My Favorite Basic Planning Supplies
By Alicia Cohen
There are so many products out there for planners and planning! Today, I wanted to share my two cents on what planning supplies I enjoy using!
(By the way, these products are truly just products that I enjoy using. I don't receive any sort of kickback or anything if you decide to purchase any of these (or not!) -- just wanted to be clear and put that out there!)
Pens
Ooooooh how I love pens! I love testing them out to see how they write -- Do they glide when I write with them? Do they make smooth lines? How do they feel in my hand to hold and write with? Are they retractable, or do they have caps? Does the ink dry quickly, or do I need to be concerned about smearing? I know it seems like a lot to consider for just a simple pen, but for me, it matters! I like my writing experience to be enjoyable and effective!
So, my pen-of-choice is the Pilot FriXion erasable gel pen. It’s retractable with an extra fine point (0.5mm) and black ink. I absolutely LOVE the erasable feature! There are other pens that I might like as much or even more than this pen, but I don’t use them in my planner for the sole reason of the erasability of this pen! I also like that my FriXion pen glides nicely and writes smoothly. It’s comfortable enough for me to hold and write with, and even though it’s a gel pen, I find that it doesn’t smear for me 99% of the time (but I intentionally don’t use it when writing on a glossy surface...but for writing on paper in my paper planner, it works great!)
Highlighters
Since I prefer an erasable system, I also love the FriXion highlighters! I prefer the pastel set, but that’s just a personal color preference. For me, they really do erase cleanly and completely. I use these highlighters in my planner system to give a visual representation to what tasks in my planner I will accomplish during what part of the day. I’m not nearly as picky about highlighters as I am about pens. So, these do the trick for me! They highlight well, erase well, and come in different colors. Check, check, check. Done. That’s all I need!
Paper
I personally use a type of planner that I print from home (as opposed to purchasing a premade one). This being the case, I print my planner on a nicer, higher quality paper than I do other stuff in my life (like Amazon return labels and such) because it’s a more enjoyable planning and writing experience for me. Usually, I opt for some sort of recycled printer paper, but for my paper planner, I go for a premium paper. Currently, I use Hammermill printer paper. It’s 100 bright, 32 pound paper. It’s smooth, thicker than what I’m used to with thinner recycled printer paper, there’s no bleeding through with my writing, and it’s not particularly see-through (unless you hold it up to the light, or something, but for planning purposes of being flat in my planner book, it does a great job).
Sticky Tabs
The final basic planning tool that I find to be useful are these repositionable adhesive tabs by Avery. I like to have different sections in my paper planner, and these tabs help me keep the sections organized while also allowing for flexibility. It’s easy to change things up, rearrange sections, add new sections, remove sections, etc. I also like that I can use these tabs across the top or along the side of my planner. I like the pastel colors of this particular pack, but Avery makes other colors and sizes of these tabs. I find them pretty easy to write on, and I also like that the adhesive part of the tab is transparent so that, in case it covers part of what I’ve written, I can still see what I wrote down.
So there you have it! My recommendations, from what I use personally, for basic paper planner supplies!
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Heeeey, Sweet Sister! I'm Alicia, and I'm so excited that you're here! I love a lot of things in life, but at the top of my list are my wonderful husband, my two precious kids, and helping other planner-mamas get back their joy and peace in life through intentional, functional planning!
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