Can you believe it's only 1 month until the start of 2015?! I know we're all probably busy with holiday preparations, but it's important to start thinking and planning ahead for the new year.
My friend Ginny from Organizing Homelife created a beautiful planner and she gave me two versions to try out.
I love planners and I've tried various ones over the years. But I haven't started a planner for 2015 yet. So I was excited to have the opportunity to start using Ginny's planners!
There are a whole bunch of options you can choose from if you buy one of these planners.
You have several choices of colours! There's a Multi-Brights option, which allows you to choose from 6 solid colours (the whole planner is the colour you choose) or a combination of all of them (as in the picture below).
There's also the Modern Spring option, which allows you to choose from 4 solid colours or a combination of all of them.
You can also choose which size you like. You can choose full-size (8.5 x 11) or half-size (5.5 x 8.5). And you can decide whether you want to print it as single pages or double sided (it comes with files for both options).
Doesn't that sound great? I had a hard time deciding which options to choose. I considered a full-sized planner that I could put in a binder. But I decided I wanted more portability, so I opted for a half-sized version.
And you all know I love me some purple! So I chose the "raspberry" version for my new business & blog planner.
Doesn't a blank planner always feel exciting?!
I also chose the multi-brights version for my everyday family planner. I like all the different colours. It just makes me feel happy :)
My Family Planner
I'm planning to use the multi-bright planner for keeping track of all our family's appointments, activity schedules, and special events. I love that there are sections on each month to keep track of tasks and projects.
And I plan to record our monthly family goals in the family notes section. That way I can help remind each family member from time to time of the goals they set, so by the end of the month, they will have achieved them.
Ginny also sent me a copy of her new daily planner page, which will really help on those days when I've got several tasks I need to finish and lot of little details to remember. If I don't write those things down I always forget them!
Now instead of sticky notes in assorted places, I can jot everything down in my planner! Since I got the half-sized planner, I can take it with me when I'm running errands too.
I love all the sections, but especially the "Must Do Today" and "To Do". I'm not always the best at prioritizing things on my to-do list, so this will help, especially on those busy days, to make sure I get those "must-do" tasks done! For example, tomorrow is a busy day... here's what it looks like.
I'm still working out the details of exactly how I'll use this planner, so I haven't gotten it bound yet. I don't need daily pages for every day of the year, since I have some days when I don't need to remember as many details and some days when I do. So I'm thinking I'll print several daily planner sheets for each month, and use them on the days I need them. That way I won't be wasting pages or making the planner bigger than it needs to be. I'll insert them between the monthly calendars before I have it bound. Like this...
(except with more daily pages in between the months).
And I'll probably add some tabs to separate the months so I can find them quickly.
I think that will work best for me. That's the great thing about printing your own planner... you can make it work for YOU!
My New Business & Blog Planner
I'm really excited to use this business and blog planner! It's the "raspberry" version of the multi-bright half-size planner (I feel like I'm ordering a fancy drink with all these options!).
As my professional organizing business continues to grow, I need a good place to keep track of all my appointments with clients. I use an online calendar, that syncs with my iPhone, but I'm very visual and I find I lose track of days when I'm scrolling through either of them. Seeing the month in front of me helps me see better what I've got booked and what's available.
This is especially important because I also need to plan time and tasks for this blog! When I work a lot, it's hard to fit in time to write blog posts or keep up with behind-the-scenes tasks to keep the blog running. But because my organizing business seems to go through slow times and busy times, I'm trying to work ahead on the blog during the slower times. This planner will help me do that!
I write my client appointments in pen because they don't usually change very much. I did already make one change though... thank goodness for white-out tape! Everything else I write in pencil. Dates for blog posts, blog to-do's, and business tasks.
This way if I plan on working on something on a certain date but need to change it because I book a client, I can erase it and add it to another day. I crossed out a few days that I know I'm busy with Christmas events. I also front-end loaded a lot of things because I won't be as productive once my kiddos are home for the holidays.
I'm planning on having this one bound too. I don't plan on adding any other pages though, so I printed this one using the double-sided version. Here are the pages, ready to be bound!
I'm really excited about getting my life and my business more organized with these planners! Thank you Ginny for the opportunity to try these out!
Would You Like One Of These Planners?
Of course you would! Well you're in luck because Ginny is having a Cyber Monday sale in her printables shop so you can buy one of these planners for yourself! Today only, save 40% on everything in her shop! That makes one of these planners only $4.80 (regularly $7). You can choose which colour(s) you'd like as well as what size.
And, if you're feeling lucky, Ginny's also giving away one of her planners! The winner will be able to choose size and colours from the available options on Organizing Homelife. You will be responsible for printing the planner yourself or having it printed somewhere.
Enter in the Rafflecopter form below (complete as many options as you'd like). Good luck!
Thank you for this giveaway Ginny!
Do you use a planner? What kinds of things do you use your planner for? What size is your planner? Which of the colour options do you like best on this planner? How would using a planner help you be more organized?
Happy organizing!
I link up at these great parties - Check them out!
