Today's blog post is all about planning, staying organized and prepping for a successful year in 2020 with my favorite planner of all time, the Erin Condren Life Planner!!
"A dream without a plan is just a wish."In my opinion, planners are such an important tool to have because they help you achieve goals, dreams, deadlines, and daily tasks. They also aid in boosting productivity, focus, and time management. Who doesn't love that?!
I started using my Erin Condren Life Planner at the start of 2019 and I don't know how I was managing everything prior to having it. Since getting my Life Planner I've used it every single day, it's seriously the best thing ever!
About two weeks ago I was sent the 2020 Kaleidoscope Life Planner and I immediately started to brainstorm and plan my intentions/goals for the new year. It was at this time that I thought of the idea to share with you all how I plan and stay organized. In order for me to do so, I must go through this planner in detail and share how I use it to help me stay organized and on top of everything.
One thing I love about this planner is that inside there are so many inspiring quotes to help you stay motivated, inspired and overall make you feel like you can take on the world!
Here is the 2019/2020 calendar overview. I've circled birthdays of family/friends and hearted my husband and I's anniversaries!
On this page, you can write whatever it is you'd like. It has 12 boxes, one for each month of the year. As of now, I'm planning on using this page to keep track of my monthly finances.
Another great feature this planner has is monthly tabs, it makes it super easy to jump from month to month, or the notes and contacts section in the very back.
At the start of every month, there is a lined page for you to write notes and an awesome quote to set the tone and mindset for the month. I like to use the lined page to write down and keep track of every collaboration/partnership I have going on for said time period. Being able to visually see the number of brands I'm working with helps me see how much work I can take on for said month.
On the following page, there is a blank page on the left for you to write whatever you'd like, and on the right, you can write your monthly goals, birthdays and whatever else you'd like.
As you can see I've written down my intentions for the month of January on the left page and I've written down my monthly goals, a monthly mantra and a habit tracker.
On the next page, you get a calendar view of the month with a small notes section. Here I like to write down work deadlines, important events, financial due dates, and so on.
This here is the weekly view. As you can see each day is split into 4 sections (3 blank sections, 1 lined section). And on the lefthand side, there is a small notes section and a calendar overview of the month.
The way I like to utilize this page is by writing down the content I need for the week on the lefthand side notes section, writing down my daily tasks/to-do's by time of day, and by noting the mail I get each day in the bottom notes section. I find that the vertical layout is what best works for me. I know what I need to do and when I need to do it. Every day, every week. It's awesome and super helpful!!
Jumping to the Notes tab of the planner. Here you have 4 lined pages to write down whatever notes you'd like.
There are also 4 bullet pages to write/draw whatever you'd like.
And 2 coloring pages for you to get creative and destress the mind.
The final tab in this planner is the self-explanatory Contacts tab. Here you can write down any important contacts you'd like to have on paper.
Following the contacts tab, there is a 2021 calendar overview with a notes section below and under each month for you to write down important upcoming dates, notes and so on.
The last 3 pages of this Life Planner are stickers pages. I personally love that this planner comes with stickers, they're so cute and they add pizzazz to the pages! 💖
Now that I've gone over how I use this planner to stay organized, I do have to mention that in order for this planner to help you achieve your goals, dreams, deadlines, daily tasks and so on, you have to remember to use it daily! The way I do this is by placing my planner somewhere where I can see it every morning. I usually always have mine sitting on top of my office desk next to my laptop.
Another thing I like to do is to assign one day out of the week (I do this on Sundays) to organize my work commitments/deadlines, brainstorm work/creative ideas and put together any to-do's/tasks for the upcoming week. Knowing what I have to get done (and when) helps with me with productivity. While writing it all down and visually seeing it helps keep me focused.
I 10/10 recommend this Erin Condren Life Planner. It has seriously made my life so much easier. I love being able to keep track of everything I've done and everything I have planned to do in the future. It genuinely gets me excited. Plus there's nothing more satisfying than crossing off the things you've achieved and accomplished each day!
I'd love to know, do you use a planner? Let me know in the comments section.
Thank you, my lovely readers, for taking the time to read this blog post. And thank you to Erin Condren for sending me the Life Planner to review. Here's hoping I get the chance to review their 2021 Life Planner. 😉
Until next time friends, take care!
xo, Your Girl Jess