Tuesday Sundries - #onebookjuly2019 Planner Peace

July has been #onebookjuly2019 across the 'planner-verse'. I am so glad I participated because it has really pointed out to me in no uncertain terms I'm a 'one-book-girl'.

Well, almost.

This realization (or acknowledgment) that I am a one-book-girl comes in handy as it is almost time to order my 2020 Hobonichi from Japan. 

Ok, technically it will be two books, but I consider them one as they are both Hobonichi and they work in tandem.

The smaller 'Weeks' planner is a week-at-a-glance. It's also very portable. I have found it great for taking with me everywhere. In it, I have my work schedule, grocery lists, meal plans, and I log my spending in it on a daily basis. I also jot down notes and ideas, to-do's as they pop into my brain during the day.

I don't have a desk at work, so my larger, main planner stays home at the moment. My Weeks is my 'dump' for everything.

Then my 'Cousin', as it's called, is my workhorse planner.

I made an adjustment to it this month by tipping-in my budget pages and I really enjoy it being there. No separate planner for my budget.

My Cousin, on the weekly spread, shows the following - 

• Work schedule
• Menu ideas/plans
• Steps
• Vitamins taken 
• Blog post topics
• Reminder to record spending
• Reminders of events
• To-do's
• Lady K to her dad weekends
• Notes

The daily pages are usually to-do lists, notes of what may have happened during the day if noteworthy, menu planning and odds-and-ends. 

At night I will place my Weeks by my Cousin and review (or reflect as per The Bullet Journal Method) moving items from my Weeks to my Cousin.

I review my to-do lists, mark what has been done and move those which haven't been done to another day or delete them completely. In the mornings I look over the day and just check to be sure I'm aware of any activities I need to attend to. I make any adjustments to the day as needed. On Sundays, when doing my week in review, I may decorate the coming week with stickers to make it a bit more colorful and interesting to me.

This method has been working for me really well and I feel more accomplished with this way of doing things. July has been a month of 'tweaking' the way I do it; to refine it a tad more.

So why am I so obsessed with my planner?

Self-accountability!

I have found over the past few years when I let little things like doing the dishes, vacuuming, needlework, etc. go, it is a big red flag I am slipping into a depression state.

By writing it down and checking it off, it is a visual check 'things' are ok. When I see I haven't been doing them over a few days, a flag goes up and I take the appropriate measures, for me, to get back on track. That may be as simple as saying to myself, "Ok, I'm not feeling well mentally" and do the little things I need to do to pull myself out of the hole (which is a whole other post).

Long ramble cut short - I feel I have achieved planner peace!