MY FLIRTY, PRETTY PLANNER + WHY YOU NEED ONE

It’s that weird question that always gets asked. And it’s not just a question I get asked- really, it’s a question I feel like so many girls ask other girls: WAIT, WHAT PLANNER DO YOU HAVE?

YESSSSSSS. WE NEED TO KNOW.

BUT ISN’T THERE SOMETHING ABOUT A PLANNER?

Like doesn’t it remind you of 8th grade? All ready for the fresh new school year. You had just shopped the BACK TO SCHOOL SALE at Staples & you were super proud because you scored the last hot pink, SPIRAL BOUND 2001-ish planner. Maybe you even carried it in your boring, black JanSport ( it didn’t matter that it was boring though because you had one of those pens that can write on backpack material….& if you were anything like me you had all your friends sign your backpack just to keep the backpack FESTIVE!). The point was your planner was PERFECT & FRESH, ready to showcase homework assignments, school dance dates, & Stussy doodles. AHHHH I LOVED A NEW PLANNER.

Oh wowwwww, the days before Instagram right? What a trip.

ANYWAY, THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING SO NICE ABOUT PLANNERS. They’re calming- almost therapeutic.

( If you don’t believe me, just Google “bullet proof journal” & see what pops up- like millions of people find planners just as therapeutic as me. I am not alone here ).

And even though now I thoroughly utilize Slack, Trello, Google Calendar ( OMG WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT A COLOR-CODED GOOGLE CALENDAR ), & email- I still love an old school planner.

I want to explain how I use it but before we get into it, you need to know which one I use. First off, when I pick a planner each year, I’m specific. I HAVE to have one with spiral edges. Reason being: I don’t like when the planner can’t lay open. I want it open-faced on my desk half of the time. A spiral situation allows me to have it out & open without closing on its own. We don’t want to have to hold it open while writing…that would be inefficient.

Then, it needs to be fairly BIG. But seriously, we can’t have some limp dick planner that’s too small. My favorite pen ( << which is random but don’t fuck with it- it’s my favorite pen ever. THE WAY IT WRITES, JUST TRUST ME GUYS ) needs to be able to really flow on the blank pages. I don’t want to have to write all tiny.

THEN it needs to have a weekly view, not monthly. No, no, no- I want to see a week at a time. A month is just way too overwhelming for me.

SO! The one I am using right now is pictured in Holographic SILVER. It kind of reminds me of that one book The Rainbow Fish where the scales are all silvery & sparkly on each page. Ya, it’s like that but one big silver cover. Annoying enough, it’s sold out. HOWEVER check out this one too ( it’s exactly like mine but it’s baby blue with cute graphics on it- in fact, I kinda want it too ). This brand is the best for a planner in my opinion. They’re both the same brand AND they meet my high maintenance list of demands.

How I use it? Easy- BUT it’s not to plan my day. Oh no. My day is planned in Google Calendar– it’s color-coded, to the point, with invites, & very much planned from the second I wake up to the second I go to bed. Alarms are set in my phone for conference calls & days are batched ( if you haven’t read this post on time batching, please do! It will help make your life easier ). MY OLD FASHION PLANNER is more for notes. So while I’m at my desk returning emails, Slack messages, or Trello lists- I can make notes on whatever day it is. Usually I don’t give myself more than 7 PRIORITY tasks a day.

BUT WAIT, let me give you a ‘for instance.’

For instance, I’m at my desk on a Thursday at 11:30 AM returning e-mails. As I’m returning these emails, I realize I need to design something for The Skinny Confidential. I’ll write in my planner ( on Thursday because we’re pretending it’s a Thursday ): send Brooke design for __________. Then I’ll keep emailing & realize I need to get on a call with my accountant so I’ll go back to my planner & in the Thursday box write: TAKE CALL WITH ACCOUNTANT ABOUT ________. SO I guess it’s kind of like my to-do list for the day. If the day’s tasks become more than 7, I’ll bring some tasks to the next day ( regardless the tasks need to be moving the business along- nothing pointless ).

Then when I sit down at my desk the next day, I’ll have a few tasks waiting for me because some spilled over from the day before. Does that make sense? If this doesn’t, I feel like I need to film a YouTube video?

Well, that is my weird answer to the weird question that gets asked a lot.

So: I still use a planner. I still feel like an 8th grader at the BACK TO SCHOOL SALE when I pick it out each year. And I still wish I had an autographed JanSport. SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.

Do you use a planner? Which one do you use? How do you use it? Do you make your TO-DO’s for the day like me OR do you actually plan your schedule out in it? I would love to know because let’s face it: we all want to know about other girl’s planners. SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PLANNERS.

You also NEED to check out THE SKINNY CONFIDENTIAL HOT MINUTE PLANNER. As you know from my love of planners & notebooks, creating this planner for the community (& myself) was a no brainer. It’s filled with prompts to help you run your day, instead of the day running you. Think – skincare routine, daily intentions, gratefuls, meditation, podcast, to-do list, micro-goals, & more. Complete with fun stickers & a note from me, this planner is just SO fucking efficient.

See you tomorrow, lauryn x

+ more business-y posts.

++ read how MORNING PAGES will help clear your mind everyday.

* ART BY The Skinny Confidential READER: @paigeslag.

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