Frankenplanning | One Month at a Time
Share
Frankenplanning is a way of using different planner sections for different areas of your life, then bringing the pages you need together into one discbound planner.
For me, those areas include home, business, wellness and memory keeping. Each has different planning needs, so I don’t expect one layout to work for everything.
At the beginning of each month, I take the pages I need from each section and add them to the planner I’ll use for that month. When the month is finished, those pages can be returned to their original sections.
It means I can keep different areas organised without carrying every page with me all the time.
Different areas can use different layouts
One of the benefits of Frankenplanning is that you don't have to choose one weekly layout and use it for everything.
A Dashboard layout can work well when you want to see appointments, meetings and other things happening on particular days.
An Overview layout gives you more room for lists and grouped tasks that don't necessarily need to be assigned to a day.
A Vertical layout can be useful when you want more structure within each day.
Memory keeping may only need a monthly spread and a few additional pages for recording highlights or adding photos and notes.
There isn't one correct combination. The point is to choose the pages that work for what you actually need to plan.
Why a discbound planner works for Frankenplanning
This is where a discbound planner makes Frankenplanning particularly easy.
Pages aren't fixed in place. You can remove a layout you're not using, add another section, move pages into a different order or change the way you're using a layout altogether.
Your setup doesn't have to stay the same throughout the year either.
If something stops working, change it.
If you realise a layout would work better for another part of your life, move it.
You also don't need to build your entire Frankenplanning system before you begin. Start with the areas you already know you want to keep separate and see how you use them.
Planning your own setup
Before adding lots of sections to your planner, think about what you actually need it to do.
You might consider:
- Which areas of my life do I want to keep separate?
- What do I need to see on a particular day?
- What would work better as a list?
- Which pages am I actually likely to use?
I've created a free double-page printable to help you work through your own setup before you start moving pages around.
Your planner can change
The way you set up your planner now doesn't have to be the way you use it six months from now.
Work changes. Home changes. Projects come and go. You might discover that a page you bought for one purpose is much more useful for something else.
That's one of the reasons I enjoy using a discbound system. I can change the planner when I need to without starting again.
Frankenplanning simply takes that flexibility a little further by allowing different parts of your life to use the layouts and pages that suit them, while still bringing everything you need together in one planner.
Further Reading
- If you are beginning your discbound journey, the Start Here Guide offers a gentle introduction to how the system works.
- To support your monthly rhythm, you may wish to explore the Discbound Planner Collection and the Weekly Extension Pack.
For added space during busy seasons, the Notes Inserts provide a simple way to gather thoughts, lists, and reflections. - To remember life's precious moments, the Memory Keeping Inserts might suit your style. A monthly double page spread with lined boxes for extra writing.
- For a calm transition into the new month, A Gentle Closing to November offers grounding and seasonal ease.
May your planner help you gather your worlds with ease, design a month that feels spacious and calm, and bloom gently as December unfolds.
dream.design.bloom
