This is the change over week. The week where we all need to spend some time getting all our planners and diaries in order ready for the new year. As part of this, I also carry out an end of year review to capture any tasks or notes from my 2019 planners and diaries that need to be carried over into the new year.

My planners and diaries of choice this coming year will be as follows:

• Rifle Paper Co. 12 Month Agenda 2020 – this 2020 Agenda will be used instead of my Rifle Paper Co. Planner for 2019. This will be used as a home desk diary for my online life as an overview diary. It is also more compact so that I will be able to use it on the go.
• Notem Annual Journal – This will be used as my professional diary for my personal and professional life when I need to plan general stuff on the go. This will replace the Projo Planner which I used in 2019.
• The Completist Daily Planner – this will be my work desk diary to use for writing out my to-do list each day and will replace my 2019 list a day diary.
• Passion Planner Daily – this will be my home desk diary for intense planning and productive days at home and used on an ad hoc basis as and when it is needed.
• Printed Portal Daily Plan Pocket Notebook – this will be my pocket planner for life admin that I need to do, such as paying the bills etc to make sure that I get something off my to-do list each day.

Look out for more blog posts on each of the above planners.

Setting up the New Planners

How do you set up your new planners and diaries? I like to start by making sure that the planners/diaries are up to date with all the important dates right from the start. This includes key dates, birthdays, bank holidays etc. In my professional diary I also include the appointments and events that I already have booked in.

Also, don’t forget to check your May bank holidays are correct. Millions of calendars and diaries have reportedly been printed with the incorrect early May bank holiday after its 2020 date was changed. The 2020 early May bank holiday date had been moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

After all my dates are in I import any important information/reference information that I include in my planner every year on the notes pages. This might be phone numbers, password/login codes, templates etc. Whatever you need to include for quick reference – carry it over at the start when setting up the new planner. I tend to write this information in because I enjoy the set up of a new planner, but you may prefer to print this information each year instead to make it quicker.

Finally, add in the new plans for the new year and outstanding to-do list items that you are serious about completing (anything else goes on the someday list).

What diaries and planners are you using for 2020?