Planning 101: All The Supplies You Need To Get Started

Have no idea how to start using your planner? Or do you want more ideas on how you can be using it more effectively? I got you! I received my first planner in elementary school, and have owned one every year since then. With my Planning 101 series, I’ll take you through the basics of getting started before we dive deep into the world of planners and stickers. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get notifications for when my latest post drops!

Both Lisa and I have spent a considerable amount of money and time over the years in our quest to discover what the best planners and supplies are. Because of this, we have tested quite a number of products and have come up with a list of our favorites. This is a great starter pack for anyone! Whether you are someone who has never owned a planner, or someone who has been planning for years, I guarantee that this list will have something for you.

The Planner
If you name a planner, I have most likely tried it at some point. But the most important thing is that you find something that you love to take out and write on every day. We are in the process of releasing our own planner (designed by yours truly), because I need planner peace!! I wanted to create a planner that offered flexibility and space, so that I can organize it how I’m feeling that week. I also wanted it to be forgiving. If I skipped a week, it’s fine because it’s undated! That empty week won’t come back to haunt me later.

If you’re interested in our upcoming planner release, be sure to join our newsletter to be the first to know!

Pens
I used to make the mistake of using whatever pen or pencil I had laying around. This resulted in messy pages that would smear and appear inconsistent. I didn’t love looking at my planner, and would often forget to write things down in it. HOWEVER, the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens have changed all that! I have the set of 10, which are perfect for adding that pop of color to my planner. You can also use them for taking class notes, or writing cute cards to friends.

Stickers
Stickers are what truly make our planners beautiful and organized. Besides the obvious aesthetic factor, they help me strive to be more organized in my weekly and daily tasks. At Sticker Guru, we carry both stylish and functional stickers that we personally use daily! We only design stickers that we know we both would want to use everyday. I was definitely intimidated by the world of planner stickers when I first started, so I’ll be covering how to use these stickers in another post.

Washi Tape
I didn’t get the washi tape hype until I bought a set of washi. Now, I’m obsessed. I like to use washi tape to mark items that belong to me, such as my macbook and iPhone chargers. After living in a sorority house with 75 other girls, you learn to “mark your territory” so you can differentiate whose stuff belongs to who. You can get super cheap washi tape to play around with from Michael’s, Daiso, and the Dollar Store.

Sticky Notes
Sticky notes are great for planning the week before you make it official! I use sticky notes for upcoming weeks that I haven’t decorated with planner stickers yet. That way, when I’m ready to plan that week, I’ll have everything already written down on the sticky notes.

Bookmark / Dividers / Paper Clips
I use cute planner clips to mark my spot in my planner. This makes it easy to flip to the current week, as well as any other spots that I mark. You can also use snap-in dividers to section off different areas of your planner, or decorated paper clips as bookmarks.

Pen Holder
This one is so important, but I rarely see people talking about it! An adhesive pen holder means you’ll always have your favorite pen on hand. Since I’m constantly on the go, I make sure to have a pen in the holder at all times so that I’m always prepared.

Elastic Band
As my planner gets bigger (the stickers will fatten it up over time), I use the elastic band to keep everything together! That way, I don’t have to worry about any pages getting bent when I throw my planner in my bag.

Dashboards
While I personally don’t use dashboards, I have seen how useful they can be for others. There are various ones, such as To-Do and Monthly Bill Tracker dashboards. Do you use dashboards?

What planner accessories are your must-haves? Are there any that you see missing from my list?