My name is Anastasia Ivanovskaya, currently I live and work in Amman, Jordan.
It's hard to say what
this blog will be about, all I know is I want to have something beautiful and
personal. The idea of this blog has started as a very simple wish: I wanted to
purchase or download a digital planner of any size, but couldn't find any good
one. From time to time I was browsing Internet again, hoping to find something
suitable. It took a while to understand what types of planners exist, and why I
don't want them.
What I've Found:
1. So called "Happy"
planners - full with flashy colours and florid backgrounds, mainly done for
housewives, to organize their daily routine, as amount of ironing per day, or
30-days family dinners. I understand fully they need it, but I'm working in the
office and honestly speaking I rarely have dinner at home.
2. "Wise"
planners consist of randomly chosen quotes on the top of each page. I don't like
quotes, I never get inspired by them, and know for sure they'll irritate me the
whole year I'm using the planner. The worst part when they are mixed with
free-spirit slogans "weknowyoucan", or sayings for poor believers, similar
to what Kiyosaki and other rich bastards are producing. So, if I want to write
down a quote I liked - I want to find it myself.
3. There is a special
type I call "useless" planners. It seems to me their creators never
used a pen in their life, because the space between the lines is too big, the
separated boxes are too small, and you're wondering what kind of handwriting
you should have.
My Demand For a Personal
Planner:
1. A5 size - I can't carry
a bigger format to work. Sometimes my bags are too small for A4, and I don't
want my planner to be crumpled in a couple of month. I also can't accept a
smaller size, because I feel I'm a spy, while making notes on micro paper.
Sometimes I like to use my personal planner for studying, so I need to
understand what I wrote.
2. Flexible sheets - it's
great to remove or add sheets whenever you like it. My planner should give me
the option of printing additional paper sheets and adding them if needed. I can
be not very attentive sometimes and mix different tasks from different fields, so
the A5 binder with clips fits my idea of a personal planner perfectly, because
I can rearrange my planner without any headache.
3. Nice cover - I wanted a
digital planner because I've already bought a beautiful binder and was planning
to use it. Office women will understand me well: we don't have a lot of things
to show our personality at work, and we still want to be women. So, we want
nice business cardholders, beautiful tea cups, comfortable pens to write with
and personal notebooks (if you don't, you can close this blog and don't waste
any time, really).
4. Ability to put goals
and tasks. I've tried a lot of apps for daily planning, and I didn't feel I liked
it much. Probably it's the difference between typing and writing, I can't
memorize a lot, putting ticks and dates. At the same time, I'm a very
strategy-oriented person, before working on any project, I'm doing a list of
tasks to complete, and follow them. Paper writing is the best option for me.
5. A space for free
writing. As I've said, I need it for studying and some diary writing. Sometimes
I draw or doodle, like all normal people. I just need it. :)
6. Various pages with
lists. I make lists for everything, and paper format is the easiest to follow and
update. Even my job is internet-related, I don't like to depend on internet
connection, use mobile for my apps. Sometimes I just need to have a weekend, keep
all my thoughts together, without unnecessary distractions. I want to keep it
simple, and I'm perfectly fine with pre-arranged lists for holidays, or life
updates, if they are simple and minimalistic.
7. Free space for dates.
Sometimes I'm loaded with work, sometimes I have additional internet-marketing
projects. There might be periods when I work at the weekends, and sometimes I
can afford to have a break on my usual workday. Also, it's not very convenient
when you got disappointed with the planner your colleagues or relatives bought
your for Christmas, already used it for a couple of months, and now you have to
buy a new one, leaving January and February empty. If I plan before, I use
lists, where I put due dates. So, I've decided on myself I don't need it.
Perfect Planner Ever
Well, if you need the
same features, you can find in my planner "Plans Matter" on Etsy. I
made with great love for myself, and with consciousness for office work. As for
now, it's in digital format, you can download it anytime. It has no fixed
dates, so you can add, mix and remove sheets as you need. Well, I've designed
it office-oriented and minimalistic, so you can purchase "Plans
Matter" and make a great present as for a man or a woman colleague. Just
spend one evening: print, cut, arrange the planner and put it in a suitable
cover. Any printing agency can do it for you as well. It's A5 format, so you
will always look elegant and professional with this size, I bet.
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