Planner Ink

Like many people, I color code certain events in my planner. It can be a bit daunting, tedious, and time consuming, but I tend to find that if I don’t use different colors, nothing stands out for me. And that’s a problem. At a quick glance, I need to see what type of items or events are coming up.

My main pen of choice is Uniball’s Jetstream RT. I use this pen for just about everything, minus the colored events in my planner. What it does get used for as far as my planner goes is any list I make – to-dos, project information, shopping lists, and general information. I use it to jot down my daily to-dos on the day/week/month of choice. I also this pen for general writing at work. The ink is dark and smooth like a gel pen but is smear-resistant like a ball point pen. It’s the best of both worlds.

For my colors, I use the Sharpie Pen. I have a hard time finding all the colors I need. Many ball points come in the array of colors I look for, but I find them to be too light. If the ink is too light and I cannot read it clearly, then it’s no good. Even though the Sharpie is a fine-tipped pen, it doesn’t seem to bleed through the Filofax paper like many gel pens do. I have tried many different pens and these seem to be the best so far.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Red – Work-related items: the hours I work or don’t (vacation time, sick time, etc) is all done in this color, meetings I attend, programs I host for the public, any other scheduled work event that I might need in my personal planner. My work to-do list is kept online through my Google email account, though that may change if a Slimline A5 were to appear on the US Filofax site. Other than my appointments for work, I keep my personal and work lists separate.
  • Purple – All personal appointments (minus anything to do with exercise – see below) are listed in purple – doctors’ appointments, outings with my girlfriends, outings with my husband or family.
  • Blue – Anything exercise related. I keep track of what exercise I will do per day, plus my weight and blood pressure readings on certain days. This also includes exercise appointments – a session with my personal trainer and/or a scheduled yoga class. Technically, these items could fall under personal appointments and be written in purple, but they stand out as separate exercise appointments if written in blue, which I prefer.
  • Green – Due date information. If bills or library books are due on a particular day, it gets written in green. Any other type of due dates are in this color as well.
  • Orange – Random notes that I need to be aware of on any given date. This includes birthdays, anniversaries, travel plans, places my husband will be if he’s not working at his office.
  • Black – This color is not used in my planner – my Uniball pen is black. The black Sharpie is used in my journal writing – for my journal, I like a pen that has bold color and the black Sharpie has that covered.

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