OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What Inserts do I Use?
March 25, 2016
The planning community is so amazing. It's fun and creative but OMG it can be sooooo overwhelming! There's so much to see and learn and obsess over ;) There are so many different types of planners and inserts and stickers. So I've got this great series for you coming over the next few weeks. It will help simplify everything and make choosing your first (or next) planner much easier.
Today we are talking about PLANNER INSERTS and I will compare the two main types to help you make a decision on which one would work best for you.
If you've been around the planner world social media scene a little bit, you may have heard about vertical vs horizontal or #teamvertical and #teamhorizontal. You may have thought ‘what in the heck does that even mean?’ Well, I’m here to clear the mud! These refer to the different orientations of the insert pages inside your planner. The days may be arranged in a vertical or horizontal set up.
In a vertical day, your space for each day is long and runs down the page, but in a horizontal it runs across. Here's a video that shows a bit more the two orientations.
A lot of planner girls feel very strongly one way or another, once they get settled in a planner system that works for them. Some girls change their minds, after loving one orientation for a long time they suddenly discover the other arrangement suits them better, at least at particular moment in time and what their needs call for. Both set ups have their pros and cons and both may work for you, just for different needs. Or maybe there’s one that you’ll prefer over the other. Of course, there are even more differences within each set-up, but let’s just stick with vertical vs horizontal for now.
Team Vertical
This set-up works really well for those planner girls that like to list out their days or tasks. Listers gotta list! It’s also ideal for those who have a lot of appointments or things to schedule in because the times can be aded along the side.
With a vertical planner you can have your whole week laid out one day after another, in a natural procession. It’s great for linear thinkers and those who like to check things off. And it’s easier to break up your day into boxes going down.
Even though the surface area of the boxes may be equal to those on a hortizontally laid out page, it seems easier to decorate for a lot of planner girls in a vertical box.
However, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for writing, like with journaling.
Team Horizontal
This set up is great for people who plan like they read, left to right and then top to bottom.
Horizontal spreads, when well designed, look more appealing (though I have yet to master decorating a horizontal layout!) It's very good for noting appointments, events and activities. It’s easier to decorate by crossing over the lines with bigger stickers for a more coheasive design.
It lends well to journaling, memory planners and telling the story of your day.
It’s also great for doodles and cute activity stickers.
So there you have it!
I have to say that I was stumped when it came to the horizontal layout, I’m team veritcal all the way, except when it comes to my Heidi Swapp memory planner. So here'sa big shout out to my girls on periscope who helped me come up with all the awesome things about horizontal pages. Thanks ladies!!
If you liked this post you can check out the other posts:
Newbie Planner Girls START HERE!!
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: Choosing a Binding
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What SIZE to choose
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: How to Make Multiple Planners Work
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: 4 things to do Before you Buy All the Things!
And if you're new to the Planner World and would like a free (and pretty) Planner Newbie Cheat Sheet with some of the definitions of those terms and acronyms that seem so foreign to you, but everyone else seems to know what they mean, then just click here:
See you next week when we resist buying all the things!