this post is sponsored by In The Leafy Treetops. i was gifted a planner for 2018 by them, but all opinions expressed are my own. i don't believe in recommending products i wouldn't purchase myself. ain't nobody got time for that.
in 2018, i want to be better at being prepared & organized when it comes to basically everything. i'm tired of being late, having things fall through the cracks & not knowing where all of the notes that i've made have gone. i've been trying to create a system for scheduling for too long & i can't even begin to tell you how many planners i've bought, started, & forgotten about AND how many times i've put things into my phone only to have the alarm not turned on & missed them or been late. (i really do not like being late-- a person's time is something that you can never really make up for, so i'm all about being on time.)
i think i've finally created a system that i love that involves my phone AND a planner (i love writing things down because it helps me remember better-- typing & putting information into my phone doesn't solidify the details for me & i'm always stressing about when or where i'm supposed to be. hence the paper planner). i have really loved the way i've been able to work with this new system & i am so excited to share this with you!
i actually started working on this system before i had even heard about the mormon mom planner by in the leafy treetops & then when i was given an opportunity to work with them, i knew it would be the perfect fit! i want to start by sharing what i use my PHONE CALENDAR for & then how i've synced my phone calendar stuff with my daily to-do calendar & planner.
one day, it dawned on me that i could use my phone calendar as a template & alarm clock to schedule out my days & stay on task. (i'm like the energizer bunny & also have the attention span of a goldfish if my days aren't scheduled right) i went through a typical day in my head & wrote down everything i would need to accomplish in order to a) get everything done & b) feel accomplished. at this point i was having a really hard time doing either of those things let alone both of them. my list looked a little something like this:
- read scriptures & pray
- make my bed
- shower & get ready
- eat breakfast, lunch & dinner
- stay on top of editing
- write & publish blog posts
- go to work
- tidy up the house
- do laundry
- play with mack & make sure he's taken care of
and a few other things that happen at work every day
as i looked at those things, most of them would take anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour to complete. so then i went through the day & actually put those things & the time frame it typically takes into my calendar with alerts telling me when it is time to switch to a new task. i always have my phone with me, so i never have to worry about missing an alert. (& on those days where my schedule is a little wonky, i decided to not worry so much about missing those alerts, i'll just do that task the next time that particular alert goes off)
so where does a planner come into play? why do i need both?
like i said earlier, i love writing things down. i find i remember better & learn more when i write things down. so it's important for me to write things down & have a place where i can see everything i'm hoping to do for the week, day, month, quarter & year all in one place. & i seriously am so obsessed with my mormon mom planner from in the leafy treetops. (like so obsessed that i took it to family dinner & showed everyone & told them they all needed one. hahahah) i love that it has multiple places for me to write down the different things that are going on. in my other planners, my month page would get SO filled up because i was putting everything that was important on that page: birthdays, weddings, blog posts, photo shoots, date nights, church activities, vacations, etc. EVERYTHING was on that page & stuff fell through the cracks. but with the mormon mom planner, i can put birthdays, vacations & photo shoots (weddings) on the month page & then have a SEPARATE page for my content creation calendar. AND there is still a space for me to write down important things happening in the week on the weekly calendar pages. there are also pages to write down plans for holiday activities (like easter, thanksgiving & christmas) AND christmas gift planning. there are places to write down goals for the year, church notes, family home evening planning, doctor visits + important medical information (like medications & such), visiting teaching information, debt & money trackers... THERE IS SO MUCH & i am obsessed. like no joke, i am so excited about it.
i know that being organized & having a schedule are so important. i think back to the days when my days were predictable & organized-- i got so much done in one day. there is so much time in each day (24 hours is a LOT of time when you really think about where you're putting all of your energy... *cough* instagram *cough*) i want to be better at managing my time this year & i can't wait to share the progress & the difference i see in my life after applying these practices a little bit more. 2018, i'm comin for ya.
ALSO: check out my instagram on MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2017 because i'll be giving away a mormon mom planner!!! i hope you win because then we can be twinner planner friends & i also think everyone could benefit from this planner. no joke. so see ya monday!!!
