Planner systems are meant to change a lot to adapt to your needs, to follow the changes in your style, and to absorb any changes either internal (new phase of your life) or external (new stuff on the market!)  My personal planning system didn’t involve washi tape until only a few years ago, but has been quite Post-It dependent well before any of my friends were into sticky notes!

Stepping Beyond Fads to Make a Planner Work for You

An essential part of having a good planner system is to make sure that it is useful to one’s planning.  This sounds really obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people—and how often—a planner system does not answer one’s needs.

(Myself included.  Ahem.)

The easiest way to figure out if this is the case is to ask yourself: is my planner system making my life easier or harder?  One recent example of this has been the explosion of bullet journaling—but the fancier, prettier kind.  While awe-inspiring, it can be quite overwhelming to do this kind of bullet journaling—which can make someone bypass this amazing tool altogether.

Don’t jump into fads just because other people are doing it.  Look at your planning system and if it is working for you.  If it is, then only tweak it.  If, however, it has become a source of constant, daily confusion, and you might want to set out on a path to figure out how to make it efficient again.

Finding a New Planner System in an Eco-Friendly Way

Adapting our planner systems in a sustainable way is a concern many readers of this blog have reached out to me about.  Just like me, these lovely readers (you know who you are!) don’t like waste; so one of the secondary objectives of tweaking or changing a planner system is to not end up with a pile of unusable planners, notebooks, notepads, etc. that we thought were going to be useful but ended up not being so.

Some of my friends are into building their own planner system, and I think it’s a great idea, but one that I personally have decided not to embark on—I would rather pour my creativity into my writing.  Instead, I test different systems for 2-3 weeks at a time using printables I feel best suit my personal needs.  That way, I only print a couple of extra pages at a time and, if/when they have proven themselves useful, will commit either by buying a planner with a similar layout, by custom ordering a planner with such a layout, or by taking the time to resize the printables to my planner.

So here are, in no particular order, the five planner printables that came in handy while I was looking to tweak my own system.  Obviously they haven’t all made the cut for personal reasons, but I hope they end up being of as good use to you as they were to me.  For a look at all the printables that I have either considered or tested, check out my Pinterest Board on Planner Printables.

Packmahome’s Planner (and Poster!)

Packmahome’s planner can be downloaded here for free.  The PDF includes an inspirational cove page, a page where you can list your goals, an annual planner—the whole year on one page—a monthly view from January to December, a page for notes, a weekly planner, a menu planner, a daily planner, a page to list all birthdays, another to list all contacts, yet another to list your passwords, and an end cover page.

Let me start by strongly opposing the use of the password page; software like KeePass are a much better (and SAFER) idea.  Other than that, this planner is a great way to figure out what you prefer having: yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily views—or a combination thereof.  I personally didn’t like the layout, but I loved having so many options and made very good use of them in figuring out what I needed (turns out that I need different views for different projects, but that’s a whole other post to be written on another day.)

This download comes with a caveat; you have to sign up for Lena’s newsletter.  But she does further sweeten the deal with three versions of a page to list your goals and three versions of a yearly view calendar.

Designer Blog’s Ultimate Blog Planner Kit

This one is just gorgeous.  Yes, it’s more for bloggers, but I’ve also found great use for it in other areas of my life.  The monthly calendar, the yearly and monthly goals, the contact page, the to-do list, and the blank page (which I use for notes) are all gorgeous and useful.  And if you are a blogger, you will probably fund other pages just as useful as I did—I personally made really good use of the sponsors, affiliate programs, and advertising tracker pages.  To get the download, you will have to sign up for their newsletter (ah, that one tricky caveat) but the blog is filled with such pretty and useful things that it’s well worth the while.

Scattered Squirrel’s Monthly Planner Printables

I love these!  For each month, Alli has created a simple sheet on which can be listed one’s monthly focus, special dates, goals for the month, top three things, and home keeping tasks.  There is also a large section for random notes.  These can be integrated into any planner system by a person who is lacking focus and are a great tool to keep track of one’s goals.  Each month is downloadable separately here, and can be resized as needed.

My Planner Envy’s Stickers, Trackers, and other Free Printables

This last one is actually not quite a planner printable as much as it is sets of stickers, trackers, and other free printable you can use to personalise and glam up your planner.  Jessica’s inspirational quotes, reminders, notes, habits trackers, and the such come in quite handy, and in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, and styles.

Final Thoughts

Do you have any planner printables that you are in love with?  Are you trying to tweak or even change your planner system?  If so, where are you looking, and what have you found up to now?