Ah Mondays. They get a bad rep. Mostly because we don’t prepare over the weekend to make sure it starts off on the right foot. If you’re looking to have the most productive week yet, here are 10 quick things you can do to set yourself up for success.
Create a to do list the night before Monday. That way when you’ve dragged yourself into work the next morning, you know exactly what you need to do rather than messing about on Facebook for a few hours before finally settling down to work.
Prepare meals for breakfast and lunch so you’re making healthier choices than a late afternoon trip to the vending machine. Having them pre-made makes it easy to just grab from the fridge and go in the morning too. Basically, do all the thinking the night before so you don’t have to worry about anything bright and early Monday morning.
Finish your laundry. I can’t tell you how many times I get halfway through the week and run out of underwear. Finish your laundry over the weekend so you aren’t having to do it during the week when you’re swamped with spontaneous events and nights out. Plus you’ll have all of your favorite clothes.
Make sure your car has gas. Another one of those better safe than sorry tips. This list is pretty much an exposé of all of the dumb things I did when I had a desk job. So many Monday mornings I find myself in a car that’s on E and rushing to the gas station, already late to work. Give yourself at least a fighting chance and make sure you have a half a tank or more.
Pack your bags for the next day. If you have plans to go to the gym, pack that bag the night before and put it by the door. Any lofty goals current you has will be immediately forgotten by future you if you don’t make it as easy as possible.
Have an idea of what you want to wear in mind or picked out Sunday night. That way you’ll look your best and start the week feeling great.
Charge all of your electronics. If you have a fitbit or Apple watch, make sure your devices are charged to kick the week of on the right foot (literally).
Map out the week ahead so you have a sense of where you need to be and what you need to do. Have a lot of meetings on Tuesday? Push preparing for that big presentation to Wednesday so you won’t be interrupted by meetings.
Get to bed early. Turn off Netflix before eleven and you’ll be bright-eyed the next morning.
Drink a lot of water Monday morning. I mean, drink a lot of water period, but especially Monday morning. But you knew that, right?
What are some of the ways you prepare to have a very productive week?
It’s been five years. Five years of decorative planning. I’ve learned a lot over the past half decade (wut. why did I even say it that way? Now I can’t get that out of my head…) and I have quite a lot of insight for younger me.
Dear Kayla from 2014,
You don’t need a ton of washi tape all at once. I mean, you’ll soon find out you don’t like it at all, but you definitely don’t need 30+ rolls when you’ve only used a few inches of the first roll you purchased. Take things slow, figure out your planning style, and then invest in high quality products you’ll use until they run out.
It’s ok if your planning style changes. When I first started, I felt terrible when I suddenly didn’t like the vertical planner I obsessed over for months before purchasing. Planner guilt is a real thing and you don’t have to beat yourself up if the system no longer works for you.
Matte stickers are indeed better than glossy. Now, it does matter what type of matte paper we’re talking about. That silky smooth type is king and beats out all other types. I know you’re obsessed with glossy now, but you’ll see.
You’ll find other like-minded people. It may feel like you’re a weirdo and no one relates to you, but soon enough you’ll find your tribe of planner addicts and make a ton of lifelong friends. Just hold out and keep doing what you love.
One day, you’ll finally figure out what to do with leftover stickers. I know you’re frustrated by them now and don’t know what to do with that giant stack, but you’ll soon learn to combine like colors and do one color spreads. You’ll feel stupid when that retaliation comes.
I know you take your spreads very seriously and what them to be Instagram perfect, but you’ll realize (a little too late), that style of planning just doesn’t work for you. Function over form because at the end of the day, that planner needs to help you not be a piece of crap more than it needs to look good.
Sincerely,
Kayla from 2019
What are some things you wish you knew when you started decorative planning?
Whether you’re a weekly planner, bullet journal-er, or avid to do list maker, don’t forget to make sure this one particular thing is in your planning routine. Memory keeping.
For the longest time I avoided memory documenting because I thought I had to be good at scrapbooking (which I most definitely am not). It seemed like such an expensive hobby to get into to be any sort of good at it and it just wasn’t what I wanted to spend my free time on (I rather be napping honestly). So I added a few photos here or there but didn’t really do any memory keeping. I missed out on preserving a lot of awesome moments and now I’m here to make sure you don’t miss out like I did.
So why should you start? Because it’s super easy. I just use the
softbound notebooks from Erin Condren and paste down business cards, birthday cards, ticket stubs, and of course photos. My rule of thumb is if I have at least photos and one memento from an event, it’s worth documenting.
It may seem silly to document little things like a baseball game now, but I know future me will appreciate the effort. One day I’ll look back and easily remember the event and it’ll be awesome to see me and Alex in our early years of marriage.
So whether you add some memory planning into your current planner on some note pages or you break out a whole new notebook, just start. Grab the scissors and glue and get to work. You’ll become addicted to it in no time.
Today marks the first day of the Oh, Hello
Box Bits Sale so what better way to celebrate than to talk about some of my most used box items (available individually until Sunday) from the past six months. Of course I love everything in the boxes (I designed and curated them after all), but these products are the ones I use most often in my everyday life.
My enamel pin obsession knows no bounds and I’m still completely in love with them. Each box has an
exclusive enamel pin and I love seeing how the collection continues to grow each month. It’s an amazing way to remember all of the boxes so far. I also find myself using the
toiletry bag often with all the trips we’ve been taking lately. It’s incredibly roomy and fits everything I and my husband need for a long weekend away.
The
three zipper pouch is also a favorite for convenient travel packing. On our last trip to Washington state I used it to organize my makeup. I love the compartments to separate out brushes and makeup bits into categories.
I never realized how badly I needed the
tech taco in my life until I had one. It’s the perfect tool to keep my cords from getting tangled in my bag and has saved me a lot of frustration trying to untangle cords. It’s such a simple thing, but has made my coffee shop work outings so much easier.
However I think my most used item out of all the Oh, Hello boxes has to be this pocket sized traveler’s notebook from the very first box. It goes everywhere with me and houses any random ideas or notes I take on the go. It’s my constant companion.
My most complimented item is definitely the
tartan tote from the coffee shop themed box. I grab it whenever I’m headed out to make returns or bring items to a party. It’s heavy duty while still flexible to fold up and put in my suitcase too. It’s like a classier version of a reusable tote.
Be sure to take advantage of the
Box Bits Sale this weekend through Sunday. Quantities vary from item to item in the sale and there are a ton of other products I didn’t mention in this post. Plus use coupon code
BOXBITS to save 20% off everything in the sale!
If it’s tropical thing you can basically assume I’m going to love it. It’s been a while since I’ve received an Erin Condren Seasonal Surprise Box* so I could not wait to rip this box open. I’ve generally really enjoyed past surprise boxes because there’s just something about exclusive items you can’t get on the site. Exclusivity is basically death to my bank account.
If you’re new to the surprise box, they’re released every quarter for $35 (plus tax) and contain over $65 in exclusive and sneak peek products. The themes usually stay pretty close to whatever season the box is for. I’ve reviewed a few other boxes in the past if you want to
check out those posts.
My favorite items from this box are the wristlet, palm paper clips, chase the sun cover, and asterisk pen. I’ve already used the wristlet as a pouch for my carry-on liquids since it’s see-through and can go through security.
The pocket sized traveler’s notebook insert is interesting, but I’m more curious to see if they come out with a line of smaller traveler’s notebooks since this particular insert is exclusive to the box. Otherwise this little guy is basically pointless. The larger insert is a summer petite planner where you can write down summer plans and document memories. I have my own style of
documenting memories that I’m a fan of more, so this will likely be passed along to a friend.
Overall I think this box is worth the $35 price tag since a lot of the exclusive items I really enjoy. It’s when the exclusive items are meh that it doesn’t really seem worth it since you’ll be able to get the sneak peek items from the box on the website in a few weeks. I love seeing the company branch out into new types of products like the paperclips and pens. Who knows what they’ll come up with next…
What do you think of this seasonal surprise box? Did you snag one? What past box is your favorite?
If you’re living that online life of posting videos/writing blog posts, affiliate programs are a great way to organically talk about products you actually use while getting some money on the side. It’s something talked about a lot in the beauty and lifestyle industry, but relatively unheard of in the planning community. There are so many amazing options out there for affiliate programs to increase your online revenue just by simply changing what links you’re using.
What’s even better is that all of my favorite planner affiliate programs use
ShareASale as their platform. That way it’s super easy to keep everything in one place and you’ll get one paycheck rather than having to keep up with a ton of different accounts.
You’ll be able to view the programs descriptions and apply to join once you sign up for
ShareASale (it’s free).
10% of every sale
10% of every sale
15% of every sale
5% of every sale
Once you’re a part of the program I highly recommend using the custom links option to take whatever product you’re talking about and make an affiliate link for it. That way you can direct your audience to exactly what you’re talking about. You’ll also receive emails about once a month for each program to give you updates on upcoming sales, discounts, and collaboration opportunities. The Erin Condren program specifically offers a lot of chances to “bid” on projects where they supply you with items to talk about during specific campaigns.
There are a ton of other planner affiliate programs out there, but these are my particular favorites and the ones I find myself linking to most often. If you have any questions about getting started with affiliate links, drop them in the comments and I can help you figure it all out!
