How to Decorate Your Planner Inserts

Taking time to make something your own really makes an impact on your motivation to use it. When it comes to decorating your planner, the sky’s the limit on what you can do to create something unique that you’ll love to come back to again and again throughout your week.

Look for the perfect accessories – from washi-tape to textured stickers, clips, ribbons and zipper charms – really, the possibilities are endless. It warrants just taking a step back and putting some thought into the design of your planner inserts. And the first place to start will be imagining the flow of colours through your planner. What shades energise you – make you excited to start something ambitious? Do you love to look at bold hues or softer pastels? Do you love simplicity, or do you crave a little colorful chaos?

Your planner is going to be your place of reflection and your vehicle to implement balance in your life. That’s really what this is about – it’s not an invitation to obsess about something trivial (and who hasn’t been guilty of that at least once in their lives, am I right?). No, this is permission to really take control of those moments that are already being spent on trivialities by motivating you to mindfully document how you want your week to go. So, go ahead – indulge in a work of creative love by turning your planner into a masterpiece. Make it something you want to come back to frequently so it can really work for you. The A5 planner inserts are the perfect size for jotting down the info you need while leaving enough room to play!

Start by deciding how to use the inner cover to help you keep your inserts orderly. Personally, I’m a huge fan of small binder clips. You can use them to attach a business card to someone you want to call when you’re mapping out your weekly spread. Use it as a visual reminder to fill in your personal notes section with gratitude entries by clipping it to the top of the page. They are crazy useful! But – *insert inspirational music* – you can also clip one just inside the front cover leaving a tiny space for holding on to your favorite pen (or anything else). Don’t be afraid to find beautiful little metallic clips – or go all out and get some with emoji face cutouts to add some character!

Hardware aside, you’ll find there are a million beautifully designed motifs that come in tapes, stickers, magnets, ribbons, and more. Once you’ve landed on your colour scheme, and gathered a few functional items to make it a breeze to use the inserts, get to the fun stuff and look for the motif that fits you the best. Is your personality whimsical? Chic? Down-to-earth? Get in touch with your inner-designer and find the planner accessories that light you up and make you feel ready to take on the world.

Using the washi-tape, create blocks on your weekly spreads, give definition to goals within your personal section, and establish themes for chore lists or menus. As the patterns progress visually from one item to the next, it will keep you moving along your page rather than getting hung up on that “one thing” on your to-do list. You know the one – you hate doing it, but you can’t focus on other things until it’s done. Well, with so many other beautiful themes moving through your planner, you’ll want to get it done so you can be on to whatever’s next!

Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy with stickers. If you loathe white space and find yourself arbitrarily filling in your page simply so it will look fuller – stickers are going to be your new best friend. Keep the white space to a minimum without spending gobs of time writing unnecessarily, and you’ll keep yourself working in your zone of genius. Productivity doesn’t have to be boring!

On the other hand, perhaps white space gives you mental breathing space. If that’s the case, use stickers sparingly. With planner inserts sizes like this one, the design is meant to help you narrow your focus – there’s enough room for what you need, but not too much to be distracting. Keep the clutter to a minimum if you get sidetracked by a busy background. Word-focused stickers can still prove useful, however, especially for recurring reminders that you don’t really want to write out every week or every month. Skip the handwritten entries and look for relevant action-oriented stickers you can use to make those reminders pop on the page.

Using ribbons can be a really playful way to bring out the personality of your planner. Tie a couple of wide ribbons in front of the back cover, attaching them to the top binder ring. Use them for bookmarks so you remember to visit each section of your planner. Obviously, the tabs are also useful for this, if you’re more jazzed by cute office supplies. But if you are more in love with craft supplies, don’t skimp on the ribbon. Use it to make a loop inside the front cover to hold your pen instead of using a clip.

Make your own bookmark by designing or printing something that makes you smile and laminating it. If your little one colored a heart-warming little picture for you, go for it – cut it out and laminate it for a homemade bookmark. You can use wide packing tape over the front and the back, then simply cut it out leaving a thin margin of tape all the way around. Use it to mark important upcoming milestones or to block out a vacation day you plan to spend with your little one – use a paperclip and position it over the day just to remind yourself not to schedule anything else.

Whatever you decide to do to customise your planner inserts, it’s all about making your day start with a smile – every day. Get your week going with style, and look forward to your work rather than dreading it. Welcome to our world. It’s beautified, organised, and it will help you be ready to take on anything. You go, girl.

Have you designed your inserts yet? We want to hear what you did and why you love it!