Free Planner Pages

I hear a lot of Filofax users complain about how expensive planner paper can get. There are endless comparisons between the different types of paper and what pens work best. Honestly, I love good paper but most of the paper that cycles through my planner will just end up in the trash so I don't bother with quality so much.  And because I change my pens so often, I will drive myself crazy trying to match up the perfect paper with the perfect pen.

All that said, I still need paper.

This is a snapshot of the "next steps" portion of my planner.  This is where I'm tracking all the project steps for myself and for my work group. With all of the projects we have going, the pages in this section will get filled up, marked up and tossed out quite often. As you can tell, this first page is yellow, reminiscent of the yellow legal pads. And that's exactly what it is.

I admit I have a problem...a big problem. I have piles of notepads, notebooks and tablets that I have collected overt the years. And this is just a small portion. What I can say is that these are probably the oldest. Some are even of college vintage. As I caught up on the latest shows on Hulu, many of these have become perfectly sized planner pages.

This is such an easy solution for both my growing collection of paper and having a steady supply of paper for the planner.

So, to all of you struggling with your paper supply, give this a try.  Use it, mark it up and then toss it away. No reason to stress about the cost.

Planner Revamp

One of these days, I will find a planner system that truly works for me.  I try different systems, different page layouts, various sizes and I'm still not settled on the perfect system for me.  This is one of the reasons I really want to delve into doing my own designs. But that is a long term dream that is still in development. While I don't have the perfect pages for me, I do think I'm getting my settled in the general layout of my planner.

This is my very chunky

Gillio

Medium Compagna.

I found these lovely metals tags by

Tim Holtz

. I think they give the perfect look to my Gillio beauty. I'm currently using

DIYFish

for my calendar but this layout I'm using can have any calendar inserted into it which is really important to me since I tend to change calendars several times a year. I've already tried out 3 this year alone.

These two arrow tags mark this week and today. They are on half sheet dividers  that I move each week/day as needed.

My main sections are divided by the wide folder tags. My sections are everyday (for routines, regular occurrences), life (calendar), wishes, notes, and stuff.

The bottom arrow is my "next steps" list. I use it to track what is next on my list and that of my employees.  I'm trying to teach the new engineers in my group to always be thinking of what they have to do next when a project phase is complete.  This seems to be working well so far. I know GTD uses this. Side note: I really need to read that book.  It's been on my shelf a long time.

Within my notes tab, I have six numbered dividers that I use for long term focus area or short term projects. 1 is my home. So many projects coming up. 2 is for my blog and writing. I am thinking about rebranding everything so I have a lot of notes here right now. 3 is for my crafting life. 4 is for work. I'm currently keeping a list of things that I PE stamp and job searching (never stop looking for a better opportunity). 5 is being used right now to manage my move. Once I'm settled, I'll reassign this tab to something else. 6 is all things financial. 

Because I have so much in my planner, I no longer use it as a wallet. It's just too much going on and I could never fit all the pages I need if I also tried to do double duty. 

50 Words - Opportunity vs Life

In my business, opportunity is an eleven letter word for "the shit no one wants to do but you are the sap that cannot opt out of it." Opportunity has brought me a higher paycheck, but at what cost? I'm ready to abandon this opportunity. I'm ready for life!