When “just starting” seems like a daunting task even in itself.
So this post is just as much for me as I think it is for all of you. If you read this blog post recently then you know I’ve taken on some pretty big projects. One of which I have never done before. I’m at the place where I have a million ideas swimming around in my head and I’m ready to start, but I just don’t know where. So here’s how I would tackle a really big project.
Make lists, and lots of them. What supplies do you need? When are some solid deadlines for the project? what does the finished product look like? Once you have those, write down all the bigger items you have to get done to complete the big project (objectives). After that list, make more lists about sub-items that fall under the bigger items (tasks). Make a list for everything. Putting it all down on paper may not help with the overwhelming feelings, but it will help you to see exactly what needs to get done.
Assemble a team if this project requires one. Take that list you made about all the jobs required for the project and figure out who will do best in which roll. Maybe you need to hire someone. Get started on this now so you won’t get held up waiting for someone to get up to speed on any progress made in the future.
Take your lists and find tasks you can delegate. There are always things that you can give to someone else to do while you work on bigger picture items.
Give yourself deadlines and checkpoints along the way based on the objectives list. Depending on your timetable, so things may need to be done before others. Put these deadlines down in your planner, and work back from them a week. Write down a primary deadline a week before it actually needs to be done so you aren’t rushing to finish things up. Write down deadlines for all the bigger chunks of the project.
Set yourself goals for success. When do you know that you’ve been successful on this project? Do you have to sell a certain number of things? Try to find a measurable goal to help you determine when you’ve done it.
Now start. To me it’s more than “just starting.” It’s setting yourself up so you can start on the right foot with the right mindset in place.
What do you do to get started on a really big project?
Planning supplies are the first things to get out of hand in my household. It’s so easy to get swept up in washi, stickers, and countless planners one person could never use. So I try to keep my obsession corralled to one IKEA cart to make sure things don’t spread across the entire house.
I think it’s super important to have a designated area for supplies so you’re not only able to find things, but you don’t go overboard with things you probably won’t use. These carts come in a bunch of different colors and are sold practically everywhere now. They’re great because they can be pushed around from room to room, but are also portable enough to pop into a closet.
So in today’s video I’m giving you a walk-through of all the bits and bobs I keep jammed onto this cart on a regular basis. My traveler’s notebook supplies are kept elsewhere, so let me know if you want a tour of that stuff as well.
Whether you’re busy running your own business or busy keeping track of a million things at once, it’s hard being a girl boss. You need a planner that helps you stay on top of everything at once, while still being functional and cute at the same time. The video at the end of this post will go into a lot more detail about each of these planners, but I wanted to do a write-up still just in case you aren’t following my YouTube channel yet.
I talked about the Get to Work Bookin yesterday’s post if you want to see it in action and full of planner stickers, but I’m obsessed with this planner for working gals. It strips down any of the unnecessary fluff of most planners to give you exactly what you need. It has a gorgeous lined view weekly spread with room for top three priorities, space at the bottom for doodles, and tons of room for to do lists.
Although I do love the Get to Work Book, I still can’t get over my love affair with the Erin Condren Hourly Planner. It’s the longest running layout in my life because the time sections are so helpful when my schedule is super busy, but can easily be ignored if I don’t have set times for things. It’s colorful to keep my life bright and fun, while still being practical. I also love the monthly note pages and the twelve boxes at the front of the planner to track work accomplishments. The planner just lends itself to busy schedules.
The Plum Paper Planner is a more affordable option to the ECLP, but it also has some seriously awesome add-ons and layouts. You can add tabs in to the back of your planner for anything from blogging to mileage tracking and more. They break down their add-ons into different categories to see exactly what they have to offer. It’s super easy to get a really customized planner to suit any of your business/girl boss needs.
If you don’t need a lot of customization, but do need tons of space to write things every day, the Simplified Planner is perfect for you. It’s a daily planner rather than weekly, so there’s tons of room each day to write meetings and to do lists. I love everything about this planner, but I just don’t have enough scheduled events to justify using it to its fullest. It’s definitely one to consider if your life is super hectic and you have to be a million places in a day.
If customization seems like exactly what you need, a traveler’s notebook could be the perfect tool. It’s the king of customization and you can add in notebooks for every project and category in your life. Oh, Hello Stationery is going to be releasing a line of notebook covers soon (like the one I show you in the video below), so don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter if you want more information.
There are a TON of planners out there that could work for your girl boss needs, but these are my favorites for helping to get things done. What are your favorite planners?
I made it my mission in 2018 to actively try out different planners. Throw some stickers in them, pan in them for a few weeks, and see exactly what they have to offer when actively used. The Get to Work Book has been a fast favorite for me, so seemed like a great place to start.
From very first sticker this planner feels so natural to use after being in an Erin Condren planner for so long. Stickers fit great while the spread feels open and useful. Seriously every planner should have lines regardless of layout. Who could possibly write that straight all the time?
At first I wasn’t sure how to use the bottom grid section, but as soon as I put a few photos down there I was sold. It’s an amazing section for memory keeping, doodling, and adding a bit more fun while leaving the top section to be more structured.
Overall I’m surprised at how easy it was to jump into another planner for a week. I love that the Get to Work Book allows me to still use my beloved stickers, but pushes me to tackle my daily events and to do lists a bit differently. Plus it’s always super cool to see sticker layouts in non-EC planners.
For the longest time I just couldn’t figure out how to use the monthly view in my planner. It just felt like overkill to all the planning I was doing in my weekly pages. I switched things up time and time again until I landed on this planning style. It’s changed my monthly view game and I’ve been so happy with it that I just had to share.
I use my monthly view now to track these things:
Upcoming events
Project deadlines
Upcoming movie/book releases I’m interested in
Birthdays
Memory keeping
It’s that last one on the list that’s really stepped things up for me. I tracked a lot of the other items previously, but my monthly view always looked empty and boring. So I started adding one or two things I got up to every day. That way, each box had something in it, regardless if it was just running errands.
I’ve also started to stick to a cohesive color scheme. I choose the dominate color of the month and add a little shade variation to keep things interesting. This is a great way to use up any leftover stickers from past weekly kits so that nothing is going to waste.
I’m in love with my monthly views. It’s so fun to see the month fill up with memories, while still being a functional space to see what events are coming up so I don’t overbook myself. I’d love to hear how you use your monthly spreads in your planner! Let me know in the comments!
The planning world can be quite daunting whether you’re new or have been planning for ages. Finding a planning style with all the options can seem a bit troublesome and I’ve tried my fair share. Here are my five tips to helping figure out what style will work best for you.
Figure out what styles interest you. Are you attracted to no white space planning, bullet journals, color coding, lists, memory keeping? Write down every style you are remotely interested in.
Try out all the styles you’re interested in without spending any money. Print off mock planner spreads online, get an empty sheet of paper to try bullet journaling, and give everything a go. This will help you get a sense of what you actually like to do before investing money into it.
Once you’ve narrowed things down to planning styles you’re likely to adopt, watch videos and look at inspiration. That way you’ll see the full range of what that particular style has to offer before taking the financial plunge.
Start small with purchasing supplies and try to choose things that could be used in other planning styles if your interests change in the future. Try and DIY some of the more expensive materials when getting started just in case you aren’t 100% positive.
Consider combining some of the styles that
interest you together to make a hybrid planning style. Maybe keep a notebook for daily list making and a planner for memory keeping. Or use a traveler’s notebook to bullet journal while having color coded lists. A hybrid planning style is most likely the answer, but you have to figure out what you want to mix together first.
I talk more about these five points in today’s video!
