Preparing For 2019 | With A Pirongs Unique Planner

Last year I spent an absolute fortune on a life planner. It was imported from the USA and I was absolutely determined I was going to use it to organise my blogging and my life all in one, and that that would completely justify the price. It just so happens that in January I found out I was pregnant with baby number three and all my plans and organisation went down the pan. I was far too knackered, far too stressed and, after a couple of months of really trying to use it, it got pushed to the side and I just tackled each day as it came. Plus I thought the planner was totally overrated despite other people telling me I’d never look back.

Fast forward to now and January is upon us again and this year I will definitely not be pregnant! With that in mind, I am really hoping to put my superb organisation skills to decent use. I think the thing that frustrates me most is that I know I’m more than capable of running a tip top household and life calendar, with the occasional slip up, but I’ve been procrastinating or putting things off and that’s kind of wearing me down.

So, ladies and gentleman, I shall be using a Pirongs Unique Planner for all things 2019. I intend to be proactive and on top of everything as much as possible by doing things little and often. I’ll be using a ‘Kicker List’ and a 30 minute timer to keep on top of the housework and I’ll be scheduling in some ‘real’ work hours where I’m in our new office to work on the blog – once it’s been built and decorated of course. The Pirongs Unique Planner will keep all of our social lives and events in check and I’ve got a few little gems in there which I’ll tell you more about below.

Designing My Pirongs Unique Planner

There are so many options to choose from when it comes to your planner. You’re able to decide whether you’d like an A4 or A5 size, whether you’d like it to start from August or January and you get to choose from three different layouts.

I opted for an A5 planner that starts in January 2019 in the ‘Horizontal 1’ layout. From there I went into designing it and that’s kind of where it lost the spark for me.

The design tool, while it does its job, is pretty naff. It’s really jumpy, awkward and feels really dated. It took me a good few goes to have the patience to finish off a design. In the end I opted for something less personalised than I was hoping for, but it turned out lovely nonetheless.

I found that when you were changing the page content at the end of the planner that you had to kind of sift back through things you’d already looked at, or the categories were a bit vague. You are able to upload your own photos and I chose a recent one of us to put on the front of mine, as well as my name.

While the actual tool leaves a lot to be desired, it does have a great selection of pages. aAter a bit of backward and forwarding with different options I settled for some ‘Blog Post Ideas’ pages, as well as a page for ‘Lists’, ‘Notes’ and ‘Birthdays’. I left a good chunk at the end of the planner blank because I wanted it to be available for anything I need and just to take the odd note down here and there really.

Once you’re happy with your design, you get to checkout and there are a few more options that might take your fancy.

Extras For The Pirongs Planner

There were so many lovely extra options to choose from. I first chose the colour of my binding wire. I went with white as I felt it complemented the somewhat nautical theme I ended up with. I also chose to get some washi tape which is lovely if you’re feeling really creative. I picked up some stickers which are nice to stick in for meetings, appointments and lunch dates – it just makes those dates and times that bit more identifiable at a glance.

I chose a yellow placement ribbon and finally a sparkly gold elastic holder which sets the whole planner off really nicely. It also means I can place mark where we are in the year, but also keep all the other pages that are in the past together.

I would have liked to have been able to purchase more than one of a couple of the extras, as that didn’t seem to be an option when it came to it.

The Pirongs Planner Arrives

The planner came within a week which, I think, is really good considering the level of personalisation. The quality is brilliant too; the outer is hardback and the print on the front is really clear. The pages inside are nice and thick and I was really pleased with the layout I’d chosen.

I love that there’s a mini week planner for super important things, but also a day by day section as well as a check list. I’m also going to give myself weekly goals with the prompt below – whether that’s just to step back and take a breather, have a cup of tea, or get through the ironing.

I had to set up the month tabs myself, but I like that it gives you the option. Some people won’t want these, others will and being able to add them on, if you feel like it, is good – plus you get a sense of achievement and willpower to make the planner work if you’re kind of working on it yourself, does that make sense?

I’m really interested to see how well I get on with this planner, and also how much I stick to it. The whole cost came to less than half of what I paid for one last year which I was impressed with. Obviously prices will vary depending on the extras you choose but I went full pelt knowing that I really need to get my organising head on especially now we’ve got three children!

Are you planning on planning for this year? Do you keep a diary? Perhaps you’d like to try a Pirongs Unique Planner for yourself? Enter the giveaway below to win a £40 voucher to spend on a Pirongs planner and all the fancy extras! Good luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

• This competition will open on 7th January and will close on 16th January at 11.59pm
• One winner will be selected at random
• One winner will receive ONE £40 voucher code to spend on Unique Planners by Pirongs
• You must be a UK resident aged 18 or over
• No cash alternative will be offered
• The winners will be announced on Raising the Rings social media outlets, not the blog, and will be contacted by email
• You must enter using AT LEAST one of the entry methods in the Rafflecopter widget above, they are not all mandatory

*I received product in return for this feature. All views and opinions are my own.