Journals and Planners and Lists, Oh My!

Journals, planners and anything else that promise me a more organised and fulfilled life are my obsession. Unfortunately I am incredibly bad at sticking to one.

I always buy a new planner late in the year, fully intending for it to be my one and only for 12 months, only to do one of the following things:

• Find another planner that I like more.
• Miss a few days/weeks in my planner, then decide that the whole thing is ruined and that I need to start over.

I’ve tried quite the variety over the years: Erin Condren Life Planners, bullet journals in a Leuchtturm1917, planners from Kikki.K – you name it! And, occasionally, my trusty phone.

I’ve also gone down the slightly more woo path of memory and gratitude journals, to reflect and find my place in the world.

I thought today I’d share some of my favourite organisational tools and journals that I am currently using. Sometimes.

Kikki.K A5 Planner

My most used planner at the moment is my Kikki.K A5 Planner. It’s a lovely pale pink, with darker pink and mustard accents… it’s basically my all of my brand colours, which is why I had to have it.

Unfortunately, Kikki.K went into administration shortly after I ordered it, and shut down their UK operations. Thus began a month-long journey of trying to get them to send my (rather expensive) planner. I think being annoying paid off because in the end they sent me a new one from Australia.

This is my daily planner. I use the weekly calendar view to plan my tasks for each day, which has been super handy during lockdown. It’s been really great for keeping on track and filling my days. I also have sections with lined paper where I write notes and whatnot.

The only downside is that the colour of the planner is so light and the texture of the leather is so soft. It’s great for while I am at home but wouldn’t do too well if I was carting it around with me.

So cute though.

The Daily Balance Pad from Sighh

Since I’ve been furloughed I’ve found myself needing more structure in my days sometimes. It can be a bit overwhelming having the hours stretch out in front of me, and I need to remember to balance my work with my life. Enter the Daily Balance pad from Sighh – designed explicitly to help balance work and life.

It helps me get organised on multiple levels: if I’m finding it hard to focus on what I need to accomplish in the day, I can break it down into manageable steps. If I’m super absorbed in working, it reminds me to take a break or do a chore. It’s the best of both worlds!

The Five Minute Journal

This journal falls into the more spiritual category. I first saw it in a What’s in My Bag video that Emma Watson did with Vogue and I loved the concept.

Each morning, you take a few minutes to fill out what you’re grateful for, what would make today great, and a daily affirmation. Then, before you go to bed, write 3 great things that happened, and one thing that you could have improved on.

When I commuted, I liked to do this as soon as I got on the bus on my way to work, and on my way back home.

I’ll admit that I haven’t done it very often in lockdown, however. The days can get very same-y, and I don’t feel like I am actively doing enough most days. I would like to perhaps get back into doing it every other day, for a bit of a morning and evening reflection.

Sighh Meal Planner

There’s nothing like a global pandemic to make you really think about what you’re eating. Yes, what I am mostly eating is cheese. But I digress.

Now more than ever it is important to know what food you do and don’t have so you can make the most of a weekly food shop and not break any lockdown rules! I also have a girlfriend who is quite strict about wasting food. So here’s my second Sighh product on the list: the meal planner.

We’ve only had this for a short while, but it actually replaces a similar system where we listed the contents of our fridge and cupboards on post-its, then crossed things out accordingly. This one is so much prettier though! I also love the emphasis on sticking to a budget, which I admit has been a lot harder since we tend to buy a lot of snacks en masse.

Digital Bullet Journalling

I’ve written a post all about how I create my digital bullet journals, so if you haven’t read that, I would recommend it. However, this is the type of journaling that I do the least of, now that I have my Kikki.K planner.

I still think it’s a great way to get into bullet journaling. It doesn’t use paper, which is nice. And it’s easy to create and duplicate layouts based on your schedule and how you feel. One of my biggest challenges with paper bullet journaling was being too lazy to draw my weekly layout every week!

I’d love to be the type of person who has a beautiful bullet journal, but it’s just not something that blends well with my lifestyle!

So, for now, I’m mostly about the low-key scribble life. What about you? How do you prefer to plan? Do you keep everything in one place, or spread them across different systems?