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January 24, 2018

Using a landscape page orientation weekly planning notepad (Week 50 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)

For week 50 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge, I considered doing a bullet journal spread but the thought of coming up with a creative bujo layout seemed like too much effort. I wanted something already done so I could just plug in the information and get to work on implementing the plan! Most of this week was spent finalising the Create Your Own Planner Kit so I didn’t need too much space for planning.

I was not compensated for this post. I purchased the planner myself and all opinions are my own. 

Setting up the week

I found this notepad on Amazon (for only $10USD!) and liked the in-built habit tracker, priority section and to do list. I thought the proportions would be perfect to use as as blog planner! The notepad is by a brand called Peachly.

Most planners tend to be portrait page orientation. After having tried a couple of landscape page orientation planners over the past couple of years (in the form of printables I’d made), I like the extra column width / writing space they offer for weekly planning.

The notepad is A4 page size.

weekly planning notepad alternatives to a traditional weekly planner color coding uni pis pens marker dual tip simple habit tracker blogging checklist

I did end up filling the sidebar so just used a sticky note for over-flow tasks.

weekly planning notepad alternatives to a traditional weekly planner color coding uni pis pens marker dual tip simple habit tracker blogging checklist colorful decorating-min

Related: Ultimate planner page size guide (with printable reference cheat sheet) 

The notepad has a built in habit tracker – very convenient!

I stuck with my usual blog post workflow:

  • D = Draft
  • E = edited
  • I = Images
  • D = Digital download created
  • P = Pinned to Pinterest

Related: Using the Mi Goals planner for monthly blog post content planning 

weekly planning notepad alternatives to a traditional weekly planner color coding uni pis pens marker dual tip simple habit tracker blogging checklist workflow

I also color coded although there weren’t too many things to keep track of this week so I probably didn’t need to… It did add a nice pop of color to the page though!

  • Pink = blogging
  • Purple = personal & habit tracking
  • Blue = product (the Create Your Own Planner Kit)
  • Yellow = little things (quick tasks)
  • Red = priority

Related: How to color code bill paying in your planner (7 different ways) 

Pens Used

I used the Uni Pi’s pens. They’re dual tip with a fine tip on one end (this is the tip I used) and a fat marker style tip on the other end (which I use for writing titles).

Related: Favorite pens for writing headings in my planner 

The yellow ink of most pens is hardly visible but this pen brand is easy to see 🙂

There was bad bleed through on the back side of the page but no ink ended up on the next week’s page below so not a big deal.

Related: Cheap versus expensive pens: is there actually a difference in quality? 

weekly planning notepad alternatives to a traditional weekly planner color coding uni pis pens marker dual tip simple habit tracker blogging checklist amazon planners-min

Pros of planning using a notepad

  • Almost always come undated so you can start planning anytime
  • Don’t have to carry around an entire planner – you can just tear off the page and take it with you
  • Affordable
  • This notepad had lined writing space which helped keep everything neat and tidy!
  • Rather than having to open and close a planner all the time, with a notepad you can just glance at it and all your plans are right there, neatly laid out
  • Don’t pay for extras pages you may not need (like dates at a glance pages, tabs, contacts pages, notes pages etc. that tend to come standard with traditional planners)

Cons of planning using a notepad

  • Likely to run out of room – since notepads are only 1 page you’ll probably end up needing a sticky note for the overflow (like I ended up doing).
  • No monthly calendar or add on pages, although you could tear the week off the notepad and add to a notebook (my favorite is the ARC discbound). Another option is to punch on the left side of the page (the shorter side) and then fold it if you’re using a smaller notebook

Like this:

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

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

Would I use this notepad again?

Yes, I quite liked this notepad! Most weekly planning notepads only have space to plan the days of the week and don’t include a sidebar or habit tracker.

Planning using a notepad would be ideal if you:

  • Just need to jot down a few things each day
  • Don’t want to pay the cost of a planner
  • Don’t need all the extras that come with a traditional planner
  • Use in conjunction with a digital planner
  • If you like to use a whiteboard / dry erase monthly calendar but pen and paper to plan your week
  • Need a family calendar (you could add a strip of magnetic tape to the back of a notepad and put it on your fridge)

Catch up on past week’s of the challenge

  • Week 17 (Part 2): Daily planning using to do lists categorised by time 
  • Week 18: Making a DIY printable planner with a flexible layout 
  • Week 42: Using the Focus Journal Daily Planner 
  • Week 47: Planning by category rather than by day using a Kikki K Notepad – ‘Work Smarter : Live Better’

More planning posts

  • Ashley Shelly Planner Review – Weekly Planner (pros, cons and a walkthrough)
  • 7 Planner supplies I don’t regret splurging on
  • How to make a planner bookmark (DIY Page Markers Tutorial)
  • 5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)

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  • Using the Create Your Own Planner (Week 49 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Spread)Using the Create Your Own Planner (Week 49 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Spread)
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  • Using the Bloom weekly planner notepad (Week 37 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)Using the Bloom weekly planner notepad (Week 37 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)
  • Weekly planning using Microsoft Excel (week 41 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)Weekly planning using Microsoft Excel (week 41 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)
  • Minimalist black and white weekly spread in the Moleskine Weekly PlannerMinimalist black and white weekly spread in the Moleskine Weekly Planner
  • Using the Goal Digger Planner by Susana Cresce (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 30)Using the Goal Digger Planner by Susana Cresce (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 30)

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Posted In: 52 Planners in 52 Weeks · Tagged: alternative to traditional planner, amazon planners, bullet journal planner, cheap planner, color coding, creative planner idea, plan with me challenge, planner challenge, planner color coding, planner color coding tips, planner decorating, planner ideas, simple planner spread, weekly planner notepad, weekly planning

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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