Plan With Me Challenge

Welcome to the Plan With Me Challenge!

Where to Find Us:

About the Challenge

Our hopes and visions for this #PlanWithMeChallenge group are to:

*Provide a space for ALL planner types that is safe and supportive to contribute and share their work comfortably

*Provide resources and a network for new planners

*Provide a platform for participants to ask questions or get advice with planning

*Encourage participant interaction and establish connections with each other via Facebook and Instagram.

This challenge was originally started by:

Jessica (@prettyprintsandpaper), Kim (@tinyrayofsunshine), and Kara (@boho.berry)

and is now hosted by:

Kari (@kb.creative), Lisa (@rainbow.bujo), and Eli (@productivestyle)!

About the Hosts

Hello fellow planners! My name is Eli and I’m so thrilled to be a co-host of the Plan With Me Challenge! I’ve been doing planning and goal setting for as long as I can remember, but discovered the amazing community here about a year ago. As a software manager by day and a professor by night, I’ve found that planning and bullet journaling have been invaluable in keeping everything organized and on track. Outside of work, I enjoy painting, drawing, baking, and hosting over-the-top parties. My current project is practicing doodles (so I started the @drawwithmechallenge earlier this year and ust released by third doodle book – Floral Planner Doodles)! To me, planning provides the perfect blend of productivity and creativity. My hope for this community is that we will continue to grow, share ideas, and inspire each other. I want this to be a community where everyone feels comfortable participating and learning together. I love helping out, so feel free to reach out if you have questions or suggestions!
– Eli (@productivestyle)

Hello Everyone! My name is Kari, but you can call me KB. I am so excited and grateful to be one of the co-hosts for this challenge. This challenge was created for an excellent reason and I’m so happy to carry it on. I started on my planning journey back middle school, yes you read that right. Ever since they would provide you an agenda at school, I’ve used some sort of planner (and I’ve tried them all!). It wasn’t until the end of 2015 that I really found my planner peace, which happens to be the Bullet Journal system (shout out to Ryder!). This system has given me more than I could have ever asked for! I hope that by participating in this challenge you will find friends, inspiration and comfort from others who are on their planner journey. My vision for you all is that you’ll feel more connected and inspired to share your own amazing work with this community. I don’t want anyone to ever feel stuck behind the thoughts that they aren’t creative enough or that their planner isn’t pretty or artistic. Everyone has something great to contribute – and I cannot wait to see what you all are creating! If you ever have a concern or question- please do not hesitate to ask! We are so glad you are here!
– Kari (@kb.creative_)

Lisa here. I’m super pumped to work with Eli and KB to co-host this challenge. Always been a bit of a planner nerd since my high school years – scribbles and doodles galore! That bit hasn’t changed at all. Got into the Bullet Journal system last year. Thank you Ryder for your creative innovation! It was exactly what I needed to help me juggle – working as a secondary teacher, studying full time Counselling, spend quality time with family and friends and somehow, you know – live this life! It also was a great tool for managing my anxiety and improving my mental health. Other than planning, I love being out in nature for a solid hike, curling up with a book or just having a nice, mindful moment wherever I am. Thanks to this community I’ve gained new skills with hand lettering, water colouring etc. so it has been a great creative outlet! I hope this challenge will help you find ways to live your life the way you want to so you can enjoy every moment. We’re all here to support each other so don’t be shy to ask for help! At the heart of what drives me in teaching, in counselling and life, is to help others – so ask away!
– Lisa (@rainbow.bujo)

Jessica Chung is a Minneapolis calligrapher, Fbullet journalist, blogger and face behind Pretty Prints & Paper. On her blog, she combines her passions for teaching and planning to inspire others to cultivate the life they have always imagined through tutorials, ideas, and lessons about letting and bullet journaling. You might find her in different states and countries, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, art classes of all kinds, a cappella concerts, or at the nearest Americano.
– Jessica (@prettyprintsandpaper)

How it Works

– Each month, we will post a new set of daily prompts. You can learn more about the monthly challenge here.

– You can download a printable version of the monthly challenge below.

– Each month, there will be a pinned album on Facebook with each “Prompt of the Day” as an individual photo.

– In order to keep Facebook posts organized by theme, we ask that you post your daily photos within the daily prompt thread. For Instagram posts, just tag #PlanWithMeChallenge

– Above all, have fun and enjoy the beautiful camaraderie of the planner community!

Community Guidelines

Welcome! Thank you for choosing to be part of this community. It takes time and energy to invest in a group, and we hope it helps you come closer to your own “planner peace” and meet others passionate about the same thing.

LINKS for #PlanWithMeChallenge:

Landing Page: https://www.productivestyle.com/planwithmechallenge/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planwithmechallenge/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1060856257300633/?multi_permalinks=1631373353582251&ref=notif&notif_t=like&notif_id=1506290455888989

As a member of this community, there are commitments that we make. We expect that posts fall under several categories:

+ Your own photos of your system, explaining HOW you plan.

+ Questions about a strategy, technique, or planning supply.

+ General community building.

+ You may recommend a product that you use, but this is not the place to advertise your shop unless someone asks about it. We are NOT a sales group at this time.

+ We welcome your suggestions on how to make this group more vibrant! Please share.

When engaging with others, we ask you keep the following in mind:

+ Different strategies suit different folks, so when faced with a difference, go to curiosity by asking questions first.

+ There is an AWESOME photo bank in the Facebook Group Info page to look at the archive of photos shared by the community.

+ Always begin assuming that the person who posts has a positive intention.

+ As members, we encourage you to ask questions when someone posts something unrelated to the group. We will send a warning and then if there are repeat occurrences we will ask you to leave the group.

+ Free speech is a thing and so are the consequences of that free speech – please know that when you take the risk of sharing, you also take ownership of some of the resulting impact. Hate speech will not be tolerated.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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FAQ

1. I had questions about the best strategy for setting up my journal. Should I start with a monthly view and daily pages or go with weekly spreads?
Setting up your journal can be quite daunting at first. Our best advice is to do what suits you and what’s right for you. Sometimes the best way to start is to make a list of why you are keeping a journal or what things you are wanting to put in it/keep track of. If you have heavy days, daily pages might be more suitable for you to fit everything in. Otherwise, a monthly view or weekly spread might be all you need. Experiment to see what suits you 🙂2. As a beginner, I wrote too long daily todo lists and my struggles were: how do you compose a realistic daily todo list and how do you manage migration? Later on, when I realized my bullet journal should be rather a journal (logs, trackers, braindumps, etc), I had this question: does it still count as a bullet journal if it isn’t that much of a planner?
Ahh.. the struggle is real when the daily to do list just keeps growing bigger and bigger! To answer your first question, composing a realistic daily to do list boils down to looking at how much time you have each day. Schedule in the any events/appointments you have then your must dos/priorities. Don’t forget to include breaks for meals, exercise, travel time etc. You can always migrate to a different day, week or month or maybe it’s about letting that to do go, if you keep migrating it to another day, week or month. Also keep in mind what your tasks are – are they realistic? If one of them is clean the house, maybe that’s too broad. Sometimes it helps to break it down into something more doable like sweep kitchen floor. The same could be said for “eat healthy,” “lose weight,” “read a book,” all of these tasks can be broken down into something more achievable. This is a common goal setting trick but can be used for daily tasks also! Your bullet journal can be whatever you want it to be. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do it as long as it works for you at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
There are a variety of ways to handle migration. Some use a master list and copy items over to it, some use the official Bullet Journal® method (http://bulletjournal.com/migration/). Regardless migration usually consists of striking tasks that are no longer relevant, marking off completed tasks, and moving over future tasks to a future part of your planner.

3. Something that has driven me nuts over time is the use of the term “bullet journal.” I do understand that it is a trademark but I constantly run into hundreds of Etsy shops, Instagram accounts etc. that claim that they are official. These people who are doing this most likely mean no harm but they are basically stealing. I don’t believe that these people would steal a car so why do they steal an idea? I would find it helpful to have info about this on a FAQ page. // I completely feel the same! I’ve been wondering as well. I also believe that BuJo is trademarked too, so I was wondering how that comes into play for Instagram names, like my own? An FAQ page about trademarks and bullet journaling would be incredibly helpful!
Bullet Journal® is a registered trademark of Lightcage, LLC and was originally created by Ryder Carroll. The best resource for questions about the trademark is over at the FAQ at the Bullet Journal® site: http://help.bulletjournal.com/category/9-faq.

4. I’d love to hear about how people do daily /weekly reviews , and also tips for starting a new bujo once it gets filled up.
Any type of review can be done the same way. A review would be taking the time to ask yourself questions of what went well, what didn’t go well, and what are new things you’d like to try or do differently? For starting a new bujo, it might be helpful to review the one you just finished. Make a list of spreads you’d like to copy over, or complete again in your new journal. The biggest thing about starting a new bujo is to just start it! Don’t worry about making it perfect. A review or reflection of what worked well, didn’t work well and what you’d like to improve for your new bujo once it gets filled up could be handy. You could also write a list of what you’d like to keep doing, transfer over or try out in your new bujo.

5. How might one incorporate a diary into a bujo? I hate carrying two journals when I could roll them into one but I can’t visualize how to set it up with a daily spread?
It’s definitely a great idea to combine the two into one journal. Depending on how much you usually write, when you journal you could set up your daily and leave the opposite page for journalling. Alternately, you could try journaling from the back of the bujo to keep it separate. You could also leave a blank page and write one line a day.

6. I’d like tips on how to incorporate trackers and logs in a way that is easy to keep track of/systemise. I find myself shuffling back and forth through my journal a billion times during a day, trying to find my logs. Apparently I don’t use the index that much.
It can be frustrating to shuffle back and forth through your journal to find your logs. Some people like to incorporate their trackers and logs on their daily/weekly/monthly spreads. I also don’t use the index much and tend to flick through until I find the page (Lisa). One thing that helps me find stuff easily is to use magnetic bookmarks that could work if you can’t fit your trackers and logs onto your daily/weekly/monthly spreads. Another option I’ve seen is people using washi tape/plastic post its/extra ribbon to mark pages to make quicker to find.

7. I recently started the bullet journal concept in July of this year. At the same time I started with a happy planner. I need the two to coexist, how can you make that happen? Is there one thing for all things planner related? I am torn between the two. Help required.
I have seen people bullet journal in any type of planner or notebook. You could use the daily place to make your list using the key that Ryder Carroll created. Also, if you can add blank paper or paper of your choice to your happy planner, then this could be where you put your collections. The best part about the Bullet Journal system is that it’s yours to create! The best “house” for your Bullet Journal is one that you’ll use. For example, if you are using the Happy Planner System, you can still use the signifiers from Bullet Journaling.

8. Have you ever had your eyes glaze over looking at planners?
Yes! Especially at all of your amazing designs on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.! The most important thing though is to have fun, make it your own, and don’t be shy about sharing your own designs and planning.

9. One thing that I’ve struggled with for a very long time is how to find the right system for me (currently using a TN style book for bujo).
Sometimes it can take a long time to find the right system for you and it is a lot about experimentation until you get that ‘planner peace’. A suggestion that might help is you is to list out your HOW’s and WHY’s for planning. Ask yourself what you need day to day, week to week. Do you need dailies/weeklies/monthlies? What does your planner need to do for you? Be a resource, tracker, journal? Reflect on these questions and similar ones as to reasons why you plan. That way you can choose a system that most matches that, try that out and hopefully the right fit will present itself soon.

10. For me the most important question is and will ever be: What am I using my planner for? Over the years that changed and will change in the future again. Perhaps it could be a good way to show different planning styles, such as the basic idea from @bulletjournal , but also how people make it their own system by using stickers, colours, lettering, stamping, doodling, stencils, rulers,… Another important question is, which things will I use for planning? Am I a colour-loving, minimalistic, etc. person? Is it enough to have a notebook and a pencil or which things I can’t live without in my planner? I thought I will need thousands of pens in the beginning, but never used them this far…
All of these styles and colors are a-ok. You can start with a simple notebook, or have a fun shopping-spree in stationary. The important thing is that you have a system that works for you. That can be simple, colorful, fun, washi-covered, or simplistic (or all of the above on different pages!). Remember to do what works for you 🙂

11. What are the differences between lined, squared and dot grid page formats?
There are many types of paper that a journal can be filled with. The overall difference is what you prefer to write on. The best Bullet Journal for yourself is one you’ll use. Lined, squared and dot grid refers to the style of paper and varies in terms of measurements/size depending on what notebook you use. Lined paper is just like notebook paper. Squared is graph-paper style, and dot grid contains dots rather than lines to show a grid on the page. It’s really down to personal preference what you would like to use. Some people love dotted paper because it gives them more freedom. Some people love the grid because they still want lines to write on. I’m sure there’s also a measure difference but that would be true for any journal.

If you have a question, just reach out on our Facebook Group or send a message on Instagram!