And so, what do we want? We want to get it together too! Maybe this will help us remember all of those things that you kick yourself for forgetting the first 15 minutes you lay down to go to bed! Yes, we want to be planner women! We want to look down at our color coded, highlighted, planner stickered, sticky noted, paper clipped planner with the pride of being able to decode that badboy in just a glance. Should anyone find my planner they would be like "DAMNNNN she is so organized and has her life together!"
SNAP!!!!
I just wanted to snap you back into reality. The reality is that a planner is not just an accessory. Carrying it around does NOT put your life together for you. First, and foremost, you have to recognize a planner as a tool. The reason those characters have it together is because they all are committed to the tool in their hands. Take a closer look at this planner from the movie New York Minute. She appoints time to do her breathing exercises, time to go shopping and the shopping list, time for chores at home and the list of chores. She has committed to using it for thoughts, reminders, plans, appointments, goals, etc.
So maybe you, like me, bought a planner with the best intentions. You intended to organize your life and get it together but you were distracted by stickers or Instagram searches on planners. Your Etsy cart is full of stickers. You started one planner but moved on to another because it just was not working for you. You are experiencing planner remorse. You have put all this money into buying planners that are supposed to help you get your life together, but they have only caused you to regret spending so much money!
STOP! Stop beating yourself up right now!
Take a couple deep breaths and let's just take a step back to gain perspective.
What do you want? You want to use your planner to schedule routine tasks, appointments, plans, projects and goals. All of which will help you to balance and organize your life more successfully.
Now, here is where I am going to help you.
1. Take out a sheet of paper.
2. Write down all of the things you need to schedule time to do:
My list includes:
Meal Planning
Journaling
Coloring
Bible Study
Calligraphy Classes via Skillshare
Blog - writing
Budget/Finances
Write Letters/Cards
Goal Setting & Tracking
3. Write these items down on page flags. Include the time you would like to spend on each item.
4. Now start sticking the flags in your planner. Each person's week varies according to family, work and other obligations. So stick all of these where they seem to fit for right now.
In the beginning your planner should have moveable parts. Plans change, systems need tweeking and you are still a planner newbie. So post it flags, post it minis, erasable pens and pencil are your planners BFF's! Move things around. Establish your rhythm.
5. Next, write down a list of things you wish to routinely accomplish. Remember this is a working list. You can always come back and add more.
My list includes:
- Beauty -
Manicures
Pedicures
Face Masks
Hair Masks
Exfoliation
Waxing
Teeth Whitening
- Dog-
Walk Dog
Grooming
Clean Eyes & Ears
Wash Dog Dishes
- Chores -
Laundry
Clean Bathrooms
Tidy up Dressing Room
Tidy up Office
Vacuum
- Fashion -
Style Outfits
- for work
-for events
- Fitness -
Pack Gym Bag
Update Playlists
Zumba Classes
Swimming Schedule
Home Workout Schedule
Runs/Walks
6. Now, your mind should start to feel that little bit of zen that you originally felt a planner would bring to you. You are taking the thoughts cluttering up your mind and you are organizing them. These organized thoughts lead you to a system.
Here is your mantra, repeat after me.
K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Sweetie!
Color coding, sticker coding, stamp coding, etc is where we start getting lost in the sauce! Let's keep it simple by just writing things down in pencil this week. Ease into the process. Crawl before you walk. Train your mind to uncode your planner at a glance by adding a new color each week. So this week we are going to start with Green. Just grab a green pen. The easiest thing to add to your planner is PAY DAY! If you do not know your pay day. You need more than a planner Honey! Ok so money is green, green is your pay days and bills. So go for it! Add them to your week! Next week incorporate another color with the green. Try Blue for Beauty! And so on and so on!
Reinvigorate your excitement in planning. Planning is an investment into yourself. Into organizing your life and finding balance. I believe that once you start to see your planner as your personal assistant. A tool/resource to keep you on track, you will start to grow. You will manage your time more efficiently and gain a greater sense of accomplishment day to day. I hope that this post helped. Even if you make it to three months from now and feel like throwing in the towel, come back and read this. Start over. Just like riding a bike, we fall off...but it is more important that we get back up and try again!
Take care,
C
(If you are wondering where all my work related planning is, it is in a work planner. I keep one for work and one for home. My home planner lets me be more creative . Sometimes I add journaling and pictures to it. My work planner is more streamlined for a professional atmosphere. I have a tendancy to get distracted by fun...lol...and that fun may come in the form of stickers or pens, etc. So I have to keep my work planner simple so I don't distract myself with doing everything else but the task on my task list...ya feel me?)