How I Plan My Week Using My Erin Condren Planner

Have you tried planner after planner, hoping to find something that meets all of your needs? Me too!  When it comes to planners I’ve tried them all!

Many people are surprised to know that I use one planner for my personal life and my TWO businesses (this blog and my It Works! business).

By having everything in one place, I stay organized, spend less time wondering what to do, and am more productive with time.

As you all know, I love anything involving planners, pens, markers, stickers, and the list goes on and on!  When it comes to fun art supplies, I am a kid at heart.

I buy most of my stickers on Etsy including the moving boxes, To Do’s and To Clean stickers I used this week.  I’ve had people tease me about my stickers but they make me happy and my girls love helping me plan with them too!

I have found that by using pretty things in my planner,  I’m happier.  It’s not only a creative outlet, but it also is a good way to document my life by:

• writing down what I’m working on
• keeping track of my goals
• be able to look back when I paid a bill such as my student loan
• being aware of what I made for meals the week before (because I usually can’t remember the night after I make something!)
• or document important family appointments and milestones.

The weekly pages of the planner are divided into morning, day, and night.  (For 2016 there have been lots of changes and I can’t wait to have the open boxes!) I divide my weekly pages into 3 categories.

• The top box is for appointments or anything that is important for that day.
• The middle box is for household chores, tasks, and phone calls I need to make, etc.
• The bottom box I use for my blog and It Works! businesses.

Each week (usually on Sunday evening) I take about an hour to do my plan for the upcoming week.

Before I begin, I double-check the school calendar and make sure I have everything written that is coming up that week that’s relevant to our family.

After I have all appointments and activities written down, I plan my meals.  If we have events or activities, I try to use the slow cooker or have a freezer meal that I can pop in the oven for those busy times.

When I do my planning hour, I brainstorm my blog posts for the week.  Sometimes I will do a month at a time, other times, just a week. I’m spontaneous when it comes to my posts, usually I write about what’s interesting to me (and relevant to you) when the thought happens.  I’m a wing-it girl. 🙂

I fill in the household boxes last.  Sometimes I will fill in the week, others just a few days.

I don’t always get everything done but it gives me a good guide.  The school calendar really controls how much time I have to get household tasks done.

I put the most important tasks on Monday and Tuesday because if I don’t finish them, by the end of the week I will.

This week I’m focusing on moving more stuff from our old house and doing a massive decluttering of toys and the kids’ stuff before Christmas vacation so I laid out the whole week. I’m so visual, by doing this I have a map for the week!

How do you plan your week?

**For those of you interested in an Erin Condren planner, right now there is a great deal on gift cards bundles! If you have considered buying a planner you might want to buy yourself a gift card bundle first to get the goodies!

Have you enjoyed what you read here today? Do you have friends or other women you know that could benefit from this resource? If so, please do me a favor! I have included the links below to share with other intentional women! They’ll be glad you did!