QUICK tIP 3: SAVE TIME AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY WITH CLEVER PLANNER FOLDOUTS.

​Hey, you, yeah you, the person with a notebook stuffed with loose notes! How often do you find yourself flipping through pages looking for essential lists, or worse yet, searching for misplaced lists on loose sheets of paper? Well this Quick tip is for you. I’ve found the best way to keep your lists at your fingertips and to make them truly useable, and I’m going to share it with you!

​Help, I can’t find my insert list name here!

I’m a note-jotter, list writer, and an idea scrawler by nature. Without a quick tidy now and then, I’ll end up with a desk covered in squares of memo cube, and notebooks with warped covers from my tucking odd scraps of lists inside. Since I’ve had children, my previously exceptional memory for diary dates and lists has faded to almost nothing. I’ve become reliant on writing things down; if I don’t, I can kiss that idea goodbye. One of my biggest annoyances is remembering routines, and beyond that, where I’ve jotted them down.
But there is an easier way!
My magic Quick Tip to help you keep those high-use essentials at hand: PLANNER FOLDOUTS! They’re a quick, simple tool to create and use, and you can make them for almost anything you like. I’m not talking divider sections, or bookmarks, but sections that fold right out from the front or back cover of your planner.
Because of Planner Foldouts, I no longer need to try and recall from memory, or search through multiple notebooks and sheets of paper for items I use regularly. I know exactly where they are and they take just seconds to locate. I can fold a list out when I need it, refer to it for as long as required, and fold it back in when I’m done.
I think you’ll love them as much as I do, so I’ll walk you through, step by step.

Planner Foldouts are a timesaving lifeline I use almost every day. With Foldouts I can free up more thought space for writing. It’s a win-win.” – Emily Larkins.

Create your own awesome planner foldouts!

Planner Foldouts are actually really easy to make, and you can make them to suit you and any journal or planner you’re working from.
For this set of steps, all you need is your journal, a list/set of steps/quick reference table of your choice (I’m using my Start and End of Week Check-In lists. Read more about Self-reflective Journaling here... https://emilylarkins.nz/one-writers-life-blog/self-reflective-journaling-improve-your-focus-in-just-ten-minutes-per-week), paper (heavier paper is more durable), ruler, scissors (or craft knife), pens/pencils/markers, tape (and/or glue). You can choose to measure and rule if you like. If you’re a crafter with a good eye, you can wing it.

An example of the materials you may like to use to make your Planner Foldout/s. Choose what suits you - make it personal and full of personality!

Here’s what you do:
1.   Decide on a list or reference table you frequently use.
2. Rough out the steps or elements you need to have at your fingertips.
3.   Decide whether you wish to have this list pop out like a tab when folded, or if you’d like it to tuck right inside the cover. For today’s example you’re getting the bonus of one that does both: It protrudes as a tab when in use on my desk, or, if I’m taking my book somewhere, I can fold the sheet over again and it tucks right in for protection.

Pop-out Tab - can be seen when the book is closed. If you'd like your Foldout to be permanently inside the cover, move the whole thing to the left so the fold sits inside the cover.

Careful placement of the pop-out tab allows for it to be completely folded in for safe transportation.

4.   My journal is 29.5cm high by 20cm wide. I suggest working to slightly smaller measurements to ensure all foldouts will fold in neatly. When fully folded out, my paper will measure 26.5cm high by 22cm wide (remembering that it folds in). This is the MAXIMUM I can allow to have a tab AND fold it to tuck away.

Measuring the the height needed for the Foldout.

Measuring the width needed for the Foldout.

5.   I’ve marked the fold lines on my paper to fold with a 2cm securing margin (which I’ll glue to the cover of my journal. A top tip is to fold this section slightly narrower than 2cm, you’ll see why shortly), and a 10 cm flap. That leaves just over 10cm between the two folds. You’ll want the middle section to be just a bit bigger than the flap so it folds in without buckling (that’s why we fold slightly shy of 2cm). You can trim the excess along the flap to fit if it buckles.

Showing measurements when folded out.

Showing measurements when folded in - note that the fold line can be seen underneath. This ensures the flap won't buckle when folded all the way in.

6.   Now, fold along your marked lines. Tip: place your ruler on the fold line and run your fingertips along the back side of the paper. This will give you a nice, straight, sharp fold.

Showing a folding tip: press firmly on the ruler with left hand, run right hand fingers along the fold, lightly to start, then firmly. Remove ruler and run a fingernail along the folded crease to make it nice and sharp.

7.   It’s time to mark your attachment line on your book cover. If you’d like to be able to tuck your foldout right away and have a tab, you’ll need to make sure you can fold along the attachment line and have the whole foldout tuck flat. I took my time with this step to ensure I had enough of a tab edge, and to ensure I could tuck the whole thing in. Once you’re happy with placement, fold your foldout completely closed and mark along the back side of the fold line against the cover. This will help when you stick it in. For permanently tucked in foldouts, move your foldout over so the folded flap doesn’t protrude at all (no tab).

Take your time on this step. Careful trial and error will ensure you have a decent tab AND can fold the Foldout all the way in is important.

Careful measurement can be seen in this image. All fold lines shown below, placement of the attachment line above AND where the glue tab, bottom left, sits in relation to the attachment line.

8.   Now, glue along the back of just the thin attachment strip fold. Line it up with the placement line you marked in your cover earlier and stick it down. Check that all folds hinge neatly (I suggest a small piece of tape top and bottom to reinforce the hinge area). Also, try opening your foldout all the way out, close the planner. See how it neatly wraps around your front cover? At times, I use my foldouts tucked around the current working page. This is the secret to why they work so well for me.

A strip of scrap paper underneath the glue tab prevents unwanted glue getting onto your journal cover.

A small strip of tape for reinforcement attached top and bottom when the Foldout is folded all the way in.

Open the Foldout all the way out and place a small strip of tape for reinforcement when open.

9.   Last of all, transfer your list neatly (and beautifully if this suits you) onto your foldout! If you’d rather complete this step before permanently binding it to your book (just in case you make a mistake), just shuffle this step up to before you get gluing.

Old planner with Foldout sits atop new planner with Foldout complete with journal prompts. There is still blank space on the inside and back of the Foldout for other lists!

The bonus of a tab allows the Foldout to be folded AROUND open pages for use. This shows my Self Check-In prompts next to a blank journal page, ready for use!

Closed journal with tab visible down the right side. I'd fold the tab right in if I were to place it in a bag to prevent it getting crumpled.

And just like that, you’ve created your very own Planner Foldout!

It’s perfectly possible to include more than one foldout. You can tuck them in the front and/or back covers, and if you’re really clever and patient, you can create multiple layers of foldouts. I haven’t gone that far yet, but plan to.
I recommend having your goals on a Foldout for quick reference, your journaling prompts, high-use hashtags and more. If you’d like to learn about Routine Lists (a throwback from my teaching days), join me for my next quick tip, due next month.
Until then, happy planning everyone!
Emily.

​Have you had a go at making your own Planner Foldouts? I’d also love to know what lists you like to keep at hand. Let me know how Planner Foldouts could or do work for you! Tell me about it in the comments section.