The Life Planner

Well, I totally stopped using my life planner around June of last year, mostly because I was home and didn't have a whole lot going on to justify using it frequently. I said to myself, "Ok, you don't need a new planner then..." so I didn't buy one. Then I remembered. I had placed my twentieth order, and received a $100 coupon to use at Erin Condren. Yes, it's sick that I've placed twenty orders, but a lot of them were gifts (for me, ha!). I decided that I would get a quick ship planner since I still liked my cover from my last planner.

It came within a week (so I highly recommend this option if you don't feel the need to personalize!)

I added the Wellness and the Budget book to my order, because it was free, so why not? I wanted to check them out. So far, the Budget book is great, but the Wellness book is kind of a pain, because I'm lazy. Also, I didn't really know what I'd write in my actual planner if I wasn't tracking what I brought for lunch along with my steps.

The problem with a new planner, is that even though you have an entire office dedicated to your crafting addiction, you feel this insane need to go purchase new washi tape and stickers. I don't even really like stickers, you wouldn't be able to tell that from looking at my planner. 

Now that cute little container of Washi tape? That's my "to-go" tape...yes people. 

Here is the rest of it, currently in my office.

I'm sure there's more hiding at school somewhere.

Ok- so what do I put in my planner?

On my monthly pages, I mark when bills are due, and when we get paid. This way, I know our cash flow:

On the weekly spread, I put inspirational quotes along the left. In the "morning" section, I put what I'm bringing for lunch, since that is a huge focus for me this month. The middle section is my general "To-Do" area. It's really hard not to put school stuff in this section. The evening section is to mark what we have going on in the evenings, along with dinner. Finally, in the bottom section I'm logging my steps and sleep from my Fitbit!

Finally, in the back we have our Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball, Monthly Expenses, Cash Flow, and I've started taping off some pages to use for weight loss, healthy options for eating, and Books I've Read. 

So, I'm still finding my groove with the new planner, and my big struggle is managing both this and my teacher planner. I don't seem to have enough hours in the day to plan all my hours in the day. But I will say, with the stress I have felt this year, doing this is a great way to unwind at the end of the day, and keep myself accountable. 

Do you have a planning system that you can't live without? Feel free to share below!