Planning A Day in the Life of J

I have something pretty different for you all today.

I know I haven’t posted since March or so, but I have a pretty good reason. To be honest, I think social media is currently oversaturated with everyone giving their “hot takes” on what’s happening in politics. I haven’t felt as though people would benefit or learn anything from any of the content I’ve considered posting recently, so I spared you all.

However, during this time I’ve developed a fun new hobby that really helps take my mind off things, politics included. I really don’t think anyone could have told me about a more Type A personality hobby than this: planner decorating.

I blurred out some work information, but here’s a glimpse at some of my plans!

That’s right, I make my planner look super cute. I know you’re all thinking this is probably the lamest hobby in the entire world but I promise you it is so satisfying. It’s like scrapbooking mixed with productivity and let me tell you, I’m loving it.

Before I started grad school I thought I needed a new planner, one that wasn’t a Lilly Pulitzer like I had used all through undergrad. I really felt as though I needed a different way to organize both work and school and my social life. I got a Day Planner from Target and used it for the majority of the school year, but I wasn’t buying into it. I would write things down but never looked at it. I also thought it was a bit too big for what I needed. Through different recommendations from friends and family, I ordered an Erin Condren Life Planner. I had no idea what I was getting into.

When I got my ECLP, I saw it came with stickers and thought this was pretty interesting. My Lilly had always come with some deco stickers, but I never thought too much about it. I somehow found my way down a dark hole of YouTube and this is how I found the planner community.

I say community because that is exactly what this is, it’s thousands of women (and a few men!) who decorate their planners and share them online. It’s honestly kind of amazing. I was mesmerized with the “Plan With Me” videos on YouTube and started ordering stickers (ok A LOT of stickers) from Etsy stores.

I use a horizontal Erin Condren because that was the setup I was used to using, but I’m thinking about switching to the vertical layout before school starts again, I think it might work better for how my brain works. Honestly no idea, still mulling it over. Stay tuned if you really care

I’m currently building up my collection and I’m totally in love this new hobby! I started thinking about it and I feel as though “hobbies” are something really lacking with people my age. I definitely have friends who sew and are really crafty, but that’s only a handful really. I know that personally, I always come home from work or school and lay on the couch for hours and watch Netflix or HBO. It’s really nice to have something else to think about and distract myself and use some creative juices!

Since I fell headfirst into the planning world, I naturally created an Instagram account to journey through the process and maybe make some other planner friends! You can follow me at @planningadayinthelifeofj on Instagram!

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on the hobby question, do twenty year olds not really have hobbies because we have technology? Or do we all keep them private? I thought about keeping this planner decorating hobby private, because I thought people would think it’s super lame. But then I remembered I don’t really care what people think and that I should share what I love so that maybe others could grow to love it too! Leave some comments on what you think!

xoxo, J