The planner and the plan...

I'm behind.... way behind (for me anyway).  But I have a plan (and a brand new planner!), so I think I'm under control.

First off, the planner...

A few weeks ago, someone posted about a sale on Erin Condren planners.  I had been eyeing them for a while, but couldn't justify the cost when I didn't know how or even if I would use one.  But 40% off a 2015 planner and an extra $10 off I got from going through a referral code, it brought the price down to the point that I was willing to take a chance.  (If you're interested in doing this too... I'm not entirely sure I had to go through a referral code - the links above include mine - but that's how I did it, and it worked.  You will make an account and then shortly after you will receive an email with a $10 off code to use on your order.  Mine did not show up immediately, so give it a few minutes.)

So, it came last week and I just then decided to look into how I wanted to use it.  I do truly adore all of the cute decorated planner pages I've been seeing, but first, I really did need to figure out what worked best for me.  I started by watching the video by Jennifer McGuire...


This was a great starting point for me.  And I plan on using some of her ideas once I really get going.

Like most, the divisions of morning, day and night don't really work for me.  However, having multiple sections each day does work for me... I just needed to figure out what my divisions should be.  Last week I tried out the following:

morning = Jeff and I (more details for me, high level for Jeff)
day = the kids' activities
night = never really fleshed that one out, started out being sort of a to do list and ended up a general notes area
lines = meant to be day details

This really didn't work.  The section for Jeff and I stayed mostly blank, which seemed like a waste of space.  And I didn't capture what I really needed.  I was figuring out that, although I do need a planner, what I really need is more of a PL diary.  Have I mentioned how far behind I am with Project Life?  Well... in case I haven't, I really am behind!  I needed a section to jot down stories or events, and I needed a place to record photos that were taken.  As everyone gets more involved with my PL, the more difficult it can be to stay organized!  It's actually a really good thing, so I'm not complaining.  But with photos from Jeff, Clara, Alex and screenshots or downloads from social media, my photos in my photo stream get way out of order sometimes.  I was able to keep it somewhat under control when I was working current, but now that I'm behind, it gets really confusing.

So, new plan for this week...

morning = all activities/appointments
day = details of the day and/or stories
night = photos taken
lines = haven't had a reason to use them yet this week

So far, this is working.  I'm going to probably give it at least one more week before I start making labels to cover morning, day and night.

I've found that I like preparing my calendar on Sunday for the week ahead.  It helps me really think about our schedule and get mentally prepared.  But I do think that I need to find a way to temporarily schedule things on the calendar in advance.  I think that's where the dots that Jennifer has in the video above will come in handy.  I would be able to put the next orthodontist appointment, for example, on the right day, but move it if necessary and remove the label altogether when I transfer the info directly onto the page when I prepare that week.  And maybe, someday, I'll start playing with all of the cute stuff I see... but then again, maybe not and I'll just be thrilled that I'm somewhat organized!  :-)

And, not only am I organizing my notes for getting caught up, I'm also organizing my photos.  The good news is that I'm finally current with all of my photos on templates!  The bad news is that week 15 exploded and with that and weeks 14 and 16, I have FOURTEEN pages to finish up!  FOURTEEN... sigh.

Hopefully the fact that I plan to print my first book of the year after I finish up with April will be a motivator to plow through those pages!!