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I have been blogging for
almost four years now and the number one question that I get asked (besides,
“How do you take your OOTD pictures?”) is, “Can you please do a post on how you
use your planner and stay organized?”
For years, I have wanted to
do this post, but I didn’t want to do it until I was 100% satisfied with my
method. The truth is, I have always kept
my daily appointments and to dos pretty organized, but the rest of the
long-term lists/ideas have been pretty scattered simply because I could never
figure out the best way to keep them organized.
There are hundreds of things that we have to remember from day-to-day
and month-to-month, and it was those less common tasks that I was having
trouble keeping up with – like changing the air filter in the house or washing my
car. Who actually remembers to do those
things?!
In fall 2018 I was feeling
particularly scattered and I felt like I was wasting MORE TIME trying to stay
organized and keep up with my planner than actually getting stuff done. I knew then that I had to find a way to
organize everything once and for all so I wouldn’t go crazy. So I sat down and took a lot of time to
evaluate what was working and what was not working with the method I was using
to stay organized. I identified pain
points, thought a lot about how to alleviate said pain points, and then I
decided that the best way to get rid of them once and for all was to write a
series of lists to keep track of every single task that I do. Like, ALL of them. The lists are organized by frequency (Daily,
Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Tri-Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, etc.) which makes it super easy
to plan from day-to-day. I also made the switch to an Emily Ley Daily Planner and I use these
lists in conjunction with my planner. Let me tell you, it has been a
complete GAME CHANGER. I have never felt
so organized in my entire life.
Before I get started, I’m
going to go ahead and tell you, you may think I’m completely crazy after
reading this post because my level of organization is BEYOND. I am incredibly OCD about list-making and
staying organized and being productive, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Second of all, this system is what works best
for ME. This system may not be for
everyone. If you’re detailed and OCD
like me, then you might appreciate it.
If you’re not, then you’re one of the ones who will probably think I’m
crazy. And that’s okay. Haha. One
more thing to note before we move on… this post is going to be long. But what else is new? Most of mine are. Haha.
Before I get into the
detailed portion of the post, I thought that I would give you a quick outline of
everything that will be covered. I think
that will probably be less intimidating than just diving straight into all of
the details.
Outline
I am able to be 100%
organized using just two items – my daily planner and a clipboard folio. My planner is for my day-to-day activities
and my clipboard folio houses all of the other lists that I created to keep me
on track. Simple. Here is the outline, and remember, I’ll get
into the details on each of these things shortly.
Planner
-
Front Pocket – holds
mini notebook to supplement my planner
-
Monthly Calendars
– appointments/activities overview for the month
-
Daily Pages – appointments/activities
+ to dos + other notes
Clipboard Folio
-
Front Clip –
perpetual lists (Daily Checklist, Daily Blog Checklist, Weekly Checklist)
-
Front Pocket –
all other lists that keep me on track and help me plan my entire year
(Bi-Weekly Checklist, Tri-Weekly Checklist, Monthly Checklist, Monthly Goals
Posts, Seasonal Bucket Lists, New Year’s Goals, Lifetime Goals by Year, Things
to Clean Out, Master To Do List)
-
Notepad – place
to jot down tasks that don’t fit on any of my other lists
-
Middle of the
Folio – items that need action (bills, etc.)
Sounds pretty simple,
right? Okay, well, now let’s get down to
the nitty gritty details. I’m going to
split the rest of the post into four sections:
1. Supplies – supplies I use to maintain this method
2. Planner Setup – I’m going to show you exactly what is
in my planner and where everything is located.
3. Clipboard Folio Setup – I’m going to show you exactly
what is in my clipboard folio and where everything is located.
4. Keeping Up With and Managing All of the Lists – I’m
going to show you exactly how I how I plan, when I plan, and how long it takes
me to plan.
Settle in, friends! Heeeere we go!
Supplies
Listed below is every single
thing that I use to maintain this planning system that I’m going to talk about
today. Some of the items are necessary
(like the daily planner and the clipboard folio), but some of the items are
just to make my life more convenient and fun (page markers, specialty paper
clips, stickers, etc.). Here they are:
Necessary Supplies
Clipboard Folio with inside
pocket and notepad (mine is Emily Ley for Target but it appears to be sold out and only available on eBay. I did find these on Amazon, though, and they have the exact same set-up)
Computer and printer (to
type and print lists for front pocket of clipboard folio)
Accessories for Added Convenience/Fun
I use my planner for all of
our day-to-day activities and tasks that have to get done – appointments,
meetings, reminders, to do lists, etc. I
cannot stress how much I love the Emily Ley Daily Edition Planner because there
is soooo much room to write every single thing down that I need to do. This was the thing that every single other
planner was lacking. In addition to
having so much space, the paper is super thick so pens won’t bleed, and the
planner folds in half easily so you can write on either side without the coil
getting in the way. Here’s how I use my
planner:
Front Pocket
– Every planner has a front pocket, and that is where I keep my Mini Notebook. I use the Mini Notebook to
supplement my planner because the planner does not have extra pages in the
back. Using my Martha Stewart tabs, I
divided my Mini Notebook into three categories:
-
Financial – This
is where I keep track of my spending on frivolous items AKA stuff we don’t need
(clothes, house décor, etc.). Since I
quit my corporate job we’re on a tighter budget so I like to keep close tabs to
make sure I’m staying within a certain amount each month.
-
Reference – I
used to use this section to keep track of notes for various projects, birthday
planning, etc. but I’m not currently using it.
I decided to include it anyway in case I do decide to use it eventually.
-
Blog – This is
where I keep track of all things blog related.
The first 12 pages of this section contain little mini monthly calendars
that I use to plan my blog content. To
get the blank calendars, I found some online, resized them in Word to fit my
Mini Notebook, printed them, and cut them out.
I then taped them into my Mini
Notebook using some cute washi tape… how cute do these pages look?! I use a pencil to fill in my blog content
ideas because I change things up so frequently.
I also use this section of my Mini Notebook for other blogging notes, such
as link-ups that I like to join, etc.
Front Page Sticker Sheet – There is a sheet of adorable stickers at the front
of every planner, and I also keep a couple of additional stickers sheets that I
like to use clipped to that sheet.
Monthly Calendar Spreads – There is a full two-page calendar spread at the
start of every month. I use these
calendars to list all birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, meetings, practices,
games, concerts, events, and other important reminders. I color code the tasks by family member so
it’s easy to see which tasks belong to which person. I love having these monthly spreads because I
like being able to see an entire overview of each month at any given time! This helps with planning and also ensures that
we don’t ever double-book ourselves or overextend ourselves. The colors I use are as follows:
-
Pink – Lindsay
-
Black – Brian
-
Light Blue –
Jacob
-
Green – Olivia
-
Blue –
everything else (birthdays, anniversaries, and other reminders that aren’t
associated with a family member)
Daily Pages
– Each daily page is divided into three sections:
-
My Day – the
left column is comprised of an hourly schedule (from 6 AM to 9 PM) and that is
where I list all appointments, meetings, errands, and places that we need to be
at a certain time (tasks that are also on the Monthly Calendar Spreads). This helps me plan my day efficiently and
ensures that we never accidentally schedule ourselves to be in two places at
once.
-
To Do – the
right column is comprised of 16 blank spaces and that is where I list all tasks
that I would like to do for the day.
-
Notes – the
bottom section is one big blank space that can be utilized for anything. I use this space to write what I’m cooking
for dinner as well as any exercise that I did that day, and I also sometimes
keep notes on how I’m feeling that day (back pain levels, reflux issues,
asthma/allergies issues). I keep track
of those things because it makes it easier to find patterns that can
potentially help me understand why I’m having the issues.
Clipboard Folio
Setup
Now this is where it’s about to get a little crazy… don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;o) The clipboard folio is for
everything else that doesn’t go in my planner.
Remember all of those lists that I told you I made at the end of last
year to make my life easier? Well, this
is where all of those are stored.
Front Clip
– My clipboard folio has a clip on the outside front cover, and this clip holds
my three perpetual lists. Perpetual
lists are lists of the things that I do over and over and over again. I have three of these perpetual lists – a Daily
Checklist, a Daily Blog Checklist, and a Weekly Checklist. These tasks never change. Therefore, they are all typed up and stored
in plastic sheet protectors. The sheet
protectors are used for two reasons.
First of all, because they protect the lists so they won’t get
damaged. I also use the sheet protectors
because they can turn any sheet of paper into a little dry erase board. That means that I can cross items off of my
lists using a dry erase marker, and then the next day, I can erase everything,
and start all over again. I do not write
these perpetual tasks in my daily planner because there are way too many of
them and it would be silly to write the same things over and over again every
single day. These perpetual lists are
clipped to the front of my clipboard folio because that keeps them front and
center every day since I refer to them so frequently throughout the day. Now I’m going to explain a little more about
each of the three lists:
-
Daily Checklist
– This is a list of things that I do every single day and it is organized in chronological
order. For example, make bed, pack
lunches and snacks for kids, sign Olivia’s homework folder, take vitamins,
etc. Most people probably don’t need a
list telling them to make their bed or sign their kids’ homework folders, but I
am super forgetful and this list just serves as a reminder for me to get these
things done. Plus, I’m more inclined to make
my bed each day if I get the reward of crossing it off of a list. ;o)
-
Daily Blog
Checklist – This is a list of things that I do every single day for the
blog. For example, write posts, link-up
with other bloggers, share on social media, etc. Again, most of these things are done each day
on auto pilot, but I like to have a list to look over to ensure I don’t miss
anything important.
-
Weekly Checklist
– This is a list of things that I have to do on specific days of the week every
single week. For example, water plants
on Wednesdays and Sundays, send the kids to school in church uniforms on
Thursdays, etc. This list is organized
by day of the week, so each day I just have to glance at the section for that
particular day.
And that concludes
everything you need to know about the three perpetual lists I keep in my front
clip of my clipboard folio.
Inside Pocket – The clipboard folio has an inside pocket on the left side, and this
pocket holds all of my other lists that help keep my life organized (Bi-Weekly
Checklist, Tri-Weekly Checklist, Monthly Checklist, Monthly Goals Posts,
Seasonal Bucket Lists, New Year’s Goals, Lifetime Goals by Year, Things to
Clean Out, and Master To Do List). These
lists are all typed in Excel or Word and printed to keep in the pocket.
-
Bi-Weekly
Checklist – This is a list of things that I do every other week. For example, laundry, ironing, meal planning,
grocery shopping, etc.
-
Tri-Weekly
Checklist – This is a list of things that I do every three weeks. For example, allergy shots.
-
Monthly
Checklists – Monthly checklists are a little different as they change from
month to month depending on events/birthdays/holidays for that month. Therefore, I have 12 Monthly Checklists, one
for each month of the year. Each Monthly
Checklist is divided into categories like Blog, Computer, Home, Birthdays and
Anniversaries, Holidays and Events, Personal, Planner, etc. Some of the tasks are things that I do once a
month every month, some are tasks that I do every 3 months, some are tasks that
I do every 6 months, and others are tasks that are specific only to that month. For example, I do a big house cleaning once a
month, every month, so that task is listed on every Monthly Checklist for January
- December. I change the air filter in
our home every three months so that task is listed under January, April, July,
and October. I try to deep clean our
house every six months so that task is listed under January and July. Some things are only done once per year, so
those items are listed in the appropriate month. For example, decorating for Christmas is
listed in November. Makes sense,
right? I also use these Monthly Lists to
keep track of things I have to do for people’s birthdays (buy gifts, buy cakes,
plan parties, etc.), things I have to do for holidays (buy gifts, plan meals,
make bucket lists, etc.), and many, many other crazy things that I would never
remember to do otherwise like wash cars, give Maui baths, back up all of our
family photos from my phone, back up my blog, update pictures in frames around
our house, etc. etc. My Monthly
Checklists are pretty long, but manageable.
-
Monthly Goals
Posts – I recently started writing Monthly Goals Posts for the blog, and in
order to remember to actually do the things on the list, I print them and keep
them with this stack of lists. All of
the things on the Monthly Goals Posts are pulled from my other lists, but I
like to keep this list separate since I know I’ll be summarizing how I did on
the blog.
-
Seasonal Bucket
Lists – I also write Seasonal Bucket Lists for our family and for the
blog. I typically do a Fall Bucket List,
a Christmas Bucket List, and a Summer Bucket List. These are printed and kept in my stack of lists
so we have them right there and ready to refer to when I do my planning.
-
New Year’s Goals
– I also write a list of overall goals I want to achieve for each year, and
this is printed and kept in my stack of lists so I have easy access to it every
time I sit down to plan.
-
Lifetime Goals
by Year – This is an overall list of things that I want to do/achieve in the
years to come, along with ideas for the future.
I don’t refer to this very often, usually just once a year when I’m
writing my New Year’s Goals Posts, but I like to keep it with my other lists in
case I want to refer to it.
-
Things to Clean
Out – Last year when I decided to clean out and declutter our entire house, I
made a checklist, room by room, of every single thing I wanted to clean
out. For example, Jacob’s Room has
several different tasks listed under it like clean out closet, clean out
dresser, clean off bookshelf, etc. Since
I’ll probably do a round of cleaning out/decluttering every year, I decided to print
this list and keep a copy of it with all of my other lists. I cross things off as I go, and then when it’s
complete, I’ll trash it and print a new one the next time I declutter/clean
out.
-
Master To Do
List – Finally, this list contains every single one-time project/home
improvement task that I want to eventually do.
These tasks have their own list because they can be done at any pace and
therefore don’t belong on any of the lists that have a timeframe. This list is loooong y’all. At the beginning of this year it was 472
lines long. I created the original copy
in an Excel Spreadsheet and it is divided into categories like Living Room,
Kitchen, Master Bedroom, Blog, Personal, Media, Kids, etc. I am constantly adding and removing things
from this list since it’s so long, so that’s why I keep it in an Excel
spreadsheet on my computer. However, I
do always print a copy and keep it in my clipboard folio so I can cross things
off as I go. Then the next time I edit
it on the computer I’ll remove all of the things that I crossed off. Some examples of tasks on this list are buy new
curtains for front sitting room, paint kitchen cabinets white, plant herbs, fix
kitchen sink handle, buy artwork for master bathroom, buy a desk for Olivia’s
bedroom, have a quilt made from the kids’ old baby clothes, get a pool for the
back yard (wishful thinking), landscape the back yard more, reorganize all
computer files, finish kids’ baby books, switch blog over to Wordpress,
redesign blog, etc. etc. See? This list is just a bunch of random stuff
(472 tasks to be exact) of every single thing that I want to get done
eventually. Since I have them organized
by category that makes the list much more manageable.
And that concludes
everything you need to know about the lists that I keep inside the clipboard
folio pocket. Do you think I’m crazy
yet?
Notepad –
There is a notepad on the right side of the clipboard folio, and I use this for
jotting down any tasks that need to be done fairly soon, but I’m not quite sure
where to put them in my planner yet. For
example, hair cuts for the kids, get spare house keys made, and other odds and
ends like that. Once I figure out when
to do those tasks, I transfer them to my planner and I cross them off of the
notepad. Simple. And this notepad is necessary because
sometimes there are just weird tasks that need to be done that don’t fit
anywhere else.
Middle of the Folio – Finally, I tuck any important papers that need action right there in
the middle of the clipboard folio so I can see them every day and know that
they need to be done. This eliminates
the need for a physical inbox on my desk.
I used to use one, but found that I was never checking it and instead I was
sticking everything in my planner, so I found this method just works
better. Some examples of things I tuck
here are bills that need to be paid, permission slips that need to be signed
and returned for the kids, etc.
Keeping Up
With and Managing All of the Lists
Now that I’ve shared all of
the details about what is actually stored in my planner and clipboard folio,
you are probably wondering how in the world I keep up with and manage all of
the lists. Well, I’m going to show
you. The initial set-up and creation of
all of these lists took hours and hours because there was so much reflection
involved (What do I do on a daily basis?
What all do I need to do each month of the year? How many times per year do I need to do
certain tasks? What other tasks and
projects do I want to do? etc.), but now
that the initial set up is out of the way, it is a breeze managing all of them. All it takes is a 30 minute monthly
commitment, a 30 minute weekly commitment, and a five minute daily
commitment. That’s it.
Monthly – I usually take one day at the end of
each month to plan ahead for the next month.
I do the following tasks and it usually takes about 30 minutes.
-
Transfer all
tasks from monthly calendar in planner to appropriate daily pages in planner
-
Refer to the
following lists and compile all tasks that I want to get done for the next
month – Seasonal Bucket Lists, New Year’s Goals, Things to Clean Out, and
Master To Do. Take those tasks and type
them into a Monthly Goals Post (this is the one I will post on the blog each
month) and print to keep in my clipboard folio with my other lists.
Weekly – I typically do my planning for the
week ahead every Sunday morning and it usually only takes about 30 minutes.
-
Plan errands,
gym, etc. for the week ahead and write on the appropriate daily pages in
planner.
-
Transfer tasks
from Bi-Weekly and Tri-Weekly Checklists to appropriate daily pages in planner.
-
Transfer tasks
from Monthly Checklist and Monthly Goals Posts (from blog post) to appropriate
daily pages in planner.
-
Transfer tasks
from Clipboard Folio notebook to appropriate daily pages in planner if applicable.
Daily – I typically
do my planning for the next day every evening after the kids go to bed while B
and I watch TV. It only takes about 5-10
minutes max.
-
Cross off tasks
that I got done (so satisfying).
-
Transfer tasks
that didn’t get done to the next day.
-
Add notes to the
bottom (dinner, exercise, etc.).
Simple, simple simple.
I know that you might not be
thinking that’s the case, but I promise it’s not that complicated. I literally have every single tool that I
need to keep me 100% organized in just one daily planner and one clipboard
folio. And It only takes 30 minutes one
time per month, 30 minutes one time per week, and 5 minutes one time per day to
maintain all of it.
Ever since I implemented
this system, I feel like it is completely freed my mind from clutter. I used to have to dos and ideas jotted down
all over the place with no way to organize them or even find them when I needed
to refer to them. This method has
allowed me to organize my entire life and give me complete peace of mind and I
can’t think of a bigger blessing than that.
And I cannot speak highly
enough of Emily Ley and all of her Simplifed products. Everything is top-notch, high quality, and gorgeous, and her Daily Planner has
quite literally changed my life. She
doesn’t have many of the Daily Simplified Planners left for 2019 so I would
highly advise you to go ahead and buy one soon if you’ve been considering
getting one. Right now they are 20% off so
you can get a great deal if you’re ready to take the plunge! If you miss out now, I believe you’ll have to
wait until fall to get a Daily Planner that you’ll be able to use in 2020. She usually does a spring launch, too, but
those will be for planners that run by the academic year rather than the
calendar year.
NOW TO GO CHECK ALL THE
THINGS OFF OF ALL THE LISTS!!!! Here’s
to getting stuff DONE in 2019, y’all!
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