Inside My Erin Condren Life Planner // How I Use It
Over the past few months I have been trying to hold back from purchasing one of the most coveted planners by the planning community, but I finally took the leap. The other day, my Erin Condren Life Planner arrived in the mail and I could already feel myself being more productive! After unwrapping the package (which was beautifully wrapped, by the way), I knew it was going to live up to all the hype. If you, too are thinking of purchasing one of the Erin Condren Life Planners (ECLP for short), then make sure to read through this post for a full review.
Choosing a design...
There are a dozen different planner designs on the Erin Condren website from graphic, to professional, to fun, to personalized. While browsing, I came across the Life in Little Squares design and thought it would make the perfect one for my work planner.
Since I am a huge fan of Instagram and actively use it to show what I'm up to, I decided to use those photos on my cover. The process is simple, and the system easily allows you to upload photos from Facebook, your computer, or Instagram directly. The hardest decision is deciding which photos to include and where to put them.
As a rule of thumb, I tried to put a light photo next to a darker photo and vice versa. I makes the layout easier to look at and the photos don't start to blend into each other. For my title, I took a risk and put my shop name with my name underneath it. I say "risk" because the program does not allow you to see what it will look like before it is produced, but I was most than pleased with the result. You can switch it up by including your name or your family's last name instead. Totally up to you and how you plan to use it.
Vertical vs. Horizontal Layout...
Another difficult choice you will have to make is whether to choose the vertical or horizontal layout for your planner pages. I would say that the vast majority of planners pick the vertical format as it includes specific sections for each day (morning, afternoon, night) whereas the horizontal format just has a large box for you to write everything in for your entire day. I also noticed that most of the sticker companies out there tailor their sticker designs towards the vertical format. I would be lying if I said that isn't the sole reason why I chose the vertical format...I mean those weekend banner stickers would just not look the same on the horizontal format!
What it comes with...
Once you've made a final decision on your cover design, you will wait about one to two weeks to receive it in the mail. When you receive your package, it comes wrapped with tissue paper and a couple extra stickers and other goodies to add to your planner. Inside you have your planner pages, a snap-in ruler, an extra notebook in the back pocket, and dozens of little stickers bound into the book for your planning pleasure. Seriously, the extra goodies alone make up the price of the book.
How I use it...
From browsing Instagram and Pinterest, there seems to be two ways that these planners are used. One being for actual, hard-core planning and the other being as a diary of sorts. You can use just your regular pen or pencil to scribble in to-do's and upcoming appointments or you can purchase a pack of colorful (and scented, of course) markers, stickers, washi tapes, and clips to help you plan out your week. I've found myself using the latter method and I've found it quite relaxing and enjoyable. I've even found myself adding in little thoughts that I had throughout the day or things that happened, etc. In that way it's like a diary and I know I will cherish those tidbits later on in the year.
My feelings so far...
Was it expensive? Yes. Is it better than other planners I've had? In some ways, yes. Would I recommend it? YES. It's really up to you to decide if you are willing to take the jump into the ECLP pond, but just know there are literally hundreds of us waiting for you. #eclplannerfam
Nicole
P.S. Want a referral? Click here.
P.P.S. Want to see my first spread? Click here.