How I Use My 2016 Planner : Planner-ed Out Perfect, Part Four

You have seen everything from my experiences picking out an academic planner last year, to updating that planner purchase for 2015, to checking in at the mid-year mark! Now, since we're more than a month into 2016, I figured it's about time to see what kind of planner situation I'm working with this year...

First things first: I'm still absolutely loving my trusty Day Designers, by Whitney English!

This year, I've traded in my 2015 Aqua Shell for a 2016 Belle and Blush exclusive edition in Pink Painterly Stripes. The exterior is a little girlier than last year's, but I love how soft and feminine my 2016 edition looks... and so, in fact, did my sister! Delaney - the (ex-)Cheerleader - recently was elected to serve as current president of her sorority, here at UW, and she liked the look of my new planner so much she requested a matching one for Christmas. (I'm clearly the real trendsetter of the family!)

I still love filling my planner with colorful stickers, to punch up my daily agenda with a little color and whimsy. There are quite a few that I bought during the Spring - when I had my regularly-scheduled Finals Week distraction attack - that I used over the summer, and am still using; however, I've also beefed out my collection with the new year, stocking up on things with gold foil accents, inspirational quotes, cutesy symbols, and, of course, lots of flowers.

My personal favorite stickers are a remnant of a fascination I've held since I was in elementary school. I've always been infatuated with the historical significance and symbolism of bees... and yes, I'm very aware of how strange that sentence sounds. But think of it this way: bees are synonymous with royalty ("queen bee" ;) ), sweet things (honey), and flowers, and, of course, hard work. No matter if my planner's daily page is packed or completely blank, you can bet that there's a bee settled somewhere, reminding me of all the things I need to "bee" today. 

When it comes to organizing the contents of each page of my planner, I don't have to do a ton of work: The Day Designer is honestly one of my favorite planners because it allows you to schedule out and reflect on every single part of your day! There are so many fun features, including...

• "Due," "Dinner," "Dollars," and "Don't Forget" spaces at the top of every page make it easy to track the little parts of your day, which might otherwise get caught up in the shuffle. 
• The "Daily Gratitude" block down at the bottom of the page reminds you to reflect on the little things in life, (So far, this year, I've been thankful for everything from "toast" to "hair straighteners," to "working with great people" to my roommate's "triumphant return to Seattle after battling an infected bug bite wound.") 
•  and the entire page is dominated by two columns, of your Daily Schedule and your To-Do list, ready and available to be divided up however you wish. What I typically try to do it consolidate like items on my To-Do list into individual, discrete sections, so I can have them all in one place, and give better focus to what areas of my life need more attention that day. 

There are plenty of other fun elements, too, like the Quote of the Day at the top of each page. I burst out laughing as soon as I opened mine on January first, and had to point out the quote to my mother, as it was one of my favorites. Clearly, 2016 is going to be my year!

So, that's how I'm still working my planner this year. I feel like I've covered quite a bit of ground with my planner journey to this point... y'all have seen everything, from the selection and refinement process, to the experiences of my first year, to how I love to decorate it! Maybe next time we chat about this kind of activity, we can take a glance through my extensive sticker collection... I'll make sure to jot it down somewhere. ;) 

What planner do you carry? How do you accessorize your planner? Let me know, in the comments below!