The 2020 Journal Of A Working Woman

As with every new year rolling in, it means it's time for a new planner/journal. Here is how I've been keeping a planner for the past 3ish years. 

The first time I kept a planner was when I was in high school. It was a Moleskin which was a gift from my lovely friends (they pitched in to buy me one and I'll never forget that). 

I admit that I've had a long time struggle with keeping my planner clean. I love to doodle, so I would doodle on my planners, and continued until college. I was able to document one of my planners in college back in 2016 here, and it's a solid proof of how colorful my planners tend to be. I just had the itch to fill in all the spaces with whatever I was in the mood to draw. 

But then as the years went by, I wanted to change my style. This thought came to mind when I started working.

Which is why I found Muji planners would help me along with that transition. Funnily enough, I wasn't able to buy a 2019 planner because the only branch I go to ran out of stock and the other branches were far from where I live, so I instead bought their notebook and made a DIY planner of sorts.

It took me some time to change my habits of excessive doodling and coloring my pages. From time to time I would still put some stickers and photos, but I would limit it to just that. After all, what I needed out of a planner was for it to help me get more organized and be better at prioritizing.

To see my 2018 journal, it is here.

For this year, I am keeping two journals: one for my personal life and another for my professional life. For my personal journal, I put here most of my:

• Personal to-do's such as chores
• Important life events such as birthdays and anniversaries
• Hangouts with friends
• At least one sentence about what went on throughout my day because my memory sucks and most of the time I don't even remember what I did yesterday
• My reflections about anything random or I feel like writing about
• Goals I want to pursue

So far, the things I've placed on my personal planner would be my goals and life events. I plan to be consistent with only using black pen and perhaps the occasional green marker when I feel like it. 

I put the reminder: Always remember, thirty is not the new twenty. I watched a Ted Talk on Why 30 is not the new 20 a couple of years back, and rewatched it again on the first day of January. It is for me a good reminder that it's good to invest in oneself during their twenties, and I shouldn't wait for 30 to get serious with life. It's good to hustle now, to intentionally find my path, to learn as much as I can, and to invest in the relationships I have now. 

As for my work journal, I'm using a notebook my colleagues from work gave me! It's too pretty not to use, especially since I love the color green and nature, so I might as well use it. For this journal, I would use it before I start working. I would list down everything I need to do, then put the urgent tasks on the top of the list. Most of the time it can get pretty messy so there can be a lot of scribbles.

For this journal, I would usually jot down my:

• Professional goals
• Day to day tasks
• Important reminders
• Processes
• Notes from client calls
• Personal notes/tasks after work which I can't forget

I would divide the boxes in half, so I can use up more space. I would also draw small tick boxes to shade for when I am done with a task. Truly satisfying, I must admit. 

I therefore conclude that I write a lot, whether it be typing online, or writing with pen and paper! But it truly does remain to be a highly effective way to get organized and mindful about my days. : - )

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Dear reader, how are you? I remember during this time last year I was thinking about how January felt soooo long, and now I see people saying the same thing about this year's January... and I honestly don't mind. 2020 can take its time, really. I just want to live one day at a time.

Not much is new with me, except that I'm taking up flute lessons again for a refresher (I've been playing for roughly 10 years.. but it's been on and off, and I don't do any rigorous practices on a regular basis) and reading some books I should've finished from last year.

Hope you have a great week ahead! ♡♡♡♡♡

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