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All About Planners

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November 22, 2017

10 Quick planner hacks you need to try (planning tips & inspiration)

Been using your planner for a while and want to mix it up a bit? Here are 10 quick planner hacks you need to try!

  1. Laminate

If you don’t own a laminating machine you need to buy one! Laminating will turn any printable you use regularly into a re-useable page.

Another alternative is to use a clear binding cover (I use these ones from Officeworks) and place it over the top of the printable or page in your planner.

I’ve found the best places to find thin tip whiteboard markers are Daiso and Kmart. And then just wipe clean with a tissue.

planner hack tips inspiration ideas dry erase marker cleaning checklist color coding to do list use empty note paper arc notebook effectively

2. Make a DIY cover

Don’t pay a rip off price for a custom cover – make your own, laminate, hole punch and add to your binder or planner. See this post for a tutorial (plus a free printable planner cover)

Related: How to make a DIY Erin Condren Planner Cover for less than $2 (plus free printable cover) 

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3. Utilise the front of binders

Insert a stripe pattern paper into the front of a binder to create a urgent to do or reminders list or daily schedule.

Related: How to make a stripe pattern in Photoshop 

Click here to download the binder cover inserts shown in the image below. 

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4. Frixion Erasable pens

These pens are my all-time favorite – they come in plenty of colors, pen tip sizes and are erasable – perfect if you’re a perfectionist like me!

Related: My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review

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Did I mention you can get erasable highlighters too?! <3

Related: Favorite erasable highlighters for planning 

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5. Resize printables

See this post for a tutorial. Want to try it out? Download a free printable from the library!

This is the planner I made and used in week 20 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge

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This is the anything checklist. I used a similar version with 8 boxes per day and shared the printable in this post.

how to resize printables for mambi happy planner erin condren plum paper kikki k filofax a5 tutorial

Related: Week 5: Planning by category and task, rather than by day

6. Fold pages

If you’re using a A5 planner but have purchased a printable that comes in full page size only, you can resize it, or print at full page size and fold to fit the planner.

Planner hack tips a5 page size using full page inserts tips monthly blog planning ideas inspiration arc notebook

Related post: Monthly blog post planning using sticky notes (my 6 step process) 

7. Short on space? Use the margins

Planner pages usually have a half inch margin which can be used. In the image above I used it to record the date, you can also use it for the categories that you plan (see the image below)

how to plan with limited space mambi happy planner color coding blog planning efficient tips ideas hacks planning setup bujo bullet journal workflow to do list pens inspiration

Related: Honest review of the Happy Planner by Me and my Big Ideas (MAMBI)

8. Washi tape for page marking

If you don’t want to use tabs, a strip of washi is a good way to color code the page – it’s obvious to see the colored strip when your planner is closed by turning it on it’s side.

color coded notes pages using washi tape school subject category how to use blank note paper

Washi tape can also be used to create DIY sticky notes <3

planner decorating using washi tape ideas hacks tips diy sticky note create extra space in your planner organize color coding grocery list

Related: Planning using the daily and weekly Momentum Planner by Productive Flourishing (Week 36 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)

9. On a tight budget? Use Crayons

Yep, crayons like you used back in school! I found these in the kids craft / stationery section at Target.

Tip: Make sure you color code after you’ve finished writing as pens don’t work well over the top of crayons.

Related: Simple method for organized brain dumping of blog post ideas using a notebook and zooms 

how to color code your planner using zooms cheaper alternative to highlighters blog post ideas organization how to use empty planner pages notebooks-min

10. Use White Pens

White pens can be used over the top of a black marker pen (or any color marker pen). My personal favorites are the Uni Pis marker pens and then the Sakura Gelly Roll 08, Uniball Signo or Pilot Pop Lol pen brands in white.

In week 29 I covered up the notes title to create a ‘key’ section.

Related: Week 29: Plum Paper Me Planner 

how to use the sidebar of your planner tips ideas inspiration stickers key bullet journal symbol color coding

Related Posts

  • 6 Ways to color code your planner to increase productivity
  • How to choose the right planner pens: what to look for when buying planner pens
  • Plum Paper Planners Haul & Review (better than the Erin Condren?)
  • How to keep track of blog post ideas using sticky notes and a notebook 
  • Week 20: Weekly planning using only a checklist and habit tracker – download a free printable

 

cleaning task reminders to add to your planner download free printable all about planners

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Posted In: Planning Tips & Inspiration · Tagged: bullet journal ideas, diy planner insert, frixion erasable pens review, happy planner hacks, how to choose a planner, how to color code your planner, how to plan using washi tape, how to set up a new planner, how to use white pens, how to use your planner, howto make a diy planner cover, laminated planner insert, laminating printables, planner color coding, planner decorating using washi tape, planner hacks, planner setup, planning ideas, planning inspiration, planning tips, sakura gelly roll pens, setting up a new planner, white pens

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