The Planner Podcast

When I discovered the magic of using planner stickers to decorate my planner it was MAGIC!

Every part of the process from choosing a sticker theme for my week to peeling up stickers from a sheet to arranging them just so on my planner pages unlocked the creativity that I'd almost forgotten about. Plus, it turned into a big part of my weekly self-care routine too.

Soon after, I decided that learning to make my own planner stickers was the next step. I went about consuming ALL the online tutorials, buying my own Silhouette Portrait and a pack of sticker paper.

It took some time to really nail learning to make the stickers. The online tutorials, while are useful to a point, were SO long. Plus, many used outdated versions of my software and were full of unnecessary info instead of just getting to the point of what I wanted to learn.

I joined a few Facebook groups and the girls were SO helpful while I was finding my feet and really generous with their knowledge and experience.

Then, I had to leave my job. I was diagnosed with cancer at around the time I started using stickers and all of a sudden I was at home more, feeling helpless and lost with no income.

After I became confident in making my own stickers, and I knew the quality was really good, I took the leap into opening my own Etsy Shop, now called Paper Planner Club (CLICK HERE).

Gradually, I added to my planner sticker range and the sales came in over time. I LOVED making beautiful stickers for customers all around the world and built lovely friendships with many customers too!

One thing I was complimented on a LOT was the quality of my stickers and my customer service. These are two things I take really seriously.

I wanted customers to love my stickers as much as I do - and I know first hand how excited you feel when your happy mail arrives!

I also know how upsetting it is when you use your stickers and find that the cutting is 'off' or they tear because the paper quality isn't good.

Even if a sticker sheet only cost me $2, I still expect a good quality product - and I took this to heart when making and selling my own stickers.

Over time, I added more into my range such as printable planners and wall art. Then, I made the leap into selling only printable versions of my stickers and planners.

As much as I loved printing and cutting stickers for myself, I wanted to continue to make money from home but in a more passive way.

The great bonus of selling printables is that you make the product once, list it on Etsy or in your shop and then can make sales on it forever with little effort and expense.

I also started selling my printables on this website and on another platform too - three bites of the cherry!

Learning to make printable planners and stickers, and then starting my Planner Shop, didn't happen overnight.

Also, it wasn't without a lot of time, some financial investment, plenty of mistakes and a few tears too!

There was a lot of trial and error, a LOT of competition online and many times when I would have been happier throwing my Silhouette machine out of the window.

However, I stuck it out, got 'creative' with standing out online and made it work. (and did I mention how amazingly supportive the planner community is??)

As time moved on, I started to get a lot of weekly questions from customers, friends and new shop owners asking me how I was making my stickers, what sticker paper I was using, how to use Silhouette and Cricut and so many more.

You can buy a Silhouette online here in Australia, here in the US and here in the UK.

You can buy a Cricut online here. You can also buy a Cricut on Amazon here in Australia, here in the US and here in the UK.

It dawned on me that I had valuable knowledge to share - and I could really help people to do the same as I did in making stickers at home.

I put together an online course that was a step-by-step guide to EVERYTHING I knew about making planner stickers.

It includes tutorials and lessons that will help even the newbie-est of newbies - with more advanced lessons as they progress in their sticker-making journey.

I have years of experience in training and coaching and rekindled my love for teaching by helping others! PLUS, it's a brand new way for me to get creative in all of the ways I can help other people learn too.

The feedback on my course has been incredible - and the emails, comments and messages I receive every day blows me away.

I mean, I'm confident in knowing that my course is good - because I STILL have that huge focus on Quality and Customer Service. But even so, I still get the biggest buzz when my beautiful students send messages or say things like this:

I've come on a real journey when it comes to stickers.

For a while, it was my little hobby that no-one else 'got'. You get me though right? You have to actually SHOW people your planner, or give them their own planner and stickers for them to really understand the magic of it all.

Then, as time went on it became a way to help pay our bills when times were tough. And wow - without that income, during chemo, we would have struggled.

Now - making, selling and teaching all things about planner stickers LIGHTS ME UP.

I LOVE IT.

I love getting up every day to play, create and teach. I LOVE my community of students and I love to help them keep progressing.

They are doing AMAZING things and wow, I can't wait to show you their creations soon too!

Well, it's way easier than you'd think! All you need is a computer, sticker paper and a way of cutting your stickers.

I like to use a Silhouette or Cricut to cut mine - but many of my students use good 'ole scissors to cut theirs!

I'm guessing you already have a computer and your local craft shop or Amazon has a wealth of sticker paper.

So, what's stopping you?

If you would like to learn from me - I would LOVE to teach you. I teach from my heart and I would love to guide you to make (and even sell!) your own planner stickers.

And feel free to reach out with any questions by clicking here to email me.

Five easy tips to making using a planner a habit you will keep!

Hi, this is Mim Jenkinson and you're listening to The Planner Podcast.

Welcome back! Today are we going to talk about remembering to use your planner. I've spoken to so many of my readers and customers who really want to get into planning but one of the biggest things, which sounds really simple, but it's actually a big challenge for some is just remembering to use it. You know, making using a planner a habit.

Sometimes you just don't know where to start with using a planner. Sometimes you just forget to use it regularly. Perhaps you just can't seem to make using a planner work for you and you think that perhaps you're not an organized person or you're not really a planner person and give up quite quickly.

I think is a bit of a shame because planners actually, in my opinion, help you become organized so you don't become organized to start planning. It's the other way around!

So, I wanted to give you a few tips on how to remember to use your planner more so that using it becomes something that you automatically do and that you want to do because you are really starting to see the benefits. I've got some practical ideas on how you can start to remember to use your planner a bit more.

The first one is just to make sure that you are actually using the right kind of planner. Sometimes this is going to take a little bit of trial and error and it isn't as simple as just going into Kikki K or Erin Condren or Kmart or Target and looking at the planners and picking the one that you think is right for you or that that's the prettiest or will fit in with your desk or your handbag.

These things are important but it's more what's inside and how actually using the planner is going to work for you. For example, I'm a big list maker so for me, a vertical planner where you actually write your plans in a vertical list each day, that's perfect for me. A horizontal planner or one with only a small of space to write in is not going to work for me.

You might be someone who's more into bullet journaling or even just being a bit more creative and doodling and perhaps a vertical planner hasn't got the right kind of space capacity for you. You may need more space. You might have your planner like I do on my desk every day. It doesn't really move. I actually don't even take it away with me much anymore. So it doesn't matter to me how big my planner is, but if you're someone who takes yours out and about every day, you want to make sure it fits in your bag isn't too heavy. There are lots of different things to consider when making sure that you choose the right one.

And I actually have an online program called Paper Planner 101 which helps you in a lot more detail pick the right planner for you. So, I'm going to link to that in the show notes or you can head to www.lovefrommim.com/planner101 to get much more info on that now.

My second tip on remembering to use your planner is to find a time and a place to plan and then stick to it. That might be first thing in the morning and you might decide to keep your planner on your desk if you work from home or if you have your planner at work. It might be that you have your planner in your handbag all the time. So you know that when you finish with it, that's the place you always put it back. What time works best for you to actually use your planner? Is it first thing in the morning? Last thing at night? Before the kids get home, when you've got a few minutes to spare? When is a time that works for you and that you can consistently stick with every day or every week?

For me, I actually like to plan my week ahead on a Friday afternoon. It took me a while to actually find this sweet spot and I used to plan on a Sunday evening for the week ahead.

Now I find that last thing on a Friday when I'm a little bit kind of sleepy and not really focused, is actually a really nice quiet time for me to wrap up the kind of week's work and then think about what, I have in store for the week ahead.

On a Friday afternoon I will plan for the Monday to Sunday the following week. For me, I love to use planner stickers and I like to spend about 15 minutes on a Friday afternoon, decorating my planner. It's a little bit of therapy time too! Having the opportunity to reflect on the week I've just had and then work out what I need to do for the week ahead. That means that on a Friday when I finish work, I don't need to think about work the whole weekend and when I wake up on a Monday morning, all of my plans are already in place. So I know exactly what I'm doing. There's no kind of scramble like, gosh, where do I start?

You need to find a time that works for you and a place to actually store your planner that works for you as well. Which brings me onto the third tip because it really is where you're going to store it properly.

Where are you going to keep your planner all the time. It needs to be somewhere, again, that's easy for you to reach and easy for you to put away. So, whether you're getting it or putting it away and Could it be your kitchen counter or in your handbag? Where will you use it the most? Maybe it's next to your bed. Trial a few different places to find what works for you. I like to keep my planner on my desk and I actually have it open on the week that I'm within as well so it's always open and ready. All my notes, all my plans and lists are there. They're in my face constantly. So there's no getting away from the fact that I know what I should be doing and when.

Tip number four, remembering to use our planner is to really train the habit. Don't expect to decide what planner you're going to use, where you're going to keep it and when you're going to use it and just stick to that from day one. I think it takes a little bit of trial and error to find a system that works for you.

I read an awesome book recently called "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. One of the things he talks about in the book is 'habit stacking'. I've tested that in a few different areas of my life recently. Basically habit stacking is when you take a good habit that you've already mastered and then you add something else to the chain of habits that you want to become a habit next.

For example, it might be when you start work in the morning, if opening your inbox is the first thing that you do automatically, maybe that's the first good habit you have. Maybe you can add a rule onto that, that you don't open your inbox until you've checked your planner first. Perhaps that's a way of incorporating your planner into your daily routine.

Or maybe before you go to bed every night, do you load your dishwasher and pack your work bag? Like Perhaps that's a habit stack that you've already got. Maybe you can add to that the habit of opening your planner to the following day's page and leaving it open on your desk or wherever you're keeping the planner so that the first thing you do when you wake up is look at your planner and know what you have to do for the day.

Have a think about the good habits that you already have and how you can add some planner habits to that stack. Anyway, I love that. I've been using it for loads of different things in my life.

The fifth tip on how to use your planner is to set yourself a reminder to use it and do it often. I know this sounds a bit strange to remind yourself to remember to use your planner! But if all else fails and you have to set a reminder on your phone or an alarm clock somewhere for the first week or so to really make using your planner a daily habit that you automatically do, then just do it.

Give it a try and see because if you decided on when you want to use your planner and then you set a phone alarm to go off at that time every day or every week to do it over time, you're not going to need that alarm anymore. You'll eventually just adopt the habit over time and stick to yourself and then you'll start to see the benefits of using your planner and that will help you continue to use it more. So give it a go.

I hope my five tips on remembering to use your planner have helped!

I think most mostly it comes down to the fact that when you found the right planner that works for you and when you start to see results or you start to be more organized or feel less overwhelmed or more on top of things, you'll really enjoy the process of planning. Then it's inevitable that you're going to want to do that more because you see that something's working for you, you enjoy it and you continue to do it.

One of the biggest challenges is if you haven't quite found the right planner for you yet. If you are struggling with that, you check out my course here.

Reach out with any questions you have about using a planner or making it work for your life and lifestyle. I'd love to help if I can. Thank you so much for listening!

Here are four quick tips on how to plan your day to be more organised and super productive!

Hi, this is Mim Jenkinson and you're listening to The Planner Podcast.

Hello and welcome back! Today I thought I'd share four really simple steps on how you can plan your day to be more organized because when we're planning we want to be as productive as possible along. We all have lots of things to do! So I thought I'd share some really simple tips on how you can be a bit more structured and organized when planning.

Tip one of planning your day is to pick your planning tool. Choose the planner that you're going to use. As I've said before, I always use my Erin Condren LifePlanner. Pick your favorite planner, find a pen that works for your planner as well. I have found that it's a bit of trial and error and for me, I really love the FriXion pens from the Pilot range because I know they write really nicely and also come in loads of different colors and you can rub them out!

Tip two is to then prioritize your plans. For me, I'm generally work on a To Do list method. I like to prioritise the events and tasks that need to be completed first and I'll put everything down in order that way or maybe I'll highlight and ones that I really can't miss. And then before I finish my list, I will add some of those "nice to do's" that if I get through all of the priority tasks and I get round to doing other things, these are the things that I'll do.

I work from home and I use my partner to plan my work, personal and family tasks and plans and appointments. You might choose to categorize everything separately. For me, I just put everything in one big list in terms of priority.

Tip three is to set yourself some reminders because I don't know whether you're anything like me, but I get quite distracted. So even though I use a paper planner, if there's anything really urgent that I definitely can't afford to miss, I'll pop it into my iPhone calendar as well. I don't use the calendar on my phone every single day.

I also try and schedule some breaks as well throughout the day. And I'm really, really, really bad at this because I love my job! I love being at my desk and working and before I know it, hours have passed and then I'll move and my back hurts and I realize it's because I've not been moving around. Try and schedule in some breaks into your days as well as some fun stuff. So when you're planning your day, especially if it's mainly work plans or maybe even something that you just don't want to do, try and pop in a few fun things or breaks as well and make sure you're standing up every now and again, grabbing a drink, going for a walk, getting some fresh air and sunshine.

And then the fourth quick tip too is to not over-schedule. And I am so much better at this now. I used to be pretty bad. I literally, if I had, 20 lines in my planner to write a list, I'd fill every single one and that would make me feel really organized. Actually having a big long list of things to do would make me think, wow, look how organized I am having to do all these things! But then of course you can only get through so much every day. So don't over schedule. If something isn't realistically going to happen in a day, don't write it in your planner. Don't set yourself up to fail and feel bad because then you've not ticked it off. It took me ages to master this. Even though it's really simple.

Only put tasks in your planner that you are capable of completing and if not, find a way that you will be because you don't want to either skip things and feel bad that you haven't done them or rush through anything that you shouldn't be. Make sure that you only put in plans and appointments and tasks that you can realistically do and that are really important too. One thing I've gotten much better of is every week and sometimes every day I'll look through my list and reassess, should that be on today's list? If it shouldn't, I'll move it. Sometimes I've had something in my planner for weeks on end and just have never been able to complete it. And I'll think long and hard that maybe it isn't important or necessary.

So there are my four quick tips on planning your day. I would love to know if you have any other tips on making sure that you plan effectively and productively and get everything done! Thank you so much for listening.

Pop me a message or an email or a comment and let me know the kind of topics that you'd be interested in and any areas that you struggle with in terms of using a planner or staying organised.

Thank you very much for listening and I'm really looking forward to this show. I'll see you in the next episode!

Welcome to the first show from The Planner Podcast! Find out more about planning tips, how to use a planner and be more organised.

Hello, it's Mim, and welcome to the very first episode of The Planner Podcast. I'm so excited to share this one with you because planning is both a hobby and a necessity in my life. I'm thinking the fact that you're listening means it probably is for you or you want to know more about how to use a planner. And when I say planner, I'm generally talking about paper planners, like old fashioned diaries, journals, bullet journals, planners. However, I know that lots of people are into digital planning these days and the essentials are pretty much the same.

So about me, I Mim Jenkinson. I'm a mother of two little kids and we live in Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. But you've probably guessed I'm from the UK. I've been over here for about 12 years now though.

I'm a little bit of a planner addict! I've been into journaling and using diaries and lists to stay organised forever. I was always the kid who really enjoyed back to school time for the stationery more than anything. That's kind of continued into my adult life. I use my planner to stay organised and as therapy and I'll probably talk about that more as the shows go on as well. The benefits I've found to planning are not just about being more organised.

I got into using a planner again a few years ago and picked up an Erin Condren LifePlanner and haven't really looked back. I've tried other planners and at this point that's the one I definitely use every day the most.

I use my planner for every reason: to plan my work, personal life, family life, home, everything! I'll talk about this in much more detail in another show.

Also, about three years ago I started my own planner sticker store. I sell planning stickers to decorate my Erin Condren LifePlanner and they fit some other planners as well though. I've been selling those online for about three years in my Shop here and in my Etsy store, Paper Planner Club, here. I used to sell the printed versions of the stickers and at the moment it's all printables, which means you can print them out, cut them at home and save stack of money!

So, what can you expect on this podcast? Well, I'll be sharing planning tips and advice that I've picked up over the years to help me get the most out of using a planner and also staying more organised. I'll be sharing the different ways I use my planner in the different aspects of my life and how I think you can choose the perfect one for you.

I'll be interviewing some special guests on how they plan their days and weeks and years and their tips and tricks on how to be really more organised, more efficient and enjoy planning and a whole host and wealth of other subjects and topics relating to all things planning. I'm so excited to share a lot of those with you!

For now, I've got a special gift for everyone who's listening and whether or not you're already using a planner, I have a free weekly planner for you.

You can download it and start using it immediately. It's really pretty and is part of my range of printable planners.

Pop me a message or an email or a comment and let me know the kind of topics that you'd be interested in and any areas that you struggle with in terms of using a planner or staying organised.

Thank you very much for listening and I'm really looking forward to this show. I'll see you in the next episode!