7 Creative Ways to Personalise Your Functional Planner
7 Creative Ways to Personalise Your Functional Planner
Practical ideas for customising your planner to reflect your personality.
Are you new to the planner community and looking for inspiration? Or have you been a part of it for a while and want to switch things up? Either way, you're in the right place to explore 7 creative ways to personalize your functional paper planner and make it truly your own.
Functional planning might sound boring to some, especially free-spirited creative types, that’s why it’s so important to personalise a functional planner with artistic flair to make it more engaging to use as well as beautiful to look at.
Enhancing your planner to reflect your personality will help to motivated you to stay organised. Plus, by customising your planner, you can make it work better for you which will increase your chances of success because you’ll enjoy planning and getting stuff done.
So with that in mind here are 7 creative ways to personalize your functional planner…
1. Charms
Use decorative magnetic planner charms to adorn your planner pockets, fly leaf or cover. You can find gorgeous charms on Etsy from small businesses such as KolourCafe or TheRoseyLifePlanner.
Magnetic charms are also handy for ‘pinning’ layers together or adding a note to the page. The practicality of this will depend on the style of the charm. My top tip: use a charm with a very low profile and smooth design so it doesn’t damage your planner pages.
2. Custom Dashboards
Add a personal touch by creating your own dashboards using a favourite photo, or make custom dividers that reflect your personal style or interests.
I love using Canva to create custom dashboards because it's an extremely intuitive, free design program that you can access via the Canva website. There are many fonts, graphics, and images available for free, or you can pay a small fee for licensed items. You can also upload your own pictures and create a mood board of favourite memories.
3. Writing Tools - Pens and Highlighters
Invest in a great pen that’s smooth to write with and feels good to hold. I’m a huge fan of the Sarasa Clip by Zebra, it’s roller ball gel pen that’s nice to hold and dream to write with. I’m particularly in love with the Vintage Colours range, the pen barrel is sleek and stylish, plus the colour choices are deliciously muted and autumnal.
I love that the Sarasa Clip has a retractable nib so I never have to worry about the ink drying out if I leave the cap off. The barrel has a rubberised grip for comfort. Plus, the clip feature is a bonus, especially if you’re using a Filofax cover simply because the pen loops on their leather planners aren’t normally elasticated and the sizing varies - a lot! I usually have to clip my pen onto the loop of my Filofax Malden! See below…
Another pen to add to your kit is a decent highlighter for organising your tasks, crossing off to-do items or spotlighting notes. I started off with a Mildliner, also by Zebra, but I found their inks too vibrant for the muted hues of Sarasa Clip Vintage Colours so I now use a Tombow Brush Pen.
Tombow Brush Pens come in a huge range of colours which include soft, delicate hues that look chic and are easy on the eyes! My top tip: the colour numbers are printed onto the Tombow barrels in white ink which always seems to rub off quickly, leaving you with no idea what colour pen you have when it’s time to replace it. Trust me this is a big deal because some of the colours are very close and it’s hard to tell using the pen cap colour alone! However, if you place a piece of clear tape over the pen number as soon as you get your new pen you’ll preserve it!
A great place to shop for pens online is Cult Pens and Jet Pens, they have a HUGE selection affordable pens, luxury fountain pens and stationery it’s literally mind-blowing. I’m based in the UK so shop on Cult Pens as they’re also in the UK which means delivery is super fast for me!
4. Motivation
Add inspirational quotes or images to motivate you throughout the day, week, month and year.
Create a layering moment by having your word for the year printed onto vellum which you can then layer on top of a photographic dashboard. This is an elegant way to elevate your planner to a sophisticated status while giving you the necessary confidence boost to get stuff done.
5. Pockets
Include pockets to store important documents, receipts or inspirational items such as cards or pictures.
Card holder wallets are perfect for displaying journaling cards or affirmations for extra inspiration that’s easy to change up. Find encouragement (see picture below) with a set of 15 beautiful hand lettered declaration cards based on scriptures from The Bible by Sharmila Joy on Etsy.
6. Custom Inserts
Etsy is such a treasure trove when it comes to unique paper planning essentials such as custom inserts for monthly calendars, habit trackers, or task lists.
Alternatively, you can make your own by using a free design app like Canva. You’ll often find some free to use templates on Canva to help get the design process started for you with minimum design know-how.
7. Stickers
Use mini icon stickers and shapes as visual cues for different tasks, people or functions. You can get icon stickers for meetings, food shopping, home maintenance, or business management and much, much more!
There are also shape stickers such as drops, blocks, circles and date dots which are useful for bringing attention to specific dates, tasks or appointments on your agenda.
Stickers can easily be placed on planner pages to make them more engaging and improve their usability. Visual symbols and prompts make it quick to see what's going on and can help you better organise your time.
Final Take Away
Remember, the goal is to make your planner work for you, so don't be afraid to experiment and try out different ideas until you find what works best for you.
By using the tips and ideas discussed in this article, such as adding charms, creating custom dashboards, and using motivational quotes and images, you can make your planner truly your own. However, try to aim for functionality rather than excessive decoration that might get in the way of usability.
Until next time Planner Friend, peruse the products links included in this article to elevate your functional paper planner!
Chloe x
* Affiliate links — Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases you may make after clicking these links.
