Now that it’s December, I’ve finally started printing some of the inserts for my 2020 planner. Looking around Instagram and Reddit though, it looks like I’m the only one who’s not done yet! I started seeing people discussing their 2020 plans (which planner are you going to use) in September and October. I started seeing people showing off their completed setups for the new year in October and November!
Obviously there’s nothing wrong with being prepared. I was just surprised by the tone of panic I caught in some of these posts. “omg I haven’t even decided which planner I’m using next year yet!” I’m not here to tell anyone else they’re doing anything wrong, but I think maybe you could calm down a little.
I’ve talked about this before. I think “Planner Peace” is a completely achievable state. I think it’s real, but I think it takes work. It’s not a get-there-and-you’re-set kind of thing. It involves looking critically at your system at frequent intervals and evaluating whether it’s working for you. Adding new spreads to keep you accountable. Ruthlessly removing old spreads that are holding you back. Taking a risk on a new layout every once and a while.
In short, planner peace involves change.
That’s one of the main reasons I can’t set up my 2020 planner too soon. Most of the things I use for the year I can remain happy with, but I won’t really know for sure until I’m living it.
The other real reason I try not to set anything up too early is that I get really antsy in that period of time between when I set up a spread and when I start to use it. I film my new monthly plan with me, and suddenly the current month’s pages hold no charm. I decorate a new weekly spread on a Friday and then proceed to ignore the current week’s layout all weekend long.
If I prepared by 2020 pages too soon, I know I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy my remaining 2019 pages while I had them.
Why Do You Bullet Journal?
I see it a lot on Reddit, people setting up weeks and months way in advance. Most of these spreads are artistic and creative and beautiful and lovely. But I don’t get it.
For one thing, I feel like a major point of the Bullet Journal is always having the next page free when you need it, so if you’re setting up a structure of weeks and months in advance, you’re limiting what else you can use your BuJo for. Again, I don’t want to tell anyone that what they enjoy is wrong. I guess I just don’t get it.
It’s amazing if you have the talent to create elaborate monthly cover pages. But if you have extra time for art, why not create something to share with more than your journal and a few people on a subreddit?
Use your bullet journal to help you identify goals for a pursuit outside of decorating your bullet journal.
January is Coming!
Some people are probably panicked because they worry they’ll miss the “deadline” and not have their planner set up before the ball drops. And I understand this fear. I do.
It’s all contrived though.
Nothing and no one is actually holding you to having a fully functional 2020 planner by New Year’s Day. Let me tell you a story.
First trimester hit me hard in 2017, and then as I was starting to feel myself again, I got hit with holiday prep, then a cold, then helping my Grandma move, then a stomach bug, then another cold, all in quick succession.
I didn’t have time to actually sit down and set up my 2018 planner (at that time, I was in a pocket size TN) until the end of January!
And you know what, it was fine.
The beauty of bullet journaling is that you don’t need anything elaborate, even if you might prefer it that way.
I grabbed a blank Field Notes a pen and just kept trucking along. (I talked about this in-depth in this video)
The “worst case scenario” of yearly planner setups happened to me, and I look back on that period as an educational and introspective experience.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t set up your 2020 planner in December, or even in October if you want to.
I just think you should give yourself some grace if you don’t have time to do it today.
So I read your blog and I love that you post about Filofax and planning. I agree that Planner Peace can be achieved if you let up on yourself a little or a lot. I just do what feels good and don’t regret the past. I don’t have to have every page,every line, every cell filled in. I trust myself, my instinct and if I love the product (Filofax), the inserts quality, I just keep doing as best I can. I did get stuck in the bullet journal decorating syndrome in a traditional hard cover journal. I tried it for a year, and in that year, I missed a spread or two, but it opened the door for me to art and watercolour and it just made my life better, but I could never put any notes overtop of my beautiful art, so I gave up over decorating that journal and put that energy into worthwhile art that I want to hang on the wall or give to someone as a gift. I don’t have energy for both planning and art. I guess in a way that is what got me into the Filofax, just the ease of moving pages around and set up, and making inserts and dividers which is also a creative outlet. Thanks for the interest you take in this topic. I find it stimulating to read other’s opinions. Cheryl
This was really well said. I struggled with this for a long time. I haven’t quite found planner peace, but I’ve found the closest thing to it so far. It’s discbound notebook that mostly has bullet journal style pages it, but other printables as needed. There’s something about seeing the pages set up the way that feels most natural for me, in the colors I want with my own writing. It makes me happy, even when it is a very simple spread with just some lines and words on it. I am obsessed with all things planner, but find I have trouble finding people that really use their planners rather than just decorate them. Some setups are very pretty, but you know they don’t have enough room to put relevant information and notes for the week. I have enjoyed finding yours as I feel like I have found someone who actively uses their planner, not just creates pretty art. Thanks!