Planners - Making Them Your Own

I’ve always loved purchasing and organizing planners!  I used to be so excited when Back to School time rolled around, because it was time to by another At A Glance planner with a jazzy cover.  I’d spend a day filling it in with several colored gel pens.  Then as soon as school started, I’d fill in all the important test dates, papers, etc. 

Bliss……

Since I haven’t been attached to a class schedule for quite a few years, finding a planner for the adult Katie has been difficult!  I have tried planner after planner…. I usually buy several planners each year, hoping that one sticks.  I’ve also tried going paperless.  But that just doesn’t work.  I enjoy the pen to paper feeling.  I bought a Moleskine® soft cover calendar last year, and I just shocked myself when I realized I’ve had this and USED it for a whole year! 

The last few days I’ve been cruising examples of Moleskine hacks – modifying a Moleskine notebook or planner to be custom to your needs.  There are awesome ideas out there!  I’ve been trying to pin them to my Organizing board on Pinterest.

Just a few from my cruising:

-  Kyla Roma’s blog post takes a Classic Extra Large Moleskine Notebook (with grid paper!) and adds her own weekly pages.  She also describes how she uses it daily, including where she puts to do lists (and clever shading ideas!)

- This is just one blog dedicated to modifying a Moleskine Notebook to be a weekly, “At A Glance” style planner!  Love it!  Even down to the pen recommendation J  Check out how clean the planner looks -http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/152626650/

- But wait!  Yet another Pinterest Board dedicated to Moleskine Hack ideas!

- I love the price of the Moleskine Volant that this hacker used

- This is perhaps MORE complicated than a SAHM needs (i.e. tab pages and utilizing the GTD system), but this blog has 100 tips!

- And, of course, Moleskine’s own website has a compilation of hacks!

I’ve decided that I don’t need a large scale planner post-retirement, but as a soon-to-be SAHM I still need a planner of sorts.  There are appointments, play dates, and errands that need scheduled.  But, more importantly, I need a place to jot down notes, Blog ideas, to do lists, and maybe grocery shopping or menu ideas. 

Buying a fresh, new Moleskine for my retirement may be the perfect gift to myself!! :)