Easy Tips to Use a Paper Planner: Make It Work for You

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(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Posts on Robyn’s French Nest may contain affiliate links. You can see our full disclosure details here.)

One of the keys to effectively balancing family, work, and life is an organized system for planning while having flexibility for everyday living.  As a wife, mom, and teacher of 21 years, I have found some strategies and easy tips to use a paper planner, making it work FOR me.  If you prefer digital planners, these tips can still apply as you tweak them to fit your schedule and lifestyle.  Let’s make those planners start working FOR you with these simple ideas!

I have read or listened to countless books and podcasts over the years about time management, balancing family and work, and how to juggle all the things.  While the balancing act is something that always requires effort and organization, I have found some tips to use a paper planner that make my life so much more organized and manageable.  

I will be the first to say that I am not an expert.  However, after going on 22 years of marriage, almost as many years of teaching, 3 children, and various ministry experiences, I haven’t totally lost my sanity.  Haha!  While I won’t claim expert status, I think I can safely say that I’ve found what works the best for me over the long-term!

My goal today is not to make you use a paper planner exactly like me.  In fact, to effectively tackle your own to-do list in the best way for you and your family, your planning system likely will NOT look just like mine.

However, while our specific tasks, weekly schedule, due dates, and personal needs will definitely differ, there are some general principles to use a paper planner that can make it work FOR you rather than being just another mundane Monday morning task in your busy schedule.

For me, my paper planner has become an indispensable tool.  I suppose whatever school initiative that was taking place in 1997 to teach students time management and personal organization was especially effective for me!

Using a paper planner started when I was in high school.  Each student was issued a school paper planner; it was our hall pass and different things counted as a grade for some classes, including writing assignments, receiving teacher initials for tasks, etc.  Being the rule follower that I am, I took my paper planning seriously and to this day, my paper planner is still a must-have for my sanity!

In this post, I hope to help you creatively think about the following:

  • Whether a paper calendar or digital calendar (or a combination) works the best for you
  • Personal tasks and daily tasks that need organized when you use a paper planner
  • What type of planner and daily layout offer great benefits when you use a paper planner
  • How you can use a paper planner as part of your routine and daily planning to eventually help you create more free time and white space in the calendar year
  • How you could use a paper planner to help you be more productive with time blocks
  • Use a paper planner and a digital planner to help family members stay organized with important dates as well as daily tasks
  • Why blank pages matter.  A lot.
Robyn sitting at a desk filling out her Erin Condren planner

Does anyone use paper planners anymore?

​Well, let’s just say that on the day I’m typing this, I just got home from a faculty meeting.  As soon as our principal started talking, I chuckled to myself as almost every elementary teacher pulled out their paper planner and pencil.  I won’t dive into the science behind using a paper planner.  However, you can quickly research and find studies that give strong evidence to the success and validity of paper planners over digital calendars.

Now, this is not to say that digital calendars do not have their place.  They can actually be extremely useful!  For example, I use a Google calendar to share my planned content for the Robyn’s French Nest business with my husband.  Since he does the back end work of the blog (basically, making sure all of you can see what I write!), he needs an organized way to see what I plan to share and when I plan to share it.  As we can both access Google calendar from our computers and phones, it is a really convenient way to keep us on the same page.

Are digital planners worth it?

This year, we added a Skylight calendar to our family.  We are only a few weeks into using it but so far, it gets 5 stars from everyone in the family!  I’ll link it HERE for you in case you are interested in checking it out.  While I do not add my personal to-do list into the Skylight for each day, I do add events, meetings, rehearsals, etc. so my kids can see my schedule and know where I am when.  Likewise, my husband has his calendar on there for all of us to easily access.  It is so wonderful to not need to be calling or texting, “What time will you be home tonight?”

The Skylight features of chores and lists are a huge bonus in addition to the calendar.  From my phone, I can add things that I need the kids to do or know and they can quickly see what the expectations are for each day.  It sure beats writing out a post-it note with a chore list or having the kids try to remember what they are supposed to do each day (which totally has not worked for us, by the way!).  Likewise, I can view their chores and activities from anywhere as they check them off, helping me keep tabs on how our day is progressing.

​Our Skylight calendar deserves a blog post of its own so I won’t go into further detail.  However, I want you to see how you can effectively use a paper planner in conjunction with digital planning formats as well.  So far, the combination of my paper planner, Google calendar, and the Skylight calendar are working out so well for us without being repetitive.  I’ll take that as a big organizing and scheduling win for our crew!

Skylight calendar set up on kitchen counter with a small vignette

Easy Tips to Use a Paper Planner: Make It Work for You

​Tip #1 to Use a Paper Planner: Choose the right planner for YOU.

​How do I start using my planner?

I have tried MANY different planners over the years, including a variety of teacher planners, different layouts for personal planners, a phone calendar or digital calendar for “portable planners”, etc.

For me, the Erin Condren weekly planner with the vertical layout has been my favorite for over four years.  I use the academic version for my teacher planner as well.  I can confidently say that this is the right planner for ME!  It may not be the best planner for you and that is okay too.

While I highly recommend the Erin Condren brand for functionality, aesthetic features, quality, and flexibility, there are many different kinds of paper planners out there.  That being said, if you are searching for a quality paper planner with detailed features that also leaves room for you to make it your own, I cannot recommend a new planner from Erin Condren enough.  It has proven to be the best single planner I’ve ever used while also being at a very reasonable price point, especially given that I use it for the coming 365 days every new year!

What really matters is that you find and use a paper planner that works FOR you.  You may have to try a few different styles but finding the right planner is worth the time and money investment.

*This post is not sponsored by the Erin Condren brand and the views of my planner are strictly my own!

How to choose the right paper planner?

​​When you start to choose the type of planner you want to use, you will want to consider the following information:

  • Size of the planner – will you be carrying it around with you everywhere or will it stay at home/office?
  • ​What kinds of information do you need to store in your planner?
  • How detailed is the information or task list and ideas you plan to enter in your planner?
  • Do you have a fairly rigorous schedule with many important tasks or do you tend to do the same kinds of things most days?
  • Is your planner strictly for your own personal life or do you want/need to keep track of family members schedules too?
  • What other kinds of things for different areas of your life might you want to enter in your calendar, such as menu plans, budget or finance tracking, or long-term goals?
  • Do you work best with large, blank spaces with enough room to write or do you take minimal notes in small handwriting?
picture of a beautiful calendar ready to be filled out

Tip #2 to Use a Paper Planner: Make your paper planner part of your daily routine.

​​If you are using a daily planner, you’ll want to get in the habit of using it consistently everyday.  For example, when I get to school each day, my personal planner goes on my desk.

As I get my day started, before students arrive, I like to double check the events and schedule of the day and make sure there are no important tasks that I need to take care of during the school day, such as making a phone call or following up on an email.

Then, when I get home from school (after getting my kids settled into their activities), I set my planner out and open to help me stay on task with my personal daily tasks around our home or for our Robyn’s French Nest business (such as, taking pictures for this blog post!)

While I do not typically carry my planner everywhere I go, it is definitely part of my everyday routine.

Here are some habits that can help you make your paper planner part of your daily life:

  1. ​Enter information into your planner at your earliest convenience.
  2. Have specific times of the day where you create a habit of checking your planner (every single day!), such as during your morning coffee or at the end of the day before quieting down for the evening.
  3. Write in pencil and keep an eraser handy.  Plans change and I don’t love a messy planner!
  4. Use your planner in consistent ways.  For example, always write your menu plans in the same part of each daily block or important appointments in ALL CAPS.  I will show you how I break down my planner to use in super consistent ways.  Consistency is really the only way your planner will work FOR you and become your second brain!
planner sitting on a small coffee table with a cozy coffee mug and a lamp

Tip #3 to Use a Paper Planner: Keep your planner layouts consistent.

​​This tip will be best explained with a picture but I’ll try to give you a bit more detailed explanation to go along with it.  One of the reasons that I absolutely love the vertical layout from Erin Condren is that it is already divided up into 3 sections for each day.  For years, now, I’ve kept a consistent layout for how I use each section.

The top section is anything I need to do on that specific day as it relates to my kids, our family, school events, etc.

Next, the middle section is my content for our Robyn’s French Nest business.  This is where what I am sharing with YOU (or at least plan to share!) on that specific day as it relates to the blog or social media.

Lastly, the third section is my to do list for our Robyn’s French Nest business.

The other thing I love about the vertical layout of my Erin Condren planner is that the vertical daily spread gives me plenty of room to write for each day while still being able to see my weekly calendar at a glance.  Of course, the monthly calendar gives me a big picture view while the weekly layout allows me to see more detail at a glance.

There are many other things I love about my Erin Condren planner but specifically as it relates to the planner layout is the notes section on each weekly layout page.  This notes side margin is so convenient and often works as my “sticky notes” for things I need to jot down quickly, like an address or contact information.

​Consistently using this format allows me to quickly see what I need to do or what is going on in our lives without looking through a whole day’s worth of tasks.  

Once you get into a routine of using your planner on a daily basis as well as using it the same way for your everyday needs, you will also realize how you can use a paper planner as a true extension of your brain.  It’s an amazing thing!

vertical layout of Erin Condren planner showing how to use a paper planner

Tip #4 to Use a Paper Planner: Set aside time to plan.

​Maybe this sounds ridiculous, but hear me out!  Every Monday, part of my to-do list for that day is to sit down and get my planner filled out and organized for the next week.

Here is my reasoning:

  1. If I wait until Sunday evening or Monday morning to plan for the week, it feels too late.  I will likely be missing supplies for a project or be too late to arrange a carpool.  However, if I try to plan the details too far out, things change too much and I have to replan things anyway.
  2. Having a designated planning time written down on my Monday to-do list helps me make sure to stop, sit down, and actually enjoy the time to plan.  Honestly, I’m just nerdy enough to actually kind of enjoy this 15-20 minute process each week!  Haha!  While I don’t have a specific time that I do this on Mondays, I’ve often found that when my students go to music class on Monday mornings, I have a nice, quiet block of time for planning.  That isn’t always the case, though, so thankfully my timing and planner are flexible!
  3. ​Of course, I am always adding things on the day of or changing things for the next day.  In general, though, I have enough of a plan, far enough in advance, to feel prepared and ready as each new week roles around.

​If you are struggling to use a planning system of any kind but do not have a set aside time or day to actually do your planning, give it a try!  Additionally, try planning a little further ahead without being too far ahead.  

One week out has worked great for me.  You may find, like me, that it makes all the difference!

​

cozy bedroom featuring a planner and cozy sitting space

Tip #5 to Use a Paper Planner: Allow for flexibility.

​While my family might laugh when they read this, the truth is, wearing many hats (family, teaching, running a home decor business, doing music ministry) doesn’t really allow for a lot of flexibility.  Without a way to keep track of the details of each day, week, month, and year in my planner, I would have to be so rigid with my schedule.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep it all straight!

If your life allows you to get up each day and plan for only that day, amazing!  Perhaps your schedule is not very full and simple desk calendars or a Google online calendar is all you need.  Perfect!

For me, in this season of life, that couldn’t work without making me absolutely out of my mind with stress.  I’d never remember everything and I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy dropping the ball for the people I love!

At the same time, flexibility is essential.  Rarely does a single day run exactly as planned.  That is just a simple truth of life.  Some particular days, you may have to throw the planner out the window (figuratively, of course!) and just take care of what is immediately in front of you.  That is also part of the adventure called life.

However, approaching each day/week in an organized way with your paper planner can actually allow for greater flexibility because you can see your day or week all at once. From there, you can see how to move things around to reprioritize the needs and even wants that are right in front of you.

help wanted sign hanging in the laundry room

Tip #6 to Use a Paper Planner: Leave blank pages.  They matter.

​​You read it right.  A professor I had in college used to always say “play now, pay later or pay now, play later”.  You are working hard every day to keep an organized schedule for you and your family and to work productively in your home and career.  Essentially, you are paying now so you can play later.  But DON’T FORGET TO PLAY!  Life is too short to not have blank pages in your planner.

Intentionally, I leave my planner behind on weekend getaways with my family, vacations, winter or spring breaks, dates with my husband or one-on-one time with my kids, and even for a lot of the summer break.

In fact, this is one of the reasons I prefer a paper planner instead of going totally digital.  I don’t want to always have access to my schedule and calendar.  Otherwise, it could be too tempting sometimes to pull it out and end up working instead of being present in the moment.  During the “blank page” time.

As much as possible, I put my planner away on the weekends.  While I may have a few notes to check on, I usually am very intentional on the weekends about setting aside a long task list.  Of course, there are weekends that can’t be helped, catching up on projects or work.  In general, though, while the weekends aren’t usually totally blank pages, they have a lot of white space.

To me, the more white space I can intentionally create in my calendar, the more present and in the moment living I am likely enjoying.  That is a joyful part of keeping an organized plan and schedule on the non-blank page days!

picture of the whole family on vacation

​In case you can’t tell, I’m pretty passionate about how to use a paper planner.  Since I’m a visual learner and have found my paper planner to be incredibly beneficial to me, I love trying to answer questions and help other people who want to use a paper planner…or at least give it a chance.

Tip: You really need to spend enough time with your paper planner to know that it’s going to work for you or not.  I recommend using any particular paper planner for at least a month before you decide to change the type of planner or layout.  Habits take time and the habit of your planner is what is ultimately going to make it work for you the most!

​​I am often asked how I “do it all” or how I possibly stay organized with our busy lives.  The answer is that first of all, I don’t do it all.  The only reason I can balance things at all is because of a good and loving family who is on my team.  Secondly, though, my paper planner saves the day more often than I can even count.  THAT is why I’m passionate about sharing it with you!

Now, if you have more questions that I haven’t answered OR if I can be more clear on any part of the topic, please let me know in the comments.  If you have a question, probably someone else does too.  I can help all of us by updating this post as we go with answers to your questions.

Most of all, I hope that this blog post gives you hope that there are definitely ways to take even the craziest schedule and get it under control.  A life dictated only by your schedule isn’t much of a life and I hope that this inspires you to try using a paper planner or digital calendar system to take back some of the chaos!

Let me know how I can help!

I’d love for you to follow me on social media!  You can find my home decor inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!  

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Posts on Robyn’s French Nest may contain affiliate links. You can see our full disclosure details here.)

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