Introduction and June Setup
Greetings! If you’ve arrived at this page, chances are that like me, you are a planner enthusiast! Whether weekly or daily, for setting up your day or reflecting at it’s end, if a planner is your companion, this is the place to hang out.
At the moment, I use two planners: a Passion Planner Daily for work, and a Silk&Sonder for home. This not only gives me some ability to separate my work and personal lives, it also allows me to put better focus on both my career and personal goals, and to treat each in the way that has proven most successful to me.
I started to use a paper planner again in 2019, at the recommendation of a good friend. Since then I have amassed hoards of stickers, washi tape, colorful pens and marker sets, themed inserts, and journaling worksheets. I’ve used Happy Planner, Passion Planner, and now Silk&Sonder, for different reasons over the course of this journey. I’ve also gone through periods where I’ve fallen out of the habit, and keeping up with the planner has felt more like a chore that was meant to be helpful than a hobby that actually helped me. In future posts, I’ll dive into some of those struggles, how I’ve come through them, and what I’ve learned from each experience. For now though, something fun — preparing the upcoming month!
This has been my favorite feature of Silk&Sonder over the other planners I’ve used. As someone living with ADHD among an array of other neuro-spicy tendencies — and this is why I rely so heavily on a planner to keep myself organized and mentally balanced in the first place — their subscription model gives me something fresh, new, and thought-provoking each month, which keeps me interested long term, letting the habits I’m working on really build and take hold. Before I discovered them though, I’d treat myself to a new sticker pack or pen set, and look forward to an evening setting up my calendar and reflecting on the previous months’ wins and learns.
For June of 2023, I’m pairing up my S&S with the new Tombow dual brush pen six color set Very Berry and two colors of G2 Pilot gel pens, a favorite of mine for the feel of writing since I discovered them in the office supply aisle of the grocery store back in sixth grade.
I’ll be tracking my moods based on the same six I used in May: Creative, Content, Productive, Valued, Frustrated, and Disconnected. I chose these from the umbrellas that are part of the program within AbleTo (formerly Sanvello), a tool that I use on the digital side. Creative is related to being joyful; content to peaceful; productive and valued to powerful. It’s worth noting that when I began using Silk&Sonder I split my mood key evenly between positive and negative emotions, but I have since reached a point where I can skew in favor of the positive. Frustrated relates to the larger umbrella angry. Disconnected is the only word I did not pull from the AbleTo library — rather, it is itself more of an umbrella term that I’ve adopted as I’ve learned more about autism, and what happens inside my head when I don’t feel able to connect to any identifiable emotions. I like to record this, even alongside other moods, so that I can go back and reflect on what is triggering these episodes.
I’ve also carried over a few habits I’m working to continue: tidy up one surface at home; cook at home or use leftovers; journal or write fiction; and post or create instagram content. New this month, I’m adding a financial goal, to make a small payment into one credit card every day and watch it snowball. I’ll also be focusing on closing all of my rings on my Apple Watch, as I take part in a challenge with friends. The last habit I’ll be working on this month is bolstering my duolingo time up to a minimum of four lessons a day. This gives me a good mix of habits that have proven to help my positive moods, that relate to my core values, and that I identified in the previous months as bringing me joy and purpose in my day.
I start with these two trackers because they have been the most revolutionary in terms of keeping me connected, organized, and overall improved my day to day life. Tomorrow I’ll finish my setup with the page dedicated to gratitude, turn my sleep tracker into a workout log, and look at some of the pages that are unique to Silk&Sonder’s June ‘23 edition.
Until then,
Happy planning!