I have to admit, I am somewhat new to the world of planners. Did you know there is a Planner World? It's an entire culture of organized, creative, and motivating people! For a long time I did not see how I would use a planner in my life. I liked the idea of having a written calendar, but I was terrible at the execution. There are some AMAZING planners out there, people have created stunning layouts, added bling, and established a coordinated system for organizing their life. This all seemed a bit much for me, overwhelming. I felt like if I had time to do all that in my planner then I wouldn't need a planner.
However, I kept coming back to my planner. I was watching what others did and talked several times to my planner friend, Claire. Finally, I figured out how I could use my planner, make my planner work for me and and customize it for my needs. That is really what the planner movement is about. Using a planner to make life easier for you and also to inspire you to accomplish the things in life that you want to get done.
Let me share with you what I have done to customize my planner.
Once I figured out what I would use my planner for I knew that I wanted to make a couple cute things to go in it. I did not want to make it so seasonal that I would have to change it out in a month. I pulled out some of my favorite papers and some stamps that I knew I wanted to incorporate. The background paper for this Dashboard page is a print I made on my Gel Press, using a heart stencil and acrylic paints.

The quote in the center of the page is stamped with black ink on to another Gel Press Print I made. The rest are accent pieces that I love. The word Journey and the hash tag bubble are both die cuts. I added some glaze to a few elements to make them really stand out. Plus it is one of my favorite things, it make me happy. And I found that by adding a few personal touches to my planner it makes me want to use it more, it brings me joy and it really is helping me get more done of what I want to accomplish each day.

On the back of my dashboard I created a pocket and inside is a birthday card. My tip for adding a pocket is to only put adhesive on the outer and bottom edges. Leave the inside edge, where the holes are punched loose so that the pocket opens and has room to expand with the things you will put in it.
Here are a few other cute elements.

I wanted an insert on this side that was inspirational. The sentiment is stamped and embossed with black powder on top of another Gel Press print. I LOVE the colors in this print and the layers of texture.
I also love a few cute clips for my planner and they're so easy to make. If you want a tutorial on how to make these kind of clips watch my Standing Note Pocket video.

Now for the meat of my planner, what I am actually using it for.

I have been using this TO DO list system for several years now, a system that I learned from a class I took with business coach John Sanpeatro from Stamping is my Business. It really helps me to focus on what I need to get done today, to prioritize and get all the things out of my head so that I can focus on actually getting things done.
It has four sections:
TO DO (this is for today)
TO DO TOMORROW
TO DO SOON
WANT TO DO
First thing each morning I take a minute to sit down and write up the TO DO list for that day. I love checking things off the list, I feel so productive. I made a divider for this section in my planner, so it's easy to flip to.

I am also using my weekly calendar pages to keep track of my social media posts. What I am posting to what site on which days. It can be a lot to keep in your head. I now working on a meal planning section to my planner as well. It is already something I do on a tablet of paper, so why not keep it in my planner and work on it through out the week. Then when I realize I need chili powder I can add it to the list right away, as I will already have my planner out. Another thing that I think I would like in my planner are some pictures, I'm going to get some pocket pages so that I can add a page of photos.
I am really enjoying using my planner, even thought it took me a while to get into it. You can see the first set of cute things I made for my planner back in the fall here, they are cute, but I didn't use the planner itself very much at that time. I'm feeling much more productive now that I have a simple system in place.
Thank you for letting me share a little bit of my planner and my personal growth in organization this year. I'd love to see what you are doing with your planner and how you make it work for you, leave me a comment below.

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