We all love a reason to plan don't we? And the new year is one of the best times to do it. We contemplate what has gone and have hopes and dreams of what could be. The days are short and the nights are long, which gives us the perfect opportunity and time for introspection. I thought I would show you my own planning system and which things are working for me.
I love new ideas and innovations but I am a serious paper and pen planner. I admit that I have dabbled in digital, but I always migrate back to paper!
Firstly, I have a serious black Moleskine diary with a week on one page format. It has a blank page opposite for not taking and list making and plenty of room for all the information I might need during the working week. Me and my husband have a restaurant - The Factory Kitchen - that we run, along with other members of our family. This is my "day job" and biggest supplier of my daily "to do's". I enter all important information in this, stuff I really have to do, appointments, birthdays, etc. I don't decorate this planner, it's purely functional.
Then I have my magical planner. An A4 ring binder with tabbed sections. I love this. It sits on my desk all the time. I have found that the easier and more accessible something is, the more useful and used it will be. To get started with my planner I completed Susannah Conway's "unravel your year" workbook. I keep this workbook in the - My Year - section, so that I can refer back to it for focus from time to time. I wholeheartedly recommend this workbook which Susannah offers free to download. Reflecting on what has past and looking to the future is a great way to gain insight into what you may want to focus on. It is one of my favourite parts of the year! From this workbook I drilled down the all this information into personal affirmations for the new year and made a hand painted dashboard......
The inside front cover I use a an ideas board. When a creative idea pops into my head I quickly write it on a post it note and stick it in! This has been a revelation to me as I never lose an idea!! When I have the time I can then refer to it and choose what to work on next. When each idea is completed the note is discarded to make room for new ideas. As you can see, I have recently had a lot of ideas!
I have a - Plan - section where I printed out the monthly sections from Susannah's year book. Here I plan creative and magical things, tarot readings, moon phases, days to celebrate, monthly goals and focus. There is a reflection page opposite which I am looking forward to using too! One of my dividers is labeled - Today - so I can quickly find where I am currently.
My - Twinkle - section is where I keep notes and ideas for my blog and etsy shop.
Last section is the back, for information, printouts, magical resources, and any other miscellaneous random stuff.
The next planning tool I use is my Wheel of the Year which is on the wall in front of my desk. I made this with 2 pieces of watercolour paper. The wheel spins as the year turns and I use the background sheet of paper as a board to decorate with my yearly affirmations, so that I can see them all the time. When I decide what the month's focus or celebrations will be, I add more words of encouragement in the current section. All the sabbats are on the wheel and my current spirit animal, Oracle the owl is there too!
My Art journal is the next book I use. I have tried lots of different types of book, from beautiful sketchbooks and homemade junk journals to cheap exercise books. My current book is a very cheap A5 blank book I found on the shelves of Lidl. I use this for day to day musings, morning pages, diary entries, tarot readings and any other personal notes. I try not to be precious about it and just do what I feel like on that day , rather than trying to make it perfect and beautiful.
My life story book is a bit like a grimoire. It is an old engineering book that I found when we cleared out the family engineering business offices. Here I paint and draw and create spread that feed my soul. Information, spells, tarot, dreams, and divination. This one is my art. I don't add to it regularly but it is slowly filling up, naturally evolving and becoming wiser, a bit like me!
I hope that you enjoyed a peek into the planning part of my life as an art witch. If you have any questions about personal planning or art witchery please get in touch! I love to connect with other like minded souls.
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