Planner Girl Problems

So here I was, thinking about my planners and what I wanted to do for 2025 and I thought, why not share it with you? There are probably many people out there experiencing the same issues as me, so I think this planner chat might help you too!

Issue #1:

One of my favourite planner companies is no longer offering the size I prefer. It’s Janes Agenda - if you have been following me, I use the Franklin Covey Classic size of planner which uses half letter sized inserts. To decorate my planner, I have been using Janes dashboards. As of January, the company will be offering disc-punched options only. Now, I do have a junior half-letter disc punched work planner, but not by choice. (Hear me out). When I joined Janes Agenda in 2022, I joined to add beauty to my planner. Jane is a really, really good sales person, and she makes you feel like you need whatever it is she is selling. (It makes sense with the growth her company is experiencing right now). For that reason, I ended up with a business planner on discs. For the last six or seven years, I have been trying to stay away from discs (mostly Happy Planner), because I just don’t enjoy the system as much as I do others. Now, for 2025, I’m all set up and ready for another year of being in discs. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that, since I don’t love the system, but I don’t hate it. I just don’t want to buy any more disc bound items anymore because then I guilt myself into staying with a system I don’t like because I’m so financially invested in it.

ISSUE #2

For the reason above (and others that I’ll discuss below), I want to discontinue my subscription with Janes Agenda. Trust me, the items you get from Janes Agenda are gorgeous! High quality, and so beautiful, but a subscription box won’t work for me if I’m only using it for a business planner. For example, sometimes the inserts are home related, or something that I would have used in my Franklin. There would be no sense in putting them in my work planner, and I’m not switching my Franklin to a disc bound system. I’m worried about FOMO (fear of missing out) which is a real thing, so I’m going to have to cut myself off from watching the videos and the lives, because I don’t want to be convinced that I need the things. The easiest way to do that is to remove them from my sight. I will also be saving money for the next object of my (intense) interest…

ISSUE #3

I came across a company called Planner Perfect on YouTube. sigh…

I have already fallen in love and I haven’t even seen my first order. This company is founded by Jenny Penton, and was originally based on the idea of notebooks, travellers notebook covers and something called scripting. Jenny uses scripting to plan her day, but to be more intentional in her daily planning. (You know how most of us have a huge task list, and we struggle all day to try and get it all done?) Well, scripting is supposed to prevent that. It’s supposed to slow us down and really think about what’s most important to accomplish your most important goals.

I like the idea of the travellers notebook covers (which are all real leather), and they are very portable. By no means is this system going to take over my main planning system (which is Franklin), but this is just for me. I feel like my Franklin system belongs to my YouTube channel, and I share how I use my system to get things done, but for my Planner Perfect system, I want to slow down and enjoy the process.

I want to light a candle, sit with my tea or coffee, and sticker and Washi my pages and take my time decorating and thinking through how I want it to look. For now, this is going to be my “on-the-go” notebook system.

Instead of subscribing to the planners and journals right away, I just subscribed to the accessories pack (stickers, Washi and tip-ins), and I purchased a journal, a Christmas planner and three planners for the next three months separately. (I’ll have an October, November and a December plan book). Then, in November, when the subscriptions for January are a go, I might subscribe to the planner/journal box if I really enjoy the system. I will keep you updated, and I’ll write a blog with pictures attached! I’m really excited about this one.

ISSUE #4:

Time…do we ever have enough? Of course not - that’s why it’s important to focus on the things you love and either forget the rest or do it next time. (prioritize!) I’m thinking of giving up my Hobonichi in order to make time for the journaling required for the Planner Perfect method. I keep my hobonichi as a memory keeper. I use stickers and sometimes pictures, and the memories are fun to look back on, because each page is decorated differently with Washi and stickers. I think I may do a flip through at the end of December, only because this year, my Hobonichi turned out so pretty! Maybe my Planner Perfect planner book and/or journal can replace the memory keeper aspect.

ISSUE #5:

I really, really want to be able to contain all my planner needs - personal and business in one planner, but I just can’t figure out how it would work. I've written copious notes about how I could switch things up, and any way I look at it, I just have too many inserts to all fit into one planner. I really want to use my Franklin for everything, However, I have certain inserts for my statistics and analytics that I need to keep, and the extra bulk just won’t cut it. What do I do?? I was even thinking about trying it out for the month of January 2025, even though I already went ahead and purchased my planner inserts from Janes Agenda for 2025. I know I’ve tried this before in a previous year, and for some reason, I still kept everything separate within my Franklin system. I would keep separate planner calendars, because I was always worried that I wouldn’t have enough room on one, or that it would look too crowded. It would honestly be nice to not have to refer back and forth between more than one calendar all the time when doing any stage of planning.

On the other hand, I think I would feel weird mixing it all together. Even though it’s all work that I have to do, writing a blog and giving my kids baths just don’t go together. It might just be a “me” thing, so I want to try to unwrap the idea that I can’t put personal and business together on the same page in my monthlies or on my weekly overview.

Despite all these worries, thoughts and conundrums, I mostly just want to carve out time for me and for my enjoyment with my planners. With every YouTube video that I film, I always mention how fast the time goes. I want to slow down, take my time and enjoy the seasons as we go through them. Who’s with me?

Cheers, planner friends!

Sandra