Monday, April 13, 2009

The Perfect Planner

Remember my New Year's resolution to keep myself organized?

Umm... apparently I didn't, as I'm still as much of a disorganized mess as I was a few months ago. But New Year's resolutions are made to be broken and so naturally, I broke mine.

Still, the disorganization is driving me nuts, so I'm trying again.

I loved that planning binder I put together {blogged about here} but it wasn't really working out for me. The binder was too bulky and my planning pages were a little too involved and I struggled to keep up with it. Not to mention that I wasn't sticking with my Weight Watchers diet so the daily food journal section was left empty every day.

I had the suggestion from Jackie, from JLYarnworks to take my pages to an office supply store and have them spiral bound, so about a week ago, I printed up some new pages - ones that are a lot more realistic as far as achieving my daily goals - and had them bound at Office Max. I made a cover page and back page with scrapbook paper and some pictures that I printed from my computer, and had them laminated so that my little planner would have a nice cover and be more durable.

I only made enough for two months, because I might need to adjust my pages again, in order to match with my life, but the next one I make will be bigger and have more pages. The cost to have it done was only $5, including the laminated pages and the spiral binding. It also only took about an hour to put the pages together and print them up.

Here is a sample of my pages:

I made sure to add time for the kids. Running a business from home is wonderful, but I always need to make sure that I'm giving my girls the attention they deserve each day.

Most of the days are the same, but I changed the date at the top of the page, and moved a few things around so I'm not doing the same old thing every single day. I just made up one page in a Word document, and then copied and pasted it 6 times, added a different day of the week to the top and then moved things around to suit my daily needs. Then, as I printed each week, I just changed the dates.

And look! I added a section for me to include my book writing progress. Remember in November, when I spent the month participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)? Well, after completing 50,000 words in one month, I sort of let my book fall by the wayside. I'm determined to get it finished and now I have a daily reminder.

And the best part is that I'm actually filling the pages and getting my daily goals reached. Hurray. I love the more organized version of me. She is less stressed and doesn't yell as much.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

12 comments:

Oh Mandie said...

ooooh, I wanna be organized too! Let me know how this works for you because I may have to do this myself.

I'm pretty crappy at sticking to schedauls, but I bet if I had a fun notebook and an incentive to write in it things would go alot better!

esque said...

How awesome! The planner looks great! For school, I use a planner and it works just fine, but I'd like to keep track of what I eat too and other non-school stuff, so thanks for the inspiration!

Alyssa S. said...

Your planner is way prettier than mine! Now you've inspired me to add something new to my "new crafts I'd like to tackle" list.

Little known fact about me...I'm an organization FREAK. Maybe it's from being a former project manager, but I am organized to the point that it is almost frightening...and very neurotic. Maybe I should blog some tips...but if you ever want pointers...you know where to find me :)

Marie said...

what a great idea! i love anything that helps keeps us busy moms organized! i'm so not technologically inclilned, so i don't think i could do that (make the nice cover, etc), but yours sure is pretty...that always helps right?

Anonymous said...

That planner is too cute! So glad it's working for you!!
:)

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

What an awesome idea. And it's cute, too! =D

Leah said...

I love your notebook! My organizing strategy changes often too, so I completely understand doing just two months at a time.

Marcyanna said...

Awesome planner! It takes a lot to get and stay organized but it is so worth it! Keep up the good work! You go girl! :)

Momma J said...

I'm impressed with just the attempt at being organized!

Tia Colleen said...

My dayplanner is my savior. I ordered one off of etsy sometime last year, and its FULL of scribbled down chores, tasks, and goals. At the end of the day if everything is crossed off, I feel fantastic.

Carry Grace said...

I love your planner. You are definitely prepared to be organized. I may have to do something like this for my self. I love notebooks.

dragonflydreamer said...

I love your planner and the fact that unlike me, you have considered the fact that you may want to tweak it as you go to get is just right for you. When my boys were young I was the organizer's organizer and I drove everyone crazy. These days we'd all like to see me a bit more organized. Thanks for sharing your planner. I have tons of comp. notebooks that are filled with stuff I can't find when I need it so I may just try to make one for a back sliding planner.

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