8 Tips for Planner Beginners! // Planner 101 // Advice for Newbies
Welcome to planning! Here are some general tips for the planner newbies out there. If you're a beginner, you have come to the right place!
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My number 1 tip to new planners is to remember that it is your planner and ultimately you're the only one who has to be happy with it. If you want to plaster it with stickers from seven different sources, go for it. If you feel like sticking to bare minimum Basic or Essential stickers, roll with it. If you want to mix pastel pink with neon green, do you boo-boo. Wanna have a Christmas in July spread, do it! Handwriting looking like chicken scratch? Lettering giving you fits because it looks like a four year old on a sugar rush did it? Who cares! Keep in mind that the Instagrammers and KZheadrs you watch and follow probably have months and months, if not years, of experience doing spreads, so it's totally logical that their spreads will show more cohesiveness. Yes, we all want pretty or cute spreads, but unless you are sharing it with the world, you're the only one who is going to see it. I have actually thought to myself "Thank god I don't have the pressure of knowing this has to go up on Instagram" LOL Relax, have fun, try out different placements of things and trust that you WILL improve with time. My number 2 tip is USE. YOUR. STICKERS. It is sooo tempting to hoard them "just in case" but trust me, there will always be more stickers. If it speaks to you and brings you joy or happiness, use it. I mean, that's why we get stickers in the first place, right? :)
Kenzie Logic yes!!!!
Awesome insight🤗
Amo tu respuesta!! Y tienes toda la razón 👍🏻😊 este 2019 fue mi primer año usando una HP, y al principio me sentí sobrepasada. Agradezco mucho tu opinión. Saludos desde Chile 🇨🇱 (lamento no escribir en ingles, pero mi gramática aún es algo pobre)
Um, is it dodgy to say I have about 20 different sticker books coming at me from all over the world, and yet to start my first planner... there'll be no hoarding here ;) Oooppppsss... I'm planning to use a Faith Journal and Life/Uni Journal. I'm in Australia, too... no Happy Planner in stores here!
@@mitchperko If I had limited access, I'd builk buy too, girl! I started planning for the first time ever in September and I have 27 sticker books. Yet I still find myself struggling because my brain will go "But this set is so pretty and I might want to use all these pieces in a later spread. Maybe I should save them." LOL! The struggle is real. Welcome to the wonderful world of planning! Keep watching Mary Ellen for lots of great spreads with tons of realness sprinkled in.
My advice would be to practice planning in a basic format for at least three months before trying to add decorations. Getting in the habit of planning and making it muscle memory is the most important thing. The second thing I would say is if you are a perfectionist, make a small mistake on purpose and learn to live with it. Perfection really is the enemy of progress.
That tip for perfectionists is really great
I realize this is an older video, but I had to comment because you said it perfectly about the plan our community. I am still very new, but I felt less alone when I try to explain the joy it gives me to others thank you. I love your videos.
My best tip is to figure out what you would want to know about this week 6-months or a year from now and put that in your planner. Is it how your exercise was going? Your weight or food journal to track symptoms? What you were doing at work might be so important to you later. I now treat my planner as both how I know what's going on this week/needs to be done as well as a love letter to what my life is like today.
Love this! I do this too.
I love planners as well. I don't do Happy Planner or Erin Condren planners but I love them because upturn right...it's a great community and I get inspiration from everywhere. My IG is not planner specific but I post a little of everything. I also love art journals and scrapbooking amongst my many hobbies and passions. Currently I use a Carpe Diem A5 as well as a Hobonichi and a Print Pression as well as travelers notebooks for different things like vacations or whatever and I love it all!
All great advice. I'm pretty new, and most of my sticker books were thankfully bought on clearance at Walmart. Some I only paid $3 for!
Hello, I forget how I found your channel exactly but I’m so glad I did. I have purchased too many things and but I’m slow to get started. This summer I bought two grab bags from Michaels and instantly had 16 planners, LOL. Happy to say I sold 14 of them on eBay, LOL. I enjoy watching your current & past videos almost daily. I’m inspired by your videos and I think I can get started.
I am brand new to the happy planner so thank you for your videos of what to buy and how to use your planner!!! I need some more tips on accessories like filler paper discs and how to use your dashboard layout!!!
Thank you for these videos. I'm so glad that I found your channel. Your videos & beginners tips etc. are very helpful. I bought my 1st planner about 3 years ago when I was pregnant thinking I'd use it more than I did. I really wanted one to plan my days but didn't know what I was doing. I bought one sticker book but was so confused on what stickers looked good together to create a beautiful spread. It was an 18 mo big dated HP planner & I think I only used it for 2 or 3 mo. in all honesty. I've tried using my phone to save info but also sometimes forget to even look @ it for reminders so I decided to give planners another shot. I think too that it didn't help that I was always tired from being pregnant & didn't always have a lot to plan my days. But now that I'm a mom there is always something to plan but just in case there are times where I don't I thought buying an undated one would be best. I'm looking forward to watching all of your vids.
Stops during video.... "Bless you" 😂 that's so me
I enjoy your videos SO much! Thank you for sharing.
As always, I love your videos! Great tips, thank you so much for sharing❤️
I always wished I would have made a diary and kept up with it. So when I was getting ready to retire, I started a planner to document what was going on. I so wished I would have done this all along. It is so much fun and it does become a kind of diary of what you are doing. Several planners later, I have settled in and find it very easy to do and keep up. I am going on my 3rd year and I am so happy that I have kept track of every single gifted day of my retirement!!!!! It is fun to look back on what we have done !!!
I was so distracted by jelly bean paws behind you.
alaskancat lol toe beans 🥰
Great tips. I’m new to planning, so this helped me out a lot. Thank you!
Great video! Ive watched a lot of your videos and I get a lot of good ideas from them so thanks!
Wow, your tips hit the nail on the head for me. This is my first time with happy planning so I'm excited to meet other planners and being engaged. Great video!!😊🤗👍🏽👍🏽
Thank you for this! Very helpful!
Great video! Great tips! I really appreciate you and your great advice 💗
Happy holidays! I'm a new subbie and found this video so helpful. Thank you for sharing your ideas. As a new planner, it definitely has given me a direction for 2020. All the best to you in the New Year! :)
Great tips!! I'm still learning and I find that ur videos help! 🤗
Most useful video for newbies. Thank you so very much!!
Love all your videos and planning style. Great advice. My planner style and taste has changed a lot in the 10 months that I have been planning. I'm very thankful for that too!😀 Merry Christmas!❤🎄
I just want to Thank you for all the wonderful inspiration your videos give. I've only been planning for a few months now and you have shown me so many different ideas on how to use my Planner and the different ways I can use my stickers and washi....So I just wanted to thank you so much for sharing 💕
Really helpful tips. I've been planning for awhile now,but it's never too late to be inspired.
I am fairly new to planning. I absolutely love the planner community! You have all been an inspiration to me! I have learned alot and still learn alot. I enjoy every video I watch. Thank you everyone! Keep on planning! ❤️
Just got my first one in the mail. Excited to feet started. Thanks for your videos!
Thank you for this! I have never planned before but am planning on starting at the beginning of the new year and your videos are one of my greatest inspirations! This video gives me hope about my capabilities and confidence in my ambitions as a new planner!
Thank you for all your tips and inspiration. Have watched a lot of your videos over the last weeks and I love them all. I used a classic HP back in 2017 but I found it too large as I like to carry my planner with me at all times in my purse. In 2020 I will try the HP again and I am going to use a mini dashboard for my catch all and a mini horizontal as a journal. Very excited!
Iv e learned so much from you! Keep up the great work!💜
You're a great inspiration to me and this video in particular is so helpful for a beginner like me. I love you're always giving such a honest opinion. I struggle a lot at getting my one still and it helps to know that even for creative planners as youreself it took somethime to get there. Thank you for this great video and I'm looking out for them each time
You really speak to what a newbie thinks and feels about planning. Thank you~looking forward to seeing my own style develop, but enjoy your tips in the meantime.
I’ve been planning for about 5 years and this video was like a breath of fresh air! Thank you so much!!! 💖💖
You're soooo inspirational! 😍 thank you for putting me at ease because i was accious too!
So many useful tips since I'm new to this. I want it to be fun. And I mostly want to be creative. Thank you so much!
i really like how you gave a shout out to your inspirations and i hope i'd use my planner more this Quarter after the quarantine fluke
this is my second year using a happy planner, and I didn't feel like I was utilizing it to its full potential last year. I found your channel and have become so excited and inspired for 2020's spreads, love your videos!!
I enjoy the creating too Mary Ellen. That's why I started using HP, to jump start my creativity. I had always used a basic weekly business planner. But when I ran across HP, it was like oooh, that looks like fun. You're a great inspiration for me. Thanks for all of the tips.
Thank you for the tips!
I love that you stressed to make it fun and suit YOU, not anyone else. You have such an easy and real way of communicating. I have learned more from you than probably any other planner on YT. Thank you.
Katrina Cole that’s the highest compliment. Thank you.
I have been thinking about doing a planner related KZhead channel & I was going to begin with a video “What I wish I’d known.” You said almost everything I was going to suggest. 😂 You’re awesome!
Great advice. Don't get discouraged as it does take time. My first planner was a teacher planner (chosen for the cover/dashboards) but I didn't like my spreads because of the layout. I changed to a Classic planner in July and it took a few months but now I am doing some lovely spreads. My goals for 2020 are to use the stickers and to cut down the time it takes to plan (because I'm a perfectionist)
Thank you for this video. I started with the Happy Planner 1 yrar ago. You were one of the 1st You Tubers I followed. This just reassures me that I'm ok with not having all the "stuff"
Thank you for this! I've had planners over the years but learning about stickers has taken this to a whole new level. Sat for hours today with my first setup. Definitely don't have it all together but I know I nabbed the right planner for the job. Went with the MAMBI Wellness. C'mon 2020!
Great tips Maryellen! I still consider myself a newbie and I’ve learned so much from you, Ali, and Heather Kell. I’m gonna have to go check out the other girl you mentioned in the beginning. I’m slowly learning my style and what works for me. I am having so much fun in the process. I love the planner community, you are all so fun and encouraging.
Great practical tips for us Novice Happy Planner fans.
I have watched a handful of your videos. I am very new to the Happy Planner. THIS video was very helpful to me. Thank you!
I received 2, 2022 planners for Christmas, so I’m new at working in a planner. You gave me great tips. I’ll be watching your videos for more tips! Thank you! 🤗
Thank you for this video....just got an Inkwell Press planner for Christmas so a total novice.
Tfs your tips! I really appreciate it.
Such a cute and welcoming video 😊 thank you
Great video. I decorate the calendar ahead of time. Making sure to fill out my daughter’s appointments right when I get one ☝🏼. Next, I fill out the day to day plans before bed when the girls are asleep. Stickers are so much fun but I usually add them later when I find the time. I like to keep track of exercise too. I’ve really improved more with time. I’m glad I subscribed. Great tips! 👍🏻
Thank you for the tips, I can see the value, and purpose of a planner and I like the tips, as it gives me an insight to being a bit more focused on what I really need from a planner.🇳🇿👍😀💐 Smiles from down under.
Yes I watch you video , cause I’m very new , watched also almost the same people as you . Love the way you say how to find owner planner and be cool . I want to buy a planner or at least sticks and washi but don t know where
Mary Ellen does make awesome points in not only this tips video but she does state then as she goes along on all her videos and will bring up that point and the why behind it. Not just stating it all in one video as such but will say them in videos so she puts the top and tricks into action. I hope I am getting my point across without being to confusing.🤪😉
First time watching your videos, and thanks for the honesty and tips. Also, love some of your follower's comments below, so thanks to them too :) I'm most excited to start my Faith Journal, and I'll have a "catch all" one too, which might be more like a simple decorated diary while I put my energy into the Faith one initially. I'm based in Australia, so it's hard and tricky to find supplies at a decent price... but I have a large amount on the way over the next few weeks, thanks to having a freight forwarder for my business in the USA :)
I absolutely LOVE your videos, your spreads, and, just you! I feel like I’m relatively new to planning but it has saved my sanity right now. Thank you so much for your advice and your kindness. I would definitely be a Planner buddy of yours.
Thanks so much!
I'm new to the Happy Planner Community!!! I just love your Channel! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
a warm welcome from a german fan!
Hi, you’re the first planning video I’ve watched. I’ve been thinking about starting planning and am trying to gather best tips nd tricks, thank you for yours, some hit home
Muchas gracias por tu video. 😊👍🏻
Great video! Thanks for so many ideas and an “atta girl” pep talk. 🤗🇨🇦🤗
Thank you. I found this so informative. I was buying some of everything! Big mistake! Thanks again and God bless.
One tip I would add (i was planning a lot then quit for about two years so am starting again) is that if you feel you aren't creative and struggle with creating your own spreads, find people who encourage you to copy them and put your own flare on it. I have bullet journaled a bit and a lot of that community and many other types of planners often will ask you to tag them in your spread esp if you decide to copy. It is fun following bullet journalers because they are often very artsy and can doodle well and give you some artistic help in filling up space, creating trackers and adding personal touches. *No matter what you're doing, aim to always be learning something!* If you make a lot of errors when spelling or in spacing I recommend using the Frixion pens. They have great colors, are smooth writers and erase pretty darned well. They have become my everyday pens over the last few years. I absolutely love that I don't have to scratch out or white-out an error! Great tips as always Mary Ellen! I love your videos every day!! I wish i could get that big mega pack of stickers you show but I don't see it on Amazon Canada and the Happy Planner website says that they don't cover duty, so the end price scares me! Hopefully, they will be available on Amazon soon!
Frixion are the best for planners!!!
At the beginning I felt like I always had to decorate my weekly spreads and sometimes I didnt have the time or inspiration to decorate which made me not use my planner, but now even if I dont decorate one week I still use it functionally. So dont get discouraged if you dont decorate one week. I have also discovered that I like to keep my decorating simple. I use a HP hourly.
Thanks for the tips sweetie.
This popped up in my lineup today. These tips are timeless. It is very easy to spend $100 or more on start-up- save your money, "window shop," make a list, and wait for a sale! A special pen/ pen set makes all the difference, too. Michael's sells individual pens to try.
It's okay to use different planners for different purposes. I've only been planning about a year, but I was by NO MEANS consistent with it throughout 2019 (I have much higher hopes for 2020). But, since carrying around my Erin Condren (which I use for my main "catch all") isn't exactly convenient, I also like using a Hobonichi for my "day-to-day / on-the-go", that I can throw in my purse. However, I've found by watching you and some of the other HP planners, that I really like the creativity you get with a lot of the HP stickers. I enjoy incorporating some of the HP stickers in my planners (even though I don't use the HP). So, I guess my tidbit would be that it's okay to use a variety of stickers from a variety of different sources even though they may not be for a "specific" planner. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for sharing your advice & more great advice.
I’m still learning and this video helps me a lot . Thank you . Btw Your hair looks nice. ❤️
Evelyn Pacheco thank you!
Great tips,since 2017 i buy a new package(planner with stickers and coaster,extra) and i feel boring then i stop using it,this year i discovered i don't need all that i just need to make mine with my taste and needs
Functionality is the ultimate priority for me. I am pretty busy so need to write down stuff all the time! I bought a Happy Planner in 2017 and decorated it, then hardly used it!!?? Made me so mad I just bought black Daytimers and carried them in my purse! I am going to try again this year. (I just bought The Christian Planner 2020). Thanks so much for sharing!!
Ugh, I’ve been buying all the stickers and washi, lol! Just the video I needed, thanks!
I would love to see some tips for student planning in a vertical classic.
I watch this for reminders every few months. Also, I like you videos because I'm a dog lover (let's hear it for Bumble!). It's interesting when a dog "owns" a KZhead channel (Ha Ha).
I love your videos. You inspire me to give instagram a try.
Really good advice Mary Ellen, I’m now going to see if we have that new jumbo sticker book in the UK 🇬🇧
Hello Lauren. I'm from the UK too. I've not seen the Rainbow one but the pastel and brights jumbo books are on Craftelier.
Julie Smith Thank you ☺️
I'm really a newbie, like I haven't bought anything yet. Your videos are wonderful and I have lots of notes from them. I now know I want a Classic, vertical planner, so going forward can you recommend some of your favorite planners to follow?
Ok so my channel froze and your video disappeared before your recommendations began.:(
And my dear Newbies: please dont rip your stickerbooks apart, everyone who did that at the beginning to create his own sticker assortment did regret it later. There are simply too many books to keep up with this method and at the end you are confused where to look for certain stickers.
good one! So glad I did not do this.
So true. I did the same thing. Dumbest thing ever! Lesson learned.
Yes!!!! I so regret doing this.
Michele Littlefield me too (lets make a new me too movement 😅😂🤣😅
Excellent advice. Excellent name!
As someone watching this in Oct 2020, I had to laugh when you talked about plans changing (paraphrasing) "It's December. You might think you know what's going on in February, but something will pop up". Given what February and March of this year (and April and May etc) ended up looking like for a lot of the world this year that was a total understatement.
Haha! That’s great
I think that’s the most I struggle, that I don’t like my spreads and I try to do something better, like Heather says, comparison is the thief of joy.
Great tips! I like the white bookcase behind you. Where did you get it and what is it’s name/model number?
Patti Titus I got it at Target: click.oe.target.com/?qs=129da09c324e9606b474c58ecbcf54621f912f56c88b64ebd34033016906f9b6eb1ce66261561208e5422c078a571e7f66c6e35dfea8811c0959f205acec7e96
I think it's funny that we have been planning the same amount of time and I have never once bought a colorful boxes sticker book. I just can't bring myself to spend money on them. I have made my own with the sticker book leftover background and label paper. I bought way to much when I started and I wish I saved that money to buy new stickers.
I would love for you to show how to cover up or disguise the colored weekend boxes in many of the Happy Planners this year in the monthly spread. I literally couldn’t find one that was totally neutral & it is so frustrating! I don’t want to be tied to certain colors.
You could buy one of the 6 month undated extension packs that doesn’t have the coloured boxes for weekends like this one thehappyplanner.com/products/dashboard-layout-six-month-extension-pack-classic?_pos=25&_sid=cb8c05cd9&_ss=r And then just switch out and date the monthly pages as needed. Or redate pages from old unused planners. eBay can be a good place to find these if you don’t have any.
Thank you!!!!
Could you make a video about how to put stickers on straight? I am the absolute worst at it. And when I pull the stickers back up they curl and it’s even harder to place them a second time lol
Mary Ellen...I bought all the stickers. Well, many of them. I gravitate towArds the colorful boxes, mega rainbow, planner basics, and a couple of the seasonal planners. I just dust the rest...score for your accurate recommendations! QUESTION: My personal style doesn’t exist yet. I’m used to planning as I go from my life in the business world. But combining functional and stylish is going to take sometime. I’m following you, and some other great planners here, and on Instagram. I’m not close to making videos, but I’d like to get my plans on Instagram. However, I keep seeing people say that spreads have to be “Instagram ready”. How do I know when to post on IG without embarrassing myself?
Katie S you should never feel embarrassed! Anyone can share!
Awesome points. Wish I had watched before made some major boo boos to start. Oh well. Not going to stress, learned from my mistakes and boy I made them. Lol🌻🌻🌻
I never buy colorful boxes, I create my own on my Cricut, easy peasy.
Still learning my Cricut!
Sorry after a read it it didn't make sense the out there night you had a Box that your daughter put 3 sticker books in in you were supposed to do a layout With just that somehow when I was watching I clicked it off by mistake
How do you make Instagram account and what is name of Facebook group.
LaNora LeJeune here are some of the Facebook groups I follow: - Bullet Journal Junkies - Houston Planner Peeps - Planners Gone Wild
It doesn't matter if you copy someone's speared. It is not that serious. I have no intention to do it but it doesn't matter, at all.
First she says you don't need to buy "everything" then talks endlessly about stickers, ugh! I needed a how to get started video with examples of how to use the monthly and daily pages. This video didn't help me at all.
Sorry it didn’t help! I have other beginner videos that may be more what you are looking for: kzhead.info/channel/PL3mb4iU9ToVPcD0vHZKgZeBZdHTbkpEul.html
I need a planner to my planner thats how my head is working rn it confusingg 🥲