It’s no lie that I LOVE stationary and organisational supplies.

I was that girl in school who had a new pencil case for each new term and it was fully loaded with everything I could possibly need.  Think gel pens, fountain pens, coloured pencils, sticky notes, highlighters – the absolute lot!

My guess is if even if you’re new to planning and journaling, you’re probably not new to loving stationary or being organised. And even if you are, that’s totally fine too because I’ll share with you the best planning accessories around in 2023 to meet all your aesthetic needs.

 

My Top Planner Essentials for 2023

1. Pens

For writing out my to-do list or adding events into my calendar I use black ink.  I did go through a phase of only using blue ink but I think I like the monochrome look too much and it seems to match my highlighters and other accessories more.

When choosing the perfect pen, it needs to be smooth not scratchy, enough ink that there’s no faded lines in your text but light enough that it doesn’t bleed through the pages.

I’ve tried so many different brands and pen tip sizes but for me the narrow, ball point pens are the best.

2. Highlighters

Ahh highlighters, they make everything so much better!

I have 3 different types of highlighters for different purposes!

Coloured Highlighters

First, I have brightly coloured highlighters.  I use the pink, yellow and green ones after I’ve written my to-do list at work.

The pink is for all tasks which will either require some thought and research or if it’s a task which is likely to take me 30-60 minutes to complete.  Yellow, is when it’s likely to be around 15-30 minutes to complete and green is a ‘quick win’ or something that will take around 5 mins, 10 absolute maximum but I won’t need to use too much brain power.

Using this organisation hack, I can easily see what needs doing that day but also how long it might take me to complete everything.

Aesthetic Highlighters

These aesthetic highlighters are sooo pleasing to the eye it’s not even true.  I actually wish these were around when I was in school!

I use these highlighters when planning in my weekly diary to highlight the different calendar types.  For example, the light blue is work, pale pink is personal/ self-care etc.  I don’t tend to highlight the full block in my diary but will create a coloured outline when time blocking just so I have a rough idea what’s happening each day.

Tom Brow Pen

I’m quite new to Tom Brow pens and if you are too, let me tell you now, you’re in for a treat!

Tom Brow pens are originally for calligraphy purposes but their smooth brush on one end and fine tip on the other are perfect to either highlight 1-2 key words in your diary or to directly write into your planner with.

3. Sticky Notes and Page Flags

What planner wouldn’t be complete without sticky notes and page flags?!

These are like the OG of being organised and productive.  Thank goodness the bright yellow Bic sticky notes are a thing of the past and now there’s so many different colour and size options.

My favourite ones are these from Paper Panduh in the shade blush pink. I like to be able to write or doodle directly on them without the colour being too intense that you can’t then properly read them back.

I’m also a fan of these ones with pre-printed lines on them so you can separate your thoughts.  I also use these habit tracker notes a lot so I can move them from day to week to track my progress on any habits or actions I want to keep a note of without having to flick back so many pages in my diary.

4. Stickers

I used to think stickers were a bit of a cheesy addition to planners and a little childish. TBH some are and if kiddy and care-free is your vibe then totally go for it!

But, if you prefer something a bit more elevated but still want the fun of using stickers to decorate your planner, my best picks are the ones which are icons and complement your plans.  For example, I have most of the set from Creative Stuff on Etsy which is the nail appointment, gym, lashes and brows and holiday stickers.

I also have a few from Creative Stuff which says “payday”, “day off” and “self-care”.  Other ones I love  are coloured dots, circles and squares.