What Planner Do You Use and Why? (Pen & Paper ONLY!

[r0ckrat]

If anyone still is looking to try a new planner, Nomatic is currently running a 40% off sale. 100gsm paper, some inks still bleed a little, but I love this thing.

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The Kickstarter Mint Green & Black Notebook Planner | NOMATIC

 

[YouYou]

Hello,

I am "just" using a Leuchtturm notebook. With a handmade To-Do list


Take care
YouYou

 

[ravl10]

On and off a (strictly functional - no scrapbooking) bullet journal on a Rhodia dot grid notebook since 2015. Decided to be more disciplined about it and in about a month I have almost filled out my old Rhodia. Bought a Clairefontaine dot grid soft cover notebook for 2019.

 

[Bubba Bob]

I was a Franklin Planner user for decades. People who worked for me and with me were afraid of me. I could look up past notes and make a call at the exact day and time that was scheduled months earlier. I loved that system.

However, as my roles changed as I got older I was much less appointment oriented and much more task, goal, and project oriented. I probably stayed with the Franklin Planner way longer than I should have because I loved the system. I went from the two page a day, to one page a day, to a weekly version and it just could never get it to work for me as it did when I began.


I considered the Levenger Disk system, even went as far as ordering some disks and a paper punch. I could either order paper inserts or design my own. But the binders were just so pedestrian looking, sorry I'm a planner snob. My last Franklin Planner binder must be 12 years old at least and it looks fabulous, of course it cost me a pretty penny but it was worth it.

I then discovered Bullet Journeling, I could use a minimalist Leuchtturm1917 Black journal and customize it any way I wanted. I jumped in, used it for three years making changes each year as I progressed using the best of the Franklin Planner system that I incorporated and customizing the rest to suit my needs. I thought is was great for three years until I got tired of spending hours at the beginning of each year graphing out all of the future calendars, special days (family and close friends birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates, master task lists for various projects and other semi permanent notes. And then additional time each month graphing my monthly calendar and daily - weekly task lists, to do lists and so forth. Bottom line : this system was nice but not ideal.

Now, for 2019 I began a Traveler's system. My binder from Chic Sparrow (more on Chic later) allows for 4 inserts. 1. A yearly/monthly calendar that is pre-printed, 2. A more permanent insert for my important dates, Index, and master task list spanning several years. For example, a list of books I want to read - may take me several years to work through them, plus I'm always adding. 3. A less than permanent insert for projects, tasks, to do lists and other such things. 4. A daily log where I write all of my notes, I have no such thing as sticky notes, or note pads. Everything worth jotting down from shopping lists to meeting notes, or whatever and everything important gets indexed in insert number 2. This 4th insert I expect to refill several times a year.

I'm still learning on how this system will best work for me but it has the permanence and flexibility that I require.

Sorry for the long post, but I am a planner nerd as you can tell.

Now getting back to Chic. This is not about the leather binder maker but a close friend of mine I met about 20 years ago. His name is Chic - not a nick-name, but his full legal name. His fathers name is Chic, his grandfathers name is Chic and his first-borne sons name is Chic. He's Italian heritage and I've never had the nerve to ask him *** is it with the Chic's?

Oh and I am that handsome.

 

[airmech]

Going to start-up Bullet Journaling again, and endeavor to keep at it! I am using a Clairefontaine “My Essentials” notebook. I am going to try and keep it simple, so that maybe I will keep at it.

Tom

 

[Rhody]

Going to start-up Bullet Journaling again, and endeavor to keep at it! I am using a Clairefontaine “My Essentials” notebook. I am going to try and keep it simple, so that maybe I will keep at it.

Tom

I just bought a large bullet journal and also the 1917 bullet journal model which hasnt arrived yet
Im going to try to take the plunge and use it for to do and projects. Im hoping this will take some stress off at the office if i get over my lazy habits and start the process i talk myself out of these systems when i think about the time spent making lists feels unproductive

 

[airmech]

I just bought a large bullet journal and also the 1917 bullet journal model which hasnt arrived yet
Im going to try to take the plunge and use it for to do and projects. Im hoping this will take some stress off at the office if i get over my lazy habits and start the process i talk myself out of these systems when i think about the time spent making lists feels unproductive

That is exactly why I am trying to simplify. My procrastination makes it hard to keep anything going, especially if it is complex. Keep at it and you will succeed!!! Have a great day!!!

Tom

 

[Heron]

Bullet Journal in an Apica A6

 

[Runnin_Ute]

I am a long term (January 1986) Franklin system user. The Classic size (A5) pages, two pages per day. I have every page still. I use it somwhat differently than I did say five or so years ago. I adapted how I used it based on what my job was. I had to re adapt it again when I started my current position.

There are some notes I take/make other notebooks. I used to be just the system baby. Not so enslaved to it now.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Rhody]

That is exactly why I am trying to simplify. My procrastination makes it hard to keep anything going, especially if it is complex. Keep at it and you will succeed!!! Have a great day!!!

Tom

Thanks. Ive been carrying the large journal in my bag for a week now but havent started. Waiting for the other to arrive. I also stocked up on pental sign pens for the project
Ive got that same procrastination bug!

 

[Isbjorner]

I’m using my trusty Leuchtturm 1917 two years in a row. The heavier paper is fountain pen friendly and I like the pocket in the back for storing notes and receipts. I’ve looked at others, but like the simple, traditional look of the Leuchtturm.

 

[bray144k]

Just started up again for 2019. Bullet Journal in a ~$7 notebook from Walmart.

 

[Rhody]

Just received the Leuchtturm 1917 bullet journal model in the mail today.
Have to get to work

 

[Shavely Manden]

I really like the Midori Traveler's Notebook passport-size refills, but I'd recommend getting a third-party cover instead of the official Midori notebook. The reason for that is that the big draw of the Traveler's Notebook is being able to mix and match different types of refills (e.g., I have unlined, graph, weekly planner, and monthly planner in mine at the moment), but in the official notebook you only get one elastic to hold a refill in the notebook and have to insert further refills by attaching them to the first refill with a rubber band. I really don't see why they don't just have multiple elastics to begin with, except to sell you overpriced rubber bands. You can find a lot of third-party notebooks that with multiple elastics on Etsy that'll fit Midori refills (and other brands of refills, for that matter). I like the passport size, personally...I suspect the full-size would be good if you were writing vertically in Japanese, but for a horizontally written language, having a notebook that's really tall but no wider than the passport model seems awkward.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I really like the Midori Traveler's Notebook passport-size refills, but I'd recommend getting a third-party cover instead of the official Midori notebook. The reason for that is that the big draw of the Traveler's Notebook is being able to mix and match different types of refills (e.g., I have unlined, graph, weekly planner, and monthly planner in mine at the moment), but in the official notebook you only get one elastic to hold a refill in the notebook and have to insert further refills by attaching them to the first refill with a rubber band. I really don't see why they don't just have multiple elastics to begin with, except to sell you overpriced rubber bands. You can find a lot of third-party notebooks that with multiple elastics on Etsy that'll fit Midori refills (and other brands of refills, for that matter). I like the passport size, personally...I suspect the full-size would be good if you were writing vertically in Japanese, but for a horizontally written language, having a notebook that's really tall but no wider than the passport model seems awkward.

If you aren't finding anything you like from other sources, with just the base Midori cover and a way to punch a couple small holes, you can easily convert the official one to have 3 elastics instead of one, no need to buy anything else. I did that to mine, here's a bit of a write up and such on it:

Traveler's Notebook, passport size hack

 

[J_Brown]

As for me, the notebook should be relatively small and lightweight. If I`ll need to write down somthing large, I would rather use laptop or something like that. At the same, writing on real paper helps to organaize some important ideas, so I`m always carrying small pocket size notebook like No.5 herein The 10 Best Pocket Notebooks for 2019 most for its simple "crafted" style - I don`t like notebooks made with skin or with glossy front picture, prefering something that looks more eco-friendly.

 

[stream26]

My favorite planner is the Happy Planner.
For me, the trick is in the disk bound system. I can move pages around, add pages, and it’s all simple to do from home. I bought some nicer paper to use just for my planner, and a special hole punch and I am good to go!
I’ve found that I can find a lot of printables online from places like Etsy or a lot of bloggers offer them for free in exchange for an email.

 

[Cannata]

Rhodia Webplanner. I like the hard cover, the paper, and the address pages.

Steve

 

[DougK]

I used to be into the compact DayRunner back when I started in the Army. I later moved to using letter-sized planner pages (one page per day) in a standard three-ring notebook, which was great because I could mix in notes pages or rearrange pages to be wherever I needed them. I switched over to electronic when the Palm Pilot became affordable and then to Google Calendar. I haven't really used paper since, but my wife and I still write our events out on a wall calendar in the kitchen even though we share our Google calendars. Paper may be less efficient in some ways, but it's still pleasurable and useful.

 

[beginish]

I’ve decided to ditch the Hobonichi Techo after this year, and just move to a (spiral) bound notebook with nice, FP-friendly paper. The most practical thing I can do is write the date, fill in appointments and then use as much or as little of the page as I want for to do’s, notes, etc.