How To Color Code Your Planner (And Actually Stick With It!)

[@ronakino]

My husband’s stuff is hightailed in blue, I’m pink, and our son is purple because blue and pink make purple. 😉😂

[@wonderwonder30]

Your highlighting game is so stinking cute!

[@melissaoviatt2049]

My boys are red and green (Mario and Luigi) and brown for the two together (because they pointed out that red and green make brown, lol)

[@sade8376]

That's adorable

[@itsoversugar9969]

That’s a cute idea!

[@Elizkleincaz]

I just recently found your channel in the last couple of weeks and I have to say you are such a joy! Your sense of humor is hilarious, and your honesty and practicality are very refreshing. Thank you for the great content! 😊❤

[@GoldzenJuLz]

🎉freshly discovered and strongly resonate with your words

[@aasvmom]

Ohhhh I am with you on the “do I sound resentful “ ... where in my mom/wife handbook said... planner holder for life? Lol

[@melissaoviatt2049]

SAME!

[@JBCBlank]

I love how things look when they are color coded, makes me feel acomplished.

[@sandralantau7395]

I love your advice about knowing your "why". This is applicable to so many aspects of our life, too. And thanks so much for breaking down all these different aspects of "pen only" and your detailed advice for each. So much food for thought (and experimentation!)

[@craftingrubydreams]

I keep falling back on color coding because it's what I did when I just had a monthly calendar and didn't think of myself as a "planner". I love colored pens so freaking much, so I always have a ready supply 😁

[@television4994]

Ooh, ooh! I have one to add! ❤️ This one is particularly suited to hourly planners, but it can work in verticals, too. I use an hourly, and I color in on the timeline. Now, I don't militantly stick with the exact times in my planner (unless it's an appt - duh), but if I know I need to go grocery shopping in the afternoon, and I know that takes about an hour, I color in 2:00 and 2:30 on the timeline. Bam! Grocery time! In yo face! I also get the heebeejeebees from the sound and feedback of writing with porous pens, so I write in "Grocery Shop" with my black gel pen, but I highlight over that writing in whatever the color code color is. Minimizes the use of the porous-tipped pen, but still reinforces the color code. This helps me see - at a glance - what I'm doing and the amount of timeline colored in also gives me an idea of how much of that I'm doing (how many spoons is that bs'ery gonna cost me, ya know? 😊) Hope that sparks some more ideas!

[@tcconnection]

What black gel pen are you using that you highlight over (and do you wait half a minute before highlighting? Thx for any info, my daughter can't stand felt tip sounds.

[@television4994]

@@tcconnection I use a Zebra Sarasa Dry 0.4mm black with the Zebra Mildliners and Essenti Soft Highlighters. I literally give the gel ink one or two blows as I grab and uncap my highlighter. 5 seconds, maybe? It will smear a little bit if you go immediately, but... Yeah... 5 seconds and you're good. I'm also a lefty, so smeary stuff drives me ccccccrazy! 😊 Everything ordered from Amazon. My only advice: Pick Japanese resellers for the Zebra pens (and generally any Japanese pen you order). Much reduces the chance of getting an inferior knockoff. I know... Counterfeit pens, of all things! 🤷‍♀️ Edit: I just tried the Vintage Color Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm pens that I ordered recently. Not as friendly with highlighting. In fact, the Mildliner almost... Like it partially dissolved the gel ink. 0/10 cannot recommend 😔

[@tcconnection]

@@television4994 Thank you. I just ordered some mildliners from Amazon, not sure who the seller is, but it is in Japanese packaging according to the photo. I had bought some Sarasa Clips a little over a month ago; despite the points being down for a few days, very dry and skipped, had to trash them. Thanks for your input.

[@zviLikesTV]

A solution for carrying around color coding (if you like ballpoint or gel pens) may be 1-2 multipens. That also helps you limit the number of colors.

[@TempestGetchell]

I love this series sooo much!!!!! I've had a very consistent colour code for my family for years.

[@KatieReadsKoziesAndMore]

I love you too! This video is SO TIMELY! Tonight I am sitting down to plan my color coding out. I was going to use all the colors. Thank you for saving me from myself!!

[@fromericaa]

I’m living for this series! 💕 Thank you Cindy!

[@rileysmileyriley]

I died when “HOARDER” popped up 😂 I was looking for a helpful video but I got that and a little comedy show in addition- I love your personality! You’re so funny and enjoyable to watch, thank you for this video ❤️

[@lujanjulia]

I love the pillow in the back!!

[@jpsoso8748]

Just found your channel. My sister and i love color coding our respective monthly wall calendars. We use no more than 5 colors. I made a little color guide on the bottom of each month. All our entries really stand out. We use erasable gel pens (I wish they have finer tips but I make it work). My calendar looks cleaner that using a bunch of stickers).

[@luceropineda6776]

This is so incredibly helpful! I used to be that person that would have like 15 colors for everything going on in my life with university, work, and family. It was too hard to keep up with and I lost touch with my reasons as to why I was doing it in the first place. However, this helped me put it into perspective and realize that there's nothing wrong with simplifying. Thank you so much ❤

[@RawrQueen5th]

I admit I postpone watching your videos to when I'm not in great moods because you brighten them. Thank you for all your words of wisdom!

[@phoenyxrising12]

Had to stop the video immediately!! My cats are Loki and Lily 🥰... Ok, resuming video😊

[@karinalebedeva7335]

I'm so happy for my consistent color coding. Green is assosiated with health and sports. Blue stands for studies and knowledge. So lectures, courses and so on is blue. Purple is for PhD (it's close to blue so makes sense for me). Pink is personal stuff. Just feels less formal. Red is something important. I also mark payments with red. Orange is for everything regarding my working project.

[@adorabell4253]

I used colour-coding when working since we're on set shift rotations where I am. I use a really basic app called Shift Calendar and it's great for that. I did different colours for my shifts, for trades, for OT (we bid on ours ahead of time) and for Vacation. It worked awesome to know exactly what I was doing each day for the next few months (we bid out schedule in 1/2 year terms).

[@lafemmerouge4271]

Great job. I’ve been colour-coding a demanding job for years. This made me want to revisit my system and make sure it’s still working for me. ❤️🙏✌️

[@chrystalbliske9512]

I have color coded since middle school, you know back in the stone age lol I watched this because a) you're freaking awesome... and b) dude, color coding!

[@deathnrosary]

Typically I color code per person. I do mine in black... hubby in purple and my son... in pencil. This year...I simplified my coding. I have two personal daily trackers. Red for health. Green for money. As far as the bookmark idea.. if it has a ruler and you use it as a book mark.... make a mini dashboard that moves. Also what I suggest for those not sure of color relation.... make a color wheel and see them beside one another. And then label them as you see fit.

[@lauriemyers3]

Oh this calms my brain a little bit...I might give it a try

[@kathryndepriest578]

Love this Cindy!! You are the BEST!! You give me lots of ideas!! I use the Krissyanne Designs Stickers with your lettering almost every week in my planner!! Love them!! Love you!! Hugs!!

[@FallenJanettv]

I’m a bit late to this video, but I love your videos Cindy. Yeah, I have habits and moods colour coded and I’m super happy with the organisation of it.

[@ChezFeroce]

Wow just subscribed! I love how REAL you are! 💖

[@janniestanley]

I’m old. So I find your language a bit rough sometimes. Probably gives more impact to what you’re offering in your videos. But I love your info. Great content. I’ve been a planner nut since 1994. Retired now. Still use a planner. Looking for the best method. But I love this because no stickers. Functional. Did I say no stickers? Thx very much. I can definitely tell you’re brilliant.

[@MrsRepairTech]

I used highlighters in my planners in college (I used the small & cheap weekly planners at Walmart). Blue = reading assignment, yellow = long term assignment awareness (yellow because I usually procrastinated it to the night before anyway), orange = test or big due date, pink = event (because introvert). Smaller assignments weren't highlighted. Stuck with it through all four years. :P Now I use Powersheets' color coding system in just my Powersheets. My Monk Manual remains un-color-coded. My Trello board and Google Calendars are color-coded by the ministries (aka departments) I provide admin support for. ^_^

[@elizabethjohnson-kueny1655]

I love the tentative smile at the end! Lol!

[@maryregan6114]

Always enjoy your vids Cindy. Here's proof: I have NEVER color-coded in my life* and have no interest in doing so (too complicated), but I still watched this video all the way through. (I do have a separate work planner [HB cuz] so that cuts down on the categorization in my home/personal bullet journal.

[@lynleystg3222]

I colour code my planner, but the plastic on my pens doesn't exactly match the colour of the ink. So to kill two birds with one stone, I taped a label written in that pen colour to the side of my pen as a swatch and to tell me what it meant. Not super insta-worthy, but it works for me

[@kristen_1107]

That is very clever! 😀😊

[@marysoldiaz6225]

I just have to say you are hilarious! I also have to safe keep everyone schedule, yes I am restful! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 thank you.

[@quicheitsimple]

You're my new favorite. Subscribed!

[@Cocobird5]

Thanks. That was very helpful, especially the part about figuring out grouping.

[@noelle5745]

Oooooh, I'm curious what pen/marker you're using to write down your categories at the beginning of the video... it writes so smoothly. I WANT.

[@IfersInklings]

I track my pain levels for a bunch of different categories for my chronic crap. What I did to help me is I only use the crayola super tips for my tracking/color coding and I've numbered them all with a sharpie on the body of the marker. Then in my tracker (bujo) I have the color, the corresponding number of the color, then what that color means. That alone has helped me tremendously. I also have those markers in their own separate container so I know those don't go back into my pen/marker storage when I'm done. They stay separate and aren't used for anything else.

[@mm4952]

Awesome. Thank you! I didn't even realize how much I needed this.

[@Bookph0ria]

Organizing for work thanks for the ideas 🥰

[@SpellFinder]

When I was in undergrad. I would only color code my monthly spreads. It let me get a good look at what types of events I had coming up. I had a color for work, school, sorority, volunteer, health, and personal. That way I could quickly see how many hours I worked. Or if I was not doing enough volunteer work. The only schoolwork I color coded was exams and large project due dates in red. So they would stand out from all my events.

[@nicolesmith525]

Everytime you say "time tracking" my brain auto completes with "time traveling". Every. Fucking. Time.

[@ayragon]

This is like a life coach seminar... but broken down to be useful.

[@susannek4546]

Thanks for this video. I recently got some mildliners. I tried to use all 5 on a page and it didn't work for me. Bonus in our house is my daughter loves them so I can pass my mistakes to her and they become treasures. One less thing to put on my plate and she is happy. It is a win -win situation then.

[@sallynoma5310]

I’m curious to hear about Timular too when you have time!

[@ElleWhyt]

This has been super helpful. Thank you for sharing.

[@emeraldm0on-yt]

This is also so helpful for indexing your journal (like diary)

[@catcy90]

My big hold everything calendar is color coded. Teal for one office, green for another, blue for Hubs, pink for home stuff. Works great for me.

[@susanjimenez62]

I love your videos! I have a question that I’m sure you’ve been asked before... but what are the markers you used in this video that have the clicker thingy to ‘open’ and ‘close’ them? I am a pen-aholic, and I need to get those pens!!

[@armadillosky5253]

Great tips esp with picking colors! 😊

[@Luvs2read33]

I currently color code in my budget planner only. It works for me there but I just don’t know if it’ll work for me in my home planner. I might try it out. TFS

[@533134]

Color coding is my favorite!

[@winiconnor4981]

I did A LOT of colour coding in school! All of my classes were yellow, work was purple, green was dr appointments (i had a lot because of chronic illness), pink was family/friends, and orange was other.

[@SENsibleSENCO]

I use the logo colour of the company I work with (I work with several) to indicate their entries. (One is blue, one is turquoise and one is orange). Governance (schools) begins with a G so it gets green. And purple is my favourite colour so that gets used for the 'most' writing which is 'me'. Family stuff is pink (although it's yellow on my google calendar because I don't 'see' the pink too well). Anything that gets added throughout the day tends to be written in black as it will then stand out. I use the same colours for any notebooks, whiteboard notes, stickers on the year calendar, post-it notes, folders etc. I even have tote boxes in the right colours! Have done it this way for years and always feels a little odd if I end up being given something in the wrong colour in a meeting! (For the record I was a teacher with SEN children and the colour coding was part of the teaching.)

[@Mindabble]

Ugh, when I started bullet journaling, I used colour coding a LOT. Mostly to differentiate between what week it was, deadlines and other kinds of those entries. Then I started school/work and had to bring my journal everywhere. And while it could easily BRING the colours, USING them while out and about was ... a challenge ... So I decided to only bring one pen for the journal. Started with a black-pen-highlighter-combo, then went to one pen with two different sizes and then to just a single .2 fineliner. I have re-started using coloured pens but it's mostly been to highlight deadlines, birthdays and SoMe-posting. Pondering setting up a colour-coding system again and then matching it with my toggle and trello setup.

[@wurdnurd1]

I was doing color-coding before I got heavily into decorating. I kept my key on a lined sticker that I kept on the dashboard I used as a day-marker. Worked pretty well until the world crashed and I didn't really have enough stuff going on to code.

[@susan_brehm_art]

Girl, I love your videos!!!!

[@KaffekanAnna]

Color coding sorta just happened in one of my planners. Got a three colored jet pen and studies got black work got blue and attention stuff (like appointments or stuff I need to report in my monthly time thing) got red. Some things I write in pen just to fill in. Always have the pen with me and it’s so simple. Not cute at all but workable.

[@sbrown8937]

this was so helpful💜💜

[@alexholliday3972]

I'm green, my husband is blue, and my daughter is pink. It's the only thing that I've stuck with through all my planners! I will add that public school is yellow though - for a while I had my daughters school hours highlighted (a line at the start and finish times) in pink and the public school hours in yellow because my husband was teaching. It makes it a lot easier to see how things fall related to school times. Or at least it did before the times of covid.

[@jennidawn]

What pens are you using? You answered that somewhere else. But, do they bleed through on that planner? I am leaning towards the yellow paper house for next year.

[@maitevictoria]

This was super helpful for anyone wanting to color code. I, however, am WAY too lazy right now haha. I also would get bored with the colors and then would have to change them every week 🙃

[@erniedolphin9358]

I change my colors everyday. I just write the colors and what they mean at the top of the planner page for the day.

[@innajogern2909]

Do you find that the zebra click art pens feather and bleed? Especially in my passion planner

[@Blue666LV]

Awesome video! Love color coding the shit outta My planner - so necessary lol

[@jenniferpesta9319]

Ooh I would love to see reviews of other influencers who have recently launched new planner lines (Jordan page & Samantha march come to mind)

[@dogmom371]

Yay!!! Another video!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@tiffanypollock6582]

I’m sorry if you mentioned this but what planner is this?

[@amyhager6023]

Tiffany Pollock she showed the inside cover for a quick moment, it’s a Yellow Paper House!

[@jenniferdonth8759]

Great video and personality

[@Samantha.emiller]

omg 20:46.... i feel that to my core!

[@itsmeaditiii9913]

Thanks for this video

[@JulieS1961]

I am loving the pen only videos!! Are you staying safe with all of the fires? It looks like they are not too far from you. I’m hoping the fires die down- how terrifying

[@CindyGuentertBaldo]

yeah, there aren't currently any big fires that are out of control near me, but we are living in the weird orange hellscape from all of the fires on the coast.

[@juliankelly7543]

"I get to buy more pens!" 😂 Yes!

[@jillpowell5197]

I color code. Son #1 is blue, son #2 is green, I am red, family is black. It helps me know at a glance which kid has practice at what time.

[@mousegrey6747]

Work, health, adulting, quality of life, and buffer time. As much as possible, I just block out time by those categories, and I’ll have a list of tasks that are part of it this week/generally, and work on whatever suits my current capacity for that type of task (or anything that needs to be done ASAP gets a symbol to make it stand out). Bonuses: less colours to keep track of, easier to have all colours I like without them being too similar to be useful, I don’t forget to add 100% necessary buffer time to my day, and I can use it for my budget with minimal adapting. I might use 2 more colours for a morning/evening routine if I can something to stick long enough to call it a routine, but there’s room in the colour choices for that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@GoldzenJuLz]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤love you much girl 💞 thank you

[@acgallan]

I don’t use a key for my colour coding since I noticed somebody on Instagram use their LabelMaker to label what each of their pens were for.

[@mallowpuff5]

I picked 5 colours cause it fit into a multi pen, and then I discovered (way later) that these colours seem to be sold together in a 5 pack more often than not - blue, pink, purple, green, orange. Helps with the budget lol

[@1lawn68]

What pens are these that your using?

[@noop5_plans]

I’ve tried color coding and it doesn’t seem to work for me. I love the video though, I still always get something from videos like this!

[@533134]

I have two separate color codes: work and personal. My events is in purple, red/pink is work, vacation is orange, yellow are appointments, green meetings, blue is family stuff.

[@daniellebelanger2527]

Color code is working for me with the Maslow Pyramid

[@JT1358]

Another super-helpful video but colour coding is way too distracting for me. Kudos to those who make it work! Looking forward to one on highlighters as I do use those occasionally ... with my blue biro... 😱.

[@makeupyourplan]

Luv ya back dude!!!

[@elizabethjohnson-kueny1655]

I was color coding with some really bright Staples highlighters for a couple years, but one got lost another went dry. And then the rona hit. Let's just say my Q2 planner is a wasteland. Got some Mildliners this quarter and now I'm thinking I should get back to color coding.

[@MsKmartinez]

What pens are you using?

[@CindyGuentertBaldo]

zebra clickart!

[@symmetricalastic]

My best friends name is Cindy 💜 lol my dog’s name is Lucy what a coincidence 🐶

[@Pasafino27]

Google calendar needs more colors. I've got 7 kids I need more choices 🤪

[@puddytatpurr]

I have ALWAYS colour coded and I'm baffled everytime someone says "I didn't think of that" LOL I colour code in two ways - first: each day has a different colour. For example; today is teal so everything I do today is marked in teal (tasks completed, trackers) and I use Staedtler double ended fibre tip pens for that Second: Everyone in my life has a colour - I'm purple, my oldest is orange, my second son is royal blue, daughter pink, 3rd son is darker blue, youngest is teal, pets are red, fitbit stuff is brown (I run a fitbit challenge group), youtube is very light blue, business is pale green, stuff that I want to watch on TV is yellow, finances is magenta, anything else is black and those are all Papermate InkJoy Gel pens It sounds a lot, but it really isn't to me - but then; I've been doing it that way for 30 odd years My journal is VERY colourful LOL

[@The3GMom]

color code sounds like a good idea, but nope, not for me.

[@timhuitt6669]

Someone has a potty mouth!