Setting Up Your Planner to Succeed

I don’t know about you, but I need a planner to function in everyday life. There are so many tasks in life that need to get done and important dates to remember, that if you’re not writing it down or putting it on your digital calendar, then I don’t know how you remember things haha. Hey, some people are good at remembering things, but as a busy mom, I’m constantly on the go with kids, work, blogging, and running household errands, I just can’t live without a planner. I need a planner in order to function with my everyday life and to remember things. I use to go digital only but I find writing things down now that I have more on my plate is much easier.One thing I have learned about using a planner is that it has to work for you and your everyday life. If not you will not remember to jot things down, or use it period. Here are some important steps in making your planner work for you:

Step One | Pick a planner that you love. No seriously, something that makes happy when you look at it. That’s the only way you will use it. My current planner that I use and love is the Erin Condren Planner inside of my leather Kikki-K.Step Two | Transferring or Writing down any important dates for the year that you can remember from the top of your head, or that you have in your old calendar that you can transfer over.

Step Three | Fill it with your daily schedule. So if you work from 9-5 make sure you add that in, if your child has soccer practice or Ballet at 6:30 on Fridays make sure to add that in every week. It’s good to write these daily/weekly tasks down so you can see it before you schedule any random appointments. Creating it a month before is ideal so you’re prepared.Step Four | Add your bills or monthly tasks in your monthly calendar, that way you can look back on it each week and add it to your weekly to-dos, doing this will help you remember what to pay and when to do things.Step Five | Create monthly goals and stick to them. It can be finish a book in a month, or create 5 crock pot meals, or even doing a separate category for each week like home, kids, hubby, and blog goals for each month. It’s all about baby steps. Make sure every month you jot down little goals for the month in your monthly calendar, then you input them into your weekly to-dos. Keep it simple and short each month like 5 goals and each week you complete one. By the end of the year you will have fulfilled 60 goals!Step Six | Have a section for your daily tasks or to-dos. I like to put my to do’s on the top of my planner so I can see it first thing in the morning. Every planner has a different section for this, it depends on the layout planner you choose. But find a designated space for your tasks and stick to it so you know where to look daily and cross things off your list easily. The worst thing is to have your to dos all over the place in your planner.

Step Seven | Create a section for notes to jot down random topics or thoughts in your head at the current moment. I like to have a tab divider (if you have a binder planner system) for my blog, home, and I even have a notepad in the back of my planner so I can jot quick notes. Once I am done with that note I place it inside the tabbed category in my planner. Some planners are spiral bound and don’t include a note section big enough, so stickable notepads (think large like 5×7 or 6×9) can work best in the back of your planner. Just stick it on with scotch mounting tape or if you have a Kikki K or other binder planner they usually have a spot for note pads in the back that you can slip in.

Step Eight | Make sure you plan out your week on a certain day. I like to plan my week out on Sunday morning or at night when I am in bed. Make it a habit to sit down and plan out your week so you can be ready, if you can’t think of everything at the moment that is okay you will fill it in as the days come but have some to dos listed and check your monthly calendar for important appointments or events to jot down in your weekly schedule.

Step Nine | Find a location for your planner! Make sure it’s on your desk daily or in your purse with you on the go, somewhere you will see it often and look back on it from time to time. If it’s tucked away in a pile of books/papers or randomly placed in your home you won’t remember to use it. I use to do this all the time and wouldn’t use it to it’s full potential.

Step Ten| Decorate your planner with fun stickers, washi tape, stamps you name it! It makes it visually appealing to look at instead of a plain white paper. I love to use stickers from sellers on etsy or basic Scrapbook supplies. Or you can create your own and print them on sticker paper. Make it pretty, make it fun and you will love your planner!

Last but not least, just be consistent, it is key to everything in creating a habit. If you are consistent in using your planner daily, you will succeed in getting things done. How do you like to use your planner? Do you use separate planners or just one?