Is it better to have themed monthly spreads or just wing it as you go?

I was at my desk last Tuesday trying to set up a Halloween themed October spread with little pumpkins and bats, but I completely messed up the spacing so half my tasks didn't fit. Ended up having to rewrite the whole thing on a fresh page, which wasted about 20 minutes of my evening. Does anyone else find that sticking to a strict theme just causes more headaches than it's worth, or do the pretty layouts actually help you stay motivated?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin8962d ago

Man my friend Sarah spent two hours on a floral theme and then never used the planner again.

casey2682d ago

Oh man, @robin896 your friend Sarah sounds just like me. I did the exact same thing with a bullet journal - spent like three hours picking out the perfect washi tape and color coding everything for a vintage travel theme. Then I think I wrote in it twice before it ended up in my drawer collecting dust. It's like the fun part is just the setup and then you realize actually using the planner means having to keep up with it every single day. I still have a drawer full of stickers and fancy pens from that phase too.

knight.uma2d ago

Whoa hold up, nobody's talking about the real problem here. That setup phase is basically a fantasy. You're planning this perfect life that doesn't exist. The floral theme, the washi tape, the color coding, it's like building a dream version of yourself that actually has time for all that. But real life is messy and boring and you're tired after work. The planner just reminds you of the gap between who you thought you'd be and who you actually are. That's why it ends up in the drawer.