How my daughter got me to use a planner

I got on the planner train about 2 years ago. I bought a purposeful planner and I used it for the first 2 months of the new year and chucked it. After that, I was determined to not use a planner again. I said to myself “Self, I can use my calendar on the computer and my todoist app. I will be fine! Fast forward to last year when my daughter asked me for a planner for Christmas. I didn’t think anything of it so I bought her a cheap 5 dollar planner from a bookstore. She used it daily, even coming to me asking for stickers. Around April of this year, I finally went into her room to clean up and found her planner and realized that she was using it faithfully to keep up with things. Everything from her schoolwork to her friends birthdays and what she does daily as far as chores and what she watches on tv. I thought hmmmmm maybe I should get her a real planner. So I did! I bought her an Erin Condren planner that had all of her pictures of her thus far on the cover. My daughter said mom get a planner so that we can plan together and that can be our time together daily so I got one and that’s how my daughter got me to use a planner. Now here are some reasons to use a planner

Reasons to use a planner

The Big picture – When clients would call me I would have to get on my computer and go to my calendar and then pull it up to see if I had anyone scheduled. I would sometimes overbook because on my phone it didn’t give me the full calendar just a portion so I thought oh I have nothing scheduled and would schedule then I would get the email reminder the day before and boom I am overbooked. With a planner that I write in, I can actually go to that day and see what all I have to do to make sure I am not overbooking. I also get to see if it’s someone’s birthday or if my kids have a project due because then I won’t have to schedule anything on those days. Before I was just winging it now I don’t have to

Keep Records – So now I have a better record keeper of things. I can write down what I did that day for social media, I can keep the confirmation numbers of bills that I pay written down, and I can write down who I pitched too for social media campaigns. This is a life saver for me because I can look back on everything and see what I did each day and have a detailed look. No more trying to remember things.

It helps me set goals – I never wrote down goals before but I have heard that there is power in the pen. Each day I write down 3 goals that I have to accomplish that day before I go to bed. It can be small goals like making sure I check my spam folder in the email, or clean my purse out from the millions of receipts, or go get a massage. I write 3 down a day and I stick to it. It has helped me be more grateful and happier all around. 

Now you may be asking what are some things I jot down in my planner and what on earth does my daughter write down in hers. Let’s break it down and then I am going to give you some of my favorite shops to buy stickers from!

In my planner

• I write down what goes in and out of my account daily. (anything over $50)
• My topics for #kitainthedark on Instagram
• The one social media that I do a day (I do one social media a day where I engage, share, and like stuff. So I take on Pinterest on Mondays, Facebook on Tuesdays, Instagram on Wed, you get the drift)
• My goals for the day which I limit to only 3 things
• My to-do list which is about 10 things per day
• What we ate for dinner because I need to keep a food log
• National holidays so I can keep up on social media and I can promote a blog post that symbolizes that day
• Projects that are due for my kids plus anything extra they have to do

In my Daughters planner

• All of her friends birthday
• what she is grateful for that day
• what she ate
• Any projects for school
• daily chores
• A secret that I’m not supposed to read (I read it)
• Daily affirmations
• One goal that she must accomplish for herself that day (reading something, painting her nails, etc)

Now let’s talk about the shops. Of course, I buy the ones out of Micheals but we also support the smaller shops on Etsy. My girl Posh knows a few things about planners and she helped my daughter and I navigate a few things.

Cloth + Paper (use the code POSH10)

Shameless Stickers (Use code POSHPLANS15)

Capital Chic Designs (Use code FAKEPOSH)

Kids Accessorized – (Use code POSH15)

Disclaimer: The codes are to help a small business out so if you use them thank you so much! 

Lavish Paper Company 

Planner Envy 

If you use a journal use it, doesn’t matter what planner you use because there is one that fits everyone. So make sure you are planning and setting goals. Do it now so that you can hit the ground running in 2019. Do you plan? What are some of your favorite shops for planner things? What’s your favorite planner?