MY 2020 ANALOG LIFE
Have you ever experienced planner peace? It’s a magical world in which your planner actually works in your favor, you refer to it regularly, and it saves your life, ya know, kinda. Well, planner peace truly does exist, let’s talk about my 2020 planner stack!
Most of my life I’ve flitted from one planner to another. Weekly horizontal to weekly vertical. Letter size, happy planner, A5, my own planner pages, perpetual lists, everything under the sun! And ya know, they all worked at that time in my life. They may not have lasted long, but they did their job in that season.
October of 2018 I was introduced to the Fringe planner. Kelly and Suzanna RAVED about the paper quality and the minimalist design. Kelly had hers and I thumbed through to see the structure. It actually made my heart sing! The color palette was non-existant and not distracting. There were no designs other than lines and the days of the week. It had a 2-page monthly view, a monthly tasks list overview, and then 2page weekly spreads. But it was spiral. And ohmigosh I swore i needed rings to be able to move things around. But I was in love. And when you’re in love you do whatever it takes! When we got home, I was still thinking about the fringe planner. Apparently they aren’t available online, you have to scour Office Supply stores, HomeGoods, TJMaxx, for these planners. They were hard to find to say the least.
At my last attempt I tried Staples. I looked through all the planner sections and found nothing. As I walked to the front, I stopped to browse the smaller displays because it appeared there was an ENTIRE FRINGE PRODUCT DISPLAY UP FRONT. It had all kinds of trinkets but I made a b-line for anything that looked like it had a spiral and was the size of a notebook. At the bottom, turned upside down was my 2019 fringe weekly/monthly planner. IT WAS MINE. I immediately texted Kelly the news!
Turns out I didn’t actually need rings or the ability to move things around. It may have actually been causing me to do too much in my planner and therefore not use it as I needed it. Either way, I have fallen head over heels in love with the fringe planner. 2020 was much easier to find and I only had to hop over to a TJ Max while on vacation with Kel and Suz again.
Let’s break it down:
Each month has a tab. The first page of each month is an “at a glance page”. It has simple lined sections for goals, birthdays, anniversaries on the left column, a checklist of to-dos on the right, and a notes section at the bottom. But this is for business so I actually white out the anniversaries and birthdays sections and write in my own categories: Top one is Membership Tasks, second section is Magazine tasks, and third is Podcast episodes listed by number, topic and drop date for the month. I use mildliners to color code each section of my business and carry those colors over to the monthly spread on the next page.
The boxes on the monthly pages are big and open. Only thing i would change is adding lines inside the boxes just so i was always writing straight. There’s a slim column on the left for notes but I write that title out too and use it for my expenses. Things that come out every month, i write them here along with the dollar amount and the day of the month it comes out. I just like to have a visual of what’s coming out, even if it’s repetitive.
On the monthly boxes, there are lots of holidays pre-printed along with the moon phases so I white out any that don’t apply to me. I just prefer the less cluttered feel. Then I begin making checkboxes for events, due dates, launch emails, meetings. The box itself (and sometimes the actual item) gets highlighted based on the section it falls under. Membership is yellow, magazine is aqua, podcast is red. Other items do get written in too when applicable, like birthdays will be purple or they just stay uncolored.
The next pages are 2-page weekly horizontal. With lines which is super helpful! For the last few months, I haven’t been using the weekly pages. For me, I can’t guarantee which day of the week things will be worked on and a lot of it would be a repeat of the monthly spread. So right now I’m paperclipping those together and using the at a glance and the monthly spread and that doesn't bother me.
What works better for me right now is my next analog essential, my task pad from Shorthand. Shorthand is a stationery store in LA that Suzanna took me to. It’s a top spiral notebook that has task boxes and lines. That’s it. No place for a date or title, just a checklist and it’s amazing. The way my workflow is right now, I need to look at my week as an entire list of tasks. But they aren’t tied to a date most times. It’s a running list of things that need to get done this week. I make a list for personal/business/house stuff and I keep a separate one for work/client tasks. I check off as I go, and if there are things that need to be carried onto the next week, they get transferred and I rip off the list and toss it. The benefit here is being able to see the list at a glance and having it separate from my calendar or notebook. Sometimes I need to see all 3 things at once and flipping pages around to write notes or see the calendar or see my tasks was just becoming so annoying.
My third essential is a basic Fringe notebook. Also found at places like Home Goods and TJ Max, they are easier to find and you just kinda have to live with whatever cover designs are available. For me, I typically have mine open to a page and it’s rarely closed. But I do have a cute teal one right now. This is where I keep all of my notes and ideas, detailed checklists for very specific projects, a running list of podcast topics, crafty party ideas, future magazine brainstorming. It’s the place that all the fun stuff can get from my brain onto paper.
And finally, a new babe in my analog life is the 2020 Maker’s Yearbook. It’s a planner, sortof, but not really for what we normally think a planner does. This feels more like a business planner and tracker for content, sales, goals, end of month reviews, and yes, there is a calendar. I recently ran across this beauty on Instagram and clicked over to check it out. I was amazed at the thought behind the monthly check in pages and all that you can keep track of. Much like the concept of Powersheets, but much less heart work which I am thankful for. The fields and prompts are simple and to the point. It’s specifically for babes with maker businesses and I feel like I need a place to work ON my business versus only doing the tasks. I will for sure keep ya updated on how I get along with this new tool!
So that’s my lineup for this season of simplicity. I have embraced having different items that are for different functions. And I have embraced the spiral life. Who knew.
I want to point out a few things about how you can determine the best planner combo for you because it may not be a single tool and it’s not a magic button.
Take note of the format you enjoy most. Is it discs, rings, or spiral.
What is a good size for you and your needs? Do you just need a pocket planner for reminders and appointments? How about a classic A5 so you can have multiple views. Or maybe you need something large and in charge. Figure out what has worked and not worked for you previously.
Think about design. Do you like pages you can decorate or that are pre-designed for you? Do you want something that can split up your days or weeks for you? Do you just need one good monthly overview and a place for tasks?
We all know the possibilities are endless. And we have all been through the hate my planner phases. But when you find something that works for your current season, embrace it. But know that it might change. Ya gotta embrace that too!
While my analog lineup is right by my side, technology plays a huge role in how I do business. Next week, we’re talkin’ about all things digital! Meet me back here and I hope you have a super week!
xo, andrea