It’s New Planner Season!
In case you didn't know, I am a planner girl. My life is significantly more together when I have a good planner in my life. If you're a planner girlie (girlie being a gender-neutral term in this instance), it's our time! Tis the season to choose your 2024 calendar year planner! I've been very intentional about choosing a planner to meet my needs over the past few years and I have some lovely recommendations for you.
But first, for those of you who might be on the fence about having a planner, here are some ways that I use my planner:
Managing my calendar: having to write things down, helps me to remember them, and seeing my appointments in one physical space helps me realize when I'm becoming overscheduled.
Keeping a to-do list by week: putting my to-do list into the week helps me plan out the week, and reflect on how effective I was in getting something done. For example, if I notice that I've put the same item on my list for three weeks in a row, I'll start to ask myself questions about it. Why am I putting it off? Is this important? Can I delegate this?
Keeping track of important bits of information: Confirmation numbers, phone numbers, addresses, catalog numbers? I will lose those in a digital notes app, but keeping them in my planner works for me.
Now, onto the recommendations! I have loved my planner each year, and for the past few years my planners have all come from Black woman-owned companies, which is an added bonus for me.
In 2022, my planner was The Layered Living Planner from HerSpaceCo. Simple and clean, this planner has twelve "layers" which are different areas in your life that you set goals for and focus on throughout the year. I really liked this process, and that there are quarterly check-ins to see how you are doing in each of the layers. It doesn't have a monthly goal-setting/dates page, which I kinda missed, but I use the monthly calendar for that instead. It's a bit bigger , and the space to write in each day is unlined, which really helps the space feel much bigger
In 2023, I’ve been using the Book'd Deluxe planner! This planner is a lot, and I thought it might have too much "stuff" for me, but it actually encompasses all the pieces of planning and reflection that I would like to have, and I have a whole page for every week day, and half a page for Saturday/Sunday. I really liked having a ton of space to write everything in, and the large size of the pages. They have five different planners for your various needs, so if you’re not looking for such a large planner you can try one of the other ones, including a digital one! Coupon Code for 10% off: PLANNINGWITHSHANIQUE
For 2024, I’ve ordered Ivory Paper Co’s Vertical Weekly Planner. I’ve realized that I kinda like being able to see the whole week at once, and the vertical layout makes it feel more spacious. I really like that there are note pages at the end of each week too, so I have room for planning/reflection. I’m also excited about the weekly goals, habit trackers, and gratitude box. This brand is really big on gratitude so, they incorporate it into all of their products. One great thing about Ivory Paper Co is that the planners are made to order, so they can start whenever you’d like them to!
