Build Your Own Planner

One of the foundational teachings that I constantly am telling others is that they must plan their day, they must own a planner, and they must carry it with them at all times. Then, when someone makes an appointment with them, they have it with them (at all times) to be able to make note of the appointment immediately!

So, great in theory, but I have always had one tiny problem – I don’t like all of the planners out there!  I’ve often debated about just designing and making my own planner to suit my needs (and that still might be in the works later), but I think I’ve managed to find a happy medium – design your own planner.  Stay with me here…

First, I like my planner to be small, but not so small that I can’t write in it.  I want to be able to fit it into my purse (which isn’t all that big) without a problem, because, remember, I need to have it with me always.  Several years ago, my planner was a gigantic binder and then some!  No, it didn’t fit in my purse, but I did nearly carry it everywhere anyway.

Second, I wanted the planner to be basic – without all of the fluff.  So many planner containers/jackets have a bunch of extra pockets, doodads and gadgets.  I don’t want all that.  I store my cards, ID, etc in my wallet (novel concept, huh?), so I really just want the pages inside, not the whole package deal.  In the past, however, I’ve always had to have a container to be able to put my pages in.

Third, I wanted the planner pages to be what I wanted.  I’m kind of particular in this area, and I really like planners to be just what I wanted.  I like the month pages to be tabbed, and the blocks for the dates as big as possible.  I like my week at a glance pages to be vertical, and have lots of room for writing as well.  I also want there to be lots of hours (like 8 am – 8 pm) pictured on the pages.  Then, I want some plain ruled paper.  That’s it.  Not too picky, right?

Well, for years I suffered along with an over-sized, over-gadgetized, and over-stuffed planner.  Then, I thought I would go high-tech and transferred all of my information to Outlook.  This lasted for a while until deep down I knew…I am really at heart, a paper gal.  Something about putting ink to paper.  I don’t know.  I find it easier to keep a paper planner than to enter things in electronic format (despite the ability to type faster than I write, and the syncing with my Blackberry (back when I had it…RIP)).

So, back to square one.  I went back to a small spiral planner.  No container, just the planner, and no fluff.  Good so far…just one problem…I couldn’t stand the layout!  Not enough room, no monthly pages…ugh!  Fast forward about three months of using that one, and I am walking through my favorite store (Staples…although Home Depot is probably tied for first) and I get this brilliant idea…I’ll build my own planner!

Now, I didn’t go so far (yet) as to design my own planner, but I was able to construct one that met my needs pretty inexpensively.  Here’s what I used:

• Heavy duty cardstock glossy file folder (this makes the outside, just cut it to size)
• Monthly planner pages (the tabbed kind, with lots of space to write)
• Weekly planner pages (the vertical kind, with 8 am – 8 pm all accounted for and present, and room to write)
• Lined refill pages

Here’s how this works.  Once you have purchased the “refill” pages above, you cut out the file folder to be the same dimensions as your tabbed pages (just a little beyond the tab – I used the cardboard insert that came with my monthly tabbed pages).  Then, assemble all of the papers in whatever order you want them to be in (mine is monthly, weekly, lined paper).  Smoosh this all together in between two of the cut out file folder ends, and take it to the lovely associate at the copy center and have them put a spiral binding on it.  Spiral is important – you want it to be able to lay flat and open around so that you can just look at one side at a time if you want.  And, even though the refill pages are 6-hole punched, there is still enough of the planner left so that you can get it spiral bound.

Here’s what mine looks like on the front:

And on the inside:

And, here’s the weekly pages:

Give it a try and build your own planner!  I’m so happy with mine, it was well worth the time and effort.  It fits perfectly in my purse, has no extra fluff, but is very efficient and effective.  You can customize to your heart’s content.  A planner is a must, so if you can’t find one you love, make your own!

To your success,

Dr. Laura