Introducing Ms. Plum

After much trial and error I've finally got a planning system that really works for me, I can see myself sticking with it for quite some time (of course there is always room for tweaking).  I've been using this system since January.

I'm using a Filofax Osterley in plum.  I'm currently using the personal size (I just switched from the same planner in the pocket size).  I love it!  It's a gorgeous deep purple leather.  It lays flat out of the box, it has two pen loops, it smells divine.

In the front cover I have note paper, sticky notes, note tabs, and a little notebook.  I use the notebook to jot down notes from phone calls, Dr. appts, etc.  I'm using a Pentel multi-pen from Jet Pens.  It has a pencil, black ink, and red ink.

I made dividers out of scrapbook paper, stickers, and washi tape and created tiny top tabs using Martha Stewart note tabs and my label maker.  I don't like to place tabs on the side because they get squished by the pens.

I just recently added an Emergency section, This is my only side tab, and it is high enough that it doesn't get squished by the pens.  The front page has my personal contact information (in case I ever lose Ms. Plum *I shudder at the thought*) and the back has important emergency contact and medical information.





My first section is 'SHOP'  this is where I keep my shopping lists of things I am actually planning to buy soon.  I use the Day-Timer hot list sticky notes.  That way I can just pull the list out of my planner and go to the store.

Next up is the 'WISH' section.  This is where I keep lists of things I want to buy for myself and gift ideas for other people.

Then on to the 'LISTS' section.  This houses all of my various non-shopping lists.  Here's what I have so far...

• Master Task List
• Waiting For - Things I've ordered, things I'm waiting for other people to return to me, etc.
• Organizing Projects - Just a high level list of projects
• Packing Lists - Camping, Business Trip, City Vacation, Beach Vacation
• Weekly Cleaning Schedule
• Blog Posts

The fourth section is 'YEAR'.  I keep a running list of paid time off I've taken, or am planning to take during the year, as well as paid work holidays.  I have one list for me and one for my husband.  I also have an Important Dates page where I write down any dates I want to remember for the year.  This is also where my yearly goals are housed.

'MONTH' is the next section.  I have the Filofax horizontal pages.  I don't do any forward planning here, I just track trips that we've taken, business trips, sick days, etc.  I use a color-coding system to mark the days (Yellow = Business Trip, Pink = Sick, Blue = Vacation, Green = Float Day, Orange = Paid Holiday, Purple = Volunteer Day)  I also have a list of tasks I want to accomplish during the month, as well as a simple list of monthly goals.

Finally we get to the heart of the planner, which is my 'WEEK' section.  This has a full year of week on one page plus notes.  This is where I do all of my forward planning.  All appointments go on the left side, as well as birthdays, and any other important day-specific information.  My weekly tasks are written on the right side.  I break these out by context of 'Calls', 'Errands' and 'Home' (I have a separate notebook for work tasks).  I also track my fitness goals here.  If I do all of my workouts for the week I get a gold star!  I use Mark-It Dots to track certain things (like a blue dot for strength training sessions and purple for cardio).

I also highlight the dates, in the same color-coding system as the monthly pages.  I highlight any medical appointments in pink so I can easily track them when I have to go back and figure out medical mileage at tax time.

I do some minimal decoration, I don't like a lot of clutter.  I also have to use a frosted/clear ruler because I like to see the whole page!

A vacation week

A Business Travel Week

'DAY' planning section holds my daily pages.  Each night I plan out the next day; transferring appointments and to-do's from my weekly pages.  The appointments go on the left, in time specific slots, and To Do's go on the right by context. I also have a 'Work' context on the daily page, this is more for tracking what I do each day at work or anything that has to be done on a specific day.

The 'NOTES' section is a place to hold miscellaneous notes.  I like to print out articles from Time Management Ninja and store them here.  I recently created a page full of reasons why I need to quit drinking Diet Pepsi, so I can refer to it when I'm really craving one (which happens too often :S)

The last section is 'INFO'.  I use the A-Z tabs from Day Runner.  I like them because they don't stick out very far (thus don't get squished by the pens - very important!)  I use these tabs to store reference information.

After that I have a Storage Pocket (also by Day Runner) filled with the various stickers I use throughout the planner.

The back houses random odds and ends and the second pen loop holds my Frixion pen.  I like the Extra  Fine Point ones. (I just noticed my Today rule is upside down. Oops!)



Here she is, my plump Ms. Plum <3

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of my Filofax, I have certainly enjoyed looking at how other people set up and use their Filofaxes.  I'm considering creating a blog dedicated just to time management and organizing, especially related to notebooks and Filofaxes (that way I don't have to bog down my family and friends who really could care less about planners and my obsession with them).  Please let me know if you would be interested in reading.