Sunday 26 July 2015

How I plan using monthly inserts - a washi and decoration free post

Today I thought I would give you a peek at what goes on behind the washi tape in my planner.  I love decorating my weekly pages and having fun with them but the real reason I use a planner is to keep me organised.  That means I have to write everything down, I used to be able to keep track of things in my head but now we are a family of five there is just too much for me to remember!     


Planning in pencil


At the moment I am using the month on two pages inserts that came with my Webster's Colour Crush Planner.   As you can see I have already started filling in August, I like to plan ahead!  

I always use a pencil on the monthly inserts, these pages are my first stage of planning so things can end up being moved around or cancelled.  Nothing moves onto my weekly pages before I have scheduled it on these ones.


How next month is shaping up


When I start a new month the first things I write down are:

  • Birthdays
  • Direct debits and bills due
  • Work hours

These are the most important things I have to remember, I then make a note of any:

  • Appointments
  • Deadlines and reminders 
  • School functions
  • Rubbish and recycling collections

I also use some of the undated boxes for either little notes or so I can see some of the previous month while I am looking at the current one.  For my August pages I added the 29th to the 31st July because my husband will be working those days and I wanted to see what that week looked liked without having to flip through between the two months.

There is a section on the right hand side of the monthly inserts which is for your Quick Lists.  I use this space to note down things I need to do at some point during the month.  My list for August is mainly about the school uniforms and supplies I need to buy before September and I have also written down the sizes I need.  

So that is how I use my monthly pages, I plan, I scribble, I rub out and rearrange until it all fits together and then I transfer it over to my weekly pages and add a splash of colour.   

Do you use monthly inserts too or plan week to week?


16 comments:

  1. I love seeing how other people plan, I still haven't figured out the best way for me to plan yet!

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    1. Thanks Olivia, it's a lot of trial and error isn't it?

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  2. Ooo that Websters Pages planner is so pwetty! x

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    1. Thanks RobinSparkles, I do love the gold interior :) x

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  3. I've only just got my first Filofax (at the age of 30!) but already you are my favourite blogger! I've got so many ideas whizzing around my brain now!

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  4. Great post Amanda! I believe I will adopt your practice of not posting to the weekly pages until details are settled in the monthly pages. I use monthly, weekly and occasionally daily inserts:)

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    1. Thank you Nan! I hope it works for you too :)

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  5. This is a lot like my monthly spread, but I have so much more stuff. It's probably because I don't use my weeklies for scheduling, but only for tasks.

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    1. Yes this will fill up a bit more during August but it's a quieter month for me because there is no school so I don't have to add any of those notes and events. July was really full but I had added too much information on those pages for me to share on here.

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    2. Also, I love the date at the lower right bottom of the square. So much smarter than the way mine is set up (upper left, taking up the prime space).

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    3. I didn't even think about that, it is better this way!

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  6. I love how you planned it all out. I also love your pen!

    Danielle
    RockTheShades.Me

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  7. I plan week to week, but I wonder sometimes if a pencilled in monthly wouldn't be a good idea.

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    1. I like being able to see my whole month at once, doing it this way works for me :)

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