#frankenplanner

Since September is right around the corner, I wanted to show you guys how I effectively prepare my planner for the new month ahead. Functional planning is the key to getting the most out of your planner. Here are 10 tips that will help you use your planner effectively in the new month.

1. Evaluate Your Planner Every Month: Each month, re-evaluate all of your planners and try to think of any ways that you could be more efficient with them. Do you actually need 4 planners, or can any of them be combined? Make sure you’re using each of them to their fullest potential.

2. Keep Three Consecutive Months At All Times: You want to keep the previous month, current month, and the next month in your planner at all times. Doing this will easily give you the ability to look back and look ahead as you plan.

3. Write Plans First, Then Add Stickers: If you are a big functional planner, writing down your plans first will help you be more organized and efficient, instead of having a lot of stickers everywhere with no room to write when needed.

4. Pre-Plan Your Month: Sit down and pre-plan your to-do list for the entire month.This will help you stay on track so you will know exactly what is coming up and how to plan accordingly.

a. BONUS TIP: Use a bullet journal to jot down all of the different things you need to do throughout the course of the month, and then take that list add it to your planner. You’ll already have your to-do list ready to go!

5. Practice Writing Smaller: I’ve found that when I first began using planners, I would write so big that I would take up a lot of space. Writing smaller will help you not take up so much space and be able to use it to its fullest capacity.

6. Use All Available Spaces In Your Planner: Try and think of ways that you can use every possible space in your planner. What else can you add in the sidebar or empty space at the bottom of your page? You will 100% get the most out of your planner once you really start using all of the space that’s available.

7. Write In One Color Pen And Add More Color Later: Typically, I will write everything in black, and then go back in with colors that will signify different categories. For example, I like to use red ink for YouTube videos and purple ink for blog articles.

8. Use Icon Stickers Instead Of Writing Everything Down: Find fun stickers that will help signify messages to you, instead of having to write everything. This is a way to keep track of the different things you have to do, without having to take up valuable space in writing it all out. I love to insert small leaf stickers every Sunday, which will remind me to water my plants!

9. Keep Your Goals Broken Down In Your Planner: Break down your goals by the year, the quarter, the month, and then the week. This is a great way to track your progress and make sure you’re on track for the things that matter the most to you.

10. Use Small Decorative Stickers: Using small decorative stickers will give you the opportunity to decorate your spread as much as possible, but not take up as much space. I tend to put my stickers along the bottom and the sides, or along the lines of the planners so that I am still able to write as I need to.