Planner recap and goals

Happy new year everyone! 2016 is finally over, YAY!!! 😀 

Ok, there were some positive things that happened personally as well last year, but I think most people I know are very happy to move on to the next year. But it’s especially exciting for plannerds around the world, as they get to use their brand new planners which they had already bought and prepared months in advance just for the new year :D. I have already been planner planning since August/September, and whilst I did come to some kind of decision, things happen and plans change.

So I’m beginning the year not as strongly as I would have liked, considering how long i had been already thinking about it. In November I had the sudden urge to downsize into the pocket size permanently as my EDC! It was a nice experiment, but life got too busy all of a sudden for me to stay in a pocket size. But before I go into that, I would like to recap what happened during the year, planner wise. First off, due to the KonMari method, I sold off A LOT of my planners. My planner collection has drastically reduced (it’s been increasing a bit towards the end of the year though), and for now, I can say that I love every single planner I own. It may increase again this year though, but only because there are some planners I would like to try out which I think I would love. I may also sell some more if some don’t “spark joy” anymore. 

Below is the video I made at the beginning of the year about the planning system I hoped to be using for 2016:

Pocket rings as wallet + notes: I was pretty consistent with using a pocket planner as a wallet. Sometimes I would switch out to a regular wallet, but then I would go back into one of my pocket ringed planners. I did find that I didn’t really gravitate towards writing notes in the planner. I think this was because I didn’t like how it felt, with all the bulk from the card inserts. You would have seen in my previous post that I have other plans for my wallet for this year.

Regular size fauxdori as gratitude journal: Well, that lasted all of two weeks! That was because there was a death in the family in the first week of the year, and then in the second week I had a temperature of slightly above 40 degrees celsius, due to a throat infection!  Let’s just say being positive has been challenging from the get go this year :/. I’ve always been a bit fearful of journalling. Since I was a kid, I liked the look of the “secret diaries” that you could buy, the ones with the lock in it. But I would always think that those locks are so flimsy, anyone could get inside and read all your private thoughts! Better just to keep it all in your head 😀 lol. Anyway, I’m trying to deal with my issues (advice is welcome), and so I also have made other plans for journalling.

A5 filofax and Pedori as language planners: I continued to use the Pedori in my classes. However, I wasn’t really good at revising and making notes in my A5 Charleston. Since the course will be ending this year, I’m not so sure what I will do. I know I want to continue studying on my own, I just don’t know if my revision notes will stay housed in the A5 filofax or if I want to move them into a Clipbook. Also, the Pedori will need a new function as the class ends. Perhaps it could be a general learning notebook. Who knows.

Pocket rings as satellite planner: I barely used a satellite planner this year. I like the idea, but I just didn’t have the time or make the time to sync things. So I ended up just carrying my EDC or leaving it at home if my bag wasn’t big enough. I was hoping to try again this year, but due to some recent events, I am contemplating other plans for my pocket planners…

Liebeskind fauxdori as brain dump: This was used a bit on and off as I’m not consistent with brain dumping. I even tried to use the TN as a proper planner, and that totally failed. That was because I didn’t fully transfer everything. I also feel like the regular size TN’s are a bit too…tall or big for my liking. I do want to try again though :D. I did try to keep it beside my bed for jotting down notes, and for that function, it worked well. I’m still debating on whether I want to move into a smaller size TN.

A6 rings with Hobonichi inserts: I had really wanted this to work. I love the A6 size, and love Hobonichi paper. I just wasn’t able to be consistent with using daily inserts. I tried using it as my #onebookjuly2016 planner, and here you can see my review of how that worked out. The fact is that I have finished my tertiary studies, and during the first half of the year, life wasn’t so busy that I needed daily inserts for every day. And as much as I love the practical part of using A6 size inserts in an A6 planner, I have so many personal planners that I also love and want to use as well. Since most of the planners I really love are only available in the Personal size, I have had to come to peace with the realisation that until I am able to let go of my personal size planners, A6 rings as an EDC isn’t going to happen. Unless I can find a way to have inserts that can fit both. I recently saw someone doing that with Franklin Covey inserts, but those are not readily available to me. But, I have thought of other ways to use my A6 planners, so they are not being tossed aside. 

Personal ringed as EDC with GTD: Other than one book july challenge, my trip to taiwan, and the very occasional times I would try something else, I have been consistently planning in a personal ringed planner from various brands. However, I wasn’t able to really stick to the GTD method, and have still been trying different types of inserts in an effort to find the best layout for myself. It has been rather frustrating :p, but I think I know which layout suits me the most. But again, due to some events, I have had to rethink things, so we’ll see about that too. I think the GTD system is a good one, but I think it didn’t work because I haven’t finished reading the book yet, therefore I’m guessing that I didn’t implement it very well.

PLANNER GOALS FOR 2017

So looking back at the video and the year has made it easy to figure out what my planning/ planner goals are for next year.

1. Finish the book GTD by David Allen and implement the full system – I feel that if I do that, the system will work for me better.
2. Use my planners more actively for goal achievement and project planning – I would like to make more time for my personal projects, things that make me happy. 
3. Be consistent – This is the big one. If I’m not consistent, not even the greatest system will work.
4. Don’t over plan!!! – By this, I mean that I tend to put too much on my plate. The last half of the year has been just ridiculous! So I hope to be able to have more balance in terms of the quantity of the things i have to do, versus the things I want or like to do. Well, actually I lie. I would love it if the things that I had to do would also be the things I love and want to do. But for now, I would be happy with a 60:40 division.

Next time, I will let you know my planner plans for 2017. I hope not to keep you waiting too long, but things are still quite hectic for me at the moment, and I’ve been having a hard time finding time to plan and write posts. But I hope to post something later on this week, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, how did you planning go in 2016? Where you able to be consistent? What worked, and what didn’t? Would be happy to hear from you in the comments below 🙂 

‘Till next time,

P