Midori | My organized life

Planner peace, unicorn, the perfect planner, all things that we dream about to organize our life. Well, I am going to talk to you about the perfect planner. What I am not going to do is tell you what is the perfect planner. I’ve read many blog posts and I’ve watched many YouTube videos. I have a Pinterest board and belong to groups on Facebook. I’ve used the same system for years, and now I’m lost (or at least I was).

Erin Condren Life Planner

What has the last two years lacking planner peace taught me, my perfect planner is for me only. What is perfect for me won’t be perfect for you. So I am going to help you find what you are looking for in your planner system.

Questions:

First and foremost, you have to ask yourself, what do I need to keep track of and what do I need to plan. Will I keep work and home separate, or will the system be combined. How do you think? How do you organize other areas of your life? Do you want to carry your planner with you? There isn’t a right, wrong, or trendy answer. This is all about you! When do we ever get to say it is all about me!

Options:

There is a bullet journal (see Ryder Carroll), daily calendar, weekly calendar, and monthly calendar. Beyond these categories you will find a multitude of methods to organize them.

Electronic (phone, computer, or tablet) This method is great and can be used alone or with other methods. Things to consider, are you technologically savvy? Will anyone else have access to your calendar? Will you be able to find what you are looking for quickly? Do you have a backup method?

Bound planners are contained. They could get fatter if you embellish them, but otherwise, you will know what the size will be at the end. Depending on the size you buy, you will know where and how you can carry your planner (in your bag, in your pocket, or on your desk). Bound planners come in endless sizes, bindings, and page formulations. You can custom order or pick one up at your local store. They come in every color in the rainbow and just as many patterns.

Midori Passport

Binder planners (whether rings or arcs) are very customizable and you can change your planner as your needs change. If your current setup is not working, you can quickly change it. Binders can come from local stores or from planner companies. You can get a multitude of sizes with a variety of options. Now, you can keep adding to a binder, this means it can become REALLY fat.

Color Crush Planner

With paper planners, you can design a planner you love and will match your way of thinking and your personal style. Whether it is bound or a binder, it can still be customized to your needs. Etsy, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube offers many ideas to design the planner of your dreams. However, if you don’t use your planner, no matter how beautiful and well laid out, it won’t work.

Created planner using Moleskine

Deciding your layout:

Do you think in lists, graphs, or pictures? Do you need a birdseye view? Do you need details? Are you working for your planner, or is it working for you? Planners can certainly be a hobby, and a useful one at that. Getting Organized Magazine has a great post of tips to keep in mind when using a planner. http://www.gettingorganizedmagazine.com/2014/04/29/10-tips-for-using-a-planner-2/

Next post: What I chose and why.

I have found a new obsession, the Midori Traveler’s Notebook. I’ve debated for over a year about this product until I finally gave in two months ago. It has been two months, and I’m in love. I’m in love to the point I moved my planning from my Erin Condren Life Planner to the Midori Passport. I love my Erin Condren, but to carry it with me, I had to carry a special bag or purse. I don’t follow the current trend of big purses, so to have a planner in my purse that I use is perfect. I use my Midori to plan and keep lists and it is wonderful. What do I love about the Midori? It is gorgeous. It looks old and loved and the leather feels and smells wonderful. I have two thin books and one fat book in my passport. A kraft folder is the only other insert I use. My passport is fat and the inserts sit outside the cover a little. I am a perfectionist, yet this imperfection doesn’t bother me.

I carry my Midori with me everywhere, in and outside the house. I can’t wait to take it to the Smoky Mountains at the end of the month. This little gem has kept me entertained for hours by planning, doodling, drawing, journaling, and list making. If you are debating about a Midori or a Midori style notebook, I strongly encourage you to make the leap. I love the original Midori and it is my preference. Before you invest in the notebook, know your purpose and personality. A fauxdori may be a better option for you than a Midori. If you do the research and listen to your heart and not outside opinion, you will find the right notebook for you. Pinterest and Etsy will lead you to additional resources on the Midori. If you search Midori Traveler’s Notebook in YouTube, you will find a lot of wonderful information. One of the videos, Midori 101 will give you the basics.