Simplify Sunday: My simplified planning/ journaling system
How I'm making journaling and planning feel less stressful and more fun this year 📓
This post is for all of the people who start a planner or a journal in January…and then have stopped using it by February. I too, have had my fair share of stopping and starting planners and have a huge stack of abandoned notebooks on my shelf. Especially if you are someone who loves stationery (🙋♀️!!) it’s hard not to want to try all the fun things- junk journaling, memory keeping, book journals, meal planning notebooks, commonplace books, etc.
And while all of those things are so fun. The truth is, I often have a hard time fitting in journaling, let alone maintaining multiple notebooks, like I was previously doing. After giving it some thought, I’ve minimized the planners/notebooks I will be using this year and feel really good about the simplified system. I’ll be sharing what notebooks I’m using and for what purpose. At the end I’ll share a quick flip through, if you need a visual!
One more note: To some people this system may still feel too “extra” and for some it won’t be “extra” enough. I fall very much in the middle of someone who wants to have a creative journal, but I also don’t have the time to make it perfectly *aesthetic*, and I need it to be practical too. It’s certainly not the most beautiful journal out there, but I want to share it anyway because it’s maintaining that fine line of fun and useful- and maybe you need something like that too 😊
My main journal/planner:
This notebook is going to be my #1. Where I’m going to plan, write, memory keep, make lists, meal plan, junk journal, etc. It is a B6 Stalogy notebook- I really love the smaller size! It has thinner grid paper, similar to Hobonichi if you’re familiar.
I decided to combine my previous multi notebook method into one journal for a few reasons. But the number one idea that inspired this is the idea of leaving a legacy (yes, as cheesy as that may sound.) It would be SO cool to have a journal like this from my mom or grandma. I also think that by including everything, it will turn into an all encompassing snippet of everyday life, which will be a treasure to look back on someday when I’m old and grey(er). It also will be less to manage and worry about! I don’t need to worry about journaling every single day. Or not planning one week. It’s 100% low stress, can be customizable to me and can encompass everything that I need it to.
Support system:
While the Stalogy notebook will be my main notebook, I’ll be using these to support it:
A wall calendar. Hung in our kitchen where everyone can see. I’ll reference it when I plan weekly in my notebook. But I have no desire to draw monthly calendars into my notebook so this is an easy, simple solution to keep track of dates.
A clipboard with printables. My clipboard and notebook are the two tools I reference daily. I prefer to have my habit tracker on the top of the clipboard so that I see it daily. When it is out of sight, it is definitely out of mind for me.
Bonus notebook:
This one is 100% not necessary, but I like having a larger notebook with sturdier paper when I’m wanting to work either in larger scale or when I plan to add a bunch of photos. This one is my favorite inexpensive notebook and I will be thinking of it as an extension of my daily carry (but it will live on my desk, not be carried around with me.)
Okay, that is the gist of it- but I’m going to post a quick flip through of both notebooks below. They are nothing fancy (in terms of video quality or quality of the pages- many are unfinished) but might be helpful if you’re wanting to try a similar system or see what I plan on including. While not every page is finished, I’ve added 40+ pages so far (thank you to our week of snow days for the extra time!) so I think you’ll get a good idea of how I plan to use it this year.
The video is going to be for paid subscribers only, just because I don’t feel comfortable sharing every page with such a large number of people. That is part of the reason that I’ve never shared a flip through video until now- I journal/plan for me, not content, so I don’t always feel comfortable with lots of eyes on it.
If you’d like to become a paid subscriber, you can do so below. Paid subscribers receive exclusive posts, printables, and access to all of the archives (all free posts are archived after two weeks). Either way, thank you so much for being here! 😊