Staying on Schedule

As I've gotten older, I realized I like to plan things. Like, everything. Especially now that our daily lives have children and family tasks involved. Using a planner has become one of my favorite things to do. And we actually use two in the house to keep mostly everything running smoothly.

One calendar is for our family, it is the cliche dry-erase calendar in the kitchen with all the important things going on, that we all need to know. I did have a regular paper one before, but getting a dry erase one felt like it could simplify my life a little when it came to planning our month out. This board has all our doctor appointments, any important bills that are due, and anything else that both hubs and I need to know about together or that we need a reminder for what's going on that week.

Laundry Days are listed at the top, under each day of the week. 

The second planner is mine, and it is the Big Happy Planner. I got mine at a crafting store for my birthday and I love it. Every year for my birthday I usually get a new planner for myself, but this time I found one that has 18 months in it. So I guess I will be buying a new one every Christmas perhaps. I did re-do the cover myself though into something I liked a little more than what they had available at the time.

Because I am in school too, this thing helps a TON. I understand in the age of technology most people use their phones to remind them of dates and items. I have learned that I don't function well to rely on my phone or digital notes to remind me of things. I physically need to write them down in order to get a grasp on my week. I use my planner to write everything down from the household calendar, as well as my own things I want to get done for the week, any meal planning, other appointments or items that are needed for the household, as well as all the dates from my class syllabus.

Since my classes are currently all online, I get access to the class syllabus about a week before they begin and write every important date down for the classes. Usually color coding with markers or highlighters for each one, fun stickers also help. This lets me take a glance at each week and know exactly when I should plan my classwork to get done. When you have two little's, it is imperative that you plan exactly what days of the week are going to be for specific classes. And sometimes one class needs an extra day dedicated to it. This also helps me plan when hubs and I get to binge on our shows, or he knows I will be working on something so I may not be available to chill out on the couch. We both know though it is for our future together, so it works for us.

I find that planning also helps calm me down, almost the same way that writing in a journal does. It helps get the jumble of thoughts out of my head and I don't have to stress if I will remember what needs to get done for the week. It's all right there, written out for me.

Here are some tips for using your planner effectively:

• Write everything down, even if it doesn't seem important
• Decide which days you know you'll have more free time & what days will need to be "work/school" days. 
• Label everything: such as laundry days, homework days
• Use color markers and assign each color to an activity or person. That way when you glance at it you know that the purple marking that says 5:30 PM means it's for little Suzy's ballet class.
• Draw or doodle out photo reminders or ideas, sketching out things can give you an idea to build on. 

Last tip: Buy a planner that you love! Look at the extra inserts, do you need budgeting, list helpers, meal planners? Get one that you really like to look at an inside. Mine has these great messages at the beginning of each month. Little motivational speeches. 

These are just some things that work for us. I hope they can help you too!
Do you use a planner? Are you trying to begin to use a planner? Or do you plan everything for your family?