Hey pen friend!
With planner season around the corner, I'm curious to know if you're a planner or a journaler?
I believe there are two main approaches to how someone utilizes a planner. Understanding which approach works best for you may help you choose the right planner and use your planners to the fullest.
What do I mean by planner vs. journaler?
When I think of how someone utilizes a planner, I believe there are two main approaches:
- Planners are those that look forward, and
- Journalers are those that look back.
Planners are those that start their day knowing what the day ahead looks like. They may use their planner to list out the exact tasks that need to be done, all their appointments, and perhaps even time block when things will happen.
Journalers, on the other hand, largely back fill. They write things in after the fact, and they may even reflect on the things that have happened. They use their planners for more than just tracking tasks and appointments. They may be looking for trends in their day or even do a little bit of memory keeping.
Ultimately, I believe most people do some of both, but I like to think of it as two different approaches.
Why does this matter?
I believe understanding how you approach your planning will help you utilize your planner better. It may even help you understand why a specific planner doesn't work for you.
For example, as a journaler, a vertical hourly layout doesn't work for me. Since I'm not much of a planner, I can't utilize the hourly layout to its fullest. I don't have many meetings or appointments. I will never time block. So whenever I find myself with a vertical layout, I end up ignoring the hours entirely, and I simply try to use the space for a daily rapid log or some other note taking system.
Similarly, something like a Hobonichi Cousin with its monthly, weekly, and daily spreads may be difficult for someone who is only a planner. Having all three types of spreads may be too much to fill and utilize every day without doing a bit of journaling.
When you're looking for planner inspiration on social media, don't simply look for planner spreads that you find pretty. Look for planner spreads or people that have similar planner styles to yourself.
I am a journaler at heart.
Although I do plan, I am a journaler at heart. So it's with this mindset that I approach my planner and journal system.
My days are very fluid. Most days, I don't know what my work day will look like. So I like to have general to do lists and project plans, but I don't plan out exactly when I'm going to do each thing, unless there's a specific due date attached to it.
So when I use my planners on a daily basis, the goal is to record what I do for record keeping.
Generally, I'll have my calendar to keep track of appointments and meetings, and I'll have a running list of to dos. Sometimes my to do list is a specific spread in my planner or notebook, and sometimes I keep it on a sticky note. For the most part, this is the extent of my planning.
On the daily, I try to list out my appointments and required to dos for the day at the start of my morning. Then throughout the day, I tend to back fill. Sometimes I'm back filling new tasks that have come up unexpectedly. Sometimes it's notes about emails or impromptu discussions. But through it all, the ultimate goal is to simply record what's happening for future reference.
