year on the calendar and then plan around those on a monthly or weekly basis.  A quick review of your calendar and digital tools before bed allow you to write down your appointments and must dos the night before in your paper planner.  This will allow you to rest easier knowing you haven't forgotten anything and that you have a solid plan for the next day.    

Set a regular planning meeting with yourself and your family.   My husband and I both work full time and have a significant commute, plus have some volunteer commitments, lots of parenting commitments and also appreciate some downtime.  We have to have at least a weekly check in to figure out who's going to pick up the kids, what we will have for dinner, etc.    This doesn't have to be a formal meeting - ours is usually after a meal and we both whip out our phones and check who has to go in early, who has to stay late, and what kid's activities are coming up that week.  This allows us to plan our grocery shopping list and arrange childcare for the week ahead.  ​We invite each other to events using our digital calendars so know what is expected of us. 

I hope you can find your ideal planner in the next couple of weeks so you can start off your 2019 feeling like a planning rockstar!  If you have another planner you love, please share with us in the comments.

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