Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken!

On the left, the Aura Estelle I’ve been using all year. On the right, a great system with the Owl Paper Co and Lauren Phelps A6 notebook that just didn’t work for me.

Only two weeks into my October Planner Set-Up where I changed everything, I realized it was a mistake. Not that the planner was bad but that I had a system in place. When I say system, I mean I had a personal process that I used in how often, when and where I used the planner. So I want to start by saying, the issue was NOT the actual planner but the way I use it. So, in switching up my system, I had to change where I was storing data, when I was using it, what reminders were stored there or somewhere else and then remember where to find it.

What I learned on the accidental two-week test? I am an ONE planner person. All the to-dos, reminders, projects need to be kept in the same place or I lose track of everything. I made my new system too complicated and found that I was letting two or more days pass without documenting my days. I was not using this new system even though I wanted to use them.

The whole point of a planner/journal is to document, record and remind myself of tasks and with my new system, I was not using them.

One big book vs two smaller books. For some, like me, you need ONE NOTEBOOK TO RULE THEM ALL and others do better with a work planner and a personal journal. Do what works best for you, not just what looks cool on social media.

I love the paper in the Owl Paper Planner but I have been living in the Aura Estelle for the last nine months. It’s like buying a new pair of boots. Anyone who ever wore Dr. Marten’s will know what I mean. The first couple weeks are painful. You get blisters no matter what you do. But once they are broken in, they are your favorite boots. That’s how I am feeling with my Aura Estelle planner. The Owl Paper is a good planner. The paper is lovely, the design is clean. However, I think I can get a few more months (or years) of wear out of the Aura Estelle. I will consider switching when the Aura Estelle is no longer meeting my needs.

The beautiful Owl Paper Co planner and the A6 Lauren Phelps on top of my VERY chonky Aura Estelle in its leather cover

Sometimes, a planner will no longer meet your needs. It’s okay. It happens — life changes (babies are born, jobs change, people retire, etc) and that is a good time to re-assess your planner or journal system. But choosing to switch for arbitrary reasons is a recipe for disaster.