Decorated Planner Series: Stamped Checklists

The backbone of any good productivity system is the humble “To Do” list. If you’re a plannerd, you’ve probably already read about the millions of ways you can write one. Bullet Lists, Brain Dumps, Prioritized Task Lists, Daily Dockets…these are just a few styles that come to mind. At their very heart, it all boils down to the same thing. You write stuff down that needs to get done… and you mark it when it’s finished. How you write it and how you mark it complete is what sets your list apart from anyone else’s. Functional or a little fun? The same format each day or constantly changing? It’s all up to you!

Today I want to explore some of the ways you can stamp your checklists. Please don’t get hung up over the supplies I’m using. There are dozens of great “planner specific” stamp sets out there, and almost as many YouTube videos showing them off. I want to show you different ways to actually use them  You don’t need the exact stamp set or ink pictured for these ideas to work. In fact, at the end I’ll show you a stamping hack that doesn’t require stamps at all! Read on to “check” it out! (See what I did there? I’m too funny for my own good!)

1. Straight Up & Down- The most obvious of the bunch, just use that stamp straight out of the package. You can choose one with or without lines:



On the lined image, you can add a single bullet for a complete checklist, or use the top line as a title:



If your list is huge, just stamp again directly below to make it longer:



2. Turn ‘em sideways- Give your checklist a quarter turn and now you have a tracking chart! Use it to record glasses of water consumed, medications you need to take, the number of times you checked Facebook in a day…



3. Free Form- Maybe you don’t like the idea of a bulleted list. Use a word stamp for a title and then list away!



4. Words & Single Bullet- Use a word stamp together with a bullet. These really stand out on your page and are very effective on a weekly view:



To save time, arrange all your stamps on a huge acrylic block like a template and stamp multiple weeks at once. This trick works great to customize a stack of Post-Its too.



5. Change your bullets- Use different styles of bullets to separate your lists. The example here is work/home, but you could use a different bullet for each family member, or to divide your list into how long a task will take. Don’t have multiple bullet images? Use the same bullet but change your ink colour for a similar effect.



6. Outline or Fill- Some planner stamp sets come with an outline image and matching solid image. It’s personal choice as to which style you prefer. Keep in mind with a solid image you’ll want to use a light coloured ink if you want to see your “completed” checks.



If you want to get fancy, you can use the solid image to mark off your completed tasks. Lots of opportunity for decoration with this option!



7. Stampless? Try this:






Hope this was helpful! Next up we'll talk about using icon stamps. Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear your suggestions!