I’m a firm believer that your planner and methods need to change with your needs. There’s no use trying to make a system continue to work if your planning needs have changed. That’s just silly. Plus any excuse to get new planner supplies, right?
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2020 has been a whirlwind of a year already and we aren’t even two months in. With the opening of Oh, Hello Paper & Gifts and the expansion of The Oh, Hello Branding Group into inbound marketing, my plate looks like I just went to an all-you-can-eat-buffet. She full. To do list items started slipping through the cracks and I felt like I was losing my mind with forgetting things. Enter, The Never-Ending To Do List.
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Now it’s going to be overwhelming at first. Any lengthy to do list will. But there’s just something about writing EVERYTHING down in one place that makes your head feel a million times clearer. Sure you still have to get things done, but you’re no longer holding everything in your head hoping you won’t forget.
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Any notebook will do the trick, but I love my Clever Fox Dotted Journal because the cover is gorgeous, there are a ton of ribbon bookmarks, and the paper quality is great. It’s also an A5 size so larger than 5×7 to have plenty of room to write longer to do list items.
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I add in random stickers and cross off the list with a variety of bright colors to keep me engaged and excited to cross something else off. It’s all about tricking yourself into getting more done. I’ll take this master list and piece it out in my daily planner into more manageable bites.
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Check out how this planner coordinates with the other two planners in my system in this video. What’s your current planner routine?
The envy is real when I see all of those planner girls at events carrying around their caddies full of supplies. They’re so organized and chic. Like they’re part of the cool planner crowd and I’m just over here rummaging through a messy stack of stickers. I could never find a caddy or tote system that I loved and didn’t feel dated. But no more! The lovely folks over at Mollie Ollie answered my organizational prayers and sent over the Mimmo Caddy* that has sent my heart a flutter.
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I’m a sucker for felt and this caddy is so high quality I wish you could feel it through the computer screen. It’s cool enough that I don’t feel like an 80-year-old lady carrying it around, but it’s still practical as hell. There are a ton of storage pockets along the sides that securely hold items in place. The side zipper pocket has a ton of loops to hold other supplies as well. This could be used for so many different hobbies and purposes. It was originally designed as a diaper caddy, but the sky’s the limit on its uses. It could be great for knitters, scrapbookers, and other crafty folk. Plus it’s under $30 and would make a perfect addition to your holiday wishlist since it’s sold on Amazon.
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The larger compartment fits all of my planners perfectly and would likely fit any 7×9 inch planners without issue. I have three planners stashed in the pocket, but I’m sure you could fit up to five comfortably.
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You can find me toting this thing around throughout my house. I’ve even brought it with me on the bus to take it to Oh, Hello Paper & Gifts. It’s serious love. The quality is insane and the straps are nice and sturdy. The interior divider pockets can be removed if you’re looking for a larger space to store items, but I personally love being able to divide out my products.
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Click here to purchase the tote and be sure to use code 10HELLOLIV for a 10% discount! I would have never thought to use a diaper caddy to store planner supplies, but this tote has got me thinking about all the other products I could adapt to my planning needs! Do you have a planner caddy? What planner supplies do you always have with you?
How am I even writing about the holidays already?! Anyone else feel like 2019 didn’t even happen or is it just sleep-deprived me? Regardless, I have no control over how fast the year goes by and here we are, talking gift guides. It’s kind of a given that an Erin Condren gift guide is the first one I post. Five years later and the addiction is stronger than ever. Thank you to the team over at EC for supplying the items for this post!
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This year they’ve released a ton of new products that would make the perfect gift for the planner addict in your life, or to add to your personal wishlist. Up first is their new, smaller planner tote. I wasn’t a huge fan of their original size but I’m all about this new option. This tote still fits a regular 7×9 planner in it and has a variety of different internal pockets to store things. Plus they come in a few different color options (this one here is a canvas black). There are a ton of new straps to choose from as well.
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The new desk trays are probably my favorite from the bunch. They’re beyond gorgeous, heavy duty, and are headed straight to my store as decor as soon as I’m finished with this post. My wallet isn’t super jazzed about all these new home goods EC is releasing…
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Another surprising new launch the team at EC executed very well are the new brush pens. I’m by no means a hand lettering expert, but I’ve used my fair share of pens in the past. These are high quality, easy to use, and dry very quickly (you can literally see them drying). I hope this means more people will take a stab at hand lettering in the future!
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Erin Condren is usually where I go when I’m in need of stocking stuffers or smaller gifts for my girl friends and nieces. I already have a few more sets of these gold page markers in my shopping basket. I love adding a few smaller gifts on top of a main item to round out the gift.
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After five years EC is still going strong with some amazing new releases. And although I’m not mentally prepared for the holiday season, at least EC has my back when I find myself scrambling to order gifts for friends and family.
I’ll admit it, I’m not the greatest when it comes to habit tracking or maintaining habits. Before I started tracking them in my planner I was downright awful. So trust me when I say that habit tracking, actual tracking, can make a world of difference to building and maintaining positive habits.
I’ve tried quite a few different methods over the years, but the sticker in the planner method seems to do the trick. My planner is always with me (security blanket much?) so it’s a lot easier to see what habits I’m trying to track and work on improving them every day. Sure I’m still not perfect (I barely ate at home in the photo…), but it’s more about awareness for me than anything else. The next day I can try to be better and whatnot. It’s a process.
Now I’ve received advice about not having so many habits I’m tracking and I understand there is value in focusing on a few, but I personally love having a bunch. If I happen to have a crappy time with mindful eating on a particular day, I still can feel like I wasn’t a complete and total failure. Having more things to track means I have more opportunities to succeed.
As I’ve continued this process for a few months I’ve also noticed that some habits don’t need to be checked off every day. I don’t need to check my finances every day, but every few days works. I’ve started highlighting the dates that I want to make sure I do a certain habit that way I don’t feel bad if it isn’t all filled in. Plus some of the things I’m tracking I don’t want filled in. Like anxiety for instance. I want to keep track of when I have higher amounts of anxiety, but if I go a month without marking a single day, that’s definitely a win.
Like with all planner related things, it’s best to find a method that works for you. Whether you track two or three things to make sure you’re staying focused throughout the month, or tracking a whole butt load like me, you do you planner peeps.
Two months ago I took some pliers to my Erin Condren Deluxe Monthly in order to add another monthly view to each section in the hopes of some planner satisfaction (planner peace just doesn’t exist…). I always think of the song “I can’t get no (planner) satisfaction!” when it comes to planning. But that’s a whole other tangent…
Ok back on point Kayla. Double monthly spreads. I needed a way to keep track of my blog posts and videos without them cluttering up my main monthly view. I don’t use weekly views (I prefer to see the entire month at once) so I had to figure out a way to make it work. So why not two planner spreads?
I’m in love. It works so well at keeping all of my content organized in a way that visually makes sense to me. I can easily flip from my main monthly view to the content and know exactly what’s going on. It’s all in the same planner so I’m not carrying around extra notebooks or calendars unnecessarily. Sure a larger monthly view could also do the trick, but honestly I like having them separate but similar. Plus it means two planner spreads to decorate which is always a plus.
A double monthly spread could work for you if you have a blog or regular content you’re creating on a regular basis. Or if your family has a very busy sports schedule you could separate it all out in the second monthly view, and have a little icon to mark it in your main view. My content schedule never changes, so I know there will be posts on Tues/Thurs and videos on Wed/Fri so I don’t need the reminder in my main view, but if you’re just getting started it could be helpful so you aren’t missing anything.
To me this solves the personal planner/work planner problem without the multiple planner situation. It can also function as a workout or health tracker. The sky’s really the limit on the two monthly view planner. I’m just sayin’. It’s pretty insane.
Any proper planner addict should have their own planner related Instagram profile. Whether or not you combine it with your “personal” account is up to you, but having a place to share your spreads and seek feedback is another element to the planner community. Don’t have one yet? Here are five easy steps to get started.
1. Pick a planner related name. That way your Instagram can be found easier when other planner people are exploring for new feeds. Something like “planlikekim” or “kimplansalot” work!
2. Post consistently. At first your feed won’t get much traction, but if you post consistently once a day or every other day, your profile will start to gain more traction and exposure.
3. Use hashtags to help your posts get found. Be sure to mix them up from post to post so Instagram doesn’t think you’re spamming. Use hashtags like #plannercommunity, #planneraddict, #erincondren, and others depending on what planner you’re using.
4. Bright lighting. I mean this one should probably be the only rule with Instagram posts. Keep your photos bright. The easiest way to do this is to put down a white piece of paper next to a window. Take photos of your planner in bright, natural light. No one wants to look at dark photos!
5. Follow fellow planner Instagrams and comment on their posts. The best way to gain a following is to become active in the community. Follow other planner Instagram accounts and comment on their posts. Engage with them and they’ll undoubtedly engage with you! Being an active member of whatever community you’re using Instagram for is imperative to having success in growing a following.
It’s super easy to get your Instagram for your planning up and running! Let me know what your Instagram handle is in the comments so I can go follow you!
