Goodbye 2013 Planner

I'm kinda sad to say goodbye to my 2013 planner.  It has become my good companion and friend.  I'm glad that I will be keeping each planner as my journal and record keeper so I don't have to throw away the great little treasures and notes I took throughout the year.

That being said, I'm excited to begin a new year and to carry on some of the things I didn't quite finish and to think of new ideas and be even more deliberate in my role as a woman, wife & mother.

I get a lot of emails from women asking me how to use the planner most effectively, so I thought I would put a few more pictures up of how I used mine this year.  I'm still tweaking a few things, but I feel like I've finally found a style that I like.

Some days and weeks are full and others in my planner are quite empty so don't think that all of my pages look like the examples below because they don't.  I rarely ever have it all together, but there are some weeks that go smooth and I'm able to accomplish quite a bit and other weeks where I'm in survival mode.  I don't feel guilty for either one.  It's a process and we have to be in our moments and not regret or wish them away and embrace the ups and downs.

Sooo, check out my used & abused 2013 planner...

First of all, I use my planner for EVERYTHING.  If I want to remember it or get it done, it goes in the planner.  I stick post it notes, quotes, programs, tickets, receipts, anything I want goes in there.  I made my own pockets on the inside of the covers and 2 more throughout.  I love them.  I stick paperclips, binder clips, washi tape, glue, scrap papers, you name it all throughout the planner and it gives it a feel of ownership and creativity.

I used the dividers in the planner for a lot of different things.  I used them as my catch-all.  From recipes to organization ideas to notes from conferences and meetings.  It was easy to quickly refer to them and use them for reference, so I think I will use it a lot the same for 2014.

I have LOVED the weekly planners.  They break everything up for me and make things attainable.   I divided mine up by "morning, afternoon, evening" and that worked great for me.  I've heard of women dividing them up differently like, "me, husband, kids", or "home, family, church", or "kids, church, work", or "home, work, school", etc.  

I have also LOVED having the little boxes that I can make my own whether it is a note to myself, a quote I want to memorize, a focus word or just a thought.  It works great.  I love customizing the boxes on the side to get my little tasks complete by dividing and conquering them.  

Sometimes, I use a less busy week to jot down ideas or extra to-do's on. 

The menu boxes at the bottom have been great.  I don't always use them for menu items, but when I do my week goes a lot smoother.  

The best part is that 

It's completely customizable.  

The monthly calendar has been wonderful.  It has helped with me being able to see the overview of things.  Seeing the big picture of what will be taking place that month is why I moved back the paper planning instead of my phone because I never could see the whole picture with my phone.  It is fun to add stickers and have that little list on the side to prioritize the month's "to-do's"

The FHE pages are my FAVORITE.  I love love love having this included in my planner.  It is packed with goodness, yet it is small and simple at the same time.  I keep my brain here, my observations, my concerns and things I want to make happen with my family.  

I can't say enough about the "Teach my children" pages and Sunday Lessons spread.  It has been a valuable asset to this planner and I've referred to it very often for quick FHE lessons, quick thoughts needed for a devotional or as a nice gospel study aid.  The questions included are thought-provoking and are meant to promote gospel discussion with our children.  It helps to have studied it ahead of time and to have some ideas prepared for those discussions.  

Some of the other pages that I've really enjoyed having are the holiday pages, the monthly relationship goals, the budget and monthly goals page.  I LOVE having the individual pages for each of my kids and one for my husband.  The Christmas shopping pages were great to keep track of everything.  

So that pretty much wraps it up.  I could show you a ton more picture of each page but I think you get the idea.  It is neat, sloppy, creative, simple, quick, reflective, easy, packed planning at it's finest.  Make it your own.  Love it!  

It's time to move on though to a new year full of 

exciting   deliberate   planning.

Happy Planning!