A New Planner or Two

Recently, I bought a new planner, thinking it would be a good thing. I had some custom stickers made and began using them. What I quickly discovered was that it was okay but not what I needed. It was too big and bulky to carry in my purse, and I really needed to carry one with me at times. There were appointments and notes from those appointments that I needed to keep track of.

However, did I really need all of that in the same planner as my work schedule? After spending some time on Instagram, I had a lightbulb moment. I actually needed two planners. Actual planners in different sizes that would do all of the things I needed each one to do.

Planner for My Purse

I found this A6 on Etsy and knew it would be perfect for my purse or tote. I could put all of our medical appointments in there along with notes about each one. After finding some paper and a monthly (with weekly pages) calendar, I knew I was all set.

I just needed to add in holiday stickers and something to let me know there was an appointment each month. This gave me a way to pull out our calendar at the doctor’s office when making appointments. I could easily see what we had planned. I was using Google’s calendar, which worked fine, but I was still putting everything into that one calendar. That left me a bit cross-eyed when looking at it. I put all of the doctor’s business cards into holders and use stickers to tell who sees which doctor.

I also printed out all of our basic medical information. It is an easy way to pull up current medications and other information on whomever. 

I have my vaccination card and medical notice card in here as well. This way they are where I need them without having to look for them.

Of course I had to make it look pretty too! I found this printable on Etsy as well and it printed easily. I did make sure I used a thicker paper so it would last longer.

Planner for Work

Then I pulled out this old planner binder that I had and cleaned it up a bit. I really love this green color and the A5 size is perfect for work.

I purchased a monthly date set with tabs from Amazon. This was going to be my work planner. I keep my work notes, schedule, goals, and more here. 

I got the daily planner pages from Etsy. I didn’t print them front to back because I use the back side to brain dump or add additional notes that I need

I added a budget section at the back, but also a little bit of medical information as well. I keep the same medical sheets in the back as I do the smaller binder. They are great reference sheets when on the phone with insurance or whoever.

Then I put in a daily system check for my CHF and a daily sheet for Ma. That sheet let me know how many bad days either of us had. It is a good reference for the doctor since I can pull it out and show him or her what is going on.

I found colored paper on Amazon with holes already punched. It is perfect for things like notes, goals, and other things.

I had to make it pretty as well. All of these I found on Etsy. I love the little card.

I actually stuck this to the divide to make it sturdier and last longer.

The same with this one as well. They were both just o pretty that I couldn’t resist them.

As I was saying, I was nervous about dividing everything up like that. Using two planners made me nauseous, but I have since discovered that I am much more organized and happy. I am no longer wading through every appointment and schedule trying to find the one thing I need. I can focus on the tasks much better. I feel much happier about what I am keeping track of. Although I admit there are a few things I still need to add to my planners, I couldn’t be happier with them. Who knew that deciding I needed to use two planners would be so life-changing?