That’s it. I’ve had enough. I am officially done with planners.

It’s a relatively new topic on this blog, but my previous blog had quite a number of posts about Filofaxes. Looking back at the rationale for starting this blog was for an unconscious break away from what had come before. My most popular posts on that blog are about Filofaxes, different styles, how to design layouts. In reality, that isn’t something that interests me anymore and it is not something I need anymore.

At the high of my interest of planners and wanting to be productive. I was in the middle of a degree where being organised with deadlines, maximising my time effectively an being able to reference my material was key. I used my planner a lot from writing notes from lectures, finding books and materials, what to consult next. Everything. I used my planner. It worked. I did well at my degree.

However, when it was not about university, life aspects did not really filter into my planner. I would set goals, track my water, my weight, my exercise. Track taking medication. Write lists about tasks that needed to be done. But none of it seemed to work.

I really love the idea of journaling, I tried a seperate journal. Didn’t work, especially if it was big and bulky and transporting to and from uni. Tried journaling in a personal size. Did not work. Tried every size of planner I can think of. It wasn’t working.

I know my preferred size of planner. A6. I know I prefer rings to bound notebooks. However, A6 is a nightmare. It is not a standard Filofax size, filofax do not stock it and when I first decided I liked the idea of trying an A6, there was very limited suppliers. I was fortunate to meet up with someone who went to the same uni and I looked at a Van der Spek. Decided it was worth the investment. However, with time and the use of a favourite compact bag, a bulky planner just didn’t work, even if it was the correct size. The idea of getting a custom sounds great…and expensive, but would it just be another abandoned planner on the shelf? Yes, probably it would be.

A post on my once loved and often visited Philofaxy facebook group highlighted that. I like the idea of planning, but essentially there is nothing I need it for and I have a good enough memory that I remember the things I need to remember and I don’t need to keep myself organised.

There is still this nagging feeling that I am not living my full potential. I am not using my time effectively…but what does that even mean? I’m effective at work. I achieve targets without a planner. I don’t need to consult pages of notes previously made. I rarely ever look back on notes.

In my personal life, I would make to do lists. Big lists of things I wanted to achieve get done. Feel overwhelmed and not do it. So I would just set a timer and do a task for however longer I wanted to spend on it. I know what needs doing. I don’t need to have it marked on a piece of paper to tick it off.

So I can’t get into the habit of journaling, I don’t need to organise myself and I don’t really plan. I can’t find my ideal planner in a commercial setting so would need to be a custom. I have tried and I just don’t need a planner. I love the idea of having one but I just cannot make it work. If only I had reached this conclusion before the expense of a load of planners and a load of failed attempts.