Spring is here, which means it is time for a refresh on your productivity items. Finding new items that will help you achieve your goals is always fun, especially when they are pretty! This list has been kept simple, containing items nearly everyone uses but they have a bright and fresh feel to them.
1. White Lotus Journal and Pen Set
A journal is a must have productivity item. A lot of people use online systems, which is fine of course, but nothing beats simple pen and paper. Whether you have questionable internet connectivity or you want to write at night without a screen glaring at you, pen and paper works all the time.
With 240 ruled pages, this journal has plenty of room for you to write in. The edges have a printed floral design that adds to the classic beauty of this journal. Flowers are a reminder of spring and with the lotus flowers debossed onto the cover, this is the perfect spring design. For those who are concerned about animal welfare, this is a vegan leather cover. The ballpoint pen has a classically elegant look to it.
I personally think this would make a lovely gift for someone.
2. Address Books Perfect For Spring
For a long time I was a disaster at keeping track of the addresses of family and friends. Whenever a birthday came around, I would spend a long time rifling through various diaries and notebooks, trying to find their address so I could post a card to them. Christmas was even worse. And if I couldn’t find it, I would have to phone family and friends to ask if they knew the address. Even more embarrassing was having to ask the person themselves, knowing I had asked the previous year too.
I used to dread writing Christmas and birthday cards because I knew it was going to be a long process. Finding addresses wasted so much of my time, making me less productive and more likely to procrastinate with sending cards.
That all changed when I saw the cutest address book in a shop one day. It was a Wrendale design of two baby owls. Unbelievably cute! And my life changed. It sounds dramatic but I cannot understate how different things are now. All my addresses are in this little book, which sits in my desk drawer. All I have to do is choose a card from the large pile I have, pull out my address book and voila! It’s written and ready to go.
Sometimes small changes can make big differences in your life. Check out some adorable address books here. Baby animals are a great sign of spring.
3. MUJI Twin Highlighters
Highlighters are wonderful. They can be used to highlight key parts of a book, making it easy to find it later on. I personally use them a lot on post-it notes, notepads and scrap pieces of paper when I am planning. A desk without a highlighter is a sad thing. They come in all colours and sizes.
But have you ever seen one with a hole in before?
It is a stroke of genius really. The hole, or window, in the highlighter allows you to see the words you are highlighting. Think back to the last time you were highlighting key information on a word document or in a book. Did you find yourself highlighting a bit more than you intended, going past the end of the sentence? I often do that. But with these, you can see where you are highlighting and so know when to stop.
Genius!
4. White Lotus Mini Notebooks
Have you ever been out and about, when an idea pops into your head? Having a notebook in your handbag is the ultimate lifesaver. My phone battery is terrible so when I am out I try to use my phone as little as possible. So I always keep a notebook handy in case I want to make a note of something.
These beautiful notebooks are the perfect size for fitting into a handbag, at 6x 8.5” in size. Each notebook has 64 ruled pages. If you always walk around and have great ideas, only to forget them later on, this is your cue to invest in these small, easy to transport notebooks.
Are you an avid book buyer? Me too and I buy books faster than I read them. This can especially be a problem when I am buying a long series of books, as I forget which one is which. I have a notebook in my bag that lists all the books I own, so when I am out shopping and see a book I want to buy, I can check my notebook to see if I have already bought it.
Top Tip: Assign each page a letter and record your books by the author’s surname, alphabetically. This way you can easily find which books you own by a certain author. These notebooks have 64 pages so you can have two pages per letter, with some pages for spare.
5. Cute Spring Notepads
I love notepads. I love the small square pads that look like post-it notes but don’t have the sticky strip on the back. Sometimes, I prefer that. And these small notepads are great for quickly noting things down to remind yourself later or for tracking calculations when I’m trying to work something out. Yes, you can buy plain ones but… where’s the fun in that? There are cute notepads, nature themed notepads and so much more. The choice is endless!
I do believe it is important to have something on your desk that you can grab quickly to make notes on. Sometimes things pop into our heads whilst we are working, but we don’t want to stop and break our work flow. Taking a few seconds to jot down your thought before continuing on with your work allows you to stay focused and productive.
6. Spring-Themed Notebooks
Who doesn’t love a notebook? They are extremely helpful productivity tools and have a myriad of uses. Some people create their own planners within a notebook, whilst others use it as a store for their own thoughts. For those wanting to focus on the more positive side of life, it could act as a gratitude journal or a memory journal, writing down any special moments in your life.
When we feel overwhelmed, it can help to write down everything that is on your mind, in a notebook. Form there you can cross out all the things you cannot control and highlight a few things you want to focus on completing or sorting that day.
A notebook can be ruled, plain, dotted… there are so many choices! One thing to consider when choosing a notebook is the sturdiness of it. If you’re going to be using it at a desk all the time, it does not matter too much if it is a softback or hardback notebook. But if you think there will be times when you will be writing in it without a hard surface to rest it on, for example a table, you may want to consider a hardback notebook.
I personally love the range at Waterstones because not only are they hardback, they have a magnetic side flap that keeps the notebook from flying open. This can be a problem if you are outside on a windy day or you want to protect your pages whilst shoving the notebook into a crammed bag. It happens. Plus, some of them are foiled! I love foiled notebooks, it adds an extra layer of beauty to the design.
So go have a look at some hardback notebooks and see what catches your eye. Bonus points if a spring themed one catches your eye!
7. Weekly Planner Sticky Notes
This item is not for everyone. It is a sticky note with the seven days of the week on it. The idea is that you have a few key tasks, usually 2-3, that you need to complete each day. You could have a to-do list a mile long but these few tasks are a must. The tasks are written on the sticky-note under the day on which it must be done. You know have a clear idea for that week of what you need to focus on, this is especially important when you feel overwhelmed.
You can stick it on your desk or in your journal or notebook. As long as you view it regularly, anywhere is ok.
But as I said, they are not for everyone. Some people find them too small. Some people would rather grab a notepad at the start of each day and quickly jot down a few things. Others are happy with their current productivity tools and do not want to add something else to their desk. All fair points. I personally only use them if I start to feel overwhelmed.
My job sometimes means that an emergency can pop up and that takes up 3 hours of my evening. I can be left feeling disheartened that I didn’t manage to get everything on my to-do list done. But actually, if I have my weekly planner, I can look at it and see that I still managed to complete the two tasks I absolutely NEEDED to get done. Things happen that are out of your control and these cute sticky notes can help some people focus on the positives of what they have achieved, as opposed to the negatives.
Summary
I love the change in seasons. I feel a change and I try to feed that into different areas of my life, including my productivity. In autumn, I love embracing the cosy side of life and the warm oranges of the season. In spring I love to feel like I have a fresh start, embracing the greens and looking out for newly blooming flowers. I like my room and stationery to reflect that and so I am always on the lookout for items that will help me connect with the season and breathe new life into my productivity.
I hope some of these items may be of use to you and help you find joy in being a productive and happy person.
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