These are my confessions...

I’m fairly new to the planning community.  I’ve actively been keeping a planner for about a month now; and it has been so helpful in my everyday life.  You see, I’m the type of person who forgets everything if I don’t write it down.  So having a planner by my side has been essential. My planner is literally my new best friend!

At first, I searched the internet for anything I could find about traveler’s notebooks, planners and inserts.  I went to YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Google, you name it! After some weeks of research I finally found something that was going to fit my needs.  The only thing was that there was a noticeable lack of “planner dude” representation in the planner community; and I have to admit, it was a bit discouraging.

Social media is bursting with blinged out planners with dashboards and charms and vellum and washi tape and acetate and embellishments and fancy paperclips and inserts galore…all beautiful, but not exactly my cup of tea.  I immediately thought to myself, “is planning just a ‘girl thing’?” 

Now, I’m not one for labels.  I don’t think only boys should wear blue and only girls should wear pink; and I’ve always been able to stand on my own. However, the female dominance of the planner community and the sheer overload of information did make me question whether or not I wanted to continue. It was at that moment I knew I had to take a step back and reevaluate.

To make a long story short, I had to remind myself that the whole reason I chose to use a Traveler’s Notebook as my planner was for it’s versatility.  I could literally design and set up my TN however I wanted to.  There are no rules to planning.  Planning is not just a “girl thing”.  Planning is for anyone who is looking for a way to get organized, keep track of their busy lives or even just looking to express their own creativity.  It’s exactly what you make of it; and whatever you choose is going to be amazing because you created it.

So to all my fellow planner dudes, stand tall and hold on to your planner with pride because it is uniquely you…and don’t be ashamed to say “I’m a planner dude!”

This was originally written for Paper Planning Magazine, an online publication dedicated to planning; and all things related.  The lovely Carie Harling, Editor, reached out to me and asked if I wanted to contribute something to her magazine.  I took her up on her offer and sh was nice enough to publish it.