There are lots of cute notepads out there for weekly planning, but most of them are too simple for my liking, so when I stumbled across this one at Officeworks I couldn't resist buying it! :)

I used it for week 26 of the 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge.

Using a weekly planner notepad

What I liked about this planning notepad was that is already had a good 'base' that with a few quick tweaks I could customise to suit my planning needs.

I used some correction tape to white out the headings I didn't need and add my own.

Related: What type of pens write best on correction tape? (gel pens vs. ballpoint vs. marker pens)

Most notepads don't have a grid section which I thought would be ideal for a habit tracker - the grids ended up being a bit too small (even for my small writing!)

I only used a black pen as I thought the spread might look a bit too colorful if I color coded given the notepad already had a bit of color. But after I set up the spread I decided it was too plain...

... So color coded with highlighters!

It made a big difference.

Before:

After:

Definitely prefer color on the page instead of just a sea of black text!

One more before and after...

I didn't think it would make such a big difference!

I used 5 colors to color code and adjusted my usual color code slightly:

• Pink = blogging
• Green = 'behind the scenes' blog & Etsy shop maintenance
• Yellow = food & health
• Blue = Europe trip planning
• Purple = Melbourne trip planning

Related: Color coding your planner: how to choose which colors to use

I used the Frixion erasable heart stamp to create a water intake tracker. It ended up taking up more space than I thought it would - I probably wouldn't do this again and would use a weekly hydrate sticker instead as they look neater and don't take up as much room.

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

Stationery Used

I used:

• Black Smiggle tri grip pen (comes in a pack of rainbow colors!)

• Staples Hype highlighters (they come in a pen style and are my current favorite highlighters - they come in 5 colors and were quite cheap too!)

• Frixion erasable heart stamp (number code is 51) for the hydrate hearts tracker

• MAMBI asterisk stamp for the 'things to buy' list

• Officeworks Keji brand correction tape (pack of 2 for just $1 and actually works really well!)

Pros of planning using a weekly notepad

• Not as bulky as a weekly planner as notepads tend to only have 52 sheets rather than 100 pages plus the weight of binding - it was much easier to just have this on my desk. If you're someone that takes your planner with you everywhere (since I work a full time day job I keep mine on my desk and take a photo of it), but by using a notepad I could've just torn it off - very portable

• If you prefer to fold planners back on themselves, you have to flip back and forth as most planner's have the weekly spread extending over 2 pages

• Most notepads are landscape page orientation which tends to mean more functional space i.e. the columns aren't as narrow as a 1 page portrait orientation planner

• Most weekly planning notepads are undated so you can start using them anytime

• If you don't use a planner very often, or only need one when you have a very busy week e.g. in the lead up to exam time, a weekly planner notepad is a much more affordable option

Cons of planning using a weekly notepad

• This notepad was A4 size - it is a large page size but it was just the right amount of space (a little bit more would've been great) - most notepads come in A5 size (half A4 letter size) as they're cheaper to manufacture, but you'll probably find yourself running out of space

• Most weekly notepads come in the same generic weekly layout (which was why I got so excited when I saw this one!)

• I didn't post more than 3 times on the blog that week, if I'd posted more I wouldn't have had enough planning space

Would I use this layout again?

I don't tend to go for vertical planners as the columns are too narrow, however this week's wasn't too bad. A few more spaces for tasks for each day would've be ideal as I did run out of room.

I definitely liked color coding with highlighters this week. They stand out more than colored pens and I can use yellow and actually see the ink! I should definitely do more highlighting in future weekly spreads!

No stickers this week but I actually don't mind not using stickers every week. I could've made some blogging workflow stickers to save room in the daily planning space and used icon stickers for recurring tasks such as file cleanings and book-keeping (that unfortunately I have to do more often than I would like!)

I liked have a wider sidebar in the weekly spread than normal, but the hydrate tracker could've taken up less room and I did have to re-write the things I needed to buy out again on a shopping list so that part of the page ended up being a bit of dead space. If I wasn't currently planning a trip to Melbourne at the end of the year and Europe next year (will be my first time!!!) then I wouldn't have filled up the notepad as much.

I'm really enjoying trying a different planner each week as I can choose a different layout to suit my needs rather than getting bored using the same weekly layout every week.

If I used this notepad again I'd change the way I used it. I'd put the meal planning in the days of the week section and instead of writing 'leftovers' I'd just write'L' to save space. I'd also use a social media routine sidebar sticker and hydrate tracker sticker (some of my favorite functional stickers!) that way I'd have more room to put tasks in the sidebar.

Related:

Catch up on past week's of the challenge:

• Week 23: Using Limelife Planners Weekly Layout C
• Week 21: Using Microsoft Word to plan your week
• Week 18: Making a DIY printable planner with a flexible layout
• Week 15: Trying a freehand weekly planner inspired by bullet journalling

Related Posts

• How to do color coded weekly meal planning in less than 5 minutes using sticky notes
• How to make printable graph paper in Photoshop (perfect for habit tracking and bullet journalling!)
• 6 Ways to color code your planner to increase productivity