How to Build Your Planner Lineup

[@avh907]

I’m really focused on feeding myself - like, not dieting, just eating enough food - and I’m working with a nutritionist, so my Weeks this year is literally JUST meal planning and grocery shopping and occasional notes about my nutritionist sessions. It’s been great so far.

[@RachelleinTheory]

That sounds so peaceful

[@ssd1453]

I love that- I got a weeks for 2023 for health/ workouts/ wellness! xoxo

[@itaaish]

I typically have planners by location, so my main planner at home and some on the go options I rotate. This year I’m merging my main planner and memory keeper

[@RachelleinTheory]

Nice, do you have different sections for planning and memory keeping or just gonna throw it all in together?

[@itaaish]

@@RachelleinTheory so far I’m going to throw it all together. Big memories in the weeks and rapid log in dailies. I’m just picturing a full with barely any white space. Of course, until I’m bored and will jump into something else lol

[@RachelleinTheory]

@@itaaish I love this for you hahah. That sounds really fun.

[@kris.1095]

I’d love to see a video from you about digital planning support. All my meetings for work are in my office’s Outlook calendar, including reminder alarms, and I also put in personal appointments that happen during the work day. My paper planner (Common Planner for 2023) has the big work events (a trip, an all-day conference, an end of quarter deadline), plus everything else personal for me and my kids and elderly mom, including notes, contacts, finances etc. It works, but it doesn’t help me feel organized or less stressed out. Where I struggle: (1) the huge to do lists that need to track deadlines, date assigned if applicable, or both; and (2) my need for a useful monthly view, which is terrible digitally (all those meetings are too much for a daily square). I wind up keeping a separate paper monthly calendar (Dayminder 8 x 11.5) that combines work and personal.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank you so much for this comment. This is a great idea and I’d love to make a vid around how I make it work. Another question for you, is the deadlines and date assigned task issue mainly at work or personal too?

[@kris.1095]

@@RachelleinTheory How nice to get a reply! ❤️ The assigned dates and deadlines are mostly for work. I don’t have nearly as many personal deadlines, so they are easier to track right in the paper planner. For work, if something doesn’t have a firm deadline or I didn’t promise delivery on a certain date, the assigned date keeps me from kicking the can down the road in favor of firm deadlines too many times.

[@andrew4635]

@@kris.1095 Hope it's okay that I pop in here! Would one of those large desk placemat-style calendars suit your work needs? There's a trade-off between portability and room for all the things in the box, but maybe it would help? And it keeps work at work.

[@kimstegner]

I love to mix and match areas and styles. I have a bullet journal by my bed for health, a sticker-clad Happy Planner for work, and a Leuchtturm Monthly with no decoration for my leadership role.

[@sophiaisabelle01]

We appreciate all of your dedication and consistency. God bless you.

[@terrieisanaudioslave]

I love the digital ideas. I’m jumping into digital now. I have a huge jump stack. I hope to keep most of my projects and goals in my digital. It’s so wide open and customizable. But, gosh darn it I love paper. It’s my jam. Smooth, perfect ink catching paper. It’s so lovely. Delicate yet hard working. It’s more visual and I don’t have to look at a screen. Not quite there with my new stack. But, it’ll morph anyway within a week of January. Best to you and all of your subscribers. Hope we all have a fabulous year.

[@sophiahodgson85]

I’m a ‘by activity’ planner - I use a bullet journal for my planning and projects and a sketchbook for memory keeping and a notebook by my bed for tarot

[@earthologyhut]

I moved back to analogue but definitely couldn’t let go of my Google calendar. I would love to see a video on how you use yours. I have a different coloured calendar for my various jobs and different colour for hospital appointments - yep there are enough to warrant a colour/calendar of their own!! And in 2020 I created a lavender colour called Positive Self Action to encourage myself to be kinder to myself and do more of what supports my needs and celebrate that through seeing the colour on my calendar. Thank you for all your amazing videos - I’m Positively addicted to your channel. Varsha 🎉😜

[@acgallan]

I agree, we definitely need to keep a digital planner or some digital elements to organize in addition to our planners. Even just for the pop-up reminders it helps a lot.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Right! It’s so hard to just do it all on paper

[@MamaGraciePlans]

I use my hobonichi weeks for memory keeping. It’s already dated so that’s a plus! I also love the TR paper in the weeks and the fact that the binding is one of the best out there for long term keeping. The size is perfect for stacking nicely on my shelf and storage through the years.

[@RachelleinTheory]

That’s so sweet, I love a lil memory keeper like that ♥️

[@CayleeGrey]

Man you are rocking the planner videos. 😍😍😍

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank you ☺️☺️

[@hindenburg2006]

Yeesh - I'm a combination of the first 3!😄 I got a horizontal MakseLife this year that I'm currently using as my goal planner and health tracker. This one stays at home - I don't need to carry my workouts with me every day (since i work out at home), and I don't need a daily reminder of my goals (they're all long-term projects anyway). I've also got an EDC "travelers notebook" that I fashioned out of: -a 2-yr months-only planner (my "catch-all" for appointments and events), -a weekly horizontal for meal tracking -another weekly horizontal that's just for my errands' lists (that doubles as a spending tracker - as soon as i get in the truck, I record the total spent right next to the errand entry) -a little blank notebook that's basically a commonplace book/idea capture/bujo-without-the-dots lol. (The 2 year planner was from Wal-Mart for $5; the other 3 were from Dollar Tree, so $1.25 each. The Makse I bought at the end of last year for $22 and am re-dating.)

[@planwithabi]

Hi Rachelle, I just wanna say.. I'm so happy I found your channel ❤

[@RachelleinTheory]

Omg I’m happy too thank you 🥺

[@aftonforred3685]

I'm trying a Cousin for my everything planner this year. I have a couple plain notebooks for meditation and shadow work notes.

[@debibufkin]

Digital planning support is a must for me, and I’ve been searching for a few years now different ways to incorporate digital planning into my manual planners.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Video coming on this for sure!

[@jampanda1568]

Super practical! I just wrote a super long list telling myself the advantage and disadvantage of separating my art journal from the planner. (It was a new thing and I was gonna add it to my old system.) I was leaning towards separating it but you totally just solidified my choice.

[@RachelleinTheory]

YAY that sounds like a great exercise and I’m glad I could help along the way!!

[@earthologyhut]

I have also decided to take the pressure off my planning to keep my planner simple and leave the art to my art journals. Sometimes we just have to go through the motions to work out what we need. I would love to be more creative in my planner but it just doesn’t work for me and my planning suffers - not good!! 🫣

[@jennywilder2962]

I use my google calendar for my anchor (the real) calendar. It's on my phone, with me all the time, etc. I like the idea of keeping a digital task list which I utilize on my goog calendar for the repetitive tasks. I use the reminder feature for bills and other ongoing items. Maybe I could dig into the tasks feature on goog calendar even more. It's really handy when things need to get moved around. I like to write in the names of people I see each day. By the end of the week, it's a good reminder of all the people I connect with each day. Thanks for your terrific videos!

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank you for the compliment and adding this note Jenny!! I think that is a great way to stay connected to people and that’s almost exactly the way I use my google calendar too lol.

[@ybsanba6997]

Thanks, great input - I am so happy to found you!

[@danibert85]

Yeeeeeeeees for digital tools that complement and support offline planners! ❤ For example, every time I have a date/time-specific event, I always add it to my google calendar which automatically synchronizes with my work calendar and also my personal iPhone, with proper reminders set. Then on Sunday afternoon planning, I can easily add that to my Hobonichi Weeks for extra visibility and on Monday morning remind my team that at some point that week I'll be away from work for an appointment. I use Notion in different ways as well, and I'll be moving my master todo list there just so it's easier to prioritise what needs to be done. Looking forward to the video you will share about your methods! 😊

[@RachelleinTheory]

this is EXACTLY how i use my google calendar too! Video coming soon :)

[@MarissaGarza]

+1 to the digital support system video!! I just mapped mine out and I'd love to see what other people use. Thanks for all you do!

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank YOU Marissa ♥️♥️

[@thetraveldrug3096]

Heya loved this video. This new year I am going with 2 planners for the first time ever. One planner for my personal life tasks & passion projects, and a smaller A6 daily planner for work stuff.

[@RachelleinTheory]

That’s awesome, I have a work/personal planner system myself!

[@Okie_Stitches]

I’d love to hear about your digital support planning! I don’t have a side hustle. I just use paper. But, I think I could possibly benefit from one. My issue is, out of sight is out of mind for me. I’d love a fix for that!!! 😆

[@RachelleinTheory]

Omg that’s such an issue for me too. Do you find that out of sight out of mind applied to ur planners themselves or also to things IN the planners? Sometimes I find if the info isn’t in my weekly it doesn’t get referenced at all even if it’s elsewhere in the planner 🥲

[@Okie_Stitches]

@@RachelleinTheory yes, I’m kind of one-track minded. If it’s not written down immediately, it can be lost for a good while. I’m trying to be better about making some sort of reference that points me back and forth between pages. Updating my monthly tracker has to be somewhere on my daily/weekly or it won’t be done.

[@tuomi1154]

For me my one and only planner would be my hobonichi cousin, but I've found that I really need a second weekly layout since I want to separate my memory keeping from my functional day to day planning. This year I finally decided to buy the hobonichi weeks and try it for next year. Your video provides some great prompts to work through!

[@RachelleinTheory]

Ahhh I love this. The hobo weeks is such a good lil companion for that.

[@Bootus123]

I have two Hobonichi planners: a weeks (as my actual planner) and an A6 (as my memory planner, basically a daily "what happened" planner). I also use a lined journal for long form journaling, but I certainly don't use that every day.

[@progressisperfection]

My bf just gifted me a new book called "A Journey Within" by Piccadilly. I think this is a good pre designed book for reflecting and learning about yourself. I'm also including a dream journal to record my dreams(I'd like to practice lucid dreaming), a gardening planner with space to reflect/ take notes, and also a pixel diary for personal care and hygiene, including nutrition and exercise.

[@lil.ikuraa]

Yes to the video on your digital support system!! :D

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

For the past five years, I have been using a half-sized discbound planner. It’s both a single planner, a frankenplanner, and a planner that can be divided into separate parts. The basic planner has two parts - a practical section (monthly, weekly, daily, lists, notes, to do sections) and a personal section. There’s also a section for things that I want to remember or access regularly. The personal section includes a gratitude section, a spiritual diary, and a discussion section. The planner is large and requires 2.5” or 3” discs. When I don’t want to carry my whole planner around with me, I take out the pages I know that I will need and put them in a smaller discbound notebook (one with smaller rings). If I go out and attend a class or presentation and take notes, I can come home and bind those materials in a “presentations” notebook. I also can store any pages in which I write about very personal matters (finance, health) in a “private” binder. S One problem with this method is that it can be hard to find things as the years move along. To solve this problem, I have digital backup in the form of an index or materials I may want to access in the future. As mentioned above, I have different spreads. My monthly spread gives me an at-a-glance overview. In my weekly spread, I discuss my reasons for the things that I want to do and, then, do. I also have a weekly “lists” section where I record water intake, food intake, vitamins, exercise, and household tasks. I also mark hourly appointments in this section. Sometimes I need more space to really discuss things that are going on in a particular day, so I have some two-pages-per day sections, which I use only occasionally. This planner is entirely functional and is messy. I generally use black ink with red highlights, and I occasionally use colored pencils to highlight different kinds of activity (exercise, appointments, spiritual activity, etc.)

[@RachelleinTheory]

I LOVE this system. It's so interesting to hear how it works for you, your pain points and how you have solved them. Thank you for sharing!

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

@@RachelleinTheory ❤️❤️

[@faithandbulletjournals]

I definitely love to hear about your digital planning!!

[@WhatEmmaDidNextUK]

Love to see the digital crossover video as I am the same with Google calendar and a to do ‘hun’ but struggle with duplication and ‘out of sight’ syndrome. Lol

[@ellenmargrethelarsen80]

Your videos are encouraging ❤️thank you😊

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank you Ellen

[@aeolanyiramoon6260]

I love the leaving the work at work idea :) When I find a new job I will try that

[@zoel4891]

I separate my work and personal out because I find that having work tasks in my personal planner stresses me out about work during the weekend

[@RachelleinTheory]

Suuuuuch a valid reason lol

[@quasithoughts1040]

I would LOVE a video on digital planning

[@RachelleinTheory]

coming up!!

[@katzenfrau]

I’ve tried multiple journals, but I quickly realized I can only handle one thing to keep track of, so I use one dot grid notebook for everything. Bujo planner, habit trackers, daily tasks, scrapbook/memory keeping, language learning, diary/journaling, reading journal, note taking, commonplace. Whatever I need or want it to be, it’s there. Having only one thing to keep track of, one place for everything, makes it achievable for me to follow through on what I want to do.

[@RachelleinTheory]

I love that. I really struggle with drawing all my own layouts or this would be my dream solution

[@katzenfrau]

@@RachelleinTheory yeah, that was definitely a barrier, but I pared them down to just super simple layouts, and I use stamps and stickers, too. I like the idea of having things separated like you do, but I’m glad there’s something for everyone in the planner community and we can all find what works for us!

[@julieb7068]

I love this idea but the here, there and all over is very scattered to me so I have been using rings to be able to move stuff around… the bulky rings both me a bit but not as much as scattered. 🤔

[@a.grandplan]

Hi! Love this information. I realized I’m a planner hopper and that it’s ok. Lol I would be interested to see the digital aspect with paper planners and how they coexist. ❤

[@andrew4635]

Aaah, ty so much for this video! I got some much needed validation re: planner hopping. Bless undated planners

[@RachelleinTheory]

I COMPLETELY feel you on the information redundancy. I have to get my issue with that on lock first before I can make a video 😂 Definitely have some ideas about digital + analog systems but I haven't tried to do JUST analog in a log time 🤔 I feel an experiment coming on!

[@andrew4635]

@@RachelleinTheory I think this will be the year I don't planner hop... but don't hold me to that :p A friend surprised me by buying us both a 2023 Hobonichi Cousin (days after I put in a pre-order for the undated Common Planner... 🫢) I'm crossing my fingers that the planner hopping will go on hiatus this year, because 1) it's stressful, and really doesn't solve my information redundancy problem, and 2) I'll have the space to do daily journalling/collaging in the same book as my planner that I was looking to get from the Common Planner. Guess I'll save it for 2024!

[@RachelleinTheory]

@@andrew4635 That is the great thing about undated planners!

[@dorotheawright2205]

Very interested in the digital elements ❤. Love your content😊

[@RachelleinTheory]

Thank you!!

[@to_be_consumed]

My planner breakdown if anyone cares (why I specifically need each one) Leuchterm 1917- about 6 months' worth of monthly spreads tracking media and productivity, mood tracker, weekly tasks, and weekly review Gallery Leather Monthly- for tracking projects and tests as well as test grades Mini Moleskine- daily journal to vent and memory keeping My school uses Saturn so I use that to note down assignments/tasks as they come up and it's really good for keeping track of due dates (I do not like using the Canvas to-do list it irks me and I like putting everything down myself so that I'm more aware if it) :) :)

[@misse7095]

I tried planner stacking a few years ago and couldn’t keep up with it. You make me want to try again! 😂😂😂 Seriously thinking about a separate health and wellness planner. 🤔

[@RachelleinTheory]

It’s the health and wellness that gets me too tbh 😂😂 personally the work vs personal has been really good to me

[@misse7095]

@@RachelleinTheory I totally get the need to keep them separate!

[@JanisOnTheFarmette]

I have a separate work planner because I don’t want to see a reminder while I’m in a work meeting that my cats are due for their tick and flea treatment. 😂 Honestly, my work and personal lives are so contextual, there’s no point keeping both on the same page. It would be a mess! My home & garden planner stays at home, as does my wellness planner/journal. I carry lists on 3x5 cards for running errands. Thanks for an interesting discussion!

[@RachelleinTheory]

I totally have this too! If I see personal tasks on my to do list for work I’ll start doing those instead of working 😭

[@tuomi1154]

Also I find it useful to name a place for a planner I know I won't be carrying around that much, for example I know I can find my commonplace book from my desk, study planner from my backpack etc.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Yes totally! This is a great tip.

[@DianeShugart]

Great video (as always). If I had to limit myself to one planner, objectively that would be the Hobonichi Mega Weeks -- with the A6 Original as runner-up. For a couple of years I hopped between the two, starting in the Weeks but looking at the A6 with regret and vice versa. Last year I finally managed to set up a system that uses both with no overlap so I hope this will hold me through 2023.

[@RachelleinTheory]

That is so awesome Diane. I also think the mega weeks could really do it all!

[@DianeShugart]

@@RachelleinTheory Nah, your videos are awesome. I could never do what you do!

[@annelyle5474]

I've been planning by area for a while, but in 2023 I want to experiment with some memory-keeping in my writing/creative planner, because I know I'm terrible at keeping up with a separate journal. I like the way Helen Wang of The Coffee Monsterz Co does hers in a Hobonichi Cousin - she's also what you'd call a kawaii planner, I think!

[@RachelleinTheory]

Oh I love her stuff too!! That’s a great idea.

[@Erika-qp1zd]

Yes pls on digital sidekicks and routines! Just for stickybeaking reasons :P I, too, keep everything time-based in an online calendar (google and/or outlook) because things change so often that paper just wouldn't work. Plus there are too many things on each day to fit in a monthly square! I keep trying to keep online to-do lists but I'm yet to get them to stick. Things 3 was the best system I tried, but unfortunately my work computer is now Windows (boooo). I've started logging some important information after the fact in OneNote to help with reporting which has been successful, and also dumping emails or things to refer to later, but that's it. It's not great for project lists.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Ok for sure, vid incoming! I also like things 3 but yeah, it sucks that it’s Mac only 🥲

[@planningandpowerlifting]

If I could just have one planner, it would probably be the Hobonichi Cousin or a larger daily planner. For 2023, I am trying to concentrate on a portable system with my mini Jibun Techos. I decided that I also needed a gym planner, but I don't need to buy one.

[@thekatplans]

I've been bamboozled before into thinking I needed a pile of planners to get things done but as I've been really chewing on what is and isn't working I've realized I can't separate everything....but i also can't have it all together 😂so! in the new year i'll be in a hobonichi cousin for weekly and daily planning, to do lists and keeping track of all the time sensitive things in conjunction with google calendar, and then i'll just have a grid notebook as a journal to serve whatever purpose i want it to - doodles, sticker-filled memory pages, therapeutic brain dumps, junk journaling, etc. And if that creativity spills into other places, great! but my planner can't be the sole source of where i get to scratch that itch. I want my cousin to be function > form (aka stickers and washi and the zen of creation - that can happen elsewhere) ..I'm also toying with the idea of a commonplace book but idk if it actually needs to be separate from my planner or journal. hmm... 🤔

[@RachelleinTheory]

This sounds honestly so dreamy to me. I have a planner lineup I like quite a lot right now and I’m still considering going back to some sort of weekly planner, common place book set up 😂 personally I am new to common placing but I think you can just add it all in there. Why not?

[@TheSeatedView]

Managing multiple roles/hats would be impossible without the digital aspect of my planning. My Google calendar runs my life,, I use Google Keep for to-do lists, adding simply everything, both large and tiny (love the checkboxes), and paper planning is more for tasks that are more strategic, reflective, overall and notes. Would love to hear about how you do it. Thank said, I definitely got absorbed by the capitalist machine for 2023. We'll see what planner ends up to be the winner.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Yes agree whole heartedly about the digital calendar!!

[@estherquintana9534]

I have a 6 ring A5 Planner for organising my days of what needs to be done which I either write into or use post it notes to move around and then I have a bound journal or TN Insert for my daily journal where I write down what I've done (memory keeping) and chores, whether I have medical appointments or just my thoughts for the day (I've been using this method since 2017) I can't have too many planners or else I get too overwhelmed

[@EdieBrown]

I just started using Google Calendar. I'd like to see a video on using digital and analog planning together 😊

[@joanw131]

me watching this and keeping up with planner launches knowing I'll continue to put literally everything in my bullet journal

[@ssd1453]

Can anyone recommend a dated daily planner for daily morning journaling? Thanks!

[@brandigarcia9823]

I am working on my collection right now, as some planners I use are calendar year and some are academic year. I heard a KZbinr once say that you're planner works for you, you don't work for it and that's kinda stuck with me. I have tried to edit my style to fit a specific planner but that just doesn't work for me. This video does help me a bit.

[@RachelleinTheory]

Your planner works for you, you dont work for it. I love that. Thanks for commenting Brandi!

[@lisaleone2296]

I have never been successful having work and personal items in the same planner space (same spreads), and I have never been successful journalling or keeping memories in the same space as my to-do lists. I have a work planner that lives at my home office desk, a home planner that lives in the craft room, and a journal that lives in the bedside table. Every time I let them get closer together than that, I start having problems and become dissatisfied with my planner because no single planner can do all three things as well as the three different books can do what they're doing by themselves.

[@RachelleinTheory]

YES planning by area. Love that

[@Jessi-sj3zx]

Why? 😅 because I keep trying for years now to stick to one and it just doesn’t work. I end up with a 40lb purse trying to carry my sketchbook/appointments/meeting notes/kids out of school day. It’s a giant wheel it starts small just the basic and grows and grows till the purse is so heavy I start just leaving it in the house and taking the wallet/keys out to run into places then before long the items grow, chapstick, lotion… and one day I’m trying to shove all this in my coat pockets and think “oh how silly” then BUY A NEW PURSE 🤦🏻‍♀️often something I have been seeing as the new popular thing I have convinced myself will organize my whole life. Trying to carry this mess still forgetting that abandoned purse with all my organization in it…. Until I need something then it all kinda ends of being moved to the new purse and repeat. Sometimes it’s a small purse that grows into slightly bigger purse and somehow I end up with a giant tote filled with 15 little zipper bags and I have to open 14 of them before I find the one item I’m looking for. Why!!! Cry😭🥺

[@RachelleinTheory]

This is what I’m talking about tho!!! Asking yourself why and stuff. It may take some restricting yourself but just try 1 planner for a while, or something. For me my EDC is 2 TINY planners in one cover because if I carried all that around I would lose my mind 😵

[@loveforpaper6203]

New subscriber 😊Great video

[@Hi2Naomi]

Yes please share your digital supplements. Thank you!

[@katsmith8263]

No planner stacks!!!! One life-one planner!

[@katsmith8263]

🤣🤣🤣notion is the one

[@iLikeMyOwnPosts]

I'm on the weird side of youtube again.

[@RachelleinTheory]

We're all mad here etc. etc.

[@villiahari2635]

Vocal fry vocal fry vocal fry! It’s like scratching a fork on a chalkboard, irritating to listen to and difficult to concentrate on the contents