If You Give a Girl a Planner: Bookish Notebook

If You Give a Girl a Planner: Bookish Notebook

Nov 2, 2020

If you give a girl a planner, she's going to ask you for a pen, some stickers... and maybe a notebook to go with it. I'm so obsessed with all things paper! I love trying new things and then blogging about it. So, for the last few days, I've shared my 2020 planner lineup. I talked about what I've been using for my daily life, personal goals, and reading journal. Today, I'm wrapping it up with my favorite: my bookish bullet journal / notebook!

This notebook is from The Happy Planner line called Happy Notes. They come in different sizes, and this is the Classic. I believe they all have the mini size rings, three tabbed dividers, and 60 sheets of paper that are either blank, lined, or dot grid (depending on the notebook you choose). I usually buy dot grid because that's my favorite, but you can also buy refill paper in any style if you fall in love with a certain notebook but want different paper.

I usually refer to this as my bookish bullet journal, even though that isn't quite accurate. I tried bullet journaling but never got the hang of it. The format became time consuming for me because I tended to overthink it, but I loved the concept. That's when I got the idea to use my Happy Planner as a pseudo-bullet journal. Instead of drawing everything by hand, I'd make printable pages. And with the disc binding, it was easy to move pages around until I had it just right. It's basically my bookish notebook that's completely customized to me.

When I posted about this notebook back in 2018, I used actual Happy Planner pages for the bulk of my blog planning. Now, my entire notebook is printables that I made for myself. I'm so excited to show you some highlights! My reading notebook is divided into three sections, and I'll show you photos of a handful of pages from each section + will list out what other pages I've included in each. Here are the three sections:

+ Section 1: Challenges, TBR, and Trackers

+ Section 2: Blog Post Planning

+ Section 3: Brainstorming

Let's start at the very beginning!

SECTION 1: CHALLENGES, TBR, AND TRACKERS

GOODREADS CHALLENGE

The very first page of this section is for my Goodreads Challenge. I make my goal 100 books, even though I typically hit it long before the end of the year. I love having a goal but don't want to make it such a challenge that I become too focused on the quantity of what I'm reading versus the quality. When I finish a book, I draw a heart if it was a 4.5/5-start read, a check mark if it was a 3.5/4-star read, or a blue x if it was 3 stars or below. It's fun to see a quick glance to see how I've felt about what I've been reading lately. When I meet the goal, I fill in the date at the bottom.

MISC. CHALLENGES

Next are the pages for the various challenges that I've set for myself or joined. This changes from year to year! There are more pages than the two above, but they're all similar. Here's what you'll find in my 2020 notebook:

+ 2020 Re-Read Challenge: My goal was to re-read at least 12 books, so one per month. I had space to fill that in + an area to brainstorm potential re-reads. I'd completed this goal by May.

+ Picky Pledge Challenge: This is something Alexa and I do every year, which you can read about here. I've got all 12 categories listed with space to write what I've read for each. I've still got a few left to complete!

+ Non-Fiction Challenge: My goal was to read 12 non-fiction books in 2020 because I own a lot of non-fiction but don't frequently reach for it. I shocked myself by completing this goal in June (the letter after each title indicates the month I finished the book) and have finished an additional 16 non-fiction books since then. I'll redesign this page for 2020 so that it isn't tied to a specific month, since that wasn't how I ended up using it.

+ Read or Die Challenge: Alexa came up with this back in 2018, and I decided to do it, too. At the start of a new year, I list anything that's been on my shelves from before the previous year (for 2020, anything I've owned since 2018 or before) with the goal of reading it before the end of the current year. If I don't finish it, the idea is to cull it.

+ My 10 in 20: After my successful 10 in 2019 list, I decided to do it again in 2020. I picked 10 books from my TBR to focus on finishing this year. So far... this year might be a bust. I've only read three and DNF'd one. Whoops! 

After my Challenge pages, I have several pages devoted to my TBR based on the format of the books.

TBR: PHYSICAL BOOKS

First, I have pages dedicated to my physical TBR. I have three bookshelves in my notebook: one for my Non-Fiction TBR, one for Adult Fiction, and one for Young Adult & Middle Grade Fiction. The latter is pictured above. For all my TBR pages, I only write down the titles of books I own. I use Goodreads to save books I'm interested, but I only want to actively track the things I've purchased and plan to read. When I buy a book, I add it to my shelf. Once I've read it, I color it. If I DNF it, I just color it black. And when I fill up a page? I print a new one! 

TBR: E-BOOK

After making the bookshelf, I decided I wanted something else for my e-books. So, I made a Kindle TBR printable! I write digital review copies down on one printable and digital books I've purchased on their own. Since I try to read review copies by pub date, I like separating them. I do a green check when I've read a book and a red X if I DNF it.

TBR: AUDIOBOOKS

And finally, my favorite page in the TBR section is the audiobook printable I designed! I'm most proud of this page because I was able to replicate the look of the Audible app. I write down the title, author, narrator, and length in those spaces. And in the spot where the book cover would go, I color it orange when I'm done listening to a book and write down the date I finished it. And I only use this for audiobooks that I own, not library books!

SERIES TRACKER

The last few pages in this section are related to tracking things! Here's what I've got currently:

+ Book Spending Tracker: What I bought, where I got it, and how much I spent on it

+ Review Copy Tracker: Title, release date, and I've read, reviewed, posted about it, and sent to publicist

+ Series Tracker: Series name, author, number of books in series, and color what I've read so far

+ Movie/TV Tracker: Title, number of episodes (if TV), and whether or not I've watched it

Okay, that's all for my challenges, TBR, and trackers! Now, it's time for the blogging section.

SECTION 2: BLOG POST PLANNING 

MONTHS AT-A-GLANCE

With my goal to post on the blog twice a week, this is a quick way for me to see how I'm doing at a glance. With two months per side, I love that it only takes up three pages of space. This is my first year using these page, and I'm liking them so far! I don't plan out potential blog posts – just write down things I've published.

MONTHLY RECAP

I use the same categories in my recap posts every month, so I created a printable that I could fill in throughout the month. It's made it so much easier when it's time to write the post because I'm not looking in various places (photos / my planner / Goodreads / Spotify / etc.) to joy my memory. It's double-sided, and you can see both above.

The front has four categories: Loved (favorite memories), Read (just favorites, not a full list), Heard (music or songs I had on repeat), and Watched (TV or movies, old or new). For 2021, I'm going to try adding a fifth category: Bought, for writing down favorite purchases from the month. The back is for the books I acquired, since I always include that in my posts. I've divided it into five categories: Bought, Gifted, Gift Card, and Review. 

QUICK LIT

I don't think I had this page in 2018, and it's one of my favorite additions. I write down the title of books I finish that month, and then I have boxes to the right so I can mark when I've taken a Photo, written a Review, updated Goodreads, and Logged it in my reading journal. It's a simple but effective way to stay on track with reviewing what I've read.

END OF THE YEAR 

There are some posts that I write at the end of every year, similar to the way I post a Recap and Quick Lit every month. So, it was worth it for me to create printables for those posts! The first is my My Year In series, and I have pages for:

+ My Year in Books: My favorite reads each month

+ My Year in Adventures: My favorite memories and activities from each month 

+ My Year in Music: What I listened to each season 

+ My Year in Movies & TV: Movies and tv shows that were new-to-me or rewatches

+ My Year in Beauty: My favorite makeup, skincare, and hair products

+ My Year in Obsessions: My favorite finds throughout the year + a new page for baby/big boy faves

Plus two additional pages:

+ Favorite New-to-Me Authors: A Top Ten Tuesday topic that I do every December

+ Perpetual Page-Turner's End of the Year Survey: To fill in potential answers throughout the year 

And that's the end of my blogging section!

SECTION 3: BRAINSTORMING

DOT GRID BLANK PAGES

And finally, I have some blank dot grid pages behind the last tab. I love having blank paper to jot down ideas, flesh out discussion posts (like my favorite bookish memories in the photo above), or sketch potential printables to create for myself. 

Do you have a bullet journal or bookish notebook? 

Of all my planners, I think this one is my favorite!

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If You Give a Girl a Planner: Reading Journal

If You Give a Girl a Planner: Reading Journal

Oct 30, 2020

If you give a girl a planner, she's going to ask you for a pen, some stickers... and maybe a notebook to go with it. I'm so obsessed with all things paper! I love trying new things and then blogging about it. So, for the next few days, I'm sharing my 2020 planner lineup. I'll talk about what I'm using for my daily life, personal goals, reading journal, and bookish bullet journal. Today it's all about my reading journal and log!

Back in 2017, I decided to start keeping a reading log. I wasn't always timely about writing reviews for the blog or Goodreads, and then I'd struggle to remember what I thought of a book when I was done. I looked at reading journals on the market, but most fell short for various reasons – like categories that I didn't want to fill in for every single book I read, too little or too much space, or not enough pages to last me a year. Enter Happy Planner!

The beauty of Happy Planners and the disc-bound planner system is that you can customize them. If you saw my post about my 2018 reading log, today's will look very familiar. The only real difference? The size! I was previously using a Mini but switched to a Classic for 2020. I wasn't sure if it would feel too big, but it's just right. I'll chat a little more about that below. This is a 12-month horizontal planner. Let's look inside!

NOTES PAGE

At the beginning of every month, there's a Notes page. Every Happy Planner has their own design for this page, so that usually influences which planner I choose for the year. I divide this into four sections with my pen and then use the colorful boxes stickers to add headings. This is where I track five things for that month's reads:

+ Source (TBR / Borrow / Review / Reread)

+ Format (Hardcover / Paperback / E-Book / Audiobook) 

+ Top 3 Reads of the Month

+ Genre (genres listed changed based on the month)

+ Quote (favorite from any book that month)

I love wrapping up the month by filling this out because it's a nice way to look back before diving in to new books.

MONTHLY CALENDAR

On the monthly calendar spread, I write down a book's title on the day I finished reading it. If I finish more than one book in a day, I just draw a line halfway through the box to split it up. It's super simple, but I love seeing the contrast between weeks where I only finished one book versus weeks where I was finishing a book a day. 

WEEKLY PAGES

And now we get to the heart of this planner: the weekly view! Happy Planners come in a lot of different formats, but I always buy the horizontal style for my reading log. It's just easier to write down my thoughts in a lined space. As I mentioned, I used to get the Mini size but switched to the Classic this year. I noticed in my Mini that my thoughts often sounded really shallow or repetitive because I didn't have the space to flesh them out at all. I loved that I stuck to the highlights, but looking back it felt like I couldn't write in full sentences or explain myself.

The Classic size has been nice because it gives me a little more room to go into detail but isn't as overwhelming as most things that are marketed as reading journals. I personally don't want a full page per book! I'd never keep up with it and would probably run out of pages in the notebook before the end of the year. This size and style is just right for me! On the day I finish a book, I write down:

+ The title and author

+ The format, source, and my rating

+ A few lines detailing what I thought of it

It isn't as polished as a review I'd share on the blog, but my reading journal has helped me when I've gotten behind on reviews. The bones are there! If I finish more books in a week than there are days, I'll add in a Happy Planner half-sheet and use this same format. If I finish two books on a Saturday but nothing on a Sunday, for example, I'll white out Sunday's date, put washi tape over the line, and write Saturday's date with (Cont.) after it. 

And that's all I do in my reading journal! It's simple but effective for me, which is a huge reason I'm still doing the same thing I was in 2018. I don't want to mess with something that's working. I just wish I'd always kept one! I have one other notebook where I list what I'm reading, which I decided to include in today's post.

BOOKS READ NOTEBOOK

I mentioned this notebook in one of my Happy Planner posts but never added photos of it. I thought it would be fun to include here! I bought it from Books-a-Million almost ten years ago, and that's how long I've been using it. I write down what I read every month, and I love flipping through and seeing how many books I've read since 2011.

MONTHLY LIST

Here's a look at the inside! I circle the month at the top, write down the year, and then just list everything I've read that month. I have considered including ratings, noting re-reads, and other things, but I just prefer the simplicity. It's just a notebook of lists, and I love it.  

Do you keep a reading journal or log?

On Monday, I'll finish by showing you my bookish notebook!

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My Mini Happy Planner: Reading Log

My Mini Happy Planner: Reading Log

Jul 27, 2018

Back in December, I reflected on my favorite things of 2017 and noted that Happy Planner was at the top of the list. I bought my first one that May after seeing Lindsey from Bring My Books raving about them. And though I swore I wouldn't buy all the things, I should have known that I'd be so obsessed with it. It started with sticker books and soon spiraled into making my own printable pages. So, I thought it would be fun to spend this week talking about how I'm using them. Happy Planners come in three sizes: Big, Classic, and Mini. I have one of each, and they each serve a different function. It's time to chat about my final Happy Planner: my mini!

I use my mini Happy Planner as a reading journal! I've got a notebook with a list of what I've read each year that I started when I created my blog back in 2011, but it's just a list of titles and authors. I've always wanted to do something more, and that's where this one comes in! I started it last year, so I'm on my second one now.

At the beginning on every month in a Happy Planner, there's a recap/overview page. As you can see, I've covered some of the categories with washi tape to make them work as a reading journal. The list underneath April is labeled Top 4, and it's my four favorite reads from that month. Noted is a little breakdown of the source of what I read: TBR, Review and Re-Read. Quote is my favorite quote of the month, and Audio is just the total number I listened to.

The only thing to keep in mind, if you want to use the mini Happy Planner as a reading journal, is what this page looks like in whichever one you pick. Some minis have versions of this page that are hard to re-label.

On the monthly calendar, I write the title of the book on the day I finish it. Last year, I wrote more in the Notes sidebar (like the genre breakdown) but didn't continue it. If I finish two books in one day, I'll draw a line dividing the box in half. It's interesting to flip through and see months with reading slumps versus binges!

Mini Happy Planners are all in this horizontal format. It's worked perfectly as my reading journal because it's just enough space for a few thoughts on what I've read but not so much that I dread writing in it. In the past, I've given up on reading journals because it felt like writing a review – and I already do that here on the blog! 

On the day I finish a book, here's what I write: 

1. The title and author on the first line

2. The format, source and rating on the second line

3. A few brief thoughts on the book on the last three lines

And that's it! I don't write in complete sentences or try to make it sound nice. It's really just for recording my overall impressions. It's useful for me because I rarely write a review immediately after finishing a book, but it's not hard to grab this little notebook and jot down a few thoughts when I'm done reading.

For the sake of this post, I specifically chose a week where I finished a lot of books so that you could see it really filled in. But there are lots of weeks with only one or two books recorded! In busy weeks where I finish more than one book in a day, I'll take a little washi tape and cover up the date of a day where I didn't finish anything and just label it with the new date. That's why you see Sunday • 18 (Cont.) at the top of this page.

And if I'm really tearing through books and finish so many that I can't re-label the existing spaces, I'll just stick a sheet of lined paper in the middle of that week's spread. I'll do the washi + Sharpie thing again, and then I'm all set.

At the very back of this journal, I have the titles of what I read color coded by the source. That's how I format my Read in 2018 page on the blog, and I just like having a physical version of it.

Okay, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed taking a tour through my Happy Planners! In case you missed it, I chatted about my gratitude journal, my daily planner, and my blogging planner and bookish printables. If you have any questions, just let me know! Whether it's tips for making your own printables or sticker book recommendations, I'm happy to help. And if you've every written about your planner, leave a link in the comments. I'd love to check it out!

** GIVEAWAY **

I've got a Happy Planner giveaway – with a bookish twist, of course – that will be going up on my Instagram account later today. I will come back on here and embed the post once it's live so you can see all the details!

** GIVEAWAY! ** I loved showing y’all my planner this week and am so thankful for the #bookstagram community that I thought it was time for a giveaway! Here’s what’s up for grabs: . 1. Happy Notes with 3 dividers + 60 pages of dot grid note paper (flip through in my story) 2. 12 pages of TBR printables (4 each of physical, audio & e-book) 3. $25 Amazon gift card (to add more to your TBR, of course!) 📖 . ** Here’s how to enter: ** 1. Must be following this account 🤓 2. Like this photo! 📸 3. Tag a friend in the comments & tell me a book you recently added to your to To Be Read (TBR) pile! 📚 . US only. Ends August 2 @ 5 p.m. ET. Please don’t follow just to unfollow. 💖 • #soobsessedwithbooks #books #planner #happyplanner #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookstagrammer #bookblogger #happynotes #giveaway

A post shared by Hannah (@soobsessedblog) on Jul 27, 2018 at 11:29am PDT

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My Classic Happy Planner: Books & Blogging

My Classic Happy Planner: Books & Blogging

Jul 26, 2018

Back in December, I reflected on my favorite things of 2017 and noted that Happy Planner was at the top of the list. I bought my first one that May after seeing Lindsey from Bring My Books raving about them. And though I swore I wouldn't buy all the things, I should have known that I'd be so obsessed with it. It started with sticker books and soon spiraled into making my own printable pages. So, I thought it would be fun to spend this week talking about how I'm using them. Happy Planners come in three sizes: Big, Classic, and Mini. I have one of each, and they each serve a different function.  Today, is Part Two of my Classic. It's allll about the books! 

In the Happy Planner world, you'll sometimes hear people talk about "frankenplanning." The word is typically used to refer to the way people will take parts from various planners and combine them into one. So, for example, you might use the cover and rings from one planner with the inside pages of another. It sounds silly, but it's something that I love about this type of ring-bound system. I've been able to make mine exactly the way I want, which you'll see in this post. I have two planners combined into one + a lot of pages that I've made for myself.

The front of my planner has this folder that I'll use as a catch-all for various papers – receipts, an appointment reminder card if I haven't added the info to my planner yet, etc. After the folder, you may notice that I have two sets of July and August tabs. That's because I've combined two planners into one! To keep my planner from getting too thick, I only keep about 2-3 months in there at a time (and just store the additional pages – past and future – on an extra set of rings). The first July and August tabs are for my daily planner, which I highlighted yesterday. But today I'm going to show you the back half of my planner, which is dedicated to all things blogging and books.

With the exception of this monthly spread, the format of the blogging section is a little different than standard Happy Planner pages. I'll talk about it more after the next picture! But, for this monthly overview, I write down blog posts that I've published. They're color coded based on the type of post, of course. I don't write them down until they're written and scheduled, but I'll use small post it notes to plan out future posts.

Most Happy Planners are either vertical (the format in my post yesterday) or horizontal (like a traditional agenda), but there was a limited edition release in a totally different format that I knew would work perfectly for my blog! While the planner itself is no longer available, they do sell this format as a six-month undated expansion pack. 

Immediately after the monthly overview, this is what you'll see! I'll use the habit trackers on the left for book buying bans, social media posting, replying to blog comments, or any other task that I'm trying to accomplish on a near-daily basis. In this month, I was tracking my book buying ban. 

For Monthly Goals, I always write down at least three. Some repeat almost every month – like posting at least eight times. But the others will change based on whatever I need to accomplish... or have been avoiding. Haha!

In the Checklist section, I write down the title of a book when I finish it. I don't check it off until the review has been published! This list continues on the next page, which you'll see in the next photo.

The Note to Self area is where I write down the publication date and title of anything I need to read and review that month. And sometimes I'll use this section to call out anything extra that's on a deadline!

On the page opposite, there are three main sections. The Get It Done checklist is a continuation of the list of books I've read that month. Typically, those two sections have enough spaces for what I'll read in a month. But there have been a few times I extended the list into the Note to Self section of the previous page.

The top half of this page is just dot grid. I print out a photo of my favorite read from that month and will add a quote or info about when/where I read the book or why I loved it so much. I used two photos in this month because I participated in my first readathon and wanted to make note of that fact in addition to my favorite read!

The Focus On section aligns perfectly with my goal to publish eight posts per month. This is where I plan them out! I sometimes publish more than eight things, but this section helps me decide where to focus my attention and time.

Remember how I mentioned half sheets in yesterday's post? Here's one in use. I love decorating one and making a monthly TBR! I divide it into sections: Review, Borrow, and New Releases (pictured) and then TBR and Audio (not pictured, on the back). I'll write my rating and the date I finished once I've read it. I have another half sheet behind this one with random blog post ideas for whenever I need a little inspiration.

And here's another place where you can tell that this planner format is very different. When I first bought it, I dated this section and used it as daily to do lists. But honestly, I wasn't blogging enough to keep it up. I'd often forget to write anything for several days or end up writing things in after I'd done them – not very useful.

Then, I realized that I could leave them undated and use them in an unexpected way. The first three sections – black circle stickers – are my recurring monthly blog tasks. Pages are the three things I need to update throughout the month. Reading Log is something that you'll see tomorrow, so stay tuned. And Misc. is a catch-all for anything else.

The section below that, Reading Backlog, is a list of books I read in previous months but haven't reviewed. Since I don't keep past months in my planner, I like having a quick reference for what I still need to write.

The next two sections, with blue exclamation point stickes, are for the two posts I publish every month: Recap + On My Shelves and Quick Lit. Underneath both, I have the different things I need to do to complete the posts. From taking photos to adding it to a linkup, this keeps me on track since I rarely finish it all at once.

The last two sections, with orange circle stickers, are books I finished that month. Remember how I had that checklist on the previous page? Well, here's where I write down all the things that need to happen before I can check it off there: take a photo, write my review, update Goodreads, post the review, and add it to my reading log. If it's a review book, the last line will say Log & Submit. The next few pages are this same format, so I didn't take more pictures, but it also includes sections for other posts with the list of things I need to do to finish them. 

After the pages labeled Daily To Do's, there are two lined pages. I divide them into the main categories that I use in my monthly recap posts: Loved, Read, Heard, Watched and Acquired. And I just add things to the relevant sections throughout the month! It's made it so much easier to write those recaps because I'm no longer scrambling to remember those details. That wraps up one month in the blogging section! So, let me show you what comes next...

I tried bullet journaling a few years ago and loved the concept but didn't stick with it. The format was just a little too loose for me, and I didn't like having to draw stuff every month. It was so time consuming because I would be too meticulous and overthink it. When I realized that I could customize my Happy Planner, I knew I could take what I loved about bullet journaling and combine it with a traditional planner. The stuff behind these two divider (which are hidden behind one of the monthly tabs in a previous photo) are where I applied some of those principles. 

As I've mentioned, you can mix and match Happy Planner stuff with multiple planners, different extension packs and more. But my favorite part? You can add your own stuff, too! Happy Planner sells a paper punch that you can use to make anything work with their ring system. And that's how I got carried away making inserts!

Rather than hand draw this, as I did when I used a bullet journal, I just designed a quick printable. Yes, I had to take the time to make it initially, but now I can print it every year (or quickly adjust it with a different goal in the future). As you can see, I've already completed my Goodreads Challenge for 2018. 

When I saw Alexa post about her personal Read or Die Challenge earlier this year, I knew I had to do it, too! Basically, the goal is to read anything on my TBR that's been there since 2016 (or earlier) by the end of the year. And if I don't? It's getting culled! I color the box pink when I finish a book, with the date I completed it noted in a light gray pen to the right of the title. Black means I've DNFed or culled it. 

I created a Series Tracker, too! I alphabetized the list by author's last name, noted the series title, and then used a box for each book in the series. I color them in when they're done! This is just meant to track my progress so that I can quickly see what series I haven't finished, even if it's unfinished due to books not being published yet. I'll probably redesign this page in the future to make it easier to add series to it. 

 

Ah, now we're getting to my favorite pages in my planner! When I was bullet journaling, I drew my TBR on a bookshelf and absolutely loved it. But it was such a pain to keep adding books to it because it would fill up quickly and then I'd have to start drawing it all over again. So, the first printable I created was this bookshelf! I use it for physical copies only, and I divided it up. My Adult Fiction TBR is pictured here. I color in a book when I complete it, and black book means I DNFed it. The best part? When I fill up a bookshelf, I just print and punch a new page.

After I made the bookshelf, I knew I wanted something for my electronic books, too. So... I made myself a Kindle TBR printable! I just write the title in the spaces, check it off once I've read it, and note the date that I finished it. I have a separate sheet that's just for digital ARCs because I like to group them together.

After my physical and Kindle sheets, I had to make an audiobook one, too. I was clearly looking at the Audible app when I designed it! Right now, I only use this for audiobooks that I own and haven't listened to yet. But I'm thinking about adding some titles on here that I have saved on Hoopla and Overdrive so that I don't forget about them! In the spot where the audio cover would go, I just color it when I'm done and note that I've finished + the date. 

Those are all the printables that I decided to photograph for this post, but that's not all that I've made for myself. Here's some of the other pages I made that I've got in this section:

• Author Events: A place where I can note future book tour dates + time & location, as they're announced.
• Book Challenges: All the prompts listed for the Modern Mrs. Darcy and Picky Pledge challenges, followed by blanks that I can fill in with the books I read for each.
• Book Releases: A yearly overview to track release dates + titles that I need to pre-order or request from the library (so I can be first on the holds list, obvs). 
• End of the Year Survey: All the questions from this survey created by Perpetual Page-Turner with space left to fill it in throughout the year.
• Recurring Blog Features: Pages designed for posts I do frequently, like checklists for future editions of So Obsessed With or pages divided into the categories that I use for my end-of-year recaps.  
• Review Book Tracker: A place to fill in all of the books I've received for review, source, publication date, and whether I've read/reviewed/submitted them.
• Top Ten Tuesday Topics: The list of upcoming topics + pages to plan for ones I do every year, like Top Ten New-to-Me Authors or Top Ten Books of the Year. 
• TV Tracker: A section to fill in the show and season, and then check off episodes as I finish them. 

And finally, we've come to the last tab in my planner! The previous tab has all of my printables grouped together, and this last one is for extra blank paper that I can use for brainstorming and other random things. I updated my blog design earlier this year, and this was a page I used in the process to help me visualize the new drop-down menu and list specific tasks I needed to complete. I love creating printables for things that I'll use repeatedly, but it's nice to have a section of paper at the back for things that I'll only need once. 

Okay, whew! I know that was a lot of info, but I wanted to talk about more of these pages because they're unique to my planner and illustrate why the Happy Planner system has been so perfect for me. It gives me what I loved about bullet journaling, combining everything into one place, with so many added benefits:

• Allows me to use a pre-designed calendar
• Easier to reproduce frequently-used pages
• Ability to rearrange pages so that categories stay together
• Customizable with personal inserts + printables 

Only one more planner to discuss: my mini! It serves a book-related purpose, and I can't wait to show it to you. 

BEFORE YOU BUY: Happy Planners are sold online and in stores at Michaels, Joann Fabric & Craft, and Hobby Lobby. Although you can buy directly from the Happy Planner site, I highly recommend shopping at one of the listed retailers. Why? You can use coupons! There's a reason I can't stop buying stickers... Hello, 50% off one item.

How do you track blogging tasks and/or your TBR?

Check back tomorrow for my mini and a giveaway! 

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My Classic Happy Planner: Daily Life

My Classic Happy Planner: Daily Life

Jul 25, 2018

Back in December, I reflected on my favorite things of 2017 and noted that Happy Planner was at the top of the list. I bought my first one that May after seeing Lindsey from Bring My Books raving about them. And though I swore I wouldn't buy all the things, I should have known that I'd be so obsessed with it. It started with sticker books and soon spiraled into making my own printable pages. So, I thought it would be fun to spend this week talking about how I'm using them. Happy Planners come in three sizes: Big, Classic, and Mini. I have one of each, and they each serve a different function. Today, is Part One of my Classic. There's more to come tomorrow! 

In Happy Planners, each tabbed monthly divider (the page with candy hearts, in this case) is preceded by a monthly overview page. The specific breakdown varies by planner, but most include a spot for Birthdays, Important Dates, Monthly Goals and/or Notes, and a Currently fill-in-the-blank section. In mine, the candy hearts sticker is covering the Goals section because I didn't need it that month. I always fill out the birthdays at the beginning, as well as the dates to remember. Nick travels frequently for his job, so this is where I'll note when he'll be gone. 

The Currently section is one of the reasons I wanted to start using Happy Planners! I preferred Lilly Pulitzer agendas for years, but I loved that Happy Planners made it seem so easy to capture memories. I have all my old planners because they feel like little time capsules, but this one is even more special because it goes beyond appointments and to dos. It captures so much of who I am and what I love, not just what I've done! 

On the Monthly spread, I generally just write down the big stuff: birthdays, appointments, and important reminders. But sometimes I'll include little things too, like participating in a readathon or a creating a Happy Planner Instagram account with Kelly. Yes, I've become someone who has a separate Instagram account for photos of their planner. I don't even know who I am anymore, but I'm having so much fun doing it right now!

I love all the different half sheets that I can insert into any week, though I didn't take a photo of any that I'd written on. From general brainstorming to tracking tasks with deadlines, this is one way I stay organized. One of my favorite things about my Happy Planner is being able to take pages in and out! My post tomorrow will truly highlight the reason why, but it's also useful for this type of thing. It's nice to create a master to do list that I can move from week to week. And, as a lefty, I love not having to deal with rings while I'm writing.

And that brings me to my weekly spreads. I swore that I wouldn't become a sticker person... and look at me now. Those were my famous last words! I used to look at heavily-decorated planners and wonder if they were useful, even if they were beautiful. But now I've realized how fun it can be to create something pretty! I used to think that I wasn't a crafty person, but I'm pretty sure it's just that I hadn't found the right outlet yet. I use my planner to stay organized, but I don't necessarily think of it as a productivity tool. Truthfully, I see it more as a scrapbook.

I'm a stay-at-home mom to a toddler, so I don't need a planner to function in the same way I did when I was working. You won't find meeting reminders or project due dates in here. And yet, as I flip through these pages, I see all the memories I've documented: books I read, silly things my son said, FaceTime dates with my best friends, places I spent too much money, and so much more. It's a record of how I'm crafting a life that I love. I've always been organized, but my Happy Planner has inspired me to record the details, celebrate the everyday, and live creatively.

You might be looking at this and thinking, "But who has time to do all that decorating in their planner?" And honestly, that's totally fair. I have no idea if I'll do this forever. But I love that I'm doing it now – that I'm using some of my free time to chronicle my daily life. I hope I stick with the concept of writing about my days, even if the method changes, for the rest of my life. My crappy memory needs this kind of keepsake!

Okay, that's all for Part One of my Classic. I focused on how I'm using it to record my daily life, but there's obviously a huge component missing: books and blogging! If you're wondering how that fits in, be sure to check back tomorrow. I'm excited to show you what I've created for myself. Things are about to get even nerdier...

What type of planner do you use? Do your journal or scrapbook?

Check back tomorrow for all things blogging and bookish!

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My Big Happy Planner: Gratitude Journal

My Big Happy Planner: Gratitude Journal

Jul 24, 2018

Back in December, I reflected on my favorite things of 2017 and noted that Happy Planner was at the top of the list. I bought my first one that May after seeing Lindsey from Bring My Books raving about them. And though I swore I wouldn't buy all the things, I should have known that I'd be so obsessed with it. It started with sticker books and soon spiraled into making my own printable pages. So, I thought it would be fun to spend this week talking about how I'm using them. Happy Planners come in three sizes: Big, Classic, and Mini. I have one of each, and they each serve a different function. Today, I'm talking about the Big. 

I mentioned in my post my motherhood journey so far that I keep a "Three Good Things" Journal. The name and inspiration came from one of my all-time favorite books, Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center, and you can check out that post if you want all the details. But the gist of it is that it's my gratitude journal. Every day, I write down three good things that happened. And that's how I'm using my Big Happy Planner!

This one stays next to my bed, and I love reflecting on my day before I go to sleep. It was initially a hard habit to start – I felt like I was repeating myself all the time or would forget for a few days and then struggle to remember enough to complete it. And that's why I keep this one super simple. There's no stickers or decoration, just plain black pen and one good thing in each box. I love looking back through it, and it's helped me develop a more positive attitude + see the good in my daily life. I'm particularly glad I had it after my thyroid cancer diagnosis. 

On the lefthand sidebar of the weekly spreads, I write my Top Three for the whole week. I started doing it because it was nice to spend a little time on Sundays reading through everything I'd written down for that week and choosing three favorites. It only takes a few minutes, but it's worth it. It often feels like the days are so slow but a week passes in a blur, so this helps me stop and pay attention to the details. I want to be more mindful!

And finally, my favorite part of my Big planner: the month-at-a-glance spreads. Since I'm not using this as a planner, I originally didn't intend to write anything on these pages. But I saw Linds share this idea, and I knew it was exactly what I needed. It's the perfect addition to the pages filled with memories! It brings me so much joy to flip through this journal and marvel at how much things change from month to month. 

I have so many photos on my phone that rarely get printed and still need to create photo books for 2016 and 2017. But somehow, I always find the time to do my little photo-a-day in this planner. I bought a Canon Selphy Wireless Photo Printer, and I love it so much. From the photo quality to the convenience, I highly recommend it! About once a week, I use the PicFrame app to create a collage of six squares, print it as a 4x6 photo, cut them out with my Fiskars large circle punch, and then use Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive to glue them in. 

While I still hope to get around making photo books, it's nice to have at least one place where I can look at physical photos of my life. From adorable pictures of my son to silly things we did, it's a record of my life. I love all of my Happy Planners (and can't wait to talk more about them this week), but this one is the most meaningful to me. 

Do you keep a gratitude journal?

Check back tomorrow to see my daily planner!

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