The Secret Society of Planners
by Consultor Functionalis
December 2017
Disclaimer: We’re waiting with bated breath to see how many of you can identify the actual author of this tongue-in-cheek article. Leave your guess in the comments!
At PlannerCon Europe held in Brussels recently, I discovered a secret group of people amidst our planner community. They asked me to join them at one of their secret meetings. I hadn’t realised before I arrived at the secret venue away from the main venue that I had been ‘checked out’; my planner had been examined and I had been asked some important questions about how I used it.
The people around the table when I arrived all looked like friendly, normal, balanced human beings. I still didn’t know why I had been invited to join them at this meeting. Clearly there was something ‘dark and sinister’ about this group.
It became clear during the conversation that these people took the use of their planners very seriously and opened them to show others, nothing unusual in that you might think… people do it all the time on You Tube and on Instagram… but when I asked people about their IG accounts or You Tube channels they stared at me blankly like I was from another planet.
I asked, “How do you find other people in this group?” One of the people looked at the ‘leader’ as if seeking permission to reveal to me the tell-tail signs. The leader gave a silent nod of her head. I was then told about ‘the hand shake,’ the rubbing of the finger on the left side of their nose, the raising of one eyebrow… skills I would clearly have to learn if I was going to find others out there in this group of planners.
I asked why they had come to PlannerCon Europe, and the leader offered, “To find others, to save them.”
It started to come together slowly in my head…. I had discovered ‘The Functional Planners’
Steve Morton?
Hear hear! Although I love the look of all those gorgeous planners I find had to conclude that that was not the way I would like to plan. Or that I would spend my time on for that mather. Sometimes I think people use their planner more as a dairy or journal instead of as a planning tool. I also think there is a secret society of lovely handwriters. Did you get invited by them too? I’m not allowed there… the more appointments or tasks I plan to less lovely my handwriting gets 😉
I have stopped watching most planner videos as they are mainly product-pushing, craft videos which are enjoyable, but have a short shelf life in the usefulness department. As I said on Miss Vickybee’s channel recently, I worked out what worked for me myself as I found few videos that were genuinely functional. Now could her video be a clue to who wrote this???? 😉 Maybe??
We need more people addressing actual planning, not just selling at us. Real planners can look like a mess because they are about real life and we need to adjust our expectations to be OK with that.
I agree with it deeply. A lot of planner videos on YouTube went down hill for me in that respect. Not just planner videos, the housekeeping videos that I also love are almost finished. “I really like this product… By the way, they are sponsoring this video” That is all what it is about nowadays.
Steve Morton?
This is so refreshing to read. I love it! I only use my planner for functionality and organization. I need to see more from all those Functional Planner people 🙂 Keep me in the Functional Planner loop, please? Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday and a happy 2018!
I’m thinking Steve Morton,too.
My goal is effective planning. Sometimes that means black scrawls on white paper and other times it’s elaborate illustration and decor. My brain is fickle. I’m a secret society of one no longer secret 😉
I agree. I think Steve Morton. 🙂
my planner is plain and i surely relate to more ‘to do/plan’ the less lovely [the already too large] the handwriting. I use my planner as a ship’s log…the navigation of my life, but still, I have now put away the water color/washi efforts. I vote for Miss VickyBee as the writer….but the fit isn’t entire as she is quite the artist also….hmmmm. will have to wait for the unveiling I guess. Was drawn to the article title and smiled at the secret signs!! well done.
William Hannah LTD owner…..not sure if his real name is William Hannah though
I have a very secret functional planner comrade. We live in the dark recesses of Facebook messenger. We are reluctant to re-engage the Facebook planner community. It has never gone well. We are not understood. That is fine with us.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
I agree. I think Steve Morton. 🙂
I do decorate my planner, but minimally… because my planner must function as so. I do know what you mean though, over decorated planners become just that.