Introduction Post

[lunabee34]

Let's get the ball rolling in this community!

This is the post where we can all introduce ourselves and talk about what sort of journals and planners we're into. Remember, anything related to journals and planners is on topic here.

independence1776 and I will make monthly posts to keep the comm active, but we hope you'll also post regularly. Don't forget that pictures are encouraged!

Comments

[executrix]

I don't have pictures, but I am addicted to my desk calendar + whiteboard combo. The desk calendar is just a regular 8 1/2 x 11 from whatever charity sent me a free calendar with the nicest pictures. The first of every month, I transfer all my work deadlines there, and add my regular Shaw Club and Shakespeare reading dates. I almost never have work appointments, but I also put Resistance events and social dates.

The whiteboard is for one week--I repeat deadlines there, and put things that don't need to be memorialized for the ages, like what time to take the bread out of the oven!

I also have a pocket planner from the dollar store--it has a cheerful multi-colored stripe cover that goes with my tangerine-colored fake Birkin bag. (It's REALLY fake, it's made out of rubber.) That's where I put info that I'll need when I'm out of the house--eg if the meeting is at Suzanne's house, I'll put Suzanne, 419 Elm Place apt 2, and Suzanne's phone number in case I have to call.

I have an adorable leather cover for a pocket Filofax,but they still make pages the right size but the holes are in the wrong place!

[lunabee34]

I love the idea of having a whiteboard that changes and a more permanent calendar. One of the reasons I've resisted using some of the electronic calendar apps and etc is that I love that big view that you get with a large calendar. The tiny view of a phone is just not enough for me. And just writing stuff out in a list format is not enough. I need to see it spread out on a calendar.

[lunabee34]

I love planners.

I get a new planner every year which I use extensively for work (and some personal stuff like doc appointments and birthdays). I got a Bloom daily planner for this year which I really like in every way except that it's too small. I misread (or just didn't think to check) the dimensions and instead of it being the size of sheet of paper, it's the size of a paperback novel. I just need more room.

For next year, I think I'm getting a Volt planner. I just found out about them last week, and they look amazing. I don't know what the dimensions are on them, but I'm going to try one for next year even if it's smaller than what I want. I usually consider tabs for the months essential and Volt doesn't seem to have those either, but I think I can make some. IDK I should read some reviews; the website doesn't give enough info.

[umadoshi]

I downloaded Volt's planner from last year (if you haven't seen it, it's there as an example of how the thing looks), but haven't looked at it closely yet. I think there're some things in there that look useful to me, though.

[lunabee34]

I've looked at the PDF of the pages. I really like the layout. I think it's big enough that I will have room to do what I need with it. And I like the opportunity for goal setting and planning and reflection. That's not something I realized I wanted from a planner until I got the Bloom one; it has to-do list and goal setting pages and a reflection portion at the end of the year. All the planners I've had up to this point have been very utilitarian.

[fay_e]

I have two A4 printer paper boxes of unused notebooks and post-its, plus bags of stationery, so I'm trying to use up what I have in the house. I'm the crafts hoarder, stationery style.

Using my notebooks has made me more organised though! Right now I'm using a journal and planner setup. The journal has my habit trackers and daily logs. And my electronic planner in Evernote has my appointments and long term tracking of membership cards.

Here is my journal:


And here is my electronic planner for selected days with some long term planning. Zoomed in so you can see the text.

[lunabee34]

The more we talk, the more I realize what kindred spirits we are. I have a whole drawer full of notebooks here and one at the office, and I have a cabinet full of stationery. LOL

I really like that you're combining the tech and the paper. I finally broke down this week and set a bunch of alarms on my phone because I've started some new medication and it all has be taken at bizarro times that I could never remember. And then after I take each one, I get to mark it on my beautiful drug tracker I made in my paper journal. :)

[fay_e]

Ha ha! *high fives* What's your favourite type of stationery?

The way I see it, tech is for reminding you to get shit done, and the journal is for celebrating that the shit got done :)

[lunabee34]

I might quote you on that. :)

I use more cards than anything else. Michael's has a lot of really cute cards for a dollar or so, I end up getting quirky ones and ones with my first or last initial on them. My husband bought me some beautiful ones from etsy; they were white and had a design pressed into them.

I always handwrite thank you notes for every gift we're given; my older daughter writes her own now, but I still write for the baby and for my husband mostly although sometimes he writes his own if I prompt. I also do this for work: thank you notes to everyone who helped me with the conference, to the president for sponsoring my application to a thing, etc. I think it makes a huge, huge difference.

[fay_e]

Awwwww sure quote away!

It does sound like you have a lovely card collection. Plus it's useful to have a variety in case you need to send to the same person again. Thank you cards are a lovely concept but simply just aren't practised here - I get strange looks when I send thank you emails already =\

[lunabee34]

Oh, that's an interesting cultural data point! Do you mind saying where (in general) you're located?

I'm in the US South with a strong tradition of etiquette and manners of which the handwritten thank you note is a (dying) part.

[fay_e]

On an island in Asia! I guess it's because if it's work, it's expected to be done, and if it's not work, a written thank you is reserved for people that outrank me :)

[lunabee34]

Heeeeeee. Makes sense.

[independence1776]

I'm a paper journaler, of the reflect-by-writing type. I prefer journals that lie flat while I'm writing, which are harder to find than you'd expect, and I love the ones that have a magnetic flap to hold the journals closed. I also have a tendency to collect them, so I have several blank journals with no idea of when I'm going to use them.

I use stickers a lot, to the point where I had to buy an accordian folder for them.

[lunabee34]

I'm the same. I prefer it to lie flat which is why I mostly end up liking spiral bound best.

I am also probably a weirdo in that I don't intend to keep most of what I'm writing in the journal or the planner. For me, I tend to throw it all away when I'm done with it or tear out the page when the to-do list is finished.

The journal I just started is the first one I've done in years with the intention of keeping.

I just got into stickers. And I love them! What stickers are you using? I bought a huge pack that's put out by Happy Planner.

[independence1776]

I actually tend to avoid spiral bound because I've had too many pages ripped out of school notebooks just from simple wear and tear. But then, you seem to like that ability. :) I really do aim for keeps.

Stickers! I felt like such a little kid at first when I began buying them, but they make me happy so I quickly got over the feeling.

I mostly use Sticko brand because they're generally flat, but I'll use other brands if I can find them. Most scrapbooking stickers are 3-d or puffed up so they're fairly pointless for journaling, if only because they make it hard to write on subsequent pages and keeping the book closed. Sad thing is, the scrapbook stickers are some of the most interesting.

[lunabee34]

Oh, man. I totally agree. All the coolest stickers have dimension to them, and I don't want that for the reasons you list. I see lots of pictures of people's journals where they're using puffy or textured stickers and pasting stuff with dimensions into their journals, and that would drive me crazy. I've seen some of those journals photographed from a side view and you can see how the journal can't fully close anymore.

I do like the happy planner ones; they have oodles of different versions of sticker books. They're kind of expensive, but each book is like 1500 stickers.

[independence1776]

I do have a single sheet of puffy stickers, but I don't use them often. My current journal doesn't have magnetic lock, but most of mine do, so I have to be judicious in order to make the journal does close. It's why I needed to a giant file folder thing for my stickers; the pocket in the back of my first journal got too full!

Ooh, I'll have to check out Happy Planner; I haven't heard of the brand before.

[lunabee34]

https://smile.amazon.com/Me-My-Big-Ideas-MAMPPSV-2/dp/B01LDRF1Z2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1486520619&sr=8-6&keywords=happy+planner+stickers

I think this is the book I bought, but there are tons of different books.

[independence1776]

Thanks for the link!

[spikedluv]

I have a small date planner in my purse for personal things, like doctors appointments, but because I moderate so many fandom communities, many years ago I realized that I needed a calendar to keep track of all the things I had to do, and so my 'fandom calendar' was born. This is a picture of this past January, color-coded by community/challenge. (I use a Kris Allen calendar so I have pretty pictures to look at each month, though in the past I've also used the calendar Avon gives away because they had some nice pictures, too.)



For the future, I have personal goals that revolve around eating better and getting more exercise, so I was wondering if there's a specific journal (or journaling-type) that would work best for that sort of thing? (When I first started eating low-carb, I just kept notes in a ring binder, and that worked very well for me, but I'm thinking that I might want something that allows me to make goals and look back, reassess, that sort of thing.)

[lunabee34]

I love the color-coding!

I got this one to track food and exercise:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/149538294X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's undated, so you can start it anytime. It's only for like three or four months, though.

The first page has a place to set goals or record milestones and then each page lets you track your sleep, what you eat for each meal, your exercise and how much water you drink.

I'm not going to get it again because I ended up not using it to track anything but my weight and my workouts which is kind of a waste. A notebook is a better idea for me, I think.

[gwaihiril]

Here via a comment on the most recent DW news post. I'm somewhat inactive on DW, but hoping that finding a couple comms will help me become more active again.

Last month I decided that using electronic planners/to-do lists only wasn't keeping me on track, so I picked up a Rhodia notebook to try bullet journaling. I'm also a fan of fountain pens and own a couple Lamys, which are my primary pens to write with in the Rhodia.

[lunabee34]

Welcome!

I have never used a Rhodia notebook, but I want to. That will probably be my next "fancy" notebook purchase.

I am a fountain pen newbie, but I'm enjoying my cheapie Pilot. My friend is the real aficionado, and she's introducing me to the world of fountain pens.

I hope you enjoy using a notebook to keep you organized.