2022 Calendar and Planning Goals: Where are they now?

In the fall, we pen and stationery and planning nerds get excited about the prospect of a brand new year and shiny new notebooks, calendars and planners. But when the rubber meets the road, what do we actually use? Since it’s June already (eeek!), I thought I’d take a quick look at my plans for this year and where we’ve ended up.

2022 Planner: Year of the Snoop

I’m starting with where I’ve had the most success (mostly to make myself feel better!). Back in January I talked about my Year of the Snoop Planner. I’ve been purchasing these quirky, partially hand-made planners from Nikol for the last several years and they meet my needs perfectly. I use them as desk planners, keeping them next to me to jot down notes and to-do lists throughout the workday. Occasionally I use the Saturday and Sunday slots for weekend duties, but often use them to record book titles I’d like to read, notes about craft projects that need to get finished, etc. While this planner may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it fits my needs perfectly and I’ve used it every week without fail.

For me, the highlights are:

• Spiral bound, so it lays flat.
• Equal space for every day.
• Cardstock paper that performs fairly well with fountain pens.
• Fun, quirky illustration.

Journaling in my Musubi Notebook

Back in February, I wrote about my journaling ambitions for the year. I’d give myself a C in this category. I have written in the journal maybe a dozen times since the beginning of the year, recording mostly my knitting projects, but a few of the other big events of the year (who predicted the war in Ukraine would be in my crafting journal?). In general,  I don’t write very much though. It’s not that I’m being precious with the paper – I enjoy writing in it and don’t regret starting the project. No matter how long it spans (even if it encompasses years) I still think it is a volume I will treasure.

I think my problem is that the days run together and sometimes I’m just tired. The last few years have been so weird in that sometimes they feel like AGES and sometimes they feel like they’re over in a minute. A million things are always happening, and yet I feel like I’m stuck in some kind of groundhog day, mostly living the same day over and over ad infinitum. While I do work on lots of knitting projects, many of them have been longer term, larger garments, so I may only finish a few items a month to journal about. Going forward in the second half of the year, I might put a note on  my calendar (see above) for Fridays or Saturdays, to just write down what I’ve been working on and any reflections on the week. Even touching base a few times a month would make me happier about recording what I’m up to!

Hikemuri Sticky Note Calendar

 

Here’s where I’ve been a TOTAL FAIL. I was so excited to get this calendar back in December and dreamed of saving all the little photos in a cute photobook. Well, you don’t have to be eagle-eyed to notice my calendar is still stuck on the week of May 9, while the rest of the world is on June 7. These illustrations are beautiful and I never look at them. In practice, I peel them off only when I’m getting ready to write in my journal (see above) and then I use only the one I want and junk the rest to get myself caught up. The verdict? Regrettably, I’ll be skipping this one next year, because it just doesn’t fit my way of life.