Tag Archives: Midori Traveler’s Notebook

Getting it together

FoxyDori pocket and Filofax Malden

FoxyDori pocket and Filofax Malden

This year I’ve been SO unsettled in my planning.  My journaling I have under control and I have method that encourages me to be consistent in my journaling (insert plug here for @journaling_sage on Instagram).  I didn’t use my Erin Condren the last half of last year.  The main reason is the fax it is big and heavy and I don’t always want to carry a large bag.  Even though the Erin Condren Life Planner (ECLP) is an amazing planner, it is just too big for me.  So then I tried planning in a Midori passport with a monthly and WO1P inserts, and it worked beautifully (definitely an option in the future if I want something different).   While watching tons of YouTube videos, I kept seeing Filofax (Kikki K, Color Crush, Kate Spade planners).  Well prior to changing to my ECLP, I used a ring system for YEARS and it worked for me.  Prior to the Vera Bradley agenda, I used a Franklin Covey compact.  The size and layout was very similar.  I knew immediately the A5 planner is too big for me.  Even if I needed that much space, I know I will stop carrying my planner.  For me, my planner only works if it is always with me.  So I got the Color Crush planner and I love it!  The inserts are amazing and I was able to design the perfect layout for me (or at least perfect right now).  The size is great, it fits in nearly any purse I carry.  This is a system that is working for me.

Color Crush weekly pages

Color Crush weekly pages

So, my system, I’m using Color Crush inserts in the binder of my choice (I’ve fallen in love with my personal Filofax Malden and I haven’t changed binders since getting it).  I am also using a FoxyDori pocket in Bay leather for my every day carry (EDC).  I loved my Midori passport, but I really wanted to carry a notebook that had everything I needed and wanted.  My Midori passport was awesome and leaving it has broken my heart, but I just wanted one more book and my passport was pretty chunky.  So I moved to my FN size notebook with some reluctance.  At first, though I love the cover, I didn’t have the same excitement that I had for my passport.

Bay Leather FoxyDori pocket

Bay Leather FoxyDori pocket

Last week I spent the day decorating my FoxyDori and I LOVE it.  I love her so much I’ve named her Joy.  My first book I use to design my day (see Planner Perfect), my second book is an 18 month calendar using Boho Cottage inserts from Etsy, my third book is my book of lists and information that I want to carry with me, and finally my last book is for journaling.  I also have a dashboard I made, a pocket I made (using the tutorial from the Creative Planner class with Cori and Christy), and a clear pocket that I made from a photo pocket.

I don’t have two different planners, per say, but I do have a calendar in both books.  My EDC has the monthly calendar that is the main calendar, the master of schedule.  I have weekly pages in my Filofax and I use these to plan my week and see what the week has in store.  The daily pages in my EDC isn’t To Do Lists, Tasks, or schedule.  It is a picture of what my day will look like, what I want it to look like.  It may include some aspects of a traditional planner, but it is really a vision of my day and how I can use today to accomplish my goals (not tasks, goals).  In my Filofax I keep my Master To Do List and the lists necessary to manage my family.

FoxyDori top view

FoxyDori top view

FoxyDori side view

FoxyDori side view

June Book and Dashboard

June Book and Dashboard

Monthly calendar using Boho Cottage Inserts on Etsy

Monthly calendar using Boho Cottage Inserts on Etsy

Pocket Folder and clear pocket

Pocket Folder and clear pocket

Inside Pocket Folder

Inside Pocket Folder

Planner of my choosing

I used a classic size Franklin Covey binder for years.  I used monthly pages and kept other info in the back.  Then came the Palm Pilot and I thought it was the coolest thing.  I quickly entered all my data then beamed it to my husband. One little problem, with technology, especially new technology, it crashed and I was in BIG trouble.  So back to my Franklin Covey I went and I’ve never solely depended on an electronic method again.  Then came the Vera Bradley agenda.  It was the same size as my Franklin Covey in beautiful Vera Bradley binders.  It had monthly and weekly pages.  I kept one binder and every year I would add my monthly pages.  I would then take this binder when I would scrapbook so I could remember what I did when.  Then I saw the Erin Condren Life Planner and I was in love, or at least I thought I was.  For a variety of reasons, this planner didn’t match my personality.  I ordered a new one for this year, which I haven’t used at all.  An expensive bundle of regret to not use.  It did come with cute custom stickers, which I am using in my new planner.

I’ve talked about my new planner in a previous post.  I am using a Midori Traveler’s Notebook in passport size.  A lot of people don’t like the smaller planners, but for me it is perfect.  I use a Moleskine weekly planner at work, so my work life is together.  I definitely have planner peace there.  My work and home needs are so different when planning, I keep them separate.  I only combine the two if home affects work time or work affects home time.

I used a printable from Etsy, week on 2 pages.  I like to carry my entire year with me, so this book was pretty fat.  So I made me a week on 1 page book.  I still have plenty of space to write down activities.  I also got the monthly calendar from KiddyQualia on Etsy.  If I could only have one calender, this is the one I would need.  Each month has a month view, blank grid page, and a date list page.  This method meets all the ways I think.  I think in lists and tables, and this allows me to have both.  The grid page I use for monthly tasks.  Now things I do daily or weekly, I don’t write them down.  I only write down tasks out of my normal routine.  I also have another notebook in my Midori that I use for lists and thoughts.  Since it is small, I carry it with me always.  Since I’ve decorated it, I look at it daily.  Since it is beautiful, it is with me always, even on my nightstand at night.  Planner peace occurs when you find a method you will use.  My binders and Life Planner were so big, I left them at home.  I don’t fully trust technology, so it isn’t the best method for me.  This is the first method I’ve found in years that meets all my requirements for a planner, and I’m using it.