Видео

I’m just getting into Rings this year (hopefully, maybe!?) in the Plotter A5, so we will see how that experiment turns out. As I’ve been kind of a notebook (leuchtturm and Stalogy) person, these don’t really have sections unless you make them, so I’m definitely planning to keep that going-the only exception is that I like to archive by month, so I am thinking of just having a cover page with the month written out on it, and then just the pages. I never go back, never look back-and most of the important things are either in my phone calendar (like birth dates and appointments)or they are habits (like cleaning and gym) so as long as I do them the same day of the week, they are automatically ingrained. I don’t really see sections for each little thing as valuable because I tend to just connect things to months and what month they happened in-like a budget in January stays in January, and I’m not bringing that into February with me, if that makes sense. My planner is meant for me to focus on the now and the future, not on the past so I’m not really looking at what had happened.

interested in the new planner you mentioned. might have to go down that rabbit hole -- bit i want bigger rings... booo - thats why im looking at the norfolk after i saw it in your video

I just took out my dividers 2 weeks ago, and it's the best decision I've made! My planner has been much more useful since ridding it of those sections. Glad to hear your point of view on it.

Interesting perspective. I like my sections. That is just the way by brain works. I have less dividers though. And I love my label maker lol. When i’m done with something, I take a picture of it and put it in my Onenote, or scan using by printer. That way its less paper. Just went back to A5 rings from a Hobonici and prior discs. I also tried a personal rings and its too small for everyday use. Im glad there are options for us all. 😊

Thought-provoking post! Such good tips regarding sections. I'm definitely an essentialist - I use and enjoy what is essential to me in this season of life. For me, consumerism and FOMO have no more value. Just enjoying what others create is really delightful.

So interesting. I love my sections. I have fewer than I used to, but particularly for work, I don’t think it would work without them, for me. Best thing about planning is figuring out what works for you.

I get what you're saying about making planners too complicated. I'm definitely guilty of that, but I do feel like it's working for me. I have a bit of a different system - a bound planner that is very minimalistic and simple for scheduling and to-dos, and a ring binder for everything else. That everything else is information that I reference from year to year for running our farmstead/smallholding, so yes, there are sections within sections. But the nice thing about a ring system is that if something becomes obsolete I can remove it! Thanks for the lovely content and inspiration :)

Yes! There’s less flipping from one area to another and again another if I collect needed info ahead of time, jot down a few noteS and go to a particular section WHEN NEEDED. Otherwise I feel less organized mentally as well as on paper. BTW, that’s a great top (dress?) you’re wearing!

What planner are you using? Where did you get it?

Tfs Chloe. I use weekly inserts, but will add in a daily insert for a super busy day.

Use sticky notes on a dashboard for the new appointments.

Lovely video, thank you. I have 3 mini Malden’s (Stone, Navy and Duck Egg) I love them all but tend to use the stone colour more than the other two as they are for storing the inserts I buy from Sort Stuff Out. There are 2 pockets sized Malden’s (Ochre and Navy) Navy is used as my health planner and Ochre holds the inserts, and 1 Personal (Navy) which is used all the time as a family planner. I do tend to change them around though depending on my moods 😊 I love them all and will eventually add to my collection, I think I’m a bit obsessed with the Filofax Malden’s 😂

Very helpful, thank you. Look forward to the inserts :)

i need that binder with the 35mm rings! now im going down an internet rabbit hole for one at a good price of course, ahha

i have to have it all in one. the bigger the rings the better, im on a hunt for one larger than i have.

Just casually watching this video during my morning routine and yelped (with surprised joy) hearing my name! So glad my words were helpul and encouraging. 🥰 I feel the same way about setting out an itinerary on days off, but I feel it for all my work days. I work from home in a remote position, so I set my schedule and tasks. I love the flexibility of it, so scheduling all my tasks at certain times takes away from the flexibility. I'm going to try the sticky note as a list of options for what to do that day. 😊 I love the idea of fold outs, but I haven't found one yet that works in my planner flow.

Love your style!

I love that I feel like I got to know you better in this video! Husband and kids mentioned (didn’t know you had either 🤣) Age mentioned (you don’t look a day over 35, if that!) etc. Thank you for sharing your personal weaknesses and struggles with being consistent. So many times I feel like everyone in the planning community already has perfected their “cadence,” and I’m over here scrambling. lol

Maybe a foldout tracker monthly will be nice….

Maybe instead of folding “out”, how about trying a fold “up”? And maybe putting your inbox within the fold?

I created my own fold out with calendar so that i can use it to then see my week. I have goals, projects-tasks and monthly finances on the other pages of the fold out. I have enjoyed this planning system for a couple of years, because my brain can go from the high level down to the day. I use my monthly fold out as a dashboard and I do flip flop it to write on different sections, it doesn't bother me. I find the fold out very useful. I use FCC size pages and I know that you use A5-I think that you will like the fold out in your planning.

Functional vs. Decorative. The never ending dilemma!!

Love the post it and fold out ideas ... I need stuff in front of me and the goals idea or a monthly focus on the fold out I can see being so useful. Like you as a lady of "that" age 😂 gosh how old do we sound 😂 .. energy can drop off a cliff during the day and sometimes a reminder of our why or another task or workout more suited to how i actually feel in the moment would stop the feelings of failure and keep some momentum.

TimeSystem has a monthly foldout that I always loved, unfortunately the book size doesn’t work for me as I prefer personal wide now, but it is a super useful option (for me at least)

I love the fold over monthly idea! I feel like for me, I would put my monthly inbox where you’ve put your goal/long term project so i could see where those tasks might fit into my week. but maybe I would lose track of my goals that way-out of sight out of mind! I’m working through a long term financial plan and am thinking I might put that breakdown just behind my dashboard, but we’ll see how that feels.

I take my 'desk' Day-Timer (basically the same as A5 Filofax etc) with me when I know I'll need it. I connect a pretty (also durable) chain to the rings inside and wear it like a crossbody bag. Easy-peasy!

I think the traveler's planner being added in with a method that works for you is perfect! The traveler's notebook system is all about slotting in the things you need, so while you've got a ring system compared to the traveler's elastic, I think it's a great method to use it. And if it's functional and makes it easier for you to plan, then that's a win and not at all cheating. Besides, planning isn't a competition or a test, so we can't cheat our systems. :)

I think its a good choice it kind of fits in with your work

You have a fun job, run with a fun planner 😊 that is such a good idea for your weekly though

Great will power! 👏 I know what you mean about resisting the urge to make another purchase of a planner cover. I’m inspired by your commitment to really test it out first! ♥️

I feel like a “single point of truth” concept is a bit idealistic for me… Or maybe it’s for people who don’t have a spouse, bunch of kids & grandkids, multiple businesses, a constantly changing schedule & so many fluid parts to deal with. There is no way that I could or would even want to rely on ONE source for everything that goes on in my life… Without multiple places to write it down, I just freeze up and start forgetting things. To me that’s like over - organizing, to where it makes me feel even more overwhelmed because it’s so impossible to maintain for me. I don’t have a problem transferring the information at the end of the day, simply because I tend to use my personal/daily carry almost like a giant mobile brain dump/notepad. I just keep myself cognizant of the fact that when things are happening on the fly, they get written down, but they MUST be transferred into the larger system to keep from losing info or having 1000 sticky notes all over my house. Also the way I do it is to keep the monthlies from the full year in both planners but only the current month’s weeklies in my personal daily carry planner… I don’t do weeklies in my A5, nor do I do dailies in my personal. So there’s no doubles, except the monthlies. I keep the monthly for the whole year (And then some) in my A5, as well as next year‘s important dates, etc. So at the end of every month in my planning routine, I check to make sure both upcoming calendars are up-to-date, and any notes for future events have been transferred. It’s a daily discipline for sure… Something that just has to become part of your routine, or things fall through the cracks.

YES! Someone else who sees the value in “divide & conquer.” 🤗 The solution that has worked the best for me, is very similar to yours. I have a personal moterm rings that is ONLY for things that are truly needed for on the go. I.e. calendar so I can make appointments, my weekly overview for business & personal scheduling, errands & focus points, budget/finance tracking and menu planning/grocery shopping. It’s also an extended Wallet, which helps me keep it in my bag ALL the time & not have the constant transfer dillena. Literally everything else goes in my A5 - dailies, journal, memory keeping, reference section, health & fitness tracking etc etc…and it’s been working great for me! Normally I’m a one planner girl, but I decided I was just being foolishly stubborn. If I cram everything together it doesn’t fit well in one place anyway, it’s so fat I can’t close it. So splitting it up, made me capable of “divide and conquer.” I tried HARD not to…but could not handle lugging my A5 around… And yet also could not handle constantly working from a smaller planner, while home. So this is the only compromise for me 😆 it scratches the itch of having a consistent place to keep my thoughts and track everything, keeps me in my planner, even when I start to be inconsistent and fly by the seat of my pants, and yet keeps me focused and purposeful both on the go, and at home. 🤍🤍 thank you for sharing!!

Great video showing limits of bound planners

PS: loving the background music too, haha!

A fun and uplifting vid, young Chloe. Cheers!

I think the GTD method hasn't worked for me because I don't have a lot to manage AKA delegate, and most of my tasks or projects don't span more than a coupe days or are relatively straightforward and not time-bound. I don't have that "open loop" thing often enough to apply it to every day or every project. My work is asynchronous and all tasks are cyclical, so the open loops never close, the urgency and deadlines are incredibly flexible, and the tasks all have the same steps. GTD didn't seem to fit well into my non-urgent, repetitive work. 😅 Add in the fact that I set my schedule and I'm childfree, and it honestly feels like my life isn't busy enough for GTD while others' are too busy for the complexity of GTD.

I can't do 2 planners. I have a tote bag that my planner. I have a TBI, one thing to manage is the only way I would remember to use it.

P.S. If something comes to me that needs to go in my planner when I'm out in the world without it, I'll put a reminder on my phone or send myself an email on my phone. It's a very quick thing to do and gives me peace of mind.

I really enjoyed your video and also very much appreciate your bringing up these issues as I just bought my very first A5 planner here at the very beginning of 2025, and have been working today on setting it up. I've forever used what I have always referred to as an "appointment book", but I love the idea of using a "planner" that helps me hold my life and my goals and my day-to-day history in a much larger way. (I am planning to include the little baby photos of day-to-day stuff that's an option!) And I quickly arrived at the question of "do I bring this big bulky thing with me when I'm out and about?!?!". I use a backpack as it's more ergonomic and I like to have everything I need with me, including a water bottle and often a small bottle of organic veggie juice. That took me to a fear of the planner getting wet if there was ever a leak left(!) So I've been shopping on Amazon for some kind of waterproof sleeve that I can put the planner in so that I don't have to worry about that. My other fear is that after putting much of my life in it, it could be lost or stolen if I took it out of the house, but I'm thinking that I won't ALWAYS take it with me, I'll be very careful when I do, and when I don't I'll take a photo of my to do list on my phone to bring with me. I love that we are all figuring out how to use these tools and how to do adulting as best we can figure out! Thanks again for your lovely video.

This was pretty helpful. I’m trying to get into rings and that cover looks like a nice size. Can I ask what planner cover you are using and the size?

A 2-in-1 mechanical pencil with a pen might alleviate needing two writing instruments.

i definitely cant do two planners. i have tried. i have to have it all together. if i dont have my planner on me - which is rare - i put it on my phione - which i maintain anyways - and take a pic and add to my planner. my biggest fear is marking one thing in one place and not another and then all my hard work being organized is for naught lol. grat video

my chunky girl goes everywhere with me. she is soo heavy. but i do try and streamline her as much as i can. love these ideas. im also a huge tote kinda girl. i see a theme there, lol

I had the same issue and my way of resolving it was to use both my phone and a pocket planner. I use the my phone to schedule my day in my calendar app and the pocket planner to write down the things that are not event or scheduled related, like notes or ideas. My pocket planner only had a Filofax year at a glance pull out that I can write down any important upcoming events and one off tasks and note sheets to write down ideas, brainstorm etc. and it also doubled as my wallet. I had also used daily sheets in my pocket planner where I planned out my day in it and the note sheets to gather ideas and notes. This allows me to do monthly and weekly planning, work and my goals in my A5 planner. I find rewriting your ideas from the pocket planner to your A5 allows you to rethink about your ideas and expands on them more, so being more in-depth.

I am an A5 bullet-journal boy and do not own a purse at all so here’s my solution. Note: I do use my digital calendar for appointments only. Then I cut an A5 sheet in half vertically and shoot 6 holes with the perforator. Then I cut those in half horizontally and make a stack of (now) A7 paper. Then I use a heavy paper or cardboard A6 folded in half to cover my stack of A7paper. I use a paperclip to hold everything together like a nice little booklet and this slips in my pocket. I use it for rapid logging and lightbulb moments that need to be written down. And later I can just clip them in my A5 journal at the date and place it belongs

10:09 😂 Love it 😂

So funny how different everyone is, and how preferences and perceptions vary! I chose to go to an A5 rings from a letter size planner because I wanted something *small*! I wear a backpack when I go to and from work. My A5 rings and my Erin Condren A5 coil notebook (my journal), along with a "planny pack" with about a dozen pens all go in there with plenty more space for my work stuff. I don't carry a separate purse when I go to work. I have a large wallet on a wristlet, that also has my keycard, office keys, bus pass, etc easily available and I carry that all the time. When I don't have my backpack, I usually carry a smallish tote that holds my laptop if I need to take it somewhere. It also holds my A5 rings. But I don't usually take my planner with me when I just go to the mall or to buy groceries. My phones go in my pockets, even when I walk the dog.

😢I’m so sorry but your Louis Vuitton planner is not authentic. You might want to check with your eBay seller and get a refund if it’s still possible.

What is that gorgeous black cover, please?

I am very surprised you actually like that online goal setting system. I never liked it. Because yes, it is set and forget it. Because in the beginning of the year higher management will make you do that but then guring the year... nobody cares and you don't really use all these "set in progress" functions. Not to mention that in my field certain things change over time so setting goals for the year is... crazy, as you don't know what workload comes to you next quarter