Most horizontal weekly planners don’t include sidebars in the weekly spread. One exception to this is the American Crafts Planner so I was keen to try it out!
Before the Pen
The American Crafts Planner has a simple 2 page weekly spread…
After the Pen
So I opted to keep it simple with just black pen:
I wrote too big and ran out of space so abbreviated ‘development’ into dev. #recoveringperfectionist
The sidebar columns are too narrow :/
I used the ‘notes’ sidebar for routine / quick tasks
And the to do list sidebar for Europe trip planning
Used a butterfly clip to hold my place in the planner since there’s no built in page marker
…But then I thought just the black pen was boring so used highlighters to quickly add some color to the page.
I don’t know what it is but whenever I write using a cheap pen my writing ends up even more messy than usual. The black Bic pen I used was in a pack of 10 for a couple of dollars (i.e. very cheap). Surprisingly, most of the cheap ballpoint pens I’ve tried write really smoothly and don’t smear when I highlight over the top. This pen also wrote over the top of correction tape really well – just like I was writing on normal paper.
Related: What type of pens write best on correction tape? (gel pens vs. ballpoint vs. marker pens)
I covered up the word ‘inspiration’ with whiteout correction tape and turned this into meal planning space instead:
I highlighted the text and color coded but it still looked a bit dull so I added a border to each section as well:
There wasn’t much of a color code. I used blue for business, pink for blog and mint for personal.
Related: Best highlighters for planning
I don’t like planners that have the dates at a glance monthly calendar (bit of a waste of space when you can just refer to the monthly calendar), but at least this one shades the days of the current week.
Supplies Used
- Bic black pen
- Daiso soft marking pen in pastel (they look similar to Zebra Midliners)
Would I use this planner again?
Probably not. I thought I’d like this planner more. While I liked the idea of having the two sidebars in the weekly spread, the sidebar columns columns were too narrow for list making – even with the planner being letter size 8.5 x 11″
Past weekly spread
- Week 27: Using the Frank Horizontal Weekly Planner
- Week 28: Planning the entire week using only sticky notes
- Week 29: Plum Paper Me Planner
Planner reviews
- Review of the Ultimate Weekly Planner by Studio 331
- Penny Paperoni Weekly Planner Review
- Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Weekly Planner Review (Pros, cons and a video walkthrough)
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