tools to use when planning your goals

I talked in an earlier post about how I begin when I set goals for the year.  Even though January is already more than halfway over, I thought I would also write a post about the tools that I use as I create and implement my goals throughout the year.  I have used Lara Casey's powersheets for over a year, and I strongly recommend them for anyone who would like help with intentional goal setting.  I use them every month, and they make up the bulk of the resources that I use for setting goals each month.  However, I wanted to go into detail a little more about the other tool that I started using this year, and that is my three-ring printables binder.  I absolutely love free printables because (well, free) but also because I love when I am organized and there are some great resources out there to help with this.

When you create a printables binder, it is of course most helpful to have tools that are specifically geared towards the goals/themes that you want to incorporate into your life this year.  The first section in my binder is a devotional planner.  I wanted to make sure that I spent more time in the word each day this year.  I printed out a monthly calendar here to use as I plan my devotions for the week/month.  Right now I am going through a seven-week devotional that has five days of reading each day, so I planned each week day to consist of reading one section from that devotional.  On Sundays I pick out the scripture that I plan on memorizing for the week (one of my goals this year is to memorize more scripture) and Saturdays are "grace days" where I don't have a specific reading, but pray and journal and write out my verse for the week from memory.

The next four printables that I have in my binder are from Emily Ley's printables library.  There are so many and you should definitely go check out all that she has to offer.  The first one that I am using is the monthly calendar.

 I talked on my instagram about how I use this along with my powersheets to help me keep my goals visible throughout the month as well as help me to be more intentional in carrying out my goals by actually scheduling goals onto the calendar to ensure that they get done instead of just pushing them to the side as each day goes by.  I schedule the monthly one-time goals like date nights or a girls night with friends, and I also schedule the day each month devoted to working on my next month's powersheets.

I use the weekly calendar for the same reason as the monthly calendar (to keep them visible, and to schedule them intentionally into my day) but I schedule the weekly ongoing goals here, such as read a book ( I break down the book into chapters and schedule a certain amount of chapters to read a few times each week) or tend a relationship ( for example, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the day that I have set aside during the month of January to intentional focus on relationships like texting a friend, or sending them a note that I am thinking of them.  This may be too structured for some people I realize, but for me it works because I always know each day what I need to accomplish, so that I can look back at the end of the month and have completed all my goals.  It also helps me by breaking down a large goal into bite-sized chunks ( such as the book example I just mentioned).

Another tool that I included in my printables binder is Emily Ley's health and fitness tracker.  Since I wanted to be more health-focused this year, I included this to plan out my daily workouts and meals, as well as to keep track of the water I drink.  I do use some apps for this as well, but I am still very much a paper person, and I keep this tracker in my planner to refer to as the day goes on.

The last printable from Emily Ley that I included in my binder is her gratitude journal.  I taped one copy to my wall to list them throughout my day/week and it helps to keep it visible to me and not just inside the binder.  When it gets full, I will return it to the binder and put up another one.  Also connected with this is the last printable in my binder from Ann Voskamp which is her joy dare printables where she encourages you to list three gratitudes each day and gives you prompts to help you think of them.

Being such an organized person, I really like having a system when it comes to planning and setting goals, and this just seemed to work for me.  I encourage you to create your own if this sounds like it will be helpful for you, and if you are a creative person, it is always fun to create your own dividers for this project.   If you are not very creative, or love to shop at office supply stores, it is fun to peruse the aisles to look for some fun dividers and a pretty binder to use for your own library.  

using my erin condren planner...

So I have had a few days to play around with my planner and I think I have figured out a system that will work well for me.  Like I said in my last post, everyone uses theirs a little differently, and I drew on a few different ideas and put it all together to make it something that I like.

The first thing I did was gather all my supplies together.  I got markers, stickers, washi tape, post-its, paper clips, pens, and sharpie markers all together in a cute little heart box I found at Target a while back.  Then I got out my planner and got ready to get to work.

 The first page is a place to put your contact info, but with the cover being plastic, it is not easy to write anything here.  I had read somewhere that someone used a sharpie, but I wasn't wild about that idea.  I decided on using one of the labels that came free with my planner.  I cut it out to fit in this section and wrote in my contact information.

Then I started working on the month view pages.  I wrote in important work and school schedules so that I could see it all at once, such as the Saturdays that I have to work (ugh) as well as the days that the girls are off from school.  Anything that happens on more than one day, I used washi tape so that I didnt have to write something over and over four or five times.  Below I used gray washi tape to show a week when school is closed, and I used pink washi tape to show that every Wednesday the girls go to church for Boulevards.  Then I used the stickers that come with the planner to highlight special things I have planned that month.

The weekly view is really my favorite.  I wrote in events, schedules, tasks and to-dos in their respective time-frames. I have decided to color-code each person by placing a dot next to the item.  For example, my husbands color is blue and I put a blue dot next to his "to-do".  I used square post-it notes in the night section to show my ideas for dinner.  Now if you are anything like me, you end up changing your mind on what you make which night about fourteen times before the week is out.  I liked the post-it note idea so that I don't have to cross out and write in, I can just switch the post-it notes around.  I am not sure if I saw this idea in someone else's blog or if I came up with it myself. I think I came up with it myself - a genius really.

Another thing I LOVE is using colored rectangle post-its to put my weekly household chores in.  This is for two reasons:  Just like with the meals, I can rearrange which day I do these, and I can also re-use them and put them back in my planner for another day next week after I complete that particular task.  (You know we end up doing these EVERY week - why waste paper?)  And I like that my planner doesn't look as cluttered when I move them to another day.  Do I really need to be reminded of the 736769056 times I have done laundry this year as I look back?

Also, I didn't end up taking a picture of this but I used the far left column to keep track of the chapters I need to read each week for my Bible study that I am a part of, as well as a way to tally how many times a week I work out.  Each time I complete one of these things I just check a box.  The bottom of each day has a place for notes as well, and I use this section to write in things like: "work on scrapbook", or "watch CSI", things that I plan on doing if I have any free time, not exactly a to-do.

So I hope that helps some of you if you are trying how to get the best use out of your planner.  I really love it and am enjoying that all our crazy schedules are all in one place - it makes me feel more in control, just being organized :)

introducing my erin condren life planner...

So a few weeks ago I was looking at other people's blogs and I came across one that mostly talks about organization (right up my alley) and one of the posts was about this planner.  It was an Erin Condren Life Planner (check her out here ) and I cannot believe I had not heard about her or these planners before.  Planners are like my life line.  It is such a relief to be able to walk around with my tasks/schedules/thoughts down on paper, not just always kept in my head.  These planners are so cute and seem to have everything I could want in a planner.  There was only one problem - they are $50!!!!  I think that is a LOT of money and I couldn't justify spending it on a planner even if it would be adorable, and personalized, and a life-saver, and sooo me.  Who am I kidding, I totally bought it after drooling thinking about it all afternoon.  So that was September 18.  And after that day I started checking my account every day until I saw this:

I was super excited because it was shipped a week earlier than the deadline they gave me.  So then I started stalking checking the FedEx website with the tracking # they gave me.  It took sooooooooo long (it felt like that, but really was only a week) before I checked and saw this:

 

That totally made my day!  It was a long day at work waiting to get home and open it!  When I got home I made dinner, gave the girls baths, picked out their clothes for tomorrow, tucked them into bed, and FINALLY it was time to open my long-awaited package.

 

 

The package was so beautifully wrapped and I was so excited to finally see my planner in person with all of my favorite things listed on the cover!

 

 

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the planner so you can see it for yourself:

 Each month on two pages:

 Every week is broken down into two pages as well, with a morning, day, and night section as well as a note-taking section on the bottom of each day - PLENTY of space!

There is a page of stickers in the back to help certain events stand out:

 

Two pages of blank stickers that you can customize yourself:

 

Two folders in the back for you to place things in:

 

A ziplock pouch in the back for you to keep pens, markers, or anything else in (shown is my $10 giftcard that came with my planner to go towards a new one next year!)

 

I know I didn't go into a lot of detail about the planner itself other than the pictures, but there are SO many posts online about the Erin Condren planners so I didn't feel the need to do yet another in-depth review.  I will just say I think it is awesome and I am so excited it is finally here.  I will write another post in a day or two about how I am going to use my planner - you will also find a lot of posts online about how people use their planners, and everyone does it a little differently.  Its fun to make it work for you!  Want one of your own? Sign up for her website here !