Day.Planning

My husband and I had our first child at 18 years old, we got married four years later not because we were ready but because our family was growing whether we were ready or not. I hadn’t finished college yet and we didn’t have money for a house but we still ended up starting two business’ with six kids, and owning our own home. I can’t say it was easy or that it wasn’t crazy but we did it. And I wouldn’t have done it differently had I had another chance. It literally felt like a rollercoaster ride with God driving me back uphill after each time I plunged downward. Those were my days freelance.

Now as I near 40 and my goals are increasing, I’m learning from my past, and my nerves can’t handle the thrill of the roller coaster anymore, so I find myself gaping wide mouthed at the planned world. Sure tripping and falling I managed to find myself in a beautiful place, thanks be to God, but He also gave me the good sense to know, where He brought me I need to now maintain for His honor and glory. So here it is. My days planned and how I organize two business’ while homeschooling and managing a family of EIGHT!

WHERE DO I START?

Start by pickin’ a planner.

Don’t over think it just pick one.

Don’t over analyze layout and what’s inside, even a blank journal would do, but I think picking something visually appealing, perky, and uplifting on the outside is just as, if not MORE, important than what’s inside. If my planner is appealing  I want to carry it with me everywhere. If it’s perky I’m motivated to pick it up multiple times a day versus run from it.  So pick one you think is beautiful and uplifting.

I like the monthly spread that includes an individual page for each day as well. I found one for $50 at staples which I got for $35 with my rewards and coupons and I LOVE that. I am dazzled by the customizable Erin Condren Life Planner

https://www.erincondren.com/

that also appeals to the scrapbooker in me (check it out you will see why)  so I may be switching to that come 2020. But for now my staples Day Designer by Life.Designed is working BEAUTIFULLY.

So let’s get down to the planning.

1) Daily planning; goal setting

DUMP PAGE: have an empty page for each month where you dump all your ideas, desires, goals. This is like your Pinterest pin board for your future life. I like to have this at the beginning of each month. It’s also the place you write all those things circling in your head as you lay down each night hastening sleep kept at bay by the ever lasting “to-do” list. Jump up run to your planner and dump it all into your dump page. That alone gives me closure and makes me feel accomplished enough to sleep.

Dawn from the minimalmom.com does a version of this and I took a lot of inspiration from her in my current planning strategy.

2) Take THREE

Daily pick THREE of your top priorities from your dump page, or maybe you have something that took precedence only that day, fine, write it in your top three and take only two from your dump page. Hold yourself accountable to those three things before the days end. This is how you make sure your working towards your goals daily and NOT letting them get stuck on your back burner.

3) Divide and Conquer

I have three categories of my priorities: personal (which includes cleaning), business and homeschool. I have a month at a glance page where I have all my entries for the month color coordinated by category. Each week on Sunday, I transfer the to-do’s onto the daily spread, and each day I break down those tasks given the amount time I have to devote to each. For example…..

business email’s daily (15-30min) between 7a and 8am, noon and again 3-4pm

M-Th 9-noon and noon-3p school work

Monday (1hr) post work schedule

Friday 9-1p tests/Art/poetry/music

Friday afternoon Cleaning confirmations and payroll

Saturday morning clean the house

Saturday afternoon billing

This way my time is divided between each of my tasks and the time required to accomplish them before each day gets away from me, and I LIVE for checking things off on the daily to-do. It literally gives me a rush. Keeps me moving and productive.

*daily zone cleanings are integrated into school schedule

*post daily chores like run DW/empty DW, one load of laundry, call mom, anything that gives a quick and easy check mark because it’s those that keep you rolling to the big ones.

MONTHLY

On the month at a glance include appointments, holidays, events and other things that occur only once including recurring things that are monthly like bills. A side bar for notes is an excellent place to jot down birthdays to remember that month. My next goal is to get good about that. Forget FaceBook reminders, that makes me feel so incompetent and impersonal. One day I’ll get on top of those too.

DAILY

On Sunday kick back with a coffee and your planner and transfer from your monthly spread to each daily to do page but only for the week your on. That gives you a week sneak peak and your daily to do’s all ready to go for the week. Don’t forget to pick from your dump list too. Update each morning, adding any new priorities.

 Meals

I post the meal for the day on the day at a glance page so when I check my planner in the morning it’s a reminder to defrost the meat needed for the meal that night. Side notes is a great place to jot any missing ingredients and put on your to-do list for the day to get them before dinner. Nothing is worse than starting a meal and realizing your missing a few of the ingredients.

PAYMENTS and BILLS

I log when I pay a bill with the confirmation number in my planner on the actual day at a glance that it was done, and also on the day it’s next due as a reminder of when to pay it again. My brain is shot, there is no more auto-memory that mortgage gets paid on the 1st of the month and auto insurance on the 15th. That ship sailed. Actually I don’t think I was ever even ON that ship. I was NEVER able to do that.

DEAD DAYS

Yes, I have them, today was one. That time of the month and I just don’t want to move from the couch. Ok maybe sometimes I have two; yesterday also, my big sis was in town from FL and I literally spent the DAY sitting around the house with her, coffee n streusels catching up. And that’s ok….normal…..healthy even. I think. I HOPE. Whichever, it’s life, it happens. But the planner lets me easily see where I got behind n helps me get back on top when at the end of each day I have to reschedule those incomplete to-do’s onto another day or keep bumping them to a new week.

And that’s my day planned!

If you have any planner, or planning strategy that helps you through an organized life, please share in the comments. I’d LOVE to know anyway I can up my game.