Planner Fail

Good thing I only paid about $10 for my new planner, because it is a huge FAIL.  How could I have been so stupid?  The cover of the old planner is lovely, with green and blue swirls, and browsing in Barnes and Nobles one day, I decided I had to have it, to replace my too heavy to carry Daytimer Family Plus.  I bought an inexpensive planner binder to protect it.  (In the pic, the writing on the sticky note is covered by my hand to protect the innocent.  Also, it gives you an idea of the size of the 5 1/2 by 8 planner.)

There are issues.  Most important, there is no monthly calendar.  I like to put timed events on my monthly calendar.  Also, there was no divider between months and check out these areas for writing.  You know that is not enough space for me!  The picture is the TOTAL space for one week.  What was I thinking?  I write a lot during any given week.

I had found several that I liked better, but none of them had sufficient notes pages.  I solved that problem at Target today, when I purchased my new Greenroom Weekly/Monthly planner at Target.  It's about the same size as the FAILED planner, so it fits in my cover.  (BTW, the cover was a planner at Target, as well, but I hated the planner inside of it!)  The reason I did not choose this one before was the lack of Notes pages.  So I solved that by adding a thin Moleskin in the front pocket.

Notice that I am not wearing my engagement ring.  It is being repaired, because apparently the expensive repairs last year were not sufficient for all the heavy labor I do that ruined my rings, like, you know, driving my car or using the remote control.

Notice that the planner had a clear, plastic cover.  I love that!  There were some great, similar ones (in lots of patterns) with hard, cardboard covers, but they were slightly thicker and did not fit in my planner cover, which I consider necessary for keeping sticky notes, notes, and pen together.

I have never had a Moleskin notebook.  I know, right?  How is that possible?  I've drooled over them, of course.  This set of three, thin, stitched together lined journals includes 80 pages each, with the last 16 pages perforated.  The back cover has a pocket, perfect for bits of paper that have not been processed yet.  The paper is so smooth.

Look how nice the Moleskin, sticky notes (with an owl), planner, and pen fit together!!!

I am including pictures of most of the planner, but I've describe it in even more detail.

The first page is totally blank, so you can see the cream color of the antique-looking paper through the plastic cover.  It really is thick, creamy no glare paper.

Next is a cover page, with the bottom half totally blank.  I am going to use that to leave a note to anyone finding the planner that they will get a reward!

The third page is for personal information.  I usually don't fill out much here, in case I do lose the planner.  But the "Notify" in an emergency part is very nice.

Next is a two-sheet schedule page.  I assume this is for students, but I will use it to note work schedules and any recurring events, like daily carpool and karate class for my kids.

The first tabbed page is a 2013/2014 overview.

Next, there is a tabbed holiday and important dates page.  I will use this for future planning, 2014 and beyond.  (Future planning is nice for recopying a January birthday for next year or planning a dentist or doctor appointment in a year.  Anything that happens annually goes here, as the event passes on the monthly calendar.)

I LOVE the monthly layout.  There are downfalls, such as minimal empty space and starting on a Sunday (while weekly pages start on Monday).  But the lined, spacious boxes for appointments make it worth it.  I will dedicate this space ONLY to time sensitive daily events.  Tasks, due dates, and FYIs will go on the weekly pages.  Basically, this only tells me where I need to be and when!

Behind each monthly page hides this little gem of a space, college-ruled lines on one side and boxes on the other (perfect for tracking - exercise, daily writing, prayer - anything you want to do daily or weekly).

I plan to use the ruled area on the list as my Task list.  The right will be for any permanent notes I need to have in my calendar and any check-off type lists.

The weekly spaces, behind each respective month, are a real gem!  Notice the huge amount of writing space.  Also, there is a note area, for things like weekly tasks and menus.

There are 12 pages for Notes.  I will assign one to each month.  Any notes that I need to keep will go on the proper, half blank/half lined page.  (My Moleskin with be for my daily mind dumps, taking notes during a meeting or a phone call, etc.  These pages are more for if I buy tickets and need to keep a confirmation number or have a car accident and need a permanent record of the date.)

There are only thirty contact entries, but that is fine since those tend to stay in my phone anyway.

Only the first page of Resources is shown below.  Again, I probably won't use Internet Resources because I bookmark or Pinterest those.  But it's nice to have.

Other resources include the Formulas for calculating area, decimal equivalents of fractions, weights and measures, and (pictured below because it appeals to my inner nerd), temperature and periodic table.

The last section, geography, is also fun, with state capitals, a US map, a two-page world map, and a map of Europe.

Finally, there is one more blank page.

I think I'm going to like this one.  I hope so.

Updates after I get to start using it...groan...IN JANUARY!

Etcetera.