NDIS & Disability
Spotlight on a Planner - featuring Annette
Welcome to Chasing Planner Peace's 'Spotlight on a Planner' series. We aim to show the world how planning has changed people's lives and showcase the different methods people use when chasing planner peace.
This month, May 2019, we chat to Annette, a 'BuJo' enthusiast from Queensland, about her love of planning.
This month, May 2019, we chat to Annette, a 'BuJo' enthusiast from Queensland, about her love of planning.
Please tell us a bit about yourself
Hi! I’m Annette and I’m a coffee loving laboratory technician. I live in SE QLD with my husband and our two cats. My favourite things (other than my husband) are science, sewing, coffee and cats. As well as working full time, I quilt, draw, sew and do Cosplay. I am a massive Pusheen the Cat fan and I collect fountain pens.
How did you get into planning?
I’ve always been into planning and organization, I picked up my first planner from Kikki.K when I started university in 2007. However, I really started to enjoy using my planner when I migrated to the Bullet Journaling system. I started using it to manage my workflow in the laboratory and then started to apply it to quilting and Cosplay design. I was very excited to find Chasing Planner Peace, they are one of the only Australian based companies that sell dot grid paper inserts for planners. This meant I could use the Bullet Journal system in my planner – instead of using separate BuJo books.
What products are you currently loving?
I currently love the Chasing Planner Peace dot grid paper. It’s my workhorse paper that gets used all the time. You can use a wide variety of pens, inks, stamps and markers on the paper and it doesn’t bleed or feather. Speaking of markers – I’m a massive fan of Tombow dual brush markers and Zebra mid-liners. Mark’s Maste washi tape is my favourite washi tape as it is perforated, making it very easy to use in your planner. If you are sitting on the fence about washi tape I would give Mark’s Maste tape a try. I also love fountain pens – and once you find planner paper that is fountain pen friendly it’s a dream come true! My Kaweko Skyline Sport stays with my planner and I use my Pilot Metropolitan all the time.
My everyday use planner is a Kikki.K A5 rings with a zipper close. I prefer my planners to have a zipper close so I can use a zip case in the planner and nothing falls out! I have a second planner that stays work. I’m thinking of expanding to a third planner for my household planning and finances. I love the A5 size and wouldn’t go any smaller – I like to write a fair bit and I’d run out of room.
What are your best tips for achieving planner peace?
My top two tips for achieving planner peace would be:- Don’t worry if your planner doesn’t look Insta-worthy. The planner is all about making your life easier and shouldn’t be a source of extra stress.
- If something doesn’t work for you, ditch it. Don’t keep trying if it’s not working or stressing you out. Planners are so versatile you will eventually find a system that works for you.