99% of the time I color code my planner spreads. The different colors help keep my planner organized.

I've tried various color coding methods including:

• Time based
• Category based
• Color coding by day
• Color coding by tasks

The main method I use nowadays is color coding by category.

How many colors should you use?

I recommend no more than 5 colors. You don't want to use too few colors that you end up lumping things together, but you also don't want to segment what you're planning so much that you end up using more colors that you can find colored pens for!

These are the colors and categories I use:

• Planner Related = Pink
• Business = green
• Products & free content for the blog = Orange
• Personal = Purple

I did an entire post on how to color-code your planner.

Some of the planner supplies I use for color coding are:

1. Pens
2. Highlighters
3. Stickers

Things to keep in mind when choosing planner supplies for color coding are:

• Make sure you choose pens, highlighters or stickers that are readily available. I live in Australia and if you do to, it’s probably not a good idea to buy a pen and get addicted to it if it’s only sold overseas with shipping so expensive!
• Try cheaper brands first (such as Kmart if you also live in Australia), you may find those are sufficient for your needs and that you don’t need to buy the more expensive brands
• That being said, some of my favorite supplies for color coding such as the PaperMate Inkjoy Gel pens aren’t cheap but they write really well – if you’re going to be color coding all the time, you may want to splurge ?

I shared more tips and which colors I recommend for color coding (especially if you'll be using pens to color code) in this post: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding

The main reason I like color coding is so I don't have to read through everything I've written to find the next task I need to do for each thing that I plan. It also means each week ends up being a pretty rainbow colored spread :)

Related: Week 8: Weekly planning using the Plum Paper Memory Keepers book

If you want to try color coding but aren’t sure the best way to divide up the things you plan, here are some category ideas:

Time Based

1. Urgent tasks
2. 15 Minute tasks
3. 30 Minute tasks
4. Must do
5. Should do
6. Only if I have time
7. Next week
8. Deadlines / due dates
9. Different colors for each day

People based

1. Personal (me)
2. Kids
3. Husband / Partner / Spouse
4. Pets
5. Milestones e.g. journaling when your child loses their first tooth, their school, sport achievements etc.

Me

1. Appointments
2. Religion
3. TV Shows
4. Lists – time based or task based
5. Routine tasks
6. Gratitude

Category Based

1. Hobbies
2. Health & exercise
3. Social
4. Errands
5. Projects
6. Miscellaneous
7. Cleaning tasks or zones
8. Expense category (you could use different colors for mortgage, bills, food, 'fun' expenses like eating out, or different colors for necessary expenses and a different color for 'wish list' spending)

Meal Planning

1. By meal: breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, dessert
2. By food category: chicken, seafood, pork, beef, lamb, vegetarian etc.
3. Separate colors for: take-out, leftovers, special events etc.
4. If you have family members that have special dietary requirements, different colors for each family member
5. Different colors for each day
6. Time to make (e.g. 30 minute meals, 45 minute meals etc.)
7. Number of calories per meal

Related: Color coded monthly meal planning using sticky notes

Work

1. Meetings
2. Travel
3. Milestones
4. Events
5. Social activities
6. Professional accreditation, seminars etc.
7. Projects or clients
8. Calls / Emails (contact)
9. Learn
10. Deadlines

School

1. Different colors for each subject
2. Type of assessment: Assignments, homework, study for exams, exams, presentations
3. Deadlines / due dates
4. Extracurricular
5. Work
6. SAT prep, tutoring etc.

Related: How to organize and color code your notes for school, college or university

Blogging

1. Social media
2. Blog post scheduling
3. Behind the scenes tasks e.g. backing up your blog, keyword research
4. Guest posts
5. Contact
6. Giveaways
7. Income & expenses

Which pens are best for color coding?

My favorite pens for color coding are the PaperMate InkJoy Gel 0.7mm (medium tip).

If you’re prone to making mistakes, go with the Frixion erasable pens by Pilot. The 0.7mm medium tip size doesn’t come in as many colors as the Papermate Inkjoy, but the smaller tip sizes come in lots of colors.

Related: My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review

Want to refer back to this list later? Pin it!

Related Posts:

• How to organize recipes plus a free printable recipe binder
• Ultimate planner page size guide (with printable reference cheat sheet)
• Why I don’t use ring bound planners (and what I use instead)
• 6 Useful ways to efficiently plan your week using highlighters