--- title: "STYLE Savvy: Planner Growing Pains" description: Lisa Hess has high hopes for a new addition to her planner family, even if a little tweaking is in order. image: https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/planner.png ---                                           [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2018/07/18/style-savvy-planner-growing-pains/#) [HOME](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/tag/home) # STYLE Savvy: Planner Growing Pains Jul 18, 2018 3:30:09 PM  |  by [Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess) ![featured image](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/planner.png) Image created in Canva using CC0 Public Domain elements from [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/time-management-week-calendar-days-2323612/).[/caption] For the past decade, or close to it, I've used the same type of desktop calendar: a 6" x 9" notepad-style, page-a-day calendar with lines perfect for making lists and keeping track of appointments. But this year, I began to question whether or not it was earning its keep in terms of the real estate it took up on my desk. So when I couldn't find one when I was looking for my 2018 calendars (honestly, I didn't look very hard), I decided to [go a different way](http://orgbystyle.blogspot.com/2018/04/planner-passage.html). I'm thrilled with the planner I purchased on sale in January, although it is not, in fact, serving as a planner for appointments and lists as much as a planner for ideas and projects. I'm liking it ... but it hasn't replaced the tool it was supposed to replace. Overall, the system that has evolved has been a good one, but I'm still finding too many loose ends. My writers' group sticky note, for example. Over the two decades I've been going to my writers' group, [I've allowed procrastination to reign](https://l2hess.blogspot.com/2018/06/deadlines-deadlines-deadlines.html). Each month, I find that I'm down to the wire in getting ready for it. Several years into my notepad planner system, I got tired of the meeting sneaking up on me, so I took a bright pink sticky note, wrote "Writers' Group Next Week!" on it and inserted it into my notepad calendar, sticking it to a page in the week before the meeting. That's right. A week ahead of time. My simple, cheap anti-procrastination device. Last month, as I was once again suffering through last minute-itis before my meeting, I thought of that sticky note. I mentally ran through all the tools I'm using, but could find no good place for that magical sticky note in my current system. Sure, there are other ways I can remind myself that the meeting is coming up, but that sticky note was perfect for my I need to see it personal style. So when I got home that night, I did a little online searching. I found lots of cute notepad calendars, but most were too big and/or too expensive. I'm not usually cheap when it comes to tools that I know will work, but a $13 notepad that would do the same job as a 99¢ memo pad from Target was a hard sell. When I found a similar notepad laying out a week at a glance for less than $6, I decided it was worth a shot. Sure, a cheaper notepad might be workable, but this one, already imprinted with weekdays and the magical phrase "Next Week" seemed like just what I was looking for. I was inordinately excited for it to arrive, and optimistic that it would help me stay on top of things better, even if I begrudged it the space on my desk it would probably need. I've been using my new acquisition for almost a month now, and I like it. It's missing a space for random lists, though (maybe those are supposed to go in the day-by-day blocks?) and I just saw a bullet journal post on Twitter this morning that gave me two-weeks-at-a-glance envy ... but every new tool takes some tweaking. That is, after all, the concept behind organizing by STYLE. So, tweak I shall. Over time, the new addition will either earn its keep or gather dust because it's not a good fit for my styles. Although trial and error is an unavoidable part of the organization process (and one of the reasons I avoid buying expensive tools), the tools we choose should always work in our service and not the other way around. I have high hopes for this new arrival, and the better part of a summer to integrate it into my systems and my life. If it resists too hard, it's not the tool for me and, even better, I'll have learned a little more about what its replacement should look like. And if this one lives up to my expectations, I might stop begrudging it prime real estate on my desk. --- *Copyright 2018 Lisa Hess* ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18%2Fstyle-savvy-planner-growing-pains%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18%2Fstyle-savvy-planner-growing-pains%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18%2Fstyle-savvy-planner-growing-pains%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=STYLE%20Savvy%3A%20Planner%20Growing%20Pains) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18%2Fstyle-savvy-planner-growing-pains%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18%2Fstyle-savvy-planner-growing-pains%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Lisa%20Lawmaster%20Hess.jpg) ### [Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess) Transplanted Jersey girl Lisa Lawmaster Hess is the author of a blog compilation, three novels, and three non-fiction books, including the award-winning Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff. A retired elementary school counselor, Lisa is an adjunct professor of psychology at York College of Pennsylvania. She blogs at [The Porch Swing Chronicles](http://l2hess.blogspot.com/), [Organizing by STYLE](http://www.orgbystyle.blogspot.com/), and here at Catholicmom.com. [Read all articles by Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess). [**](https://www.facebook.com/L2Hess/) [**](https://twitter.com/orgbystyle) ## Related Blog Articles [ STYLE Savvy: Getting the Most Out of Your To-Do List Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/style-savvy-getting-the-most-out-of-your-to-do-list) [ STYLE Savvy: Three Tools for an Organized School Year (Parents) Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2016/08/31/style-savvy-three-tools-organized-school-year-parents) [ STYLE Savvy: Planner Promises Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2018/01/03/style-savvy-planner-promises/) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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