Starting The New Year Off With The Right Planner

If you are anything like me, any ol’ planner just won’t cut it. Starting the New Year off with the right planner is essential for me. Planners can be the difference between chaos and order in my life. I feel lost when I don’t have everything planned out. I have tried using apps on my phone, but they never seem to work just right for me. I do use an app on my phone to coincide with my planner though.

Luckily, there are a variety of planners you can pick from. The downside to this, trying to pick the right one for you.
Do you want a large one to have plenty of space to write on? Do you want a small one so you can easily travel with it? Do you want one that’s disc bound, or ring-bound? In this post, we’re going to cover premade planners, but don’t forget that there are plenty of DIY planner options as well!

What Planner Do You Want?

As you can see from the picture, I’m a big fan of the MAMBI (Me & My Big Ideas) Happy Planners! I looked into the Erin Condren planners to begin with, but didn’t want to spend that much money on a planner I may or may not like. That’s when I was doing some research and found the MAMBI Happy planners. It was the end of the year and so they were on sale for less than $20 and I figured why not give it a try. I fell in love and have been using them for the past 3 years now. I have heard others really like the Recollections Planners, so that could be another option too. I’m going to cover the different MAMBI planners though because that’s what I have myself.

The first thing you will want to consider is what you are using the planner for. This is the reason I have 4 different planners. Every single one has a different purpose. I’ll tell you how I use mine so maybe you can relate how you will use yours and see which size might suit your needs.

Big Planner

Big MAMBI Happy Planner (8.5″ x 11″) – this one I use for social media and blogging. I like the large size, but definitely wouldn’t want to travel with it every day. I keep mine right in the bag with my laptop. If you have a Polarpid SNAP Instant Digital Camera, this one would be great for you though. I have seen others use these as memory planners or similar to a baby book.

Standard Planner

Standard MAMBI Happy Planner (9.8″ x 8.5″) – this one I use for personal use. I keep track of the school schedule, doctor appointments, outings, and more on the monthly spread. In the weekly spread, I keep track of goals for the day, things to do (aside from normal daily tasks), and any notes specific to that day.

Fitness Planner

Standard MAMBI Fitness Planner (9.8″ x 8.5″) – pretty self-explanatory. I really like this one for the features it includes. I’ll probably never use another regular planner for fitness after discovering this one. (Not that I’m the most fit, but I’m working on being healthier.)

In the beginning there is a twelve month progress tracker that not only has weight but has measurements for your chest, waist, hips, thigh, upper arm, and one column for other.

Monthly Spread – Looks like a normal monthly layout. Notes can be written on the side. I will probably use the monthly spread to track progress at a quick view. (Did I work out? Did I drink my water? Did I do good as far as eating?)

Weekly Spread – Weekly Goals on the left, with a spot for notes at the bottom of the left column. Track your meals throughout the day or you can use it to plan them out ahead of time. Track or plan your exercise. Mark down water as you drink it. I love that it has weekly goals because I like to break down one big goal into small goals so I don’t get derailed or have a bad week and feel like I’ve lost all progress.

At the end of the month there’s a spot for a progress selfie. Mark down if you were successful, how you feel, what didn’t go so well, what motivated you, what you can do differently, and rate yourself 1-5 stars for the month. I think this is an excellent page to have because you’re really reflecting on the whole month. As you go along, you’re going to find some things work better than others and just keep improving on your fitness journey month-by-month.

Mini Planner

Mini MAMBI Happy Planner (8.8″ x 5.5″) – This one is great for on the go. I actually just use mine for Stupendous Sales, so it sits with my big planner and my laptop. Mine is used for tracking sales throughout the month on the monthly spread. I do this to see at a quick glance which weeks are better than others. I use the weekly spread for any notes of products to push out to the shop or any new design to make that week for clothing. At the end of the month there’s room for important dates to remember and then monthly goals. In the monthly goals, I track design ideas I have throughout the month to schedule in the upcoming months.

Making the Decision

Depending how much you have to write, either size could work for you. For instance, my big one for social media – if I wasn’t keeping track of multiple social media accounts, and didn’t just take on a position as a Social Media & Marketing Coordinator at T&K Country Treasures, I could probably get away with the standard or even the mini.

I hope this helps to give you some insight about the planners and maybe a better idea of which one will work best for you. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of different types of planners you can use. I chose MAMBI, and I’m glad I did. I love the community I found on Facebook. There are also subscription boxes for decorating the planners, stickers you can purchase, stickers you can print yourself, and all different types of pens that are great for the planners.

Do you have a planner or just use an app on your phone?
Which planner is your favorite?

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