4 Clever Ideas From The Planner Community

Don’t you just love it when you get a new tip.

You know, something that is actually useful. Something you can use to make life better in some small (or big) way.

Today, I’d like to share a few handy pointers I’ve gathered from my many tumbles down planner-related rabbit holes.

Tomoe River Paper

Who hasn’t at some point or the other had a bulging planner. So many plans, so many inserts.

You may have thought that you need to choose between a planner bursting at the seams or taking some (vital) pages out. How about trying some new paper, thinner paper?

I have Sarah of the Best Laid Plans podcast to thank for this find. She’s been a fan of the Japanese Daily Planner by Hobonichi Techo for years and discussed it in a podcast episode. The Hobonichi is a printed planner that uses Tomoe River paper. Tomoe River paper is notorious for its thinness and strength.

Are you wondering what came to my mind …?

Yes, it does come in loose sheets.

Pure genius.

Because this paper is super-thin, about half the thickness of standard paper. It means you can double the number of inserts for the same bulk. Or cut the bulk and still have all the inserts you need.

Now I have heard Tomoe River paper is a bit like Marmite. It’s a bit of a love it/hate it situation. Before you commit, buy a few loose sheets. And take it for a test drive, pen tests, hole punch it, try printing on it. The whole nine yards. And if you love it, its an easy choice for trimming your planner bulk.

The good sellers of Etsy stock Tomoe River Paper, and there’s always Amazon.

Pre-Cut Paper

While scrolling through YouTube, a thumbnail with neutral colours and a title ‘The best paper for people who hate printing inserts’ or something like that, caught my eye. To my mind, anything that makes printing planner inserts easier, needs to be watched, shared and made to go viral.

It turns out that the smart move for an easier insert-printing life is to print on pre-cut paper. Love this idea. Of course your printer has to play ball and be able to handle different-sized paper.

All you have to do is pop the paper in, hit print and you’re good to go.

HandyForms is a paper company who stock pre-cut paper for printing planner inserts. And they even pre-punch them too. No printing headaches, no hole-punching headaches, just happy printing, pronto.

So go check your printer manual and see what paper sizes your printer can handle. And then stock up on pre-cut paper. And send some thanks to perfectionismprints. Thank you!

Oli Clip

Okay, I’ve been living under a rock. Where was I when the Oli clip launched?!

No more of those annoying dark metal stains on my planner inserts from where the paper clip smudges the paper. To be honest that doesn’t happen much these days with the lovely bright paper clips that come in every shape, size and colour.

However you have to admit that both the new and old school paper clips can leave dents or creases in the planner page. It’s not the end of the world, but if there’s a better way why not grab it with both hands?

The Oli clip is here to save the day. It’s magnetic, available in two sizes, holds up to 20 pages and comes in a wide variety of colours. Want them all? So do I.

Elevate your planning game with an Oli clip or two.

Page Lifter

This one solves a problem you probably don’t even know you have.

Take a quick break to go pick up your planner.

I’ll wait for you …got it?

Good, turn to the back page and have a look at the state of that last page. What do you see? A bent page? Curved round to the rings so you can’t really use it. You can put an end to that with a nifty little item called a page lifter. It’s made from firm plastic and I came across it in a RanaPlans video.

Cheers to a planner that looks tidier and is a little bit easier to close. If only there weren’t so many inserts in there. Better head back to Tip #1.

Which one of these tips do you fancy giving a try? Have you already heard of these tips?

Feel free to add YOUR tips in the comments below. Thanks.