These Planner Organization Tips Will Keep Your Life On Track
When you want to keep your life organized, planner organization is a must. Whether you are keeping track of your own schedule or schedules for your kids and spouse, all of life’s events can be a juggling act. Find out how to keep it all together with these planner organization tips below.
Your planner is your go-to for everything happening in your life right now. The appointments, work schedule, bills, events, chores and any number of other things you have going on in your life, need to stay on track. And your planner is the way you get it all done.
Are you looking for more ideas to make the most out of your Happy Planner? These Happy Planner Ideas are perfect for you!
Having an organized planner means that when you have a thought, idea, or task that you want to keep track of you have everything you need to add it to your planner. It’s right there in an organized and orderly fashion.
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Your Happy Planner Setup
You probably already know how much I love my Happy Planner so my planner organization tips are geared towards that, but you can still use these ideas for whatever planner you have.
You have many different options when it comes to the Happy Planner. Once you decide on the planner you want, its time to get it set up and organized.
Organize By Layout
Monthly Layout
Use the monthly view to plan out your entire month. This is where you can jot things down ahead of time before adding them to your weekly layout. If you have things you need to add to your planner months ahead of time, just put it into the monthly view. I like the monthly view because you can see everything at a glance and get a big picture of what you have going on.
Vertical Layout
With the vertical layout, the days are running in columns up and down. There are also colors that run in rows across the page. Check out my undated weekly vertical layout in the picture above. You can grab this free printable for yourself in the Resource Library. Get access here. Some organization ideas for a vertical layout might include:
- Fill in the week with the items you added into your monthly view
- If you are planning for multiple people, make each row across the page for a separate person (such as spouse and kids)
- Make a row across for meal planning each day
- Make a row across for your cleaning schedule each day
- Be sure to have space each day for your to-do’s, appointments, errands, etc.
- You don’t necessarily have to fill up every square, use stickers to decorate blank spaces
- Change up the sidebar to fit your needs. Use it to keep notes, use it for a tracker, journaling, or memory keeping.
Horizontal Layout
Horizontal layouts have large, wide blocks for each day that run across the page. The blocks are pretty basic, without any defined sections. You can make sections within each day by adding box, list, and to-do stickers and filling them in.
Dashboard Layout
Dashboard layouts are set up a bit differently. On the left page, there are boxes for errands, to buy, calls/email, bills to pay and a focus section. While the right page has boxes for each day of the week.
A lot of people like to change up the left side boxes to what fits their own personal needs by covering up the titles with stickers. Some different ideas to add to the left side of the dashboard are:
- quotes
- shopping list
- to-do list
- habit tracker
- cleaning schedule
- kids activities
- workouts
- journaling for events that week
- TV shows to watch this week
- important reminders
- work schedules
Organize By Color
A great way to organize what you write down in your planner is to color code it. You can use different colors to represent different areas you keep track of. Use one color for work-related planning, another color for bills, another for appointments, etc. Or if you are planning for multiple people’s schedules, use a different color to represent each person. Use a different color for you, each kid, and your spouse.
Organize By Sections
You probably have other things to keep track of in your planner besides just your schedule. Or maybe you have a work calendar and personal calendar all in one planner. A good way to keep things organized is by separating these into different sections.
Keep sections separated by using tabs along the side, bookmarks, and dashboards along the top. You can even add cute flagged paperclips.
Organize By Lists
There are so many different lists you can use in your planner to keep you organized. Check out this post I wrote on 20 practical and useful lists to stay organized. There are some great ideas for lists that you will use every day.
Another cute planner organization idea you can use is laminated checklists. If you have a checklist you really like, maybe a printable you found online, why not laminate it and make it reusable. Use a dry erase marker to check off your list each week. Then just wipe it clean when you’re ready to start a new week. Check out this laminator from Amazon that’s under $25!
Cute Planner Organization Accessories
Using your planner effectively means having your planner organized with everything you need to use it all in one place. That way you’ll be ready at any time to add ideas, thoughts, or tasks into your planner.
Pen Cases
So where can you put all those colorful pens? Try one of these cases made especially for your planner.
Happy Planner Snap-in Pen Case
This case can hold multiple pens, pencils, and small accessories. Keep this pouch attached to the outside of your planner and it could also hold a few other things like your phone, keys, or a flash drive. Plus you’ll have easy access to them.
This pen pouch with an elastic strap attaches around your planner and holds a couple of pens. Perfect for keeping things simple.
Self-adhesive Leather Pen Holder
These self-adhesive pen holders have individual elastic bands to hold a single pen. Stick one or two of these to your planner to keep your pen right where you need it.
This pencil pouch attaches to the outside of your planner with a magnetic closure. It can hold multiple pens and accessories. Get it from The Container Store.
Planner Dashboard Command Center
If you don’t have a pen pouch that can hold extra supplies like one of the pouches above, then another idea is to attach those accessories to a dashboard. Think of it as your “planner command center.”
Attach stacks of sticky notes and flags directly to the dashboard. To make sure they don’t fall off, you might want to use glue dots or double-sided tape to attach them to the dashboard.
Keep paperclips clipped to the side of the dashboard until you need them. And attach one of the single self-adhesive elastic bands (see above) to the dashboard to keep your pen secure. Everything you need all in one place!
Final Thoughts
Keeping your life on track starts with keeping an organized planner. Use these planner organization tips with your Happy Planner or whatever planner you are using and be more productive today!
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