Two and a half years ago, I abandoned my one-notebook system and have been struggling to perfect my paper system ever since. While I’ve had success with my work and blog binders, figuring out my personal planning continues to evade me.
I can’t say I regret moving away from a single notebook. I enjoy the freedom I have with binders, and it’s been helpful to have my work stuff isolated. But I will freely admit to some serious annoyance with how much trouble I’ve had working out my personal planning.
I eventually managed to accomplish all of my plans from my last paper system post. My work binder is perfectly set up now. My blog binder is functioning well. The cat binder is a great resource for me and our vets. The health binder is useful. My digital tracker is working well as a temporary data holder. The book binder? It’s a reading journal (notebook) now. A decorated reading journal. And the personal binder? Well, it’s a notebook now, too, and it’s been a mess and a half.
I started with a personal-sized binder with catchall calendars and all of my trackers, as I’d originally planned. It lasted a month. I just didn’t keep up with it. In the hope that having something pretty would make me want to use it more, I migrated to a beautiful notebook I had from Archer & Olive. I spent time figuring out everything necessary for the life gamification and included it in the notebook, too. That all crashed and burned. After two months, it was all basically untouched.
After a discussion with Jim, I had to admit to myself that I had forgotten my own advice and fallen into a classic newbie trap — that I’d already succumbed to before — trying to do/track too much. I’d truly come full circle.
To correct that mistake, I’m:
- dropping several trackers — in acknowledgement that I don’t actually need them for anything.
- migrating a couple of trackers to digital-only — the ones that I keep for actual tracking and processing — so I don’t have to migrate the information to the computer.
- simplifying the trackers that I’m keeping in my notebook — the ones that I’m curious to see if any general trends emerge.
- trying a simple “reward jar” to replace life gamification. It’s a jar drawn on a page to be filled with stickers; bigger accomplishments get bigger stickers.
- dedicating my personal notebook to planning and personal productivity.
That last item means I need to prepare for each month. I have a monthly calendar, weekly spreads, and a couple of list pages to draw out and decorate before the month starts.
This is another place I’ve come full circle. The weekly layouts I’ve prepped for May are rather similar to the layouts that worked for me in the past. I want to keep track of what I want to accomplish each month, breaking it down into days like I do for work. I’m not positive this will be the solution, but since it’s useful for my work planning, in theory, it will be useful for my personal planning.
As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t decorate pages in my binders. I don’t like “wasting” my stickers, washi, etc. My work and blog writings and planning only matter for a short time — because then the project or post is complete — whereas personal notes, planning, and musings are what I usually want, or need, to look back on. They feel more permanent. So I’m decorating the pages in my personal notebook. I’m using the overabundance of decorative stationery I have. And that feels good.
I had fun setting up my May monthly and weekly spreads. I look forward to completing the last couple of pages I expect to need. I want to use them; it no longer feels like a chore to manage. And that’s coming full circle, too.
What kind of paper system do you use? How long did it take you to perfect it, or is it still a work in progress? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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