WTF Is A Happy Planner? Review + Set Up with Me
Last year, I tested out the Louis Vuitton of planners in a timeless, minimalist design and couldn’t have been happier! The paper quality alone was so luxurious, my pens thought they were heli-skiing on an untouched, snowy mountain range.
This year, we’re no longer heli-skiing, much to the dismay of my pens.
This year, I'm going to need a personal assistant to help me. Someone who is:
Organized (this should go without saying), with a natural capacity to keep track of my appointments, tasks, content ideas, and goals
A yogi of the mind - a high degree of flexibility & adaptability when it comes to changing schedules, needs, and style is a MUST
Fun, positive, and motivating
Creative! An extensive knowledge of stationery is an ASSET
Putting these qualifiers out there for when I start adding to the WTF Team, but for now I have…
MY FIRST HAPPY PLANNER!
Really, it’s like having a trusty paper assistant.
All the fun things I got from Happy Planner: Whimsical Whiskers Classic Vertical Layout Planner, Bright Fun Classic filler paper, Fresh Bouquet Mom Undated Calendar Extension Pack, Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack, and Whimsical Whiskers sticker book, Snap in Sticker Page Protectors, and mint expander metal disc set
Whimsical Whiskers Classic Vertical Layout Planner with blue disc-bound system
Am I allowed to say that it wasn’t love at first sight? What I love about the Happy Planner now was the exact thing that initially put me off: the disc-bound system.
I have the Classic 18-months, 9-disc system (7” x 9.25”) Happy Planner. She’s roomy! When she’s a stay-at-home planner (SAHP), she’s adorable - lounging on my desk like she’s perpetually poolside. It’s the commute to work in September or the trek to grad school, that makes me wrinkle my nose. I’m slowly embracing the ‘clunk’ of these discs. So much so, that I’ve replaced the original plastic discs with metal ones.
But her disc-bound system is what makes her so incredibly customizable!
Design Advantages
Embracing the disc-bound planner system offers me the freedom to tailor and adorn my Happy Planner to my liking.
Planner cover - While I wasn’t able to include my WTF Bride or Mimu Crafts branding on the cover like I did with my Erin Condren planner, the snap in covers for the Happy Planners are interchangeable!
Happy Planner, you won me over with your Whimsical Whiskers collection! It’s so stinkin’ cute that I bought the sticker book and accessory pack too.
A close up of my Happy Planner goodies
2. Interior layout and design - I’m a vertical layout convert! No more wasting time colour-coding my tasks when I can categorize them under one of my three daily categories: To Do, Learn, and Content.
The page designs in the Happy Planner are simple, which I prefer. That way, the pages don’t compete with my own design of washi tapes and stickers.
Minimalist page design in the Happy Planner weekly spread
The monthly dividers balance out this clean design with adorable cats and blurbs of positivity to inspire cuteness and creativity throughout your day.
August monthly divider
October monthly divider
3. Disc Colour - Discs come in different designs, colours, and materials. Take your pick!
Keep in mind that there are expander discs to give you more room in your planner. They're amazing for people who use a lot of stickers and bulk up their planner, like yours truly.
The degree of flexibility a Happy Planner offers is amazing. The discs allow you to tailor your planner to suit your distinctive organizational style and creative flair by simplifying page additions, removals, and reordering. This helps you “downsize” your pages or customize sections in your planner for school, work, personal life, content creation, fitness, etc. The Happy Planner is really your one-stop shop.
I’ll be adding these Mom-themed planner pages when I finish my current pages
This Mom's Fresh Bouquet extension pack is available here.
Unlike the pages of the Whimisical Whiskers planner, these pages are available in a Dashboard Layout.
This envelope is part of the Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack. I use it to hold receipts and tiny keepsakes.
4. The Happy Planner Classic Punch - Are you telling me I don’t have to stick my custom dashboard pages to existing planner pages?!
Lifechanging.
I’ve been printing planner pages and crafting bookmarks for my Happy Planner, and this hole punch takes customization to a whole new level!
Putting my Happy Planner Classic punch to use
Punched and ready
Setting Up My Happy Planner
Life Dashboard
This is my planner’s control centre! I’ve designed these pages to match my Happy Planner’s Whimsical Whiskers theme.
These pages live at the front of my planner and lists my weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and includes a calendar of birthdays and anniversaries.
They’re the reason I get a lot of things done! They’ve helped me hardwire simple tasks into habits.
Send me an email at submit@wtfbride.com, if you have questions about custom planner pages or how these pages help automate my life.
2. Blog Calendar
I use this yearly calendar to content plan and keep track of blog traffic.
3. Goal Setting
This is where I would start mapping out my goals for the year
Okay, what’s the secret to downsizing your possessions?! And is it possible with a toddler?
These pages will chronicle my continuing goal of purging my things. It’s challenging when everything is cute, you know?
4. Monthly Dashboard
This monthly dashboard comes right before each month’s calendar spread. Mine is a work in progress.
It can be used for monthly reflections, goal-setting, and tracking delegated tasks or packages in transit.
Other ways you can use this section include: event countdowns, habit tracking, meal planning, brainstorming, record keeping, or as a place to jot down tidbits of inspiration.
5. Monthly Calendar Spread
The monthly calendar gives me a sense of how busy my month will be. It also prevents me from double-booking anyone!
Cat bookmark, yet another cute thing from the Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack.
Minimalist monthly spread
I usually have sticky notes of appointments, events, and reminders if the dates are a month + in advance. The items here have space to breathe before they get finalized in the weekly planning sections.
Sticky notes from the Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack.
6. Weekly Planning Spread
This section melds organization with creative expression. No matter how busy things get, I’ll always carve out time to sticker plan!
Weekly spread
I have tons of stickers to use up, so I only bought one sticker book this year. I also have a ‘Notes’ page of highlighter and pen swatches to refer to during my weekly planning time.
Something different between the Erin Condren and Happy Planners’ vertical layouts is that the Happy Planner doesn’t have title bars above each box in their weekly spread.
For details of my planning tools, click here.
My sticker books that I use for planning
7. Snap In Sticker Page Protectors
As a sticker lover, where have these been all my life?
For someone who loves to change sticker themes each week, I love that I can include my weekly stickers in these sticker protectors so that I can plan on the go!
Happy Planner Snap In Sticker Page Protectors
These stickers came in the Whimsical Whiskers Accessory Pack
The stickers look so good in my planner!
8. ‘Notes Section’
Financial Goals - Finances are my favourite area for goal setting! I have two copies of this Financial Goals page in the ‘Notes’ section of my planner.
The first Financial Goals page helps me plan for tuition payments (yes, I’m going back to school!), buying back my maternity leave, and going back to working part-time. The other is dedicated to managing my TeachersPayTeachers storefront.
What I use to reach my financial goals
Bright Fun Classic Filler Paper
I can't get enough of this dotted-grid note paper: Bright Fun Classic Filler Paper.
Paper from the Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack
Back pocket of my planner. A great place for me to keep my baby’s food menu
So many things came in the Whimsical Whiskers accessory pack, including this Pawsitive Vibes note paper and back pocket!
The Happy Planner is a fun way to stay organized and inspired in your daily life. Get ready to plan the life you love!
If you have questions about where I curate specific products or the planner pages from my Life Dashboard, let me know.
