Why I ditched my bullet journal for an Ink + Volt Planner
So if you'll remember way back in January, I bought a new Leuchtturm notebook to start a brand new bullet journal with. My theme for the year and that journal was "If the plan doesn't work, ditch the plan, but never the goal." Well, let me tell you... the plan hasn't been working. But even worse, and a lot of the reason for that is that the planner wasn't working. I love bullet journaling. I really do. My bullet journal in my last year of my undergrad was my favorite thing in the world, but I'm no longer an undergraduate college student. My lifestyle has changed, and along with it my needs in a planner have too. So I'm laying out here what about bullet journaling I wanted to keep, and what I wanted to change, and most importantly how I think the Ink + Volt planner addresses all of those needs. Hopefully this can be helpful for those of you in the market for a new planner.
The Two Main Reasons:
Minimal Design
One of the reasons I wanted a bullet journal was the customization. I could tailor spreads to my moods, change them based on what month it was, and as a result I could never get sick of the look of it. That said, creating spreads in a bullet journal is a lot of work. Drawing all those lines and boxes and headings used to be exciting for me, but it has since become a bit of a chore... to the point of me putting off making a monthly spread... for months. My Ink + Volt is minimal enough to allow for some creativity, but the bare bones are there if I'm having one of those days where I just want to do the bare minimum (most days).
Goal Oriented
The whole reason I plan or journal is to keep me on track to reach my goals. The Ink + Volt planner has yearly, monthly, and weekly goal tracking built in., but there are two features, specifically, that really sold me on this planner. The first is the 30-Day Challenge page that mirrors the Monthly Goals page. I like that it makes you really think about why you want to do something for 30 days, and plan out how you're going to do it. This is really great if, like me, you're a bit of a perfectionist (in a bad way) My usual goal setting is spending hours creating ridiculous routines/lists/rules/schedules for myself that nobody could ever stick to, failing at them, giving up, and never improving. The 30 day challenge forces me to have one thing that I'm working on (much more manageable), and means I actually have a chance at creating some new habits to carry forward.
The second feature that sold me is the check in at the beginning of every week. Every weekly spread has a Review section that reminds you to check back in with your yearly and monthly goals, your last 30 day challenge, and how well you did in the previous week. Being forced to check back in weekly like that is exactly the kind of annoying reminder I personally need to stay on track.
The Many Other Reasons:
Only six months - I find buying a new planner extremely satisfying. So knowing that I get to do it twice a year, makes me happy. It also means the planner is a nice manageable size to carry around.
Page numbers (and a built in index) - So helpful. So necessary.
Lots of notes pages - I use these pages for working through blog post ideas, wishlists, doodles, whatever. I write a lot of notes. I need these. Perforated in all the right places - The note pages are perforated. Just the notes pages.
And the One Con So Far:
Wide ruled note pages - I hate wide ruled paper. If you're not writing in crayon, you don't need that wide of a line.
I'm sure as I move forward, I'll find some more things I like or don't about the Ink + Volt planner. I'll give you an update in a few months :)