Getting organised...does the perfect planner exist?

I've been feeling really disorganised of late*...lists everywhere, but nowhere to be found; ideas and thoughts jotted down in notebooks, but I can't remember which one; tips saved within IG, but not collated anywhere useful; free courses signed up for, but not organised enough to follow through with them.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

I was using a bullet journal last year, to great effect, but less so at the beginning of this year. I decided to upgrade to a binder system (Filofax) as I thought that having a calendar, and sections for all the other bumpf, would makes things more easy to access. Nope...I find the rings get in the way of jotting notes down, so I end up having to remove the sheets to write things in. Grrr. And I'm hopeless with predesignated areas for to dos/This Week/goals etc, and especially with those diary inserts with times marked on throughout the day.

I've never been one to follow a pattern, colour in someone else's design, or stick to a template if I can design my own ;)

As a temporary measure, I've made myself a few of my Sprigs design notebooks (in the shop if you fancy one yourself), and am using them to make a start on being organised.

• I have one for my Ditsy Bird thoughts/plans/projects - the biggies that need noting down and adding to as I go along. I've added an index to it, so it's easy to quickly access the page I'm after.
• One to be used as a DB bullet journal, complete with key and index. 
• One for home - thoughts/plans/projects - in the same way as the DB version

For my daily diary, I'm persevering with my Filofax, but am working on designing my own planner pages, taking inspiration from a variety of sources, to tailor the layout to suit me and my particular foibles.
I've got a few ideas so far

• A weekly spread over two pages, to be used in a bullet journal way
• A place to list weekly goals for wellbeing, to help me keep track of water consumption; vitamin taking; exercise; meditation (not yet started but really wanting to very soon)...a habit tracker, as they say it takes a month or two to turn a behaviour into a habit. So by tracking them, I can keep on top of them, to get me closer to the habit stage, and not having to consciously monitor them all the time.
• I want to include a check-in area for myself...how have I felt this week, can I pinpoint the reasons? can I repeat them/remedy them for future weeks? how am I progressing towards my goals? did I work on the One Thing or did I get distracted? What have I learned from the week? What am I grateful for...specifics, not just 'I have a lovely home' type comments. What mindset do I need to encourage...or what mantra will help me through the week to come?

I'll start by drafting up some pages and layouts, and then trial them for a week to see how they fit. I can then tweak them until I find something that fits me and my mindset...knowing I can always change again in the future. After all, I'll be printing my own, so there won't be any wastage to worry about.

I'll share my progress on here in case anyone else is in the same boat, or just interested in seeing how my ideas pan out.

How do you keep organised...keep all those balls in the air? make sure birthday cards and gifts get sent on time? avoid missing hair appointments? get the ideas out of your head and into some form of easily accessible order? Do you have any tips or advice, or a fave planner person you refer to for ideas? Do please share in the comments or drop me a line on IG.

until next time!
Sarah
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*having done a bit of reading on this, I'm pretty sure it's down to hormones - I'm on medication that stops my ovaries, and has effectively put me into menopause whilst on it. I was very relieved to read that it isn't just me trying to get through my days with a frequently foggy head! :)

A Peeking Pixie & a confession about inspiration

Hullo friends!

My head is all hurty from trying to install a widget on my website...I tried and tried then tried some more but I still couldn't get it to work [I suspect I'm being a bit dim] - thankfully, Martin (tech support) is on it, I hope!

Sooo whilst he does his thing, I'll tell you about my pixie pal.

When did I first spy him? Let me look [flicks through sketch book] ahh yes...I first spotted the wee fella on the 22nd of April of last year (yup, 2011). I finished doing what I was doing and rushed off to jot him down along with some ideas and then forgot about him for a few weeks.

He must have been whispering to me because, on the 9th May, I had another sketching session of another couple of ideas. And that was it. He whispered every once in a while just as a gentle 'don't forget about me' reminder, but I could never find the right way to create him...you now, I couldn't fix on the appropriate medium (is that correct?)

Then yesterday, after having a couple of attempts at lino cutting, the night before [well technically it was Soft Cut cutting but what they hey] I decided to have bash at turning my wee pixie pal into a stamp.

He was ever so fiddly for a novice like me and I was quite concerned that I would fail to capture his little expression - shy but hopeful, and so very inquisitive - but I did! I confess to having done a number of little happy dances accompanied by excited giggles. I think George worried his old mum had finally lost her marbles [ that happened eons ago but let him have his illusions ;)] and happily set about printing some little Moleskine journals had been waiting for just such an occasion.

So he's free, my little Peeking Pixie has been let loose in the world and I think he's going to have a blast.

Okay, the confession about inspiration time....this is where I first saw him, well actually just the top of his hat [he was too shy to peek properly at this point].

Can you see it?

This is the view from where I was *ahem* sitting [yup, I was 'paying a call' as the polite folk say...hey inspiration crops up when you least expect it!]

After I'd showed George my stamp yesterday evening, he then excitedly took me on a tour of all his Door Pals...you know the little creatures and people who hide in the knots and grain of your wooden doors? No? Go and have a look now [when you've finished reading], I bet they're dying for you to finally find them! We have some shared ones and we each introduced one another to new Door Pals. Ahh, he is his mother's son, poor kid ;)

Top left: this is a strangled goose to me but to George it' a ghost

Top right: we both have this one - a big beaked bird with a raised eyebrow

Bottom left: a little critter with a brown muzzle and a crazy-dude fur fringe

Bottom right: this one is George's own and his favourite...two peachy bum cheeks ;)

Do you see creatures and friends in strange places? Do share...

Sarah
x

Stationery!

I love stationery, always have. My usual quick 'cheer me up' fix always used to be a new pen (I have hundreds!) or a new notebook. Mmmm notebooks. I know I'm not the only one out there with a crush on all things paper, pen and pencil - otherwise Paperchase, WH Smith's etc wouldn't be making quite so much money out of funky designed ring binders and the like ;)

Imagine my delight when I happened upon Moleskine's eminently paintable Cahier notebooks! Oh the joy!

So I set too, with some of my current designs (you will have seen a few of these in my canvas shops if you've ever perused my wares), acrylic paints, paintbrush and cheer in my heart!

I've only done a few so far, just to test the waters, as well as the notebooks themselves. But I am very happy with them. This is just the kind of thing that would lift my spirits in the manner that only deliciously designed stationery can - pretty & functional...heaven!

I have listed the pussy cats and the pretty princess in my Folksy Ditsy Bird shop, but I'm afraid that the Tea-party notebook is destined for someone very special ♥


Happy Friday folks!
x


Update...
Well, slap me silly - I totally forgot my darling little Kokeshi doll...shame on me :(


Here she is in all her notebook-y glory...

There now, all is right with the world, once more!
Right, cuppa, fire, sofa and beading I will go...
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