I don't know that it's an ABSOLUTE problem that people are using it as an aesthetic/creative outlet. Creative outlets are good. The problem is the idea that it's SUPPOSED to look pretty and that you're "doing it wrong" if it's not decorated. I used to make aesthetic pages when I had more free time, because I liked doing that (wasn't showing it off for insta clout or whatever, I'm not actually a good artist or anything, I just like colors). When I stopped having so much free time, I dramatically slashed how much time I put in and cut back heavily on aesthetics in favor of more pure functionality.
Anyway here's some of my pared-down-to-functionality layouts, because I just had to re-do my yearly pages as well as my month/week setup and thus could take pics of them to share without a bunch of personal stuff I don't want to show everyone written in them yet:
the "future log" page is for scheduling stuff more than a month out and keeping track of stuff that happens yearly on the same date (like friends birthdays). As I add items I write the day in the box corresponding to the month the thing goes in. The mini year calendar I have a few marks I add in coded colors for things like paydays, holidays (days off outside of my usual work schedule), and a menstrual-cycle tracker.
Then each month gets a page for scheduling, where I keep track of my time commitments and hard deadlines for things I need to finish, with a bit more space to work than the future log. I also log my work schedule and transfer over anything from the future log that's relevant to the month. Then there's a weekly page where I get even more space to write and add a to-do section for general tasks so I can pre-schedule myself to do laundry on Wednesday or whatever. Time commitments get transferred from the monthly schedule page, stuff that needs to be done but can kinda be done anytime goes on the other side.
And then I also keep daily notes where I go in in the morning, note down my time commitments and any pre-scheduled to-do's, and leave myself space to add tasks that I decide to do (I find it useful to log that I DID a task, even if I didn't schedule it) and can mark them off as completed or rescheduled as necessary, and also space for any journaling I may feel like doing about my day, things that are on my mind, any kind of brain-dumping I need or want to do.
I only use colors for coding information and on the monthly schedule page for ensuring I don't skip from one line to another when reading it. I tried the monthly schedule without the alternating mildliner to save setup time and it just wasn't as easy to use for me like that so I added that back in as a functional element.
Considering re-adding my habit tracker, as it WAS pretty useful, but it also takes longer to make and is a monthly page so I'm also considering if I can come up with a different way to lay it out that would retain the functionality without the time expense of setting it up.
(@upthewitchypunx I mentioned some of this to you a while back. Tagging in case you wanted some ideas, now that I have shareable pics.)
theartofmadeline
stormborns
titsay
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
