My first planner was a Franklin Covey planner that was gifted to me. After that, I purchased whatever planner was in my budget. When I moved to Costa Rica I pretty much stuck to my functional planning, writing down important information and details that I knew I didn't want to forget. Youtube introduced me to the world of decorative planning and the entire planner community with all it's glam and accessories galore. I learned about plan with me's, Erin Condrin and Etsy stickers, among many other glorious things. I was hooked.
While I wanted to be part of that world, alot of the accessories were not available to me so I had to improvise. I started using coiled planners, which I discovered I preferred. As for stickers and the decorative aspect, I found out that the internet could be very helpful in that area. I was able to search for, download and print free stickers and utilize them in my planner. I was in love and started my hardcore love affair with decorative planning.
I am still a very functional planner. Everything that is deemed important is written in my planner so as to not forget or as a reminder and also as sort of memory keeping. In almost every planner I have, I can look back on pretty much any given date to see what I was doing that day or what we were up to as a family. I know smart phone technology has pretty much replaced a lot of old world habits, but planning pen to paper will always be my preference.
This year, I bought the 2020 Happy Planner which has thrust me into the official world of the planner community. I was also able to add to my collection of stickers as well. No longer do I need to DIY my stickers per the internet, I now boast a pretty extensive array of sticker books from the mambi collection, Me And My Big Ideas by The Happy Planner. I can proudly say that I am now officially apart of the planner community.
Although I have finally made my way into the decorative world of planning with official stickers, except for Etsy, and planner, I am far from being close to the number of planner people who have Youtube channels, blogs, instagram posts and even sticker shops dedicated to their art. These people have thousands of stickers and a plethora of planners, going as far as utilizing different planners for the different aspects of their lives. For now, I am quite content with my sticker collection and just the one planner for all my daily to do's and important information.
To be honest, when I first decided to bite the bullet and purchase the Happy Planner, I wasn't sure if I would love it or not. I have heard of the term "planner peace' in the planning community and know it's very common for one to not be happy with just one planner as not all planners are created equal and we all plan differently. But I love my Happy Planner. Even though I am used to daily planning and all the space that affords me, I am pretty obessed with my new planner and how my spreads look on a weekly basis. It also also sparks my creativity when I start my planning process. As it turns out, I have quite a lot of space to plan my day in my weekly planner. I can plug in all my to do lists, my daily chores, important information and even birthdays and still have room to decorate. It's amazing!
I currently own a 2020 vertical layout Happy Planner, where I plan pretty much chronologically for the most part, utilizing the top box for my morning plans, the middle box for the afternoon and the bottom boxes for either list making or events taking place in the evening or at night. I cannot express just how much I am loving my planner and all my new sticker books.
To someone outside the planner world, the way I plan might seem like a waste of time but it is such an amazing hobby to have. I look forward to planning and decorating in my planner each week. It calms and relaxes me and the decorative aspect really draws your atention to certain details in the planner, not to mention it just looks so pretty. I cannot see myself stopping planning and decorating in my planner anytime soon. Happy planning everyone!
