So I thought I’d do a quick update on my current planner set up, which is in a denimdori, a fauxdori I handmade using some leftover Japanese denim and a fat quarter I had lying around. The move into a MTN style planner came about for a few reasons: I need some compartmentalisation and organisation of my weekly, daily and collections from my bullet journal. I just can’t stand flipping through pages to get one piece of information (regardless of all the indexing, colour coding hacks), and I really needed to have my collections in one place without having to rewrite the damn thing every time I transferred into a new notebook. And thus, the rebirth of my MTN:
My denimdori currently holds three inserts – a weekly, daily pages (bullet journalling style), collections – and a makeshit (yes, that’s a deliberate typo of ‘makeshift’, because it’s only now recently fell apart) kraft file. They are ordered in my denimdori the way that I explained it above. The paper at the bottom of that stack is a bunch of documents that I need to file for work, it’s not another insert. So down to the nitty gritty details…
THE WEEKLY
This is my custom made Decade Thirty Creations weekly insert – these will be available on my Etsy story in May. The dates are in the middle, with my appointments/events in the left column, and my 3MITs (3 Most Important Tasks) in the right column. I’ll often write my 3MITs during my weekly review on a Sunday night and allocate tasks throughout the week, otherwise, I fill it in during my daily planning/evening review. Think of my weekly insert as my anchor – this helps me focus on what I need to do each day and then plan my daily pages accordingly.
THE DAILY
This is a typical daily spread in my daily insert, which is a 4mm grid insert that I created and then bound. I use a modified bullet journal bullet/signifier system here:
- Appointments/events = open circle, then blocked out circle when completed. If it’s cancelled, I’ll cross the entire line out
- 3MITs (3 Most Important Tasks) = I use the interpunction “•” with a square around it so that it stands out from other tasks that I may have for the day. I’ll block out when completed, half block out if in progress/incomplete, use the greater than symbol “>” if it’s migrated, or crossed out if it’s not a task I need to complete anymore
- Tasks = I use the standard interpunction bullet “•”, use “x” when it’s complete”, use “/” if it’s inprogress/incomplete, and “>” if it’s migrated
- Recurring daily tasks = I use the interpunction bullet “•” and represent it as many times as I need to do it for the day. For example, I (try to) do pelvic floor exercises three times a day, so I represent this with three “•” and cross off “x” each time I do it
- Notes = I use the en dash “-” for any random notes during the day. I tend to write everything that’s happened, kind of like a logbook of sorts of events, websites, etc.
- Migrated tasks = I shade these in grey during my weekly review and then migrate them to my runsheet. Read more here about my runsheet.
PAPERCLIP ACTIONS
This is a picture of my runsheet, which I place in the inside cover of my daily insert. I made these small paperclip action flags and place them against tasks that need my attention when I look through it again to allocate tasks. My runsheet is kind of a like the infamous ‘brain dump’, and I use this to decide some of my 3MITs as well.
PAPERCLIP BOOKMARK HACK
The one thing I miss about a bound notebook is the ribbon bookmarks. As an alternative to this I created the paperclip bookmark. I’ve posted about this before here, but created another one using a parachord pattern for the ‘ribbon’ section. To create a paperclip bookmark, attach a piece of ribbon to one side of the paperclip, measure the length of your page plus 2-3cm extra, then cut. Place the paperclip into the front or back cover of your insert, flip to the page you want to mark, and then place the bookmark to mark. Easy =)
And that’s it, folks! My current planning system in a fauxdori, what do you think? What do you think would work for you?
dq
Joan says
Love it! Especially the weekly spread idea and bookmark hack.
Dee says
Thanks Joan :)
Allycia says
Very nice! Don’t you love having everything together but still separate?! The traveler’s notebook is where it’s at!
Dee says
Thanks Allycia :) And yes, I can totally appreciate the organisation of the traveler’s notebook!
Elle says
I’m new to the Bullet Journal concept, looking to organize (separately) both private and professional parts of my life. This post is very helpful for understanding how to begin. My MTN beginner’s package is on its way from Goulet, it can’t arrive quickly enough.
Dee says
Thanks Elle, glad to know that it helped :) It’s so exciting waiting for new stationery, isn’t it?! I hope it arrives quickly so you can enjoy and indulge!
Jessica says
Any chance you are going to put that template back up for 2017? :-)
Dee says
Hi Jessica! I’m working on a redesign for this year :)
T says
Do you use an index? If so, please send pics… Really battling.
Thanx,
T