Okay, I'm going to try to just spend like...30 minutes doing a quick thread about planners, how to get into the habit of planning if you are someone who wants to get into it. I was going to write a Google Doc and share it but it sounded weird so let's do it like this

The best way to get into using a planner is 1. choosing a planner that fits your needs + making it as easy as possible to do and 2. be comfortable with/accept the fact that you might drop off for various reasons and you can just...start up again.

Sometimes we just stop and we feel bad about it and wind up feeling disappointed or ashamed or guilty, especially if dropping off meant we missed deadlines D: It happens. But think about how long you lived your life NOT writing shit down. It will take time to learn the habit.

EVERY habit takes time to develop and if you are like me, fucking up can feel like the end of the world. But it's not. If you're alive, there's time and if you're not, uh, you're not using a planner I am guessing.

SO. You wanna use a planner. I'm sorry to inform you that there are roughly 8 million planners out there and some planners and methods are really lauded because they are beautiful, they work for a lot of people and because some of them are pricey and have good marketing.

Fortunately through the power of Youtube and the internet you can look at a lot of planners and see how people use them. It's true. You can watch a lot of videos where people 'unbox' planners (don't fall for the glamour of unboxing tho, it's hard not to!) and/or set them up

and show how they use them. But as you do research think, what do I want to use this for and where/when am I going to be using this.

On a more specific note, if you are just starting out planning, i HIGHLY recommend getting an already dated planner. Why?

it's one less thing for you to do to set up your day/week. I've used undated thinking, oh, I can just start up whenever, NEXT week and guess what. this led to me putting it off more. so I was fucking my life. Not uncommon, but yeah.

People use their planners for lots of different things. Some examples:
Keeping track of appts
Keeping track of projects
Keeping track of tasks
Personal stuff
Work stuff
Keeping track of multiple people’s projects/appointments/tasks
Journaling
Tracking money, sleep, meds
etc.

I had a vague idea of what I needed when I got my first few planners. I've used at least 4 different kinds over the last few years and I finally found the one I love, and even it is not perfect. Also keep that in mind, you will never find a magic bullet planner.

that's because magic bullets don't exist. It takes some change in your brain thoughts to make shit work. You have to be willing to fuck up. You have to value your time. You have to value various types of activity and giving of energy. You have to be willing to admit what makes

things easier to accomplish. Making things easier for yourself is NOT BAD. Everything does not have to be a struggle, a vast majority of us do not deserve to be punished. So check your head and bust out the agenda.

I know this is more philosophy than nitty gritty but 1. I think that type of work is more important in the long run, not just for planning but shit in general 2. There's a lot of planner nitty gritty, egads, hmm.

OKAY, so the basic planner parameters are
1. Spread: Month, Week, Daily (sometimes a combo, sometimes w/ hourly breakdown
2. Dates or Undated
3. Size. Some are HUGE, some are tiny (think passport)
*Most come with extra bits like bookmarks, habit trackers, lists, extra paper, etc

4. COST. Holy shit. This is a huge range.
I'll continue with this thread later but if you are following along, uh, feel free to think about what I have said so far.

OKAY, where to get a planner, what sites to look at because it's carajovirus time.
The last few years I got mine from @JetPens (surprising absolutely no one). JetPens sells a wide variety of planners, extras + has videos/guides GALORE about them. https://www.jetpens.com/Planners/ct/2815

Another place: Target. Right?! If you shop at Target, they have a lot of different planners, plus you can get your planner and a bottle of Moscato and live the dream. Bonus, you can look at them IRL https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=2021+planner&tref=typeahead%7Cterm%7C0%7C2021+planner%7C%7C%7C%7Chistory&category=0%7CAll%7Cmatchallpartial%7Call+categories

Jo-Ann Fabrics! They're having a sale on them rn and have a coupon. https://www.joann.com/paper-crafting/journaling-and-planners/journals-and-planners/ most of their planners have RINGS, which have a very loyal following, and you can add paper to it. Comrade, it's Jo-Anns, you can get your planner and 8 million stickers. WIN.

(Shoutout to @KokoCreates and @melissadominic for bringing JoAnns/Michael's to my attention, great find)

And yes, Michael's https://www.michaels.com/search?q=planners%20and%20journals they are also having a sale. You could really mess around for a decent price!

Shinola: https://www.shinola.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Planner I really like their notebooks, I have a friend who swears by their planner and they're made in the USA. The covers are REALLY nice.

Barnes & Noble. Remember them? https://m.barnesandnoble.com/b/calendars/_/N-8rb Well, they sell planners and calendars. Specifically they sell one brand that is really nice, hold on.......

Paperblanks! https://www.paperblanks.com/en/  I can NEVER remember the name of this company, I always...blank on it :D

But seriously. The hardcover covers are BEEFY and often incorporate GOLD FOIL, WHICH, HELLO. B&N usually carries these.

Shit is weird because of coronavirus but local craft, gift shop and stationery stores are great to check out. If you live by a university, the bookstores have academic planners around this times of year.

Also, if you live near a Chinatown, J-town or K-town, there will often be a store that has stationery that is extremely cute and this includes planners. I got a Kogepan planner once in HS that I was in love with.

I did a quick YT search and actually found this great video/channel where someone makes a planner out of a notebook. also just good run down of the different layouts that exist. Whole channel looks cool, tbh. You can make your own system!

In addition to personal planners, I recommend: wall calendar. great, especially if multiple ppl need to know what is going on. Put it somewhere where you will see it a lot. Avoid shiny/glossy paper if possible, writing on that shit is wack.

Color coding. I cannot remember other types of keys but I can remember colors. If you color code tho, I HIGHLY suggest a multipen because if you're like, oh, a purple event is happening but I can't find my purple pen, I'll write it later when I have it ^^ guess what, :(

You can get around this by writing everything in black/blue and then drawing a box around it in the color code. Or get a multipen that has the (most common) colors you use.

Post it's. Or whatever kind of sticky notes. You can write a more in-depth to-do w/ step by step breakdown on it. Or write all the things required for one of your to-dos. Example, paperwork needed to get your passport. HW you have to 1.write and then 2. upload.

Imagine DOING your hw and then FORGETTING to submit it, I do not have to imagine, friend, this has been my reality. Memories are VERY weird and attention spans are also weird!

I totally forgot, another place for planners: mochithings! https://shop.mochithings.com/  I think one of the first planners I really loved I got from there. It got discontinued tho! (it was made in South Korea). Thanks to @melissadominic for the reminder!