What is the purpose of a 17- or 18-month planner?

I see this question often on comments or reviews of 17- and 18-month planners, and I'm always surprised by the question. Personally, I like to plan as far ahead as possible in my planner so more weeks is always better.

17 month planners begin in August, and 18 month planners begin in July. Both go all they way through December of the following year.  These types of planners are very popular and many people prefer them.

But, some people argue, why not have a 12 month planner that begins either in August or January? Those extra months are just going to go to waste.

Well, I disagree.

First, the reasoning behind a 17- or 18-month planner is that you can start the planner at the beginning of the academic year and plan all the way through the end of the following calendar year. These planners are often geared toward students, and moms of kids in school. It's more convenient to schedule the entire school year in one planner.

So then why the extra months? Why not just have the planner end in July and start a new one again in August?

Well, there are several reasons:

Some people really do like to plan all the way to the end of the next year.

Some people (like students who will graduate at the end of the school year) need to transition to a January-December planner

And, some companies only make 17- or 18-month planners and don't have separate academic-year and calendar-year versions. With both the academic and calendar years covered, they have a wider potential customer base.

To those folks who say the unused months are wasted, I say, never!! Those pages can be used as Notes pages, and don't we all want more notes pages in our planners??

Do you use a 17- or 18- month planner? Why?

bloom 2013-2014 academic-year planners

If you're looking for an academic-year planner with a colorful cover and excellent design, check out bloom daily planners! They are pretty and affordable, with a huge selection of cover designs that are similar to the cover designs of some planners that cost almost 5 times as much (which I will not name but I think you know what I'm talking about)!

The bloom academic-year planners go from August 2013 through the end of July 2014. They have a week on two pages format with month on two pages grid calendars embedded in the weeks. They measure 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches and are slim (less than 1/2 inch thick) so you can easily carry it everywhere in your bag.

Student Media Group, the makers of bloom planners, sent me four cover designs to review. All the planners have the same features. I will walk you through the books so you can see all the features of these excellent planners!

The cover below is the Floral Stamp design, which (not surprisingly!) is my favorite! I love the colors!

The flexible cover and spiral binding are not at all bulky.

Inside the front cover there is a year at a glance calendar for all of 2013. The Personal Info page has details on how to find bloom planners on their website (www.bloomplanners.com) and on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/bloomplanners).

Next is a list of holidays for 2013-2014, and an excellent page for writing your goals for the year!

Next there are three pages for writing your class schedules each term:

And then there are NINE PAGES for Notes! Hooray! You can write and track your goals, write frequently used contacts or back up the numbers in your phone, note your class requirements, or anything else.

At the beginning of each month there is a full size monthly calendar with holidays printed in the day spaces and an extra column for notes, monthly goals, things that must be done that month, financial totals, etc. At the top of each monthly page there are inspiring quotes from famous women to help motivate you.

The week on two pages spread gives you plenty of space to write each day. There are month indicators at the page edges to help you easily find the month you are looking for. I like the holiday symbols in the day spaces. Below you can see the snowflake on the First Day of Winter:

Below is the Teal Chevron cover design:

The pages inside the Teal Chevron planner are printed with a pink design. I like the lip print on Valentine's Day!

Here is the Avocado Trellis design:

The page colors inside match the cover:

Here is the Mustard Ikat cover:

The pages have a cheery yellow design. Inside the back cover of the planners there is a year at a glance calendar for all of 2014 for quick reference:

The coil binding allows the book to fold back on itself easily to save space on your desk:

I love the gorgeous cover designs! Look through their huge selection of cover choices, and good luck trying to decide on just one!

Bloom also has full-size 3-ring binders to match some of their planner designs, so you binder and planner can match! See their binder selection here.

You can buy bloom planners at www.bloomplanners.com, and at Amazon.com.

**Edited to add: www.bloomplanners.com ships internationally!!

Many thanks to Student Media Group for sending me these samples of their new bloom weekly planners to review!

What do you need your planner to do for you?

The purpose of a planner is to keep you in control of your life. Everyone's needs are different, and your planner can be anywhere from basic to complex.

Ideally your planner should be your life management tool. Below are some functions of a planner. How many of these do you need your planner to do?

Appointments: The most basic function of a planner is to schedule appointments. But a planner can be so much more.

Tasks: I need to write tasks directly into my planner, prioritized daily, weekly and monthly so I know when I need to do them. Seeing my tasks alongside my schedule allows me to see what I need to do and when I have time to do it.

Goals: I use my planner to set, track and record my goals so they are in front of me all the time.

Academic: assignments, papers, exams and homework all need to be tracked in your planner so you get everything completed on time. You can also use your planner to track course requirements and grades.

Projects: Whether at home or at work, your planner can help you track progress, milestones, deadlines and deliverables.

Family: There are several brands of family organizers with a weekly grid pattern that allows you to see what each member of the family is doing each day. Some planners even have carpool pages, babysitter information pages, and places to track after school activities.

Financial/ Budget: Your planner is a handy place to keep track of your finances and budget. Some planners have dedicated budget forms to fill in monthly to help you stay on top of your financial situation.

Meal planning: Some planners have specific meal planning spaces in the weekly pages to encourage you to plan ahead for meals so you can save money on shopping and know what you're making for dinner every day.

Food diary: People who are dieting can use a planner to record all their food every day to help them eat healthier.

Medical/ health tracking: Your planner is a good place to record medication, blood pressure/ sugar levels, weight, exercise, symptoms and anything else you need to monitor your health.

Record-keeping/ archival: Some people need to keep official records at work. Others (like myself) like to keep records of their days to remember when things happened. Paper is a great way to archive information. Chronological records in a planner can show progression or evidence.

Journaling: Your planner is a great place to capture thoughts, events, hopes and dreams. It's also an easy place to jot cute things your kids/ grandkids say and do.

Art: Some creative people like to do a sketch each day, decorate their planner pages, and use their planner as an artistic outlet.

Holiday planning: Some planners have pages to plan Christmas, vacations, parties, events, birthdays gifts and cards.

Which of these functions does your planner do for you? Are there other functions you need beyond these? Which planner are you using and does it do everything you need/ want it to do? Please post a comment!

Brush Dance 2014 Date Books: Simple Pleasures, Perennial Grace and Mindful Living

Many huge enormous thanks to Brush Dance for sending me these beautiful planners to review! I absolutely love Brush Dance products. I have had the pleasure of reviewing several here on Plannerisms and they are just a joy. So when Brush Dance offered to send me some of their new 2014 Date Books to review I of course said yes and I could hardly wait until they arrived because I knew they would be great!

And they are, wow!!

Brush Dance Datebooks are famous for their beautiful imagery and uplifting quotes. They are 6.9 by 8.5 inches, with hard covers and metal coil bindings. The fountain pen friendly paper is thicker than most paper so there's no bleeding or show-through to the other side of the page, allowing you to use all your favorite pens!

The Brush Dance Date Books have lots of themes to choose from so you're sure to find one (or several!) you identify with. Some people frame the monthly images because they are so beautiful.

I have to admit, the Simple Pleasures Datebook is my favorite for 2014.

The Simple Pleasures Datebook, journal and wall calendars are about the joys of home, companionship, a good book and a warm bath.

Each of the Datebooks has a pocket for papers and receipts, and tabbed monthly calendars embedded in the weeks with a new image and quote each month. Click on the photos for a larger view.

The tabbed months are on heavier card that will stand up to use all year. The monthly calendars have holidays for the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand printed on the day spaces, with lined space for Notes below the month grid. Phases of the moon, solstices and equinoxes are also printed on the days, which I really like.

The weekly pages begin at the beginning of each month and end on the last day of the month.

There is a week per page. I really love the bright blue ink they used in the Simple Pleasures pages this year, it looks great! There is also a subtle decorative background design at the edges that looks so nice.

At the end of each month there are several notes pages for lists, tracking goals, finances or anything else you want to write each month. I love the border design and again that blue color is so pretty!

The coil binding allows you to fold the book completely back on itself to save space on your desk and still see your week in one view. Holidays are all printed on the day spaces in the weekly pages too.

I have to admit the July quote actually made me cry, because this is exactly how I feel about my house. It says, "I am grateful for the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and floors that need waxing because it means I have a home."

After ten years of dreaming of owning a traditional cottage in Scotland, last year that dream came true when we bought our house, our first time as homeowners after two decades wandering the earth. I don't particularly enjoy cleaning, but each time I sweep the floor or clean the kitchen it feels like an affirmation of love for my home. That's why the Simple Pleasures datebook really speaks to me this year.

Anyhoozle, back to the datebooks!

Every month has a tabbed divider to easily flip to the month you're looking for.

There's also a tabbed Addresses section at the back of the book. Love the design!

You might remember I used the Simple Pleasures 2012 pocket calendar last year and loved it!

Here is the Perennial Grace 2014 Datebook.

The Perennial Grace Datebook, journal and wall calendars celebrate nature and peace. The Perennial Grace 2013 Datebook is my favorite this year, and I cut it apart to turn it into a week + notes format in my Success Choice binder. Later I regretted cutting it up and bought another one!

Here is the pocket and tabbed months. I love the beautiful images of nature in this datebook!

Here is the weekly design in the Perennial Grace 2014 Datebook. The colors and patterns remind me of sitting outside in a garden looking at flowers and trees.

This is my favorite quote in this datebook. It says, "The bird of paradise alights upon the hand that does not grasp. -John Berry"

Here is the pattern in the Address pages:

Here is the Mindful Living 2014 Datebook. The Mindful Living Datebook and wall calendar are about self-awareness and improvement.

The images in the Mindful Living 2014 Datebook are soothing and calm.

Here is a view of the month tabs, they look so nice. This is my favorite quote in the Mindful Living Date Book this year, it is so true.

The colors and design are very handsome and can be enjoyed by men and women.

Here is the design in the Address pages:

I have the Mindful Living 2013 pocket calendar (which I featured in a giveaway last year) and I love the positive quotes!

Each of the Date Books has an elastic closure for keeping the book closed in your bag. The closure strap can also stay out of the way on the back cover when you're not using it.

If you are looking for a planner that will make you feel good and is beautiful, for yourself or as a gift, take a look at the Brush Dance 2014 Date Books. You're sure to find something you'll love!

Brush Dance also has a huge selection of wall calendars, mini wall calendars, journals, cards and bags that are all beautiful and functional!

You can buy Brush Dance products at BrushDance.com, on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and at Calendars.com for international shipping.

Thanks again to Brush Dance!

Using a nondated small notebook as daily planner + journal

In yesterday's post I listed the pros and cons of using a large dated day per page planner as a daily planner, logbook and journal. And I explained why, after struggling with the size for months, I finally decided to give it up for a smaller notebook.

In Rori's excellent comment on my journaling post last year, she describes how she uses her notebook as a capture device each day. Once I figured out how to adapt her system to my use, I went for it!

I downsized from my large (6 by 8 1/4 inch) dated day per page book to a pocket size Mini Paperblanks Darwin Tree of Life journal that I featured here last week. It's so portable! I hardly notice it in my bag.

And because it's undated, I can write as much or as little as I want each day. Usually I use the left page to map out the schedule of my day, and the right page for notes and journaling. By journaling I mean, funny things my kids said, events, and things of interest. I don't write about my feelings or things like that, because when I've done that in the past I find that type of writing not useful to read later. It's purely for capturing, not projecting.

I'm notorious for back-filling my journal days later. When I need to do this, I just leave myself some space to come back and fill in later.

Something that bothered me when I used a dated page per day planner is I had nowhere to write my long-term lists (like things to do with guests while they were visiting, birthday gift ideas, etc.). They would get lost in the daily pages. There weren't enough notes pages in the back of the book to write them. Sticky notes fell out and went missing.

In my new undated notebook, I write lists in the back of the book. Then when my daily records starting from the front meet my lists that started from the back, it's time for a new book!

In addition to unlimited page space each day in a small portable book, another reason I'm excited about this system is that I will get to actually use the plethora of notebooks I have! I have so many beautiful, cool, and fun notebooks just sitting on my shelf. This is a great way to get to use them.

Just a few of the bajillions of notebooks I own!

During really busy times I can upsize to an A5 notebook, which would still be lighter and slimmer than a same-size day per page diary.

Do you use a notebook to plan and record your days? Please leave a comment!

Pros and Cons of using a large day per page planner as daily planner + journal

After some switching around, I've been using a large day per page planner so far this year to plan and record each day and for journaling. I use my weekly Plannerisms planner to plan and set goals, and my large red Time Traveler day per page planner (which I reviewed here with lots of photos) as my daily planner/ record book/ journal. You can see my post here for more details on how I use my weekly and daily planners together.

You might remember that one of my planner fantasies is to write everything that happens to me each day in a large daily book. I've been using my large Time Traveler daily book pretty much that way. In general I do enjoy using my day per page book as the landing place for everything that happens every day. And the great news is, I do journal much more in it than I have done in the past couple of years, so that's a huge benefit. But as with everything, it has its pros and cons.

Large book

Pro: The Time Traveler daily book is big, I measure it at approximately 6 by 8 1/4 inches. This means the pages are nice and spacious so I can write a lot each day.

Con: The flip side of a large page size is a big and heavy book. I tend to leave the book at home sometimes due to the bulk and weight. I would rather use a book that I'm happy to carry everywhere so I can jot things down all day: things to remember, expenditures, notes etc. Of course in a smaller dated book I would have to make decisions about what is worthy of being written on the day's page, and would have to use a separate book as a journal.


Dated Day Per Page

Pro: One huge advantage of having a dated page for each day is that I don't have to journal in chronological order. Often the most eventful days are the ones where I have the least amount of time and energy to write. In a dated book I can go back a couple of days later and fill in the details.

Con: Of course the downside of a dated day per page is that I'm restricted to just one page every day. If I feel like writing more, there isn't room (unless I spill over to the adjacent page). If I write less that day, I'm wasting page space.


Carrying my journal with me everywhere

Pro: It's convenient to carry my journal book everywhere so I can jot things down before I forget (like wildlife sightings while I'm out for my walk or funny things my kids say).

Con:  It makes me nervous to take my journal containing my entire year to date out of the house. I would be devastated if I lost the book! Also see my first point, the large daily book is so big and heavy I often leave it at home which completely defeats the purpose of a carry-everywhere capture book.


Of course the obvious solution would be to use a smaller and more portable day per page diary as my carry-everywhere book for my daily schedule and record-book, and a separate undated notebook as my journal for unlimited and unrestricted memory-capturing. That of course would be logical.

But for some reason for the past few years I haven't been able to make myself write in a separate journal. I feel like I don't have time, or I put too much pressure on myself to be expansive. The chronology gets thrown off if I don't write things down immediately.

Also I capture little things in my carry-everywhere book that I wouldn't necessarily haul out a separate journal to write about like noting when the leaves came out on the trees (very late this year!), when the daffodils flowered, bird sightings at our feeder, and The Chicken Story Of The Day (we have 6 hens and their antics are often noteworthy! When I pick my kids up from school each day they ask to hear The Chicken Story Of The Day).

The bottom line is, I do journal in my large daily book much more than I have done in recent years. It is very convenient to carry it around as a landing place for everything I want to write, even though it weighs a ton. The large page means I usually have plenty of space to write every day. So I thought I would stick with it.

Then one day last week I finally got fed up with carrying it around. I was out for my walk in the beautiful forest, lugging this giant book in my bag! I decided it's silly to carry such a huge book everywhere. I wanted to lighten my load. After all, it's summertime! I should be footloose and fancy free! (Or something like that).

So, I decided to do what my friend Rori suggested back in November in a comment on my angsty post about figuring out my journaling situation: use an undated, smaller notebook as my take-everywhere daily book + journal. At first I was resistant to this idea because I thought I wouldn't be able to back-fill the non-dated pages. Then I realized, when I know I want to come back and finish writing something later I can just leave myself page space to fill in! Duh!

Once I realized that would work, I went straight for it. See my next post on my details of how I'm using my small undated notebook to plan and record each day, journal, and more. And the big reveal of which notebook I'm using!

Paperblanks Darwin Tree of Life mini journal

Last in this week's series on my Paperblanks journal collection is my newest: the Darwin Tree of Life mini journal!

This is from the Paperblanks Embellished Manuscripts collection, which I only just discovered recently and immediately became obsessed with. The Embellished Manuscripts collection features great artists, writers, scientists and thinkers. I find these journals extremely inspiring!

Darwin is one of my science heroes. Several years ago I was thrilled to go to the London Natural History Museum's temporary Darwin exhibit to commemorate his 200th birthday. My favorite part of the whole exhibit was Darwin's actual notebook in a glass case, open to the page that is featured on this notebook. It has his sketch of an evolutionary tree, with the words "I think" written next to it. I could just imagine the thought formulating in his mind, traveling down his arm to his hand where it flowed out of his pen onto the paper to be captured for all time. So when I saw this Paperblanks notebook of course I had to have it!!!!

This pocket-size journal will be the first of my notebooks that I will use as my daily logbook + journal. I will have a post with those details in a few days!

The Mini size journal is 3 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches, perfect for carrying everywhere.  The front cover of the Darwin Tree of Life journal has a copy of Darwin's original sketch and notes, and his signature on the magnetic closure flap.

Here is the book with the closure flap open so you can see Darwin's notes. I love it! This makes me feel inspired to do science again.

 Even the back of the book is cool, and a tribute to Darwin:

The decorative spine will look great on the shelf when the book is filled and retired for reference purposes:

The fountain-pen friendly pages are lined, and there is a real ribbon placemarker.

 There is a pocket in the back of the book for cards and papers.

Below is my growing collection of Paperblanks journals!

In addition to the Darwin journal featured here, you can see the Lindau journals I featured in Tuesday's post, the Book Of Kells journal I featured Wednesday, and the slim French Ornate violet journal I featured yesterday. Also you can see the Ventaglio Rosso journal I reviewed last year and used for awhile as a day per page diary. That ended when my daughter fell in love with it and commandeered it for herself!

Not present are the daily and weekly planners I reviewed awhile back because I gave them away to some very lucky people!

I love Paperblanks books because they are beautiful, well made, archival and with great (fountain pen friendly) paper. They open flat (which is extremely important to me!) and I know the books will wear well and last for decades.

My Paperblanks collection continues to grow. Next on my list to buy are the Darwin Ultra journal and the Leonardo Sun and Moon Midi!

Do you love Paperblanks journals? Which ones do you have, and which ones do you want to get? (They're so collectable and addictive!)


(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Paperblanks and receive no commission. I just really like their books!)