DIY Moleskine Daily Planner

This year I finally realized/admitted that I can't keep track of everything that I have on my schedule just by remembering it, plus my husband, sister, and parents have their own schedules as well, meaning that it is useful for me to keep track of everyone so that we can make sure we're all on the same page. Family meals, baby-sitting, days off of work, etc. are much easier to plan when we all know each other's calendar! 

For the longest time I used a calendar that I hung on the wall. Everyone would write their schedule on it. But sometimes we (mostly me) would forget to write something crucial down, simply because we weren't within easy reach of the calendar when making plans, and that was no good! Also, if I was out and about, I had no idea what was on the calendar. I realized that the calendar was mostly for my sake since I was the main coordinator for my family's plans (my folks have their own online calendars that work really well for them). So I decided to get a planner to keep in my purse instead.

By the time I realized this, though, it was almost September. The vast majority of planners had been sold in the stores already! There were one or two available but nothing that came close to what I was looking for. 

In the end, I decided to buy a Moleskine and create my own planner. It is a soft-cover, blank page (non-lined) notebook. My inspiration and initial ideas were taken from Mike Rohd's Moleskine Planner Hack.

Now I can sit down every day and make sure that I'm on top of my schedule, and it comes with me everywhere! Confession: twice I have written down an event IN THE WRONG PLACE, resulting in missing a fun lunch with a friend and almost missing a performance I was supposed to play guitar in, which is proof that having a planner is not foolproof for people like me who are terrible with numbers. I am now being extra cautious to write down the correct dates for everything!

There are large sections for each day, with smaller ones for the weekend; the space below is completely free for notes. It will last until July 2015.

I didn't feel the need to have a full page showing the entire month like a regular calendar, but I did want to have a page just for notes for each month. That's been a valuable addition.

Quite a bit of the notebook is dedicated just to blank pages for notes. I've been writing down song lists from rehearsals, knitting notes, tips from friends, ideas, cooking recipes, and many other things.

Of course there is a specific page just for books that I want to read eventually ; )

The built-in folder on the back cover has been invaluable for storing receipts, sticky notes, and business cards that would otherwise be lost in the recesses of my wallet!

I love the built-in bookmark and band to keep the notebook closed. The paper is strong, and my pen (I use Sharpie fine and medium point pens) does not run through the pages.

All in all, this has been the best planner I've ever had, and I'm loving how much space there is to write down everything I need to keep track of!