In case you don’t follow me over on my planner Instagram, you totally should, you may not know just how obsessed I am with planning! Now…I’ve ALWAYS been a planner, I’ve always had little to-do lists everywhere, but one essential that I was missing, was an ACTUAL planner!
I’ve always purchased little planners at Target or Walmart, but I never actually used them. I would probably use the first month or two and then forget about them and move on to my to-do lists and sticky note system. What I’m trying to get at is that I am a very visual person…I like pretty things, I like to look at pretty things and I like to work on pretty things. So just jotting down things in a regular ‘ole planner just wasn’t cutting it for me. That’s why cute notepads and colorful sticky notes did the job.
But about a year ago or so, I happened to find out about a entire community of planner addicts…and I was immediately sucked in! I purchased my first ever Happy Planner and began my adventure as a planner. And that’s when I realized that all along I just needed to get creative and decorate my planner in order to get good use out of it. I know it might sound ridiculous, but in all honesty, this is the first time that I have actually used a planner month after month consistently. I just purchased a new one, and hauled it here, because my old one was getting too thick and well let’s be honest, I wanted a new one! LOL!
So I wanted to share with you a few ways I have found that my planner has helped me STAY on track when blogging! These tips may not be for everyone, but I have found them to be so helpful…I hope you find at least one of these to help you too.
- This may sound super silly, but once I have scheduled a post in my planner, I hate having to use white-out or even just striking it because it looks ugly. Silly..I KNOW! So because of that, I actually get things done! I would much rather check it off as done, then have to re-schedule it.
- Decorating my planner gives me so much joy and helps clear my mind. So when I’m feeling overwhelmed, or perhaps uninspired, I decorate. I like to sit down at my desk with some music, a cup of iced coffee (or a venti #pinkdrink) and just get creative. Usually after I’m finished, sometimes even before, I feel relaxed and ready to tackle any blog duties!
- To go kind of go along with that, decorating my planner also motivates me to actually use it and pre-plan things. I like to use motivational stickers in my planner to help give me that extra drive and in all honestly, pre-planning my posts or videos ahead of time is so much less stressful than having to worry about doing it all the night before.
- I’ve also found that if I block a few hours per week to take pictures, I get MORE done and I get to take my time and be creative with my set-ups! This alone has helped my blog tremendously! I also like to block some time off to respond to comments, emails and visit other blogs.
- Lastly, it holds me accountable! I have set it in my mind that if “it’s in the planner, you MUST get it done!” And because of it, I tend to get things done days in advance…and I get to enjoy a little down time by catching up on my DVR’d shows or maybe even reward myself with a little shopping! 😉
A few things about my current planner…I use the Happy Planner from Me And My Big Ideas. It is SO much more affordable, and so much cuter in my opinion, than the Erin Condren planners. It is an 18 month planner, the one I just started using, began in July 2016 and runs until December 2017. It is expandable, meaning you can purchase different extension packs, fitness, wedding planning, and simply add them to your planner! With that said, the pages are removable! You can easily remove the pages, write on them without having the annoying rings in the way and pop them back in place!
It may sound like I’m being paid to talk about my planner…but trust me, Me And My Big Ideas has NO idea who I am…I’m just an extremely happy customer, who adores their products and wants to share them with EVERYONE!
I hope this post has helped you in someway, by either motivating you to start planning on a notebook or planner, or by helping you decided what planner suits your lifestyle.
Are you a planner? What’s your favorite planner at the moment?
Don’t forget to follow me over on my planner Instagram and subscribe to my channel for planner related videos!
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