Hello! Today, I am starting off on a journey - an experiment if you will. I belong to many Franklin Covey Facebook groups and the question always comes down to, classic or compact? Now, this is not my first time in a compact binder. Like many other people, I used to use a compact as my “on-the-go” planner to track stuff while I was running errands. This month, I’ve challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone for an entire month and use a compact planner to its full ability.

For the entire month of March 2025, I will be using my pale pink compact Anna binder (with 1.25 inch rings) to plan, plot and take over the world! As an aside, I thought it would be interesting for fellow planners alike to follow me on my journey through my blog. I will be writing a series of weekly blogs detailing my journey. I thought it might be interesting to set it up as a daily journal - each day, I would impart my experience, thoughts and feelings on a daily basis of using a compact. Each of these days will be sectioned off into five weeks for the entire month of March. I will start writing on each Monday through to the following Sunday so the blog post will be current and up to date for each Monday morning.

Remember, for me, this is a big deal. It’s daring me to step out of my comfort zone a bit. I cannot commit to an entire year - I already have classic sized inserts for 2025 and I don’t want to waste them. Besides that, I already know I’m a classic user. If it weren’t for my many classic binders lining my bookshelf, I need the extra room a classic provides for my family and my life.

This experiment is meant to let me know what it’s really like living in a compact so that I can share that information with you and maybe it will help you on your own planning journey.

Without further ado, let’s dive in to my daily adventures with a compact.

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OFFICIAL START DATE (Monday, March 3, 2025)

MONTHLY PLANNER SETUP (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)

WEEKLY PLANNER SETUP (Thursday, February 27, 2025)

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Day 1: (Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025)

Good morning! We’re starting today since this is the day before I begin my monthly setup video. I have my compact ready to go - more ready than I usually do before a monthly setup.

Normally, I have the inserts in the binder and the dashboards cut but this video will be a little different. I will also be using my classic as a reference. The main reason being, it was part of an elaborate plan to start using my Planners Anonymous kits. The classic binder I’ll be using is the Franklin Covey Classic Canyon Leather binder in Sunrise Lavender. This is the first time I will have used this binder - it’s so pretty! The PA kit to go with it is the Chapter 11 Celebration kit. (The one celebrating Alex’s birthday). If you want to know more about that, click here!

Tomorrow, I’ll set up my classic binder with the dashboards, some pretty deco and we’ll pretty much follow my routine, but then we’ll switch to my compact when I’m planning out the monthly calendar and master task list. The weeklies will just be focusing on my compact only.

I’m excited, nervous and ready to start! It’s going to be interesting carrying such a small binder! My only problem right now is it doesn’t lie flat! We’ll see if that changes with constant use. Until tomorrow my friends!

(A few of hours later)…I had a bit of extra time on my hands (I know! gasp!) so I decided to leisurely set up my classic monthly calendar and master task list off camera. It’s so relaxing and calming when you’re not on camera. There’s no particular order to do things, and it’s so much more relaxing.

I thought this would save time during my monthly setup tomorrow, and the main show is my compact anyway!

Good night!

Day 2: (Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025)

Today was my monthly setup video for my new compact! How exciting! The entire time I was playing with it, I couldn’t get over how cute it was!

Prior to editing, the video was over two hours long! I did a lot of talking. I tried sticking to my task cards, but I went off on a tangent a lot (mostly because I was so excited)! Also, I had included snippets of my classic in the same video. By the end of the editing process, the video was about an hour long - not terrible!

It seemed a little tedious setting up two planners, and a little overkill. I’m glad I set up the classic the night before. I will not be referring to my classic at all, but I really wanted to use all the pretty purples from Chapter 11 Planners Anonymous kit to match this pretty sunrise lavender binder (see gallery below).

The compact stickers and Washi make the setup. They go with the pink binder so well! So glad I picked this combo for March. At this point, I feel very excited to set up the week tomorrow and to start planning in it fully for Sat. March 1, 2025!

Day 3: (Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025)

Today I filmed my weekly setup for the first full week of March, March 3rd to 9th, 2025. I decided to replace my pen ink with this bright green that you’ll see in my video.

I ran through my regular planner routine this morning, but when it came to the weeklies, I have this dashboard layout as shown above, but also I have an hourly layout that I’m not entirely sold on. Hourly layouts don’t work for me because I have small kids and can’t schedule work tasks at specific times of the day. I’m willing to try it however for the month to see if it helps my productivity in some way. (Even if it’s just a tool for reflection in back-planning).

The other downside to these inserts is they don’t come with a weekly task list like I’m used to in my classic. I decided I would stick with the “To-Do” and “Notes” section on the left hand side of the dashboard layout, as well as use the “compass card” like the weekly progressive task list it actually is. I’ll reflect on this in next week’s video as I use the spreads during the week. Let’s see how effective this method actually is once I start fully using it.

Tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 28, 2025) I’ll be planning for March 1st on my dailies and I’ll give some feedback on how the official first day actually goes! See you then!

Day 4: (Friday, Feb. 28, 2025)

Today was the last day I worked out of my classic! I entered my “to-do” list into my compact on my first day-on-two-page for the month, and it was so weird! I found it almost uncomfortable that I wasn’t adding my “morning routine” items to my list. Instead, I just entered the word “morning routine”. When I complete all the items, I will check it off.

I added some new charms (check out the pics). I’m happy with the way it looks. I did remove the pink charm for now. I’ve added a highlighter, and two pens. I couldn’t decided between the bright green ink or black ink, so I wanted to carry both, but my binder barely closes and I don’t want to stretch the strap or put undo stress on the binder itself.

I think the ultimate test will be when I take it traveling on the 2nd!

Day 5: (Saturday, March 1, 2025)

Good evening! I ran into my first roadblock, which I knew was bound to happen. I ran out of room on my to do list. (I mean, I did plan for it - I’ll use the notes page on the right and/or cut-away notes). My planning routine includes planning my tasks the next day, the night before. When I sit and think, I usually come up with even more tasks to complete, and then add to it again the next morning. By the time the end of the day rolls around, I would have completed 10 to 20 important tasks.

While this isn’t a deal breaker for the compact, it does mean that I already know myself. I’m simply in the stage of life where I have to do a crap-ton each and every day and I need the space to accommodate those tasks (i.e. a classic - that’s why this is an experiment). Besides, the cuteness factor of the smaller footprint keeps pulling me in every time I look at my planner!

The next two tests are taking my full planner with me to karaoke. I write down what songs I want to sing, and I can plan while I’m there. (What some people say is “planning in the wild”). Then, I will taking my planner with me to Vancouver tomorrow. Ultimately I’ll also be taking my MacBook with me too so I can write tomorrow evening’s entry and then upload this blog to the worldwide web bright and early Monday morning. It will be posted earlier than normal because we have an appointment at 10am MST.

Chat tomorrow!

Day 6: (Sunday, March 2, 2025)

Ugh… okay you guys! So, my blog was not written until Monday night. I forgot my computer keyboard and trackpad doesn’t work on my MacBook (it’s super old and I need a new one)! So, here we are with a blog still being written and uploaded late. Better late than never I always say!

So, we are back from Vancouver. Here’s the updates:

I found my binder just as thick as my classic so it was still bulky to carry around. My Planner Perfect Travellers Notebook is the best travel companion.
My binder is so stuffed that it won’t close, and makes things a little difficult.
I wish I had a weekly task list - I feel lost without it.
I didn’t have room to add a weekly meal plan (aka: no specific spot for it) so I forgot. I added it to the weekly in cramped little spaces. I can’t believe I forgot meals!
I added my first cutaway note for expenses. It worked out, but it feels weird using them. I think it’s ideal for the compact if extra room is necessary for your planner purposes.

I’m going to go ahead and post this blog. I will start fresh with Monday! See you all next week!

❤️ Sandra

Franklin Covey Compact: Week One - The Beginning

Franklin Covey Compact: Week Two

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