Planner Probs...

I've always loved my Erin Condren Life Planner. If you've ever discussed planners with me you know that no planner compares to Erin Condren in my book and I think it without the doubt is completely worth the money.

I was not into stickers, not at all. And then I became obsessed. 

I have been watching Elle Fowler on Youtube for years and when she started her sticker shop I didn't think much of it and then I started watching her planning videos. I didn't actually buy anything until this beauty was released....

Harry Potter?! I needed it. So badly. Now you can see I kind of just stuck all the stickers down, I didn't really know what I was doing..but who does?

I love how some of her sticker sets can be just printed out right at home. I have since purchased a couple sets that will be mailed, but so far only have ones I have printed right at home.

This peacock sticker set is gorgeous too. I have used it twice so far, differently each time but I can see myself using it a lot in the future since it is so versatile.

The last set I bought is for fall and will be used in a couple of weeks:

I love it! As soon as September rolls around, I consider it fall :)

What kind of planner do you use? Stickers or not obsessed yet?

Erin Condren Life Planner

Hey everybody!

Today, I want to share with you the brand new organization product in my life and it's name is My Life Planner. Back in June I heard that Erin Condren was going to be releasing her new Life Planners and I was so excited. For the past few years I have sworn by my Lily Pulitzer planner and before that I used simple ones from Staples. Well you know me, once I set my mind to something it's hard to talk me out of it and I researched the hell out of these planners. Almost every day I checked the Erin Condren website or watched a promotional YouTube video or read a blog showing pictures of them.

The main reason I wanted to switch up my planner? My Lily planner was TOO small.

Now, you might think I'm crazy but I like a ton of room to write things in on my planner. I like to have them almost like a scrapbook. I want to be able to see everything I need to do and then to write in last minute things as they come up. I want to be able to remember what days I went to play trivia and when I met up with my best friends. So I wanted more room to write and as I will explain that a little more as this post goes on. So let's get onto some pretty pictures why don't we!

This is the front of my planner. I love it because the design looks almost like waves (which if you've been reading for awhile you know I'm totally a beach girl). I also had it customized to have my name at the bottom and I absolutely love the font that my first name is written. I do kind of wish that both had been written in the same font, I'm not quite sure why that happened but it's not a big deal!

When you open up the planner this is the first page you see.

Now, the daily pages in this calendar are different then the Lily Pulitizer planner and I love these so much more. Erin Condren has split each day into morning, day and night which is great because as you can see in the picture above I'm able to split my tasks into separate sections. Also if I have a lot going on during a particular day it's not all jumbled into one small section, I can split it up by time of day.

I thought I had taken a picture of the main month calendar but I guess I must not have taken one. It's pretty typical, with a small box for each day. It's perfect for putting important dates/appointments, then you can see the weekly page in order to provide more information on the event.

There is also a folder in the back, making a nice place to hold anything important you need to keep with your planner.

I really  love the little book called "forget me not" in the back of my planner.

There are important holiday dates listed but there is also a page for every month of the year that is dated where you can insert any anniversaries, birthdays, etc that you would like to remember each year. Then you can just transfer this book into any future planner you have.

In the way back there is a clear case where I suppose you could put planner tools such as pens.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed by this planner but am definitely still getting used to the change.

Do you have a planner? What kind of planner do you use?

2014 Planner

Hello and Happy Monday you guys! Even though it was a wonderful weekend, and a warm one at that- the Groundhog unfortunately has predicted a longer winter. I hate that stupid groundhog, what does he know?! Let's talk about happier things, like….planners!

As a self-proclaimed OCD-suffering organizing freak, of course I have a favorite planner! I have been using a planner for as long as I can remember. While everyone cast off their middle school and high school planners we were provided with by the public school system, I used mine obsessively. When I started college, I began using the five star planners by Mead. I really liked it, although it was very simple.  Three years ago, I bought a Lily Pulitzer planner and was absolutely taken by it. This is the third Lily planner I have had and I am still as in love with it as I was when I took my first one home!

I have always felt that a planner is a very personal thing, what works for one person may not work for another person. Although this planner has worked well for me, it may not be your cup of tea. However, I can highly recommend it.

Here are some of favorite features of this planner:

I love the stickers that this planner provides. They are cute little reminders for my daily or weekly calendar. I love to put a cute drink sticker next to a written reminder of a girls night, or a palm tree sticker when I'm going on vacation. Just a nice little extra Lily provides!

You can see from my January monthly view I use this whole-month view obsessively. I like knowing when an appointment is coming up. It's also extremely helpful for making plans with friends. Since Wednesdays and Sundays are generally my days off, I tend to have to look at several weeks in a row in order to make plans that fit with friends' schedules.

My weekly view provides me with a way to write more information in my planner. On these pages I can write daily to-dos, my schedule, and other important dates. I like to write down my workouts as well, so I can remember when I worked out and what exactly I did.

I use a binder clip to keep the pages I've already used together. I like to be able to flip immediately to my monthly calendar view. I also use a paper clip to hold together the weeks that I've been through in the month I'm currently in. Again, this helps me to be able to flip to the page I need easily.

I love that there is also a place to put birthdays and a page with reasons to celebrate. This year there is even a horoscope page!

You're probably wondering what the colored pens is about. Well, in my OCD head, it makes it easier for me to be able tell things apart at a glance if I label each of my entries by categories. Above you can see; pink is for work, light  blue for friends, black for appointments/to do, purple for fitness, red for family, and dark blue for the blog. I can know by glancing at my monthly calendar if I have work on that day, a family obligation, or if I need to make sure I arrive at the doctors on time.

That's it! This planner keeps my life in order, and anything that helps me with that I am all for!

Now it's your turn…do you use a planner? If so, what kind?

Organizing My Life!

Have I mentioned that June is my busiest month of the year?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously, but I am dance teacher and gymnastics coach at a local studio and so June is the month where we have all of our end of the year shows- basically everything I work on from September- June is compiled into June, making me VERY stressed!

Basically my life gets extremely crazy in June, combining all my work commitments in with little errands I  have to complete for work, throw in friends birthdays, family time, and other important dates like fathers day and I'm done for! I thought I would briefly share two items that save my life during this busy time of the year, and if I'm being honest- all year long!

The first item that I love to death is VERY VERY simple, my to-do list.

I swear by using a to-do list and am constantly rewriting things and adding to my to-do lists all day long. After I snapped this picture I added eight more items to this list and I'm sure I will have more to write on there within the hour.

Sometimes I make smaller to-do lists organizing them by category- so I might have a work to do list, home to do list, errands to do list, etc...but since June is crazy as it is, I just compiled everything onto one list. 

I am toying with the idea of having a to-do notebook that I keep with me in my purse, but we will see how crazy I get.

The second item that saves my life on a daily basis is my planner...

I love this Lilly Pulitzer planner, it is perfect for me.

Here is what the monthly calendar looks like:

And a weekly look:

In this planner I write down everything that is time sensitive. I write down my work schedule, birthdays, special dates, appointments, plans I have with friends and family, etc...

For example you can see above, that my work schedule for this week is written, but I also have on Sunday that I have a recital to attend, and an appointment to get my haircut. This helps me keep track of where I need to be and when.

As the week goes on, I also like to write other information in, for example I have written my workout for Monday and the fact that I took Tuesday off from working out. I also have written in today that I have to go to Michaels craft store and need to run errands. I also plan on checking items off my to do list today so since I have a little more time this Wednesday I can get some items on my to-do list done.

I tend to get a little more in-depth on my weekly pages. The monthly calendar I only include specific appointments and timed information because I don't like to crowd that page more than it already is.

I also have been playing with the idea of highlighting items, that is what I always did in the past, but I may go out and buy colored pens so I can designate a color to each item I write in my planner so it will color-coordinated but not take up as much room as highlighting. It would also look more uniform.

I am aware I am a little OCD and crazy about the way I organize my to-do list and planner. You might also think I'm completely nuts for wanting a to-do list notebook to carry around with me, but that's okay! =)

How do you organize your time, planner, calendar, etc?! Let me know!