It’s officially that time in the semester – you’re prioritizing your projects by which is due first and, at this point, your reminder sticky notes are all over the place (if you even had them to begin with). What if I told you that I have the answer to all of your problems? Three simple words: get a planner. If you haven’t hopped on the planner bandwagon, it’s never too late to start. All you need is a few basic essentials and you’ll be on your way to an organized, uniform school year.
The Planner
If you’re thinking about taking on the planner lifestyle, you’re obviously going to need a planner. They range from a variety of different shapes and sizes and, depending on your maintenance level, they can also range from a variety of prices. If you like to keep it simple, the dollar store has a ton of different styles that you can always do-up and customize with a few simple pictures and some Krazy Glue. Hobby Lobby, Amazon, and a number of different craft stores also carry a great brand of planners called Happy Planners. While these are a bit more expensive, they won’t break the bank and will last you longer! If you’re on the more extreme side of things, like me (guilty), there are online websites that you can customize your very own planner – from the color scheme of the cover to the detailed portions inside of your beautiful book, they’ve got you covered. My current planner is from Erin Condren.
The Extra Stuff
Once you’ve secured the perfect planner, it’s time to move on to the extras! While a pen is a pen, it’s important to keep in mind that you can’t just use any old writing utensil in your planner. Depending on their thickness, some pens and markers might bleed through your pages. If you’re especially creative, but the idea of a bullet journal seems too overwhelming for you right now, it might not be a bad idea to invest in some colored pens – these will give some life to your planner. Once you get the hang of color coding (and throwing in some hand-drawn leaves here and there), you could also consider buying some planner stickers. I’ve found a ton of great stickers in the Dollar Spot at Target, but The Happy Planner brand also creates awesome sticker books made just for planners!
Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Bullet Journaling
If you’re interested in learning more about how to get started with planning and are looking to experiment with different planner setups, I just posted a video on my Youtube channel. The video goes into all of my essentials – including some of my favorite writing utensils, stickers, and even some links on how to get a planner just like mine! Just because it’s November doesn’t mean you have to wait until those New Year’s resolutions roll around to get organized. Happy planning!