Planner Love

With school starting, it’s definitely time to get organized.

I consider myself a decently organized person, but there’s always room for improvement.

A couple months ago, I purchased an Erin Condren planner. I had done some research on some nicer planners and decided to just splurge and get this one. I quickly fell in love.

I’m not one to get expensive things, but I often buy a planner thinking, “This will be the year I get super organized!”, and then…I barely use it. I figured, if I put some money into it, I’ll have to use it!

When I first got it, I was excited. But I quickly got overwhelmed. People are obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED with these planners. They spend probably hundreds of dollars on Etsy stickers and spend what seems like hours planning out their week. I’ve already got lesson plans to do. The last thing I need is more planning.

However, I did a little research on Etsy myself and found a couple shops I adore. I buy stickers that are functional and for fun, but either way they make my planner look neat and organized, without taking up too much of my time. I’m pretty simplistic, and after some experimenting, I’ve found what works for me.

I’ve decided to have a little theme to each month. Simple, but cute. I love enjoying each month’s little characteristics and I want to display them. As you can see, September’s theme is Sunflowers.

Now onto the weekly spread. I had a lot of trouble with this as first. Between my job and my personal life, I have way too much going on to fill in these spaces. It took some tries and some really awkward looking pages, but last week finally came together.

I’ve learned to only write down the “Big Rocks” or most important things going on in my life first. It’s so easy to make huge To Do lists and then feel disappointed when we don’t accomplish everything. By making small To Do lists of the big things, I feel successful and organized.

I also figured out that if I have other pressing things to do, I can put them elsewhere. That way my week isn’t overwhelmed. I can prioritize and check off the other things when I have time.

It sounds silly but the best part about this planner is the simple joys it brings me. I used to be really artistic, but unfortunately don’t have as much time for that as I would like. This provides me with a creative outlet that also keeps me organized. Looking over last week doesn’t make me feel stressed, but successful. And I’m excited for the week ahead.