I like to be organized. I like my stuff to be organized, my desk to be organized (when I’m not actively in the midst of a project!) and my schedule to feel organized.
In fact, this Christmas I got a beautiful Ikea pegboard and accoutrements to organize my art supplies and I couldn’t be happier:
However, I’m always on the quest for a better planner system. If you follow me on Twitter, you’re probably familiar with my Leuchtturm1917 notebook system– a sort of cross between bullet journalling (but not as pretty) and Raul Pacheco-Vega’s Everything Notebook. It’s worked really well for me for the past two years, but with four major jobs/projects on the go, it’s feeling a little too messy and higgledy these days.
This year, thanks to Instagram, I learned about the Pretty Pretty Planner (PPP), designed by @faustine2012 and available as a free PDF download on her blog. It’s beautiful! I like the colour scheme and the monthly calendars and the week at a glance.
Faustine uses the Levenger Circa system, which features a disc system with a special punch. You can rearrange the pages of your notebook to your heart’s content, adding and removing as you wish.
So I’m taking my favourite aspects of all these different ideas and trying to mash something together: grid layouts, page-a-day (with flexibility for more), customizable on-the-go, and different sections for different projects.
While the Circa system offers a plethora of beautiful covers and coloured discs, Staples offers a slightly cheaper option with their Arc system, which is available in stores in Canada. Faustine tells me the two systems are interchangable. So I’m going to go with the Arc for now and if I decide to stick with it, I’ll invest in a beautiful cover and rings from Levenger.
My new pages are designed to work in combination with the lovely calendar spreads from Faustine. I’ve used the Pretty Pretty Planner (PPP) colour scheme for my pages, so it should all work together.
Fingers crossed the system works– I’ll report back at the end of the semester.
Now, if I could just find the perfect handbag, I really would be organized!
In my usual spirit of sharing, I’m making my pages available for download as PDF files under CC-BY. They are intended for individual and/or educational use, with source attribution. They are not to be sold commercially. Follow the link above to download the original Pretty Pretty Planner.
Download Page-a-Day addition to PPP. The file is designed to be printed double sided. There are eight colour options included. Pages are undated. Letter size, portrait orientation.
Download To-Do addition to PPP. A single-sided to-do list. Letter size, portrait orientation.
Download grid paper addition to PPP. Print double-sided or as two single sided. Letter size, portrait orientation.
Alison Innes 