If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love, love, love my paper planner. Phone calendars are good for some, but for me, nothing beats pen and paper. My planner keeps me organized and productive. A few weeks ago, I got a fresh, blank slate Limelife Planner and today I’m sharing all the details! Ready for your planner tour?
**Disclosure: This post contains links, which are not an affiliate, however using my referral code will create a credit for me. I link this company and their products because of their quality and not because of the credit I may receive.
After trying a variety of planners over the years, I finally found a fabulous, local {to me} company that has amazing quality, customizable planners. This small business is literally two women in an office with computers, gigantic printers, and all the machines needed to laminate, cut, and coil thousands of pieces of paper a day. They’re friendly and always willing to help customize a planner, no matter how outlandish your requests might be.
Planner Preferences
Before we jump in, please know that planners are very personal items. What works for me and my brain might not work for you, and that’s okay. I like a planner that has both monthly and weekly views.
As a former teacher, I prefer my planner follow the school calendar (August to July) rather than a traditional calendar year (January to December). Getting my planner in July gives me something to look forward to in the dog days of summer and is a great kick off to all the Back to School preparations. I also love a vertical layout, meaning vertical columns instead of horizontal rows.
Limelife just debuted a vertical planner with a couple of extra dividers in an 8×8 size. I was a little worried about switching from my regular 7×9, but I did and I’m loving it.
Planner Tour
The Cover & Coil
My planner tour starts off with an amazingly rich and saturated cover. Limelife offers a lot of cover options, and some are even interchangeable. This one is the Delaina. You can also submit a custom request and have your own planner cover created.
This year, I chose an aluminum colored coil. Last year, I chose black. Next year I’m going for rose gold. The coil size varies based on the thickness of your planner. Mine has a 1” diameter.
The First Few Pages
The first few pages of the planner contain a list of special dates for the next two calendar years, a page for accounts and passwords, a perpetual calendar and a habit tracker. While most planners have holidays printed in the squares of the monthly pages, listing them in the front gives you the option to write them in yourself if they apply to you. There’s nothing more annoying than not having space to write your own events, because a holiday you’ve never heard of is in the way.
The Planning Pages
Then we get into the fun part. One big reason I chose the 8×8 planner instead of my go to 7×9 is because Limelife gives you the option to add your own pictures on the page before each month. I take a lot of pictures on my phone, but I am not great about printing them or putting them into photo books. This free service is a great way for me to get a little more enjoyment out of my pictures.
The monthly pages feel huuuuge in this 8×8 planner. The extra inch on each side makes the boxes an impressive size—no more running over the line into the next day! I keep these pages simple, writing events we have going on. Vacations, swim lessons, camps, family and friends’ birthdays—usual calendar stuff.
After each month are the weekly pages. This is where the vertical layout I mentioned above comes into play. Instead of each day going side to side, it starts at the top and goes down to the bottom. Sometimes this is just one tall rectangle, but this specific Limelife Layout breaks the boxes up. Each column has the date and day of the week at the top of it, then there’s a small box at the top, a large box under it covering most of the column, and then a few lines at the bottom of the page.
There are many ways to use these boxes depending on your planning style, but here’s how I use mine:
- Top Box: Birthdays or special events
- Middle Box: Schedule of activities and events
- Bottom Lines: Dinner
There’s also a checklist column on the left side of the week. Here, I add items on my weekly to do list. Examples include scheduling appointments, household chores, prepping for events, and tasks I would like to do by Sunday evening. Sometimes I get them done, sometimes I don’t. I try to keep this list short because I prefer to use a notebook to record my daily to do lists.
The End of the Planner
Optional Add On Pages
Limelife Planners prides itself on creating a customizable planner, so they offer a lot of “add ons” for your planner. Whether you’re into budgeting, fitness, meal planning, or gratitude lists, there’s an add on. This year, I included a “Future Planning Monthly Add On” which is a year of calendar pages condensed into 6 pages. I’m looking forward to using these pages when I near the end of my current planner, so events don’t get lost while I transition. I’ll write things like the start of the 2021 school year and future vacations.
Blank Note Pages
The last 20 pages of my planner are blank note pages. I use these pages to list our favorite meals (helpful when meal planning), ongoing wish lists for myself and my kids, vacation plans, Christmas lists, and whatever else I need to write in a pinch. Some people record their weight loss journey, list books they’ve read, track their meals, or add inspirational quotes. There’s also an option to have grid pages, dot pages, or checklists—I just find my handwriting is neater on lined paper.
A Folder Pocket
Finally, my planner ends with a “Limelife Green” folder pocket and a different view of the gorgeous Delaina cover. The folder pocket is great for flyers, coupons, save the dates, and mementos.
My Limelife Planner Tour
And there you have it! A complete tour of my 8×8 Limelife Planner. I could talk about planners all day—layout preferences, paper preferences, color preferences, how I plan, how I don’t plan, pens I use or refuse to use… but I won’t.
If you think you could use a Limelife Planner in your life, check out their website and use my referral code for $10 off your first Limelife purchase!
Do you prefer paper or digital planners? Share below, I’d love to hear about it!
