Hi Planner Pals! 🧡 Thanks for checking out today's episode and hope these tips prove useful for you 💪 Let us know how you intend to keep up with your planners and journals this year 😄
I have started what I call my "Morning Meeting". It is the time I have set to plan my day, set intentions, and journal. This is my time in the morning to just get myself mentally and emotionally prepared for the day. This has helped me to stay consistent with my Journaling.
The tip of leave your planner in sight is a huge on for me. As a stay at home mom with a YT side hustle, I find that setting my to do list on our kitchen island is really helpful for me because I walk past it all the time during the day. My best tip is setup a routine of when you will do your planning. I build in like a 10 minute morning planner session to get my day started and I know what I've got to do for the day. The days I have that little planner sesh seem to be way more productive & it's just a good way to kick off my morning.
When a spread or segment didn't work for me, I used to get discouraged because the empty space and stop using the rest as much. I started using the empty space to write about *why* it didn't work and my reflections. That visual of "completed" space now keeps me more consistent with the whole journal. 😊
That's a great strategy 💪 I did that once for a time log that I didn't end up filling it. It's nice now to look back on that layout and see the journaling about what was going on at the time that led to it not getting used 😊 - Jess
Jess I think the paper is also coated because my pens smear way more than usual 😂. It's very possible that wherever they get their paper may have switched up their product. So maybe as far as A&O knows it's the same but maybe the paper supplier changed it if that makes sense
Season 2!!!! I have loved every episode you have put out. You guys are so much fun on top of being really informative. What helps me is kind of what Jess said about keeping in mind the purpose of the planner and what I need and want from if.
Keeping my journal physically very near me is the best way for me to see and USE it. If it is only. a hand reach away, it is easy and fast to keep it going and current each day.
Jess, I too am one of those people who use a digital planner, then transfer it to paper. I always had my e-calendar up to date, and my paper planner always had future appointments in it, but I didn't necessarily put everything on paper. Enter a brain tumor (which I named Loki because it's an a$$) and surgery to evict it, and my memory is horrible. I have everything digital, on paper, and I have an A5 size steno style bulleted task journal I also write the items for that day in so I actually do them. I even have a bullet list of my everyday tasks that I print on sticker paper from my mini thermal printer and stick on the pages of my checklist so I remember to do them. (Timed medications, cleaning the litter box, checking bank accounts, etc.) All that AND I have calendar alarms going off on my phone and watch to remind me of things! I'm so glad I kept planners and journals before all this (hello ADHD!) because I would have hated trying to come up with this system and expand on it with the way I function now. Nothing like a brain tumor and surgery to make your ADHD exponentially worse on top of the new memory issues!
The big thing that keeps me consistent is keeping my journal out on the desk all the time. If I put it away on a shelf or in a bag, I forget it exists.
I found it really helpful to keep things simple while I'm finding out what works. I can then go back and add decorative elements as and when I'm in a creative mood! Thanks for the podcast episode folks, I love them!
I personally 'block' the first 30-45 minutes of my workday in order to plan out my day and check in with my BuJo. The block is marked as 'free' so that people still can overbook it if needed (though I start work at the crack of dawn so I doubt that'll ever happen lmao). One thing that also helped me a lot, was something Jess said: not every layout's purpose is to be kept up with. Some layouts fullfill their purpose once they're set up because they're more a type of overview or reference. Recognising whether a layout is that or 'needs' to be kept up with takes some of the pressure off for me. Thank you guys for the great episode and I'm looking forward to season 2 😎
I think it's also important to not beat yourself up if you miss a day. Life happens. Some days are just too busy to do everything you want to do. And that's ok. It doesn't mean you've failed at journaling. Just get back to it when you can, instead of letting that small failure fester. It'll be ok. Thanks for helping us all out, guys! Loving the podcast so much 💙
I have had to start over so many times with layouts that aren’t quite right that I now have quite a few R&D journals as Jess calls them.. because of this, if I am thinking of trying something new, I will actually draw it out and use it in an r&d for a week/couple of weeks as a trial run to see if I like it/use it/need to change anything before i put it in my proper journal (and yes I have been known to copy the information from the r&d trial runs into the proper journal so I don’t miss any weeks ha!) but that works for me with new layouts. Also with regard to keeping up with the journals, my one rule with myself if to keep it simple, I know about myself that if I overcomplicate something or make it too admin heavy I probably won’t do it… example is all the gorgeous reading journals you see where you have to print a picture of the cover of each book, AND write some kind of review, I know that I won’t bother to keep up with that and altho they look fab, no point if it’s half empty.. I would much rather have a very simplified version that is easy to fill that I know I will actually use..
Great tips for this new journaler. I made it past the NYResolution quit day. YAY! I chuckle along with every podcast 😂😂😂 Mark, Jess is almost as good as your brother! ❤
23:25 the "desk aesthetic" sub box composition book is the 2nd least liked notebook I have (the "you've got this" is 1st), and I was resigned to just leaving it on the shelf so the spine at least could be enjoyed. Then Canada Post went on strike and all the notebooks I purchased that were options for 2025 didn't arrive until a few days ago. I had 24 other options to choose from, but I decided to just use the book I didn't like so it can be put away when used, and the more it sits on my desk the more I like it. Not enough to purposely buy another, but even with the crappy screening, and flaking off edges, I like seeing it in use.
Today is my BuJo-versary! I started bullet journaling on this day, six years ago and I have no plans of stopping. One of the ways I stay consistent is having my notebook open on my desk... ALWAYS! It's right there for me to look at and write stuff down all the time. Also, I've found that trackers are a good motivation to check in with my planner. Thanks for another awesome episode!
Imagine my surprise when I got my first archer and olive and I used the inkjoy pens that Jess influenced me to buy bc it’s fast drying just for it to smudge bc istg the paper is coated!!!
Tracking and scheduling reoccurring tasks keep me opening my journal. I just went through my collection this week when two different friends mentioned they wanted to start a journal. I actually gave up my monstera leaf cover, gasp! That Keeper of the Bees and Mark's cover knocked a few other covers down the favorites list! I also gave them links to both of your channels. ❤
If you don't like something on the page then make something new and print it on sticker paper. Bam whole new page. I have noticed that if I get my journal out of my bag and set it on my desk at work, at home or set it on the coffee table or kitchen island, as long as I see that it is there I will use it. If I leave it in my everyday bag like say over the weekend I don't even think about it.
This past year I realized I need only 2 collections. Monthly calendar and a section for notes or braindump. Braindump is important because I always have random thoughts, plans, ideas….so does my husband. At my job I always on my feet and running around so I can’t bring my notebook so I use my notes app and quickly voice text the note then at night I transfer it in my bujo. And I rewrite it because it helps me remember that note.
My layouts have changed and evolved over the years. I feel sometimes the opposite of Jess. If my layouts are too pretty it means I put in too much time and effort I can't keep up with and I'll stop using my journal 😂 especially for my daily log. I have 2 spreads per 6 weeks and a daily log. It's worked really well for the second half of 2024. Hoping it will do so again this year.
The thing that's allowed me to get in and actually start using my journals this year is actually my pen choice. Usually at the beginning of the year, I'm afraid to mess something up, and so I'm slow to really get started and ink things over. This year, I just went for it because I'm trying out a frixion erasable pen, but it does occasionally leave a smudge I can't get rid of, especially in the little Cordero B6 I'm trying out for to-dos. Having the smudges and the fact that I can still mostly erase things - I found some erasable highlighters too - has cut out the fear, because the messing up already happened.
Drying time of pens on paper can be affected by the calendaring process, which determines how hard the paper fibres are pressed together. My tests on A&O show it isn’t coated paper but they do have a really long drying time.
When I was a college student, just graduated, I did a study tracker. Tracking how many hour I studied, so I knew I could take breaks if I studied a lot recently
I started bullet journaling years ago. I stopped because I was getting frustrated with myself, I cannot draw L O L. I got back into it last year because I realized that I really enjoy putting together the spreads and trackers and using them and I also do not Have to draw. I can use stickers and stamps and other things instead. That has allowed me to utilize my journal and all of the things that I love and it keeps me consistent.
Jess!!! you are not correcting mistakes if you have just made changes. You are updating the system to meet the new standards and criteria! Thanks for all the pointers. I still feel like a newbie, even after being able to maintain my journaling for a year.. ok there have been a couple of months that I missed, but I got right back on it and kept going. I'm enjoying coming up with decorative ways to do my habit tracking... by the time Sept came round I was tired of blocks of boxes and needed it to work with the decor. it takes a bit more planning, but I am happy when I open the pages and see them, and it helps me to get in there everyday.
I have switched to a regular bound notebook this year and I'm finding it harder to remember to write stuff in it compared to my spiral bound previous one that sat opened all the time. We shall see if I get better or my next quarter I need to go back to the spiral ones. I'll have to find one that has 160gsm cause now I'm loving that! Also I have the Saras Mark On pen in my Amazon shopping cart for my next order. Can't wait to try that out. Jess I love your e-mails and beautiful pages. You actually got me started on bullet journaling. Agree with you Mark I also tried the Temu fountain pens (that you got me started on) and nope they have clumped up or something cause neither are now working. I think I am going to try one of your suggestions on a different brand. I do like the Journal/notebook I got from Temu . It seems to be holding up ok but it isn't spiral bound. Any suggestions on a good cheaper option for a 160gsm spiral book? Love you guys and this podcast. Good Luck on a great season 2!
What's helped me remain consistent is being willing to change things up when my life situations change. My planner normally stays at home, and a couple years ago when I was visiting my mom in the nursing home frequently, I carried a Traveler's passport sized monthly with me, where I duplicated my appointments, so that if one of her doctors or nurses invited me to an appointment, I could check my schedule easily. It did mean I had to duplicate her and my schedules, but it was easier than taking my whole planner with me. This year I've got a very large project I'm sharing with my spouse, so we decided to have a shared Google calendar for future appointments/future log, and my planner is just weekly spreads with the current appointments and tasks. My fountain pens aren't currently bringing me joy, so I cleaned them and put them away, and took out a basic black gel pen. I'm also trying out Jess's quarterly planning, and giving myself reset weeks on weeks 13, 26, 39, and 52. I'm trying to not schedule anything those weeks, we'll see how it goes!
I leave my journal on my bedside table. I check in when getting up in morning. If I don't need it for that day it stays there to be checked in at bectime. If I do need it that day it comes with me. If something changes in day and I am home can just go and get it. Otherwise gets written down as a note on phone and transferred later. For calender I have one in you so for personal things and then a family calender for everyone else. It's all about needs and balance.
I bought a journal to use for the year and ended up hating it the moment I unboxed it. I hated the way the spine felt and the paper quality was just subpar. I did everything I could to try to love it: Made a custom cover, custom bookmarks, bought a special pen, and even made custom movable tabs. I even outlined my first three months in it. Now its a very pretty notebook I hate. Thankfully my partner bought me some notebooks for my Christmas and my birthday, so I had something to move into when I finally gave up. Sometimes its fine to admit something isn't working and just throw it away.
I was first feeling overwhelmed or unsure at the beginning of the year regarding duplicating information of my entire daily page in the Hobonichi Cousin.. but after a talk with myself and hearing you two talk about, oddly enough I've come to a conclusion and proper reasoning why I do this (typing this comment out made it even more clearer, so I feel less restless about it as someone with ASD and a fish memory with 8GB storage in the brain xD). Long rambling; 1. Hobonichi daily page is where I write first in the moment to process my morning, afternoon and before I go to bed. I'm very forgetful what happened on certain days, so writing it down is clearing clutter in my head for tomorrow. It also becomes a reference book when talking to my boyfriend or friends in Discord calls when talking about my day. I go through the pages and certain key words or doodles trigger my memory more easily. If I don't process my days.. I'll feel lost, losing track of the time and it makes me very panicked forgetting the small positive things ;#; 2. Daylio app; I write bullet point summaries in each mood entry to give more context to the many tags I added. On days I don't have time or am not near my Hobonichi, I write a bit more detail in each entry, then I write it later in the Hobonichi and I edit the mood entry into a shorter version. My phone is often near me for my reminders and alarms, so it's handy to still process my day when I lack time. 3. Monthly Recaps in Notion; every Sun during my Weekly Reset I read all my daily pages and type out summaries on my laptop, it may seem duplication, but this helps me reflect and process how the week went and slowly write down my final review for the month more easily. Doing this bit by bit makes writing the review easier and helps me notice repeated patterns happening through several days.
Heck yeah 💪 As mentioned, duplication with intention can be really powerful, so if that's necessary for your system and helping you remember what's happening, more power to you 🥳
i love the lil extra tangents you both go on, even if i’m not feelin the topic of the episode i know i’ll still get some good info/something out of the episode (even if it’s just a laugh from a joke). please never stop 🩷
Same here: bullet journaling since 2018, job related, for insight in and overview of my workload and getting thing done. I wouldn’t have survived without…… But I will retire in a view years and now I am trying to work out how to make the transition into a different way of using my journal. So since this year I am integrating some pages for personal journaling.
1. Redate redate redate - I am using a re-dated 2021planner for work. 2. If it doesn’t work, identify the component. 3. Nightly routine including brain dump.
I am making my own weekly bullet layouts, when I print them out for the next 4 weeks, I have a little color spot/picture on the "spine", the area that I hole-punch. I keep up to date with the tasks, meetings, and weekly important dates on these. I also got the ZenTangle A Day workbook, and have been washi-taping my tangle tiles onto my daily journal pages. I have most of my daily personal and work stuff together, but I also use disc-bound so that I can easily add/remove/move around sections. To stay consistent, my notebook is next to me all day. It's open during work hours and again when I journal at night. I do a little creative doctoring of my journal pages so it's not intimidating to write on a blank, lined, expectant piece of paper. My notebook is also half-sheet sized, so it's easier to keep close or carry if I have to and, again, not so intimidating when I look at my pages for journaling. During the day, it's meeting notes, 'as I work' notes, processes, and the other things that I want to keep handy. Some of it is duplicated digitally, but that's mostly just the meeting notes and processes. It's easier to look them up and reference them on paper than digitally, but digital makes it easier for work documentation.
I use my laptop every day, so the journal sits beside it in direct line of sight. I tend to fill it out while my dinner is digesting before I start consuming media. If a spread doesn't work for me I find it disheartening - so I glue them together so I don't have to see it anymore
You guys would go crazy on my journaling. Ive tryed so hard to do logs extra. My journals always end up being mind dump journals. They help me not go crazy, but i wish i could be more organized so i could read stuff stuff later. It makes ne sad that i can't make it organized.
A good brain dump is therapeutic. But one thing to do to get that organization is to reorganize them post dump and move those tasks to where they need to me. You can rewrite them, for memorization, and also to be able to read it better. Could work?? -Mark
Years ago I used this black soft cover notebook that was 300pages (like a thick bible lol) and it had a grid. It was only $10/usd too! The company discontinued it 😢 💔
S'all good! There's still so much of the year left, don't even worry! I started my first reading journal in August and just backdated for the rest of the year (not necessary, I just wanted to) so you're not behind 😊 - Jess
I can't do a LT regular, but I do like the 120gsm version. So, of course, they just discontinued my favorite color on that one 😂 No more Nordic Blue for me 😢 Time for a black journal and a rattle can 😁 Or maybe stickers, we'll see!
In one of your videos, you mentioned the original acrylicraph pens. How do you clean them so I don't have to toss them in trash. I'm trying to use up some of my older stuff.
I discovered glass dip pens about 2 years ago and I still have some and love them. But, after I've had them chip and accidentally break on me, I am shifting to fountain pens. Ordering a Lamy All Star with a converter on my next pay day so I can use my bottled inks still. I'm so excited. Also, I absolutely check in with my journal multiple times daily. Because I have an "Everything Journal" that lasts a whole month because it's my bullet journal, diary, scrapbook. I want to make sure I don't miss anything documenting my day
Hi Planner Pals! 🧡 Thanks for checking out today's episode and hope these tips prove useful for you 💪 Let us know how you intend to keep up with your planners and journals this year 😄
I have started what I call my "Morning Meeting". It is the time I have set to plan my day, set intentions, and journal. This is my time in the morning to just get myself mentally and emotionally prepared for the day. This has helped me to stay consistent with my Journaling.
Love the title of it 👏 I'm trying to implement something similar for myself! - Jess
@@PlannerPalsPodcast Feel free to take the idea!
The tip of leave your planner in sight is a huge on for me. As a stay at home mom with a YT side hustle, I find that setting my to do list on our kitchen island is really helpful for me because I walk past it all the time during the day.
My best tip is setup a routine of when you will do your planning. I build in like a 10 minute morning planner session to get my day started and I know what I've got to do for the day. The days I have that little planner sesh seem to be way more productive & it's just a good way to kick off my morning.
When a spread or segment didn't work for me, I used to get discouraged because the empty space and stop using the rest as much. I started using the empty space to write about *why* it didn't work and my reflections. That visual of "completed" space now keeps me more consistent with the whole journal. 😊
That's quite brilliant! I always end up with guilt about unused pages. This way it won't be unused ^_^
That's a great strategy 💪 I did that once for a time log that I didn't end up filling it. It's nice now to look back on that layout and see the journaling about what was going on at the time that led to it not getting used 😊 - Jess
@@sueredding4770 This is a really useful tip! I’m definitely going to be using this going forward so I can avoid the guilt!
What a joy it is to hear you two say everything many of us also think and do. Don't change!
Jess I think the paper is also coated because my pens smear way more than usual 😂. It's very possible that wherever they get their paper may have switched up their product. So maybe as far as A&O knows it's the same but maybe the paper supplier changed it if that makes sense
Season 2!!!! I have loved every episode you have put out. You guys are so much fun on top of being really informative. What helps me is kind of what Jess said about keeping in mind the purpose of the planner and what I need and want from if.
Thanks for your continued support!! - Mark
Keeping my journal physically very near me is the best way for me to see and USE it. If it is only. a hand reach away, it is easy and fast to keep it going and current each day.
Jess, I too am one of those people who use a digital planner, then transfer it to paper. I always had my e-calendar up to date, and my paper planner always had future appointments in it, but I didn't necessarily put everything on paper. Enter a brain tumor (which I named Loki because it's an a$$) and surgery to evict it, and my memory is horrible. I have everything digital, on paper, and I have an A5 size steno style bulleted task journal I also write the items for that day in so I actually do them. I even have a bullet list of my everyday tasks that I print on sticker paper from my mini thermal printer and stick on the pages of my checklist so I remember to do them. (Timed medications, cleaning the litter box, checking bank accounts, etc.) All that AND I have calendar alarms going off on my phone and watch to remind me of things! I'm so glad I kept planners and journals before all this (hello ADHD!) because I would have hated trying to come up with this system and expand on it with the way I function now. Nothing like a brain tumor and surgery to make your ADHD exponentially worse on top of the new memory issues!
The big thing that keeps me consistent is keeping my journal out on the desk all the time. If I put it away on a shelf or in a bag, I forget it exists.
Me too. It has to be right in front of me!
It's kinda crazy how much the idea of "out of sight, out of mind" can work against us like that 😅
@@PlannerPalsPodcast It's why I can't do digital planning
There’s definitely something different about their paper! I’m with you!
I listen to you while I am driving on Spotify and you are both very informative and entertaining! Love you guys!
I found it really helpful to keep things simple while I'm finding out what works. I can then go back and add decorative elements as and when I'm in a creative mood! Thanks for the podcast episode folks, I love them!
Great tip 👏 We can always add decoration and more complex elements once we've sussed the basics of our system 👌
I personally 'block' the first 30-45 minutes of my workday in order to plan out my day and check in with my BuJo. The block is marked as 'free' so that people still can overbook it if needed (though I start work at the crack of dawn so I doubt that'll ever happen lmao).
One thing that also helped me a lot, was something Jess said: not every layout's purpose is to be kept up with. Some layouts fullfill their purpose once they're set up because they're more a type of overview or reference. Recognising whether a layout is that or 'needs' to be kept up with takes some of the pressure off for me.
Thank you guys for the great episode and I'm looking forward to season 2 😎
I think it's also important to not beat yourself up if you miss a day.
Life happens. Some days are just too busy to do everything you want to do. And that's ok. It doesn't mean you've failed at journaling. Just get back to it when you can, instead of letting that small failure fester. It'll be ok.
Thanks for helping us all out, guys! Loving the podcast so much 💙
I have had to start over so many times with layouts that aren’t quite right that I now have quite a few R&D journals as Jess calls them.. because of this, if I am thinking of trying something new, I will actually draw it out and use it in an r&d for a week/couple of weeks as a trial run to see if I like it/use it/need to change anything before i put it in my proper journal (and yes I have been known to copy the information from the r&d trial runs into the proper journal so I don’t miss any weeks ha!) but that works for me with new layouts.
Also with regard to keeping up with the journals, my one rule with myself if to keep it simple, I know about myself that if I overcomplicate something or make it too admin heavy I probably won’t do it… example is all the gorgeous reading journals you see where you have to print a picture of the cover of each book, AND write some kind of review, I know that I won’t bother to keep up with that and altho they look fab, no point if it’s half empty.. I would much rather have a very simplified version that is easy to fill that I know I will actually use..
Great tips for this new journaler. I made it past the NYResolution quit day. YAY! I chuckle along with every podcast 😂😂😂 Mark, Jess is almost as good as your brother! ❤
23:25 the "desk aesthetic" sub box composition book is the 2nd least liked notebook I have (the "you've got this" is 1st), and I was resigned to just leaving it on the shelf so the spine at least could be enjoyed. Then Canada Post went on strike and all the notebooks I purchased that were options for 2025 didn't arrive until a few days ago. I had 24 other options to choose from, but I decided to just use the book I didn't like so it can be put away when used, and the more it sits on my desk the more I like it. Not enough to purposely buy another, but even with the crappy screening, and flaking off edges, I like seeing it in use.
Y'all have the best podcast! "I will die on this hill..."😂😂😂 I felt that deep in my soul!
I keep my journal at my desk and schedule it into my daily planner.
Today is my BuJo-versary! I started bullet journaling on this day, six years ago and I have no plans of stopping. One of the ways I stay consistent is having my notebook open on my desk... ALWAYS! It's right there for me to look at and write stuff down all the time. Also, I've found that trackers are a good motivation to check in with my planner. Thanks for another awesome episode!
Eyyyy! Happy anniversary 😄
Imagine my surprise when I got my first archer and olive and I used the inkjoy pens that Jess influenced me to buy bc it’s fast drying just for it to smudge bc istg the paper is coated!!!
Tracking and scheduling reoccurring tasks keep me opening my journal. I just went through my collection this week when two different friends mentioned they wanted to start a journal. I actually gave up my monstera leaf cover, gasp! That Keeper of the Bees and Mark's cover knocked a few other covers down the favorites list! I also gave them links to both of your channels. ❤
If you don't like something on the page then make something new and print it on sticker paper. Bam whole new page. I have noticed that if I get my journal out of my bag and set it on my desk at work, at home or set it on the coffee table or kitchen island, as long as I see that it is there I will use it. If I leave it in my everyday bag like say over the weekend I don't even think about it.
I have found that if planner gets too heavy, I tend to leave it behind more often. Keeping it light and portable helps me open it more often.
This past year I realized I need only 2 collections. Monthly calendar and a section for notes or braindump. Braindump is important because I always have random thoughts, plans, ideas….so does my husband. At my job I always on my feet and running around so I can’t bring my notebook so I use my notes app and quickly voice text the note then at night I transfer it in my bujo. And I rewrite it because it helps me remember that note.
New planner season here we goooo 🎉 my first year with a whole line up, inspired by Jess ❤and fuelled by Mark ❤😊
I think I counted 8+1 books to fill 😅🎉
Haha sounds like a little fleet 💪 I love it 😈 - Jess
My layouts have changed and evolved over the years. I feel sometimes the opposite of Jess. If my layouts are too pretty it means I put in too much time and effort I can't keep up with and I'll stop using my journal 😂 especially for my daily log. I have 2 spreads per 6 weeks and a daily log. It's worked really well for the second half of 2024. Hoping it will do so again this year.
So excited for season 2 of planner pals!!! ❤❤🙌🙌👏🎉
Bring it onnnn 💪
The thing that's allowed me to get in and actually start using my journals this year is actually my pen choice. Usually at the beginning of the year, I'm afraid to mess something up, and so I'm slow to really get started and ink things over. This year, I just went for it because I'm trying out a frixion erasable pen, but it does occasionally leave a smudge I can't get rid of, especially in the little Cordero B6 I'm trying out for to-dos. Having the smudges and the fact that I can still mostly erase things - I found some erasable highlighters too - has cut out the fear, because the messing up already happened.
Drying time of pens on paper can be affected by the calendaring process, which determines how hard the paper fibres are pressed together. My tests on A&O show it isn’t coated paper but they do have a really long drying time.
When I was a college student, just graduated, I did a study tracker. Tracking how many hour I studied, so I knew I could take breaks if I studied a lot recently
I started bullet journaling years ago. I stopped because I was getting frustrated with myself, I cannot draw L O L. I got back into it last year because I realized that I really enjoy putting together the spreads and trackers and using them and I also do not Have to draw. I can use stickers and stamps and other things instead. That has allowed me to utilize my journal and all of the things that I love and it keeps me consistent.
Jess!!! you are not correcting mistakes if you have just made changes. You are updating the system to meet the new standards and criteria! Thanks for all the pointers. I still feel like a newbie, even after being able to maintain my journaling for a year.. ok there have been a couple of months that I missed, but I got right back on it and kept going. I'm enjoying coming up with decorative ways to do my habit tracking... by the time Sept came round I was tired of blocks of boxes and needed it to work with the decor. it takes a bit more planning, but I am happy when I open the pages and see them, and it helps me to get in there everyday.
I have switched to a regular bound notebook this year and I'm finding it harder to remember to write stuff in it compared to my spiral bound previous one that sat opened all the time. We shall see if I get better or my next quarter I need to go back to the spiral ones. I'll have to find one that has 160gsm cause now I'm loving that! Also I have the Saras Mark On pen in my Amazon shopping cart for my next order. Can't wait to try that out. Jess I love your e-mails and beautiful pages. You actually got me started on bullet journaling. Agree with you Mark I also tried the Temu fountain pens (that you got me started on) and nope they have clumped up or something cause neither are now working. I think I am going to try one of your suggestions on a different brand. I do like the Journal/notebook I got from Temu . It seems to be holding up ok but it isn't spiral bound. Any suggestions on a good cheaper option for a 160gsm spiral book? Love you guys and this podcast. Good Luck on a great season 2!
What's helped me remain consistent is being willing to change things up when my life situations change. My planner normally stays at home, and a couple years ago when I was visiting my mom in the nursing home frequently, I carried a Traveler's passport sized monthly with me, where I duplicated my appointments, so that if one of her doctors or nurses invited me to an appointment, I could check my schedule easily. It did mean I had to duplicate her and my schedules, but it was easier than taking my whole planner with me.
This year I've got a very large project I'm sharing with my spouse, so we decided to have a shared Google calendar for future appointments/future log, and my planner is just weekly spreads with the current appointments and tasks. My fountain pens aren't currently bringing me joy, so I cleaned them and put them away, and took out a basic black gel pen.
I'm also trying out Jess's quarterly planning, and giving myself reset weeks on weeks 13, 26, 39, and 52. I'm trying to not schedule anything those weeks, we'll see how it goes!
I leave my journal on my bedside table. I check in when getting up in morning. If I don't need it for that day it stays there to be checked in at bectime. If I do need it that day it comes with me. If something changes in day and I am home can just go and get it. Otherwise gets written down as a note on phone and transferred later. For calender I have one in you so for personal things and then a family calender for everyone else. It's all about needs and balance.
I'm considering having my everyday journal end its day on my bedside table too. Would be great to have it so handy for morning check-ins! 🤔 - Jess
I bought a journal to use for the year and ended up hating it the moment I unboxed it. I hated the way the spine felt and the paper quality was just subpar.
I did everything I could to try to love it: Made a custom cover, custom bookmarks, bought a special pen, and even made custom movable tabs. I even outlined my first three months in it. Now its a very pretty notebook I hate.
Thankfully my partner bought me some notebooks for my Christmas and my birthday, so I had something to move into when I finally gave up.
Sometimes its fine to admit something isn't working and just throw it away.
Loved this episode -- fun and informative. Can't wait for the next!
Thanks! Glad you liked it 😄
I was first feeling overwhelmed or unsure at the beginning of the year regarding duplicating information of my entire daily page in the Hobonichi Cousin.. but after a talk with myself and hearing you two talk about, oddly enough I've come to a conclusion and proper reasoning why I do this (typing this comment out made it even more clearer, so I feel less restless about it as someone with ASD and a fish memory with 8GB storage in the brain xD). Long rambling;
1. Hobonichi daily page is where I write first in the moment to process my morning, afternoon and before I go to bed. I'm very forgetful what happened on certain days, so writing it down is clearing clutter in my head for tomorrow. It also becomes a reference book when talking to my boyfriend or friends in Discord calls when talking about my day. I go through the pages and certain key words or doodles trigger my memory more easily. If I don't process my days.. I'll feel lost, losing track of the time and it makes me very panicked forgetting the small positive things ;#;
2. Daylio app; I write bullet point summaries in each mood entry to give more context to the many tags I added. On days I don't have time or am not near my Hobonichi, I write a bit more detail in each entry, then I write it later in the Hobonichi and I edit the mood entry into a shorter version. My phone is often near me for my reminders and alarms, so it's handy to still process my day when I lack time.
3. Monthly Recaps in Notion; every Sun during my Weekly Reset I read all my daily pages and type out summaries on my laptop, it may seem duplication, but this helps me reflect and process how the week went and slowly write down my final review for the month more easily. Doing this bit by bit makes writing the review easier and helps me notice repeated patterns happening through several days.
Heck yeah 💪 As mentioned, duplication with intention can be really powerful, so if that's necessary for your system and helping you remember what's happening, more power to you 🥳
i love the lil extra tangents you both go on, even if i’m not feelin the topic of the episode i know i’ll still get some good info/something out of the episode (even if it’s just a laugh from a joke). please never stop 🩷
Haha glad you enjoy them 😄
Same here: bullet journaling since 2018, job related, for insight in and overview of my workload and getting thing done. I wouldn’t have survived without…… But I will retire in a view years and now I am trying to work out how to make the transition into a different way of using my journal. So since this year I am integrating some pages for personal journaling.
1. Redate redate redate - I am using a re-dated 2021planner for work.
2. If it doesn’t work, identify the component.
3. Nightly routine including brain dump.
I am making my own weekly bullet layouts, when I print them out for the next 4 weeks, I have a little color spot/picture on the "spine", the area that I hole-punch. I keep up to date with the tasks, meetings, and weekly important dates on these. I also got the ZenTangle A Day workbook, and have been washi-taping my tangle tiles onto my daily journal pages. I have most of my daily personal and work stuff together, but I also use disc-bound so that I can easily add/remove/move around sections. To stay consistent, my notebook is next to me all day. It's open during work hours and again when I journal at night. I do a little creative doctoring of my journal pages so it's not intimidating to write on a blank, lined, expectant piece of paper. My notebook is also half-sheet sized, so it's easier to keep close or carry if I have to and, again, not so intimidating when I look at my pages for journaling. During the day, it's meeting notes, 'as I work' notes, processes, and the other things that I want to keep handy. Some of it is duplicated digitally, but that's mostly just the meeting notes and processes. It's easier to look them up and reference them on paper than digitally, but digital makes it easier for work documentation.
I use my laptop every day, so the journal sits beside it in direct line of sight. I tend to fill it out while my dinner is digesting before I start consuming media. If a spread doesn't work for me I find it disheartening - so I glue them together so I don't have to see it anymore
I just purchased the love spell box for my new journal, to start new year🎉
Oh awesome! I hope you love it 😄
You guys would go crazy on my journaling. Ive tryed so hard to do logs extra. My journals always end up being mind dump journals. They help me not go crazy, but i wish i could be more organized so i could read stuff stuff later. It makes ne sad that i can't make it organized.
A good brain dump is therapeutic. But one thing to do to get that organization is to reorganize them post dump and move those tasks to where they need to me. You can rewrite them, for memorization, and also to be able to read it better. Could work?? -Mark
@@PlannerPalsPodcast I'll try to start out doing something like that, fingers crossed 🤞
Years ago I used this black soft cover notebook that was 300pages (like a thick bible lol) and it had a grid. It was only $10/usd too! The company discontinued it 😢 💔
Noooo! 😭
I haven't even started my new journal yet... 😬 I'm behind before I begin!
Me too day 14😢
S'all good! There's still so much of the year left, don't even worry! I started my first reading journal in August and just backdated for the rest of the year (not necessary, I just wanted to) so you're not behind 😊 - Jess
@@PlannerPalsPodcast Just found your "Set up your journal by the end of this video". Thanks for that, and for the calendar printable!
Listening to the podcasts after having read through todays newsletters really hammers that topic home 😅 9:50
Haha 😂 It's been a highly requested topic, so hopefully the double-whammy was helpful for people! - Jess
I can't do a LT regular, but I do like the 120gsm version. So, of course, they just discontinued my favorite color on that one 😂 No more Nordic Blue for me 😢
Time for a black journal and a rattle can 😁 Or maybe stickers, we'll see!
Yeah... I was one of those who set up a notebook in December and trashed it before I ever used it. Hated it.
Hopefully the new one is bringing more joy? 😊
@PlannerPalsPodcast yep, far more simple which is what I needed. Just a notebook and a pen (and the right ink).
I was wondering why or if it was just me, but my micron is also smudging in my Archer&Olive!
You’re not alone! 😝
I set up initial, monthly, weekly and dailies in a Bullet Journal 2nd edition and by the 8th I cut out 19 pages ugh
In one of your videos, you mentioned the original acrylicraph pens. How do you clean them so I don't have to toss them in trash. I'm trying to use up some of my older stuff.
You can take the nib off and wash it under water to clean it. Pop it back on and go to town.
@@PlannerPalsPodcast thank you
Watching as I write with my Sarasa Mark- On writing my tasks for the day with smeared ink from my micron on my hand.
Mark ON for the win 💪
I think a house should have moveable walls and everything for 6 months!! It takes time, give yourself some grace, right?
Jess, I want to hear you say, “Why don’t you come up and see me sometime…big boy!”
I discovered glass dip pens about 2 years ago and I still have some and love them. But, after I've had them chip and accidentally break on me, I am shifting to fountain pens. Ordering a Lamy All Star with a converter on my next pay day so I can use my bottled inks still. I'm so excited.
Also, I absolutely check in with my journal multiple times daily. Because I have an "Everything Journal" that lasts a whole month because it's my bullet journal, diary, scrapbook. I want to make sure I don't miss anything documenting my day