D.I.Y. Planner / Organizer / Agenda

Hi!

So i've been inspired to come up with this blog post due to my rekindled love for planners! :)

Ever since high school i've been a huge fan of planners/agendas. They kept my class schedule, extra-curicular schedule, my social and family life, all my school work and even the leisurely pleasures I kept!

I think it's quite right to say that my planner was my life line. This is by the way in no means an exaggeration. I remember when ever I accidentally left my planner or misplaced it I would just be lost for the most part of the day or just crying in frustration. (My good friends could testify to this.)

Being a student council president, an honour student, a performer, and being part of about 8 organizations all at the same time took a toll on my time and sanity, so it was essential to keep everything in place and in order. I found that the best way to do that is by writing things down and being able to see just how much work I needed to get done, when they needed to be accomplished and all that jazz.

Now that I'm in college I tried living off the calendar and reminders of my phone but personally it just doesn't seem to be as effective. I'm not motivated to do work and I tend to get lost in all the different things I need to click in order to put in a certain reminder. In my opinion it's just way easier and faster to pick up a pen and writing something down on a designated page then just go back to it whenever.

So here are the photos of my previous agendas. (Fair warning i'm quite addicted to them so I have them in all kinds of colours, shapes and sizes. Hahaha!)

As you can see I have the current Starbucks planner and even the previous one. But the thing with these ready made planners is they aren't customized to my exact needs. Therefore I resorted to my old ways, which is to create my own planner to suit my every need and whim!

Some people may say that it's way too much work but I think the end result and benefits of having a custom made planner is worth every labor you put into making one.

So here is my new planner! Complete with monthly and daily views. I'm treating it as my idea book as well so I especially included a blogger agenda in it.

(*All the pages are not my original design below the photos are the links from which I got the .pdf or .jpg file.)

This is what my actual planner looks like. I just bought it in a local bookstore's office supplies section.

This is the inside of my planner. Those page markers came in those cards that fit right into the planner rings.

The first page is this GOAL PAGE just so that it will be a constant reminder that these are things I need to accomplish this year.

Behind the first page is the legend for all colour coordination and symbols for the different markers or post-its i'd be using within the pages.

This is my 2013 Calendar on a page.

Behind the 2013 calendar is this calendar including 2014 and 2015. Then after are just the miscellaneous pages that most planners come with i.e. conversion tables, world map, time zones, etc.

After all the preliminary goodies is my blogging planner section. This page starts off my blogging planner because it is a page about your blog goals, inspiration, and the what not.

The blog analytics is a strong visual reminder of how your blog is going. It would also serve as a motivational page because it tells you what kind of topics and posts interest your readers and what brings in more views.

This is a very helpful page because it will give you a quick glance of the days you are due to post something, where have you advertised them and if you were successful at keeping up with the schedule.

This is the weekly blog page. I love this layout because it has 3 sections for post ideas and for someone who does things other than blogging I believe that 3 posts a week is just the right number.  I find it very helpful to see your blog topic, content and tentative posting date for the week in one place.

So this page starts off the personal and school section of my planner. This page is a monthly list of important dates, there's a total of 4 months per page, 2 on each side. I incorporated this so I can section off my year into three parts and  monitor my progress per trimester.

I start every month with this Master To-Do List to remind me of the tasks or goals I need to accomplish for that specific month. I think it's just nice to have them in list form and have them crossed off one by one. It gives me this nice sense of accomplishment.

This is my month in 2 pages. I still keep this grid before every month's daily pages because it makes it easy to see just how busy I am during a certain week or for the month. Plus I find that it's still the easiest way to plot important events.

Lastly, this makes up for the most bulk in my planner. This is how my daily pages look, they are very detailed and to some it might even be too crowded but it works just fine for me, specially since I do have such small penmanship.
I particularly love this layout because it already has a designated space for important reminders, people to contact, an hourly grid and space for some notes.

I'm sure some of you might find this quite excessive or tedious to compile but trust me when I say that customizing it to your specific needs is worth every second and effort spent on a project like this. I really scoured the internet (specifically Pinterest) for the different pages that would make up my planner, and I'm more than happy and over joyed with the outcome.

Here are the files I used for this planner, just incase you like this format and would like to copy it.
Zip FILE Download (SendSpace)

Here are some sites I stumbled upon which have great planners, printables, and the like.
Home Life Weekly
Organized Home
WORLDLABEL
Your Way
Fab n' Free
Contented at Home

Pinterest Boards:
Printables, Binders, Planners,Oh My by Andrea McGough
I Love These Printables, Ideas to Help Organize My Life by Maajida Coleman

Scribd Collection by Jenni Bost


Here are a couple of YouTube videos that could help you organise your Planners.
Ways of a Filofax
Calendar Organization: Update
How to Organize a Planner - 2013
Flags and Mark It Dot System

I hope this post inspires you to get your life organized! Go pick yourself up one planner or better yet, make one to suit your needs!

More to come!

-smart aleck