I've always had a planner for school, usually the one they give you for free on the first day of classes. I didn't really "discover" the planner community until halfway through my senior year of college when I decided I needed some physical organization system better than my iPhone calendar. Now, I've been out of college for almost a year and I don't want to give up this way of life, which has helped me enormously, just because my schedule isn't as busy as it used to be. It took some adjustment, but I think I've finally got the hang of post-grad planning.

I remember the planners that I used to have way back when... dates and lines, nothing really special. My teacher had to sign at the end of every day of school and my parents had to sign once I finished my homework. In high school came the real planners with the pretty patterns and the stickers and the color-coordinating system for classes. No one really used a cellphone to schedule things yet. It didn't hit me until college that organization was a thing that a lot of people struggled with, including myself.

In college, I used my phone for my schedule all the time. But where did I put my homework assignments or my clubs meeting notes? Honestly, they were just scribbled in a notebook and most likely forgot about. When I saw people decoratively planning in larger planners, it made me realize that this could be a system that worked for me.

I was a fan of the vertical-style layouts at first (Layout A & C): great for schedules and making list of assignments and tasks. Towards the end of college, I realized that a horizontal style layout (Layout F) worked better for the small amount of classes I had left. 

After graduation, I went into a planning funk. I didn't have any more classes to plan for, just my work schedule which was the same every day. I didn't really need a planner anymore. It's not like I had a family to plan for. It's taken me a while, but I finally realized that classes aren't the only thing I could plan for.

If you're struggling on what to use your planner for post-grad, here are some ideas:

  • Work schedule
  • Meetings
  • Workout schedule
  • Meal planning
  • Vacation planning
  • Cleaning/chore schedule
  • Bills/Payments
  • Daily thoughts
  • Instagram/photo challenges
  • Habit tracking
  • Weekly to-do lists
  • Other activities (if you are involved in other things)

Once I got settled into my post-grad life, things started happening more. I had more meetings at work. I became a youth leader for my church. I started working out routinely. I even started planning out blog posts (hey, look at that). I may have even gone out of my way to do something I wouldn't normally do, just so I could write it in my planner. 

It might not happen the minute you graduate, but eventually you'll get the hang of it. 

I'd love to hear how you transitioned your planner from school to the real world, so be sure to leave a comment!

This blog post was written by Victoria Lee Werth for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Victoria visit her on Instagram @missengineerdesigns. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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