From Pens to Paper: How to Conduct an Effective Ink and Paper Test

If you’re new to planning, you might not have heard of ink and paper testing. An ink and paper test is simply trying out each pen, marker, and highlighter on a sample of the paper or surface you plan to write on. This helps you find out if it writes smoothly and is legible.
Progress in our planning isn’t measured by perfectly checked-off task lists or beautifully decorated pages. It’s found in even the smallest wins: prioritizing what truly matters, remembering to schedule time for rest and simply using your planner more consistently. Planning is about growth, not perfection. It is a reflection of grace in action – the grace to start again after…
Migrating the important data from your current planner to a new one as the year ends, is a critical step. You need to try and find a time when your activity in the old planner has slowed down. You don’t want to be actively updating the old planner in the middle of transitioning the data to the new planner. Moving…
Christa, the Christmas Elf, combines holiday spirit with goal-setting for the new year by encouraging planners to identify useful resources for achieving their goals. These include mentors, peers, books, classes, research topics, and new equipment. Such resources can aid in achieving personal goals while fostering motivation and accountability. Happy planning!
The post emphasizes the importance of establishing new habits for achieving personal goals. It outlines strategies from James Clear’s “Atomic Habits,” highlighting four laws: make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Developing a clear intention and prepping for success are key steps in building effective habits over time.
Christa’s latest planning tip emphasizes the importance of breaking down annual goals into manageable interim steps. By mapping these goals on a year-at-a-glance calendar or using sticky notes, individuals can visualize their progress, avoid overwhelm, and adjust plans as needed. This structured approach enhances goal achievement and facilitates regular progress tracking.
Goal planning with a long-term, near-term and 1-year goals ensures that what we are working on in the days and month right in front of us is leading us toward achieving our dreams. Looking at goal planning using a process improvement framework gives us a structured approach for identifying the big actions needed to move from our Current State toward…
Picking up that pen and pointing it at a brand-new planner can feel a little intimidating. Planners can be a big investment, and we don’t want to mess it up. But it will be fine. It will be like all handcrafted items – perfectly imperfect. And yes, once you put pen to paper, you are crafting your plans and creating…
Performing a quick ink test on any new planner will prevent the frustration that would arise from possible incompatibilities between the pen/ink and paper. Even if you’re using a brand you’ve tested before, the paper used often changes due to availability and/or costs. So testing a new planner is still worth the effort.
Streamlining your planner sections comes down to personal preferences and what feels right and works best for you. Removing redundant or unused pages reduces any guilt that may be felt from not using them. And it frees up space for more of what you do find helpful. Rearranging your planner pages and sections can improve your planning efficiency and make…