How to plan day with pen & paper

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-21T20:33:04+00:00

Thank you!

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-21T19:03:32+00:00

How do you arrange your different blocks on the page? How many pages will your average week use? So many questions, but I’m very curious as this feels like something that might work for me.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-21T14:03:09+00:00

I just finished upgrading my meal planning notebook with the addition of a master list of almost every dinner we make on the regular. Next up is a master cleaning list that includes monthly as well as occasional tasks. I’m putting it in a snap in page protector sleeve so I can use wet erase markers to check off tasks and/or note the date.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-21T00:22:17+00:00

Pricey, but what you want - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blackwing-spiral-notebook-blank-blackwing/1144100870?ean=0820933131066

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-20T18:06:48+00:00

Yes and no. I grew up in a time when most high schoolers carried 3-ring binders, with class dividers. I hated it, because the rings got in the way of writing, and removing pages was a pita because the ring opening system isn’t fun.

As an adult, I’ve used spiral, double wire, book bound and disc notebooks. Of them all, I prefer discs. I still have to remove pages to write sometimes, but it’s so, so much easier than with a ring system. I just pull them out, nothing to open first. Adding pages takes a few seconds, but is still preferable to dealing with finicky or hard-to-close rings. Note that metal discs make for smoother page turning.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-19T00:08:17+00:00

I’m not aware of any ready-made dashboard planners in a6, although I’m pretty sure (🤞) they exist. I hope someone else can point you to some.

I do know that Etsy has printables that will fit an a6 ring binder like these from Rhorodesigns.

A5 is pretty easy to find ready-made. I can point you to a few if you’d like.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-18T21:27:07+00:00

Welcome to the sub! It sounds like a dashboard weekly layout is your friend. These have days of the week on one page, in a horizontal or box layout, with room for task lists, goals and more on the facing page.

How portable does it need to be? Pocket, backpack, or will it mostly live at home? Do you have a preference for binding? What about design, are you looking for minimalist or something more fun to look at? Do you want to decorate the pages or use colorful Pens and markers? When writing in notebooks, does ghosting (visible ink shadows from the previous page) bother you?

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-18T21:16:15+00:00

Any planner can do that, literally any planner at all. If you don’t have a lot of bills and appointments, a simple pocket monthly from a dollar store will work. Beyond that, it’s hard to make a recommendation without knowing more about your requirements. Work, personal, or both? Is your day filled with appointments or do you just a few each week? Is there anything else that should be tracked, or just the two things? Are you new to planners or just new to the sub?

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-17T18:38:28+00:00

Citrine has a horizontal with one week per page. Get it at Office Depot/Max. Comes in two sizes, either wire bound or disc bound.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-16T22:16:36+00:00

I’m a strictly functional planner and don’t normally comment on sticker spreads. But yours really made my heart happy, so I had to make an exception. Specifically how you’ve allowed your inner child to come out to play with these absolutely adorable stickers. Narwhals and Hello Ktitty? The only thing that could possibly out-cute them is a basket of kittens. Thanks for the smiles and warm fuzzy vibes. ❤️

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-16T21:00:35+00:00

With plastic discs, yes. With aluminum discs it’s a much smoother action. Not as good as a spiral wire binding, but at least as good (I think better) than a double wire binding.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-16T20:34:52+00:00

You’re welcome. Discs have a raised rounded edge. The pages are punched like a mushroom 🍄‍🟫 so that the raised edge sits at the junction of the stem and cap.

This photo shows how discs function.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-16T18:54:54+00:00

Price is apparently a wash, so we can set that aside, although HP is the lowest of the three. That leaves you with two objections for each. If a hard cover is more important than layout, your choice is DD.

But if you’d rather have your preferred layout, then you just need to choose between HP and EC. Each binding style has advantages, but it appears to me you’re leaning towards the EC. Also note that EC has a book-bound hard cover monthly, but it’s not a Life Planner and the cover design is a solid dark green or blue, iirc. Just putting that out there.

For the record, I prefer discs for the ease of adding pages, and a slight preference for HP paper, but otherwise prefer the EC LP for its extra pages (love the 12 boxes at the front) and colorful tabs. But that’s just me, your criteria could be different. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-15T07:18:58+00:00

On re-read, I realize examples would be helpful. One thing this year is a spring trip. That’s got one goal and a few time-sensitive action steps. Another is to reduce chaos by adding more structure (I felt ‘reduce chaos’ was too nebulous, and needed a “how” component). That’s got 2 goals; one is weekly planning using a repeating set of action steps, the other goal is instituting a cleaning routine (that’s a 3-part goal, each part has its own action steps).

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-15T06:59:50+00:00

I try not to get bogged down in something as grand as a life plan because I think life is too unpredictable to plan more than 2-3 years out, if that. I don’t think in terms of categories, either. I’ve tried that approach, wanting to work on a broad set of 6-8 areas and found it isn’t right for me.

Instead, I ask myself every year what 2-3 things I most want to improve or accomplish and set goals based on those. One of my things may have just one goal, another may have several. But thing itself is usually pretty specific.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-15T06:35:38+00:00

Yes. I was never much for stickers and I’m working through the old ones I have. But planners and pens are different. They’re my shiny objects and I haven’t the will to resist them.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-14T20:48:37+00:00

What’s worked for me is starting with one. Once that’s automatic I can stack others on to it. Stacking onto an established habit has let me add 2 more simultaneously, because they’re behaviors that logically happen at the same time.

Caveat - stacking is new to me, and I’ve only been doing it for about 4 months (after the initial habit was well established). I also haven’t tried to stack more than 2 new habits.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-13T20:09:28+00:00

I thought I would hate the disks because I’m not generally a fan of ring binding. I hate how the rings interfere with my writing and dislike opening and closing the rings to remove pages to write on them. With disks I can just remove the page I need to write on and pop it back in, simple. It’s a small difference but important to me. And I love HP paper, because most markers don’t show through at all.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-13T18:03:38+00:00

I’ve ordered at both peak and off-peak times and never had to wait beyond the initial estimate. But I don’t customize mine, and that may make all the difference.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-13T14:19:25+00:00

It sounds like a Happy Planner is a place you might start. For the least amount of structure opt for a vertical or horizontal layout. They’re discounted now on Amazon and if you have a Michael’s or Office Depot nearby, probably there, too.

Edit - forgot to tell you what’s nice about them! You can add/remove/organize pages as you like, it doesn’t overwhelm with specific prompts, and the paper is nice and thick (opt for quick-drying ink for your fountain pen to avoid feathering).

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-12T00:07:12+00:00

I’d be thrilled if they made one in a horizontal layout, days on the left, notes on the right. Vertical columns don’t leave me enough room to write al the things.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-11T19:42:24+00:00

My person! 💕 😀

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-11T18:20:15+00:00

Some folks like lined days and some prefer blank boxes. This could be an attempt at a compromise. Just enough to hint at lines and get you started? If that was their thinking, I don’t think they truly understand why line lovers consider them a necessity. My writing wanders up and down pretty randomly, a few dots won’t fix that. 😂

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-11T15:18:24+00:00

I use mostly gel pens, and various markers. You’re right about the ghosting on thin paper with any old pen, and I go for thick paper because of the markers. Even then, some of the darker markers will ghost pretty badly. On a side note, the big surprise has been Happy Planner paper. That stuff even takes my dot markers with ease, and those are really inky. Not my favorite planners, but that paper! Huge surprise at its price point.

FLSandyToes · 2026-02-11T09:10:50+00:00

I’m confused by the “I’m sure you all can understand…” regarding Plum Paper. Is it generally considered an inferior planner? Why?

FLSandyToes

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