2014 was an absolutely amazing year! I had an amazing pregnancy, enjoyed every ounce of my maternity leave, and am loving who I became this year. While I’m sad to see it end, I love New Years and am really excited about 2015!
I’m all about fresh starts, new beginnings, and clean day planners! Being organized is truly what keeps me sane. I just can’t imagine having to remember everything I have to do, all that needs to be done, and my future plans. It’s just too much!
Especially now as a working mom, organization is what keeps me functioning. Whether I’m planning out my meals, creating a list of things I need to pack for each work day, or organizing my blog posts, having a system in place helps me to accomplish everything I need to get done.
For 2015 I have two day planners, one calendar, and 5 notebooks to keep me and my family organized. The heart and soul of my organized life is my personal day planner. I’m pretty picky when it comes to day planners and I’ve found it best to have a planner that breaks down each day by hour. After buying the Erin Condren and using it for a few months, I realized that the Emily Ley Simplified Planner was a much better fit for me (you can read my comparison of the two here).
I really love the monthly view at the start of each month. I list big ticket items here, like doctors appointments. In 2015 I am also going to use this as a health and wellness tracker, giving myself a “star” on days where I track everything I eat and/or workout. I set monthly goals each month, so this will help me to see what I’ve achieved in a given month. I found the star stickers at Michael’s.
What I love most about my day planner is the daily breakdown. Here I can organize my day by hour, list out my to dos, and note what’s for dinner. This planner helps to keep me organized day to day.
The second planner I have is for my blog. This is a new addition as I usually just use the Editorial Calendar or Co-Scheduler to organize my posts. What I’ve learned though is that I like having a paper planner. This planner is from Target, the Sugar Paper.
I like to list out my posts in advance and then breakdown what I need to do for each post. So far, this planner has worked really well for my January blog posts.
I also have a calendar on my fridge, which helps me to remember what Neal and I both have going on for the week.
While I love my day planners, my notebooks are what keep me sane. They are where I jot down everything in my brain and everything that needs to get done. I have two main notebooks, one for jotting down my random thoughts or notes throughout the day and the other is for blog ideas and blog business.
The three other notebooks are new to me this year, but I’ve been looking for a place to organize the things I need to get done around the house, my grocery lists, and my meal planning for each week. I bought all three at Target.
While it may seem like a lot, I find that I do best when I have separate calendars for personal and business. When I combine the two I get overwhelmed. Keeping notebooks in addition to my day planners works for me. I am able to get everything out of my brain and onto paper and then I can digest it all and add what I need to to my day planner.
I am really excited about 2015 and look forward to sharing my day-to-day with y’all here on Coffee Cake and Cardio! I’ve got some fun things planned and look forward to sharing my life with y’all again this year!
