How I Use My Planners

Normally, one would think schedules, calendar, appointments, all dates and numbers when planners are the topic. In my world, they're more than that. I don't use planners for events only. One by one, I will share what they are with you.

Old school pen and paper means using my penmanship. It makes me happy to write legibly. The pen gliding smoothly on paper, creating words, sentences, phrases -- most importantly manifesting my thoughts visually for me to read back -- are the reasons why I enjoy it. It burns calories! HaHa! Well, it does a little if you really want to know. On a serious note, I use planner more beyond a calendar for appointments.

1. It's a Tracker.

My Old Snail Mail Tracker

I track the silliest things.
I track several things in my planners, which is why I don't only use one. I mainly track my snail-mailing hobby both incoming and outgoing mail. I also track several habits like drinking water, taking meds, chronic pain flare-ups (yeah, right!), and so many other things. Tracking things can be on a daily basis, weekly, monthly, or yearly. I use them all.

2. I make Lists with it.

My Old To-Do List

An Old Wish List
Lists have been a part of my life ever since I started writing. Grocery lists, all kinds of shopping lists (i.e. school supplies), wish lists, gift lifts, list of movies to collect, list of books, bucket lists, etc. Everything can be a list, right? I don't stop listing. It happens every day for me. My memory is not as sharp as before, and listing things down helps a lot.

3. I make Logs with it.

Logs are also Lists.
An old Gratitude Log of mine doesn't sound right as Gratitude List somehow.
Writing gratitude logs daily helps a lot with emotions. It lifts up my spirits, and it is surprisingly relaxing. I get to stop and run-through the whole day picking out what I'm thankful for. Logging what I'm greatful for, what I'm thankful for, what inspires me, what motivates me, make it easy to deal with everything the next day. It's my thoughts supporting me to continue on, to move forward. Keep going!

4. It's a Calendar. Of course!

Planning ahead is something I love to do. I organize my schedules that way. Spontaneity is fun, but I'm not comfortable doing spur-of-the-moment things. I like doing things I wrote in my planners. If it's written, it will happen. Keep writing that lottery wins! HaHa! I'm funny, I know, but to be realistic, there are written events that don't happen. That's why there are cancellation stickers or reschedule stickers to go with it. That famous Law of Attraction thingy: I try to connect it with writing. If you think it, or if you write it -- vision it! -- then it's more likely to happen. I wish it's that easy, huh?

5. It's a Memory Keeper.

I keep all my good memories in my planners.
In the past, I used to love photo albums. I take a whole bunch of photos and place them all in plastic sleeves inside a photo album. I tried so hard to add captions and decorations, but it didn't go well with how I wanted it. Then I discovered the merge of planners, scrapbooks, and art journals. Plus, mini photo printers came out, and I was just, "Oh emm gee! Buy everything and do everything with them!" In simple words, I went crazy. My weekends were all about prepping all the planners with colors, photos, words and phrases. Someone who is not into planners won't understand, but if you are like me, I'm sure our brains sync in so many levels.

6. It's a Safe Place for Codes.

Every stroke is a code. You can create your own and put it in a planner.

Every icon is a signifier.
When I was in high school, there was a Steno class that I wanted to enroll in. Unfortunately, the class was already full, so I ended up with a different one. However, it didn't stop me from doing my own shorthand. I created my own code, and I'm keeping it to myself. LOL. Lately, I only use it when I'm writing about frustrations, disappointments, and for passwords safe-keeping. It's very handy. There are other ways to use codes in a planner. They're called signifiers. They mark parts of a planner and it identifies what it is or it describes a part of an event.

7. It's a Canvas.

Not everyday I have content to legibly write. There are days when I get a block of emptiness floating in my head. So, I paint. I treated each blank planner page as my canvas. I never shared them in the past, but I thought I've been sharing planner pages so why not share the messy art journaling. It's fun playing with paint or watercolor. I love putting bright colors on paper or linen canvas.

There you have it. How about you, how do you use your planners?