I spent $400 on a 'perfect' planner system and it made my life worse

Everyone online says you need a fancy paper planner to get your life together. I bought into it hard last fall. I got a special binder, expensive inserts, stickers, the whole thing. It cost me about $400 total. I spent hours setting it up, but then I was so scared of messing up the 'perfect' pages that I stopped using it. I'd avoid writing things down because my handwriting wasn't neat enough, or I'd use the wrong pen. The system that was supposed to free up my brain just gave me more to worry about. Now it sits on my shelf, and I'm back to using a cheap notebook I'm not afraid to scribble in. Am I the only one who overthinks a tool so much it becomes useless? What simple system actually worked for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyw5722d ago

My uncle bought a top of the line fishing rod for like six hundred bucks. He was so worried about scratching it he never took it out of the case. Still uses his old beat up one. Tools are meant to be used, not worshipped. Your cheap notebook sounds like it's doing the job just fine.

kim_martin22d ago

But that's the whole point of a nice thing... you want to keep it nice. If you spend that much on something, it's not just a tool anymore, it's a piece of good work. Using the old beat up one for the messy everyday stuff makes sense, so the good one stays perfect for when it really matters. There's a real pride in owning something that isn't all scratched up, knowing you cared for it. Letting a six hundred dollar rod get all beat up just seems like a waste of money and a shame.