I’ve been in long search of a 2017 planner to the point that I almost just made one myself (I’ve had the desire to produce planners, but obviously I prioritized #wGcbHd)! I’ve been getting the Starbucks planner for how many years now, but this year gave me a shift in what I needed because of how my work at the office sort of evolved. I couldn’t seem to find one that suits my planner preferences until I finally found this one. ?

A planner, whether you prefer the usual or a digital one, is a powerful tool for productivity. For it to work, you’ll need to consider two things:

1. Design: You can’t just grab whatever planner the person beside you is getting. If you’re just starting to use one, probably you can just grab a generic or flexible one (like what I got), but eventually you have to know your own productivity style and look for a planner that suits you.
2. Discipline: As with other productivity tools, a planner will only make you efficient if you actually use it and follow through even when you don’t feel like it.

So considering #1, before I show you what I got, let me share what I’ve been looking for:

1. A week to a spread, meaning I don’t have to flip a page to see one whole week
2. Each day of the week has the same amount of space (because we do stuff not just on weekdays!)
3. A portion for listing down the meetings for each day
4. A portion for listing down the tasks for each day
5. A portion for my task dump (I’ll tell you more about this in a series of productivity posts I’ll be publishing ?)
6. A portion for the week’s big rocks / key priorities
7. A portion where I can write a memory verse for the week
8. A portion for important notes for those ad hoc meetings where I don’t have my laptop or phone with me
9. For when I feel a little bit artsy, stickers! ?
10. Although I’m willing to invest in a planner, say around P1,500, the price should be reasonable and preferably below P1,000.

I’ve been a little bit picky planner-hunting, and for all the planners I’ve seen in so many different stores, I don’t even get my first five in one planner. I came back to Fully Booked the other day, back to the planner shelf even though I’ve been there around thrice before, and finally, I told my husband, “I found my planner! Hooray! I don’t have to make one!” ?

I got C&S Designs’ Design Your Life: Back to Basics 2017 Planner from Fully Booked. Images in this post do not have any filter.

Here’s how the spread looks like. The design looks simple but I so believe this is well thought-out to accommodate different productivity styles, that it lets you use the planner to how you want to use a planner. You’re not limited by the planner, but instead you’re empowered to own it.

Here’s how I plan to use the spread:

• 1st portion of each day: meeting schedules (each day has 4 portions, divided through light dashed lines)
• 2nd portion of each day: tasks
• 3rd portion of each day: some notes/reminders for that day, like some things I need to bring up in meetings, or quick meeting notes for those ad hoc meetings (there’s a few dotted pages at the back of the planner for the latter)
• 4th portion of each day (the one with the dots): not yet sure, but maybe this is where I can place names of people I want to connect with, like check on a friend on how she’s doing
• Power Word: not yet sure! ? but no pressure to use portions if I don’t have any use for them
• Week Goal: will perhaps be useful for those weeks when there’s one or two major things that I need to make sure moves or gets done during the week
• Major To Do: this will serve as my task dump (more about this later on)
• Noteworthy: memory verse

This planner comes with loads of other features that you can use if you want to, but won’t feel like you were robbed of your money if you don’t.

And yes, it comes with stickers. ?

You can get this planner from Fully Booked, or better yet, go to the C&S Designs’ website (I just found out about them after I bought the planner from Fully Booked) to choose from their other planners and even earn points that you can use to get vouchers for your next purchase. You can go straight to the Design Your Life: Back to Basics 2017 Planner page here. There’s also an undated version of the planner here. They’re a local company so I’m all the more happy with my planner find!

Finally got into planning my 2017 posts and I’m excited to start writing on productivity in January! If you have any topic you would like me to write about, please send me a message!