On any given day, I see myself as an unpaid Uber driver. I take the kids to school, tumbling class, chess class and other activities through the week. We might be throwing soccer in the mix really soon. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time (too much time) in my car. Then there’s my own to do list. I have writing to get done, deadlines to meet, appointments and phone call to make. I also need to do the normal stuff like Trader Joe’s and Target runs. My days can get ridiculous with mile long to do lists. It takes some effort to take back your day. Having a planner to get my life together is a must! I’ve been using my calendar on my phone and my planner to keep this train rolling.
I fell in love a few years ago with the Day Designer. I had heard other moms/bloggers talk about how much they loved theirs and I decided to give it a shot. It’s been the side kick to this super hero show I attempt to pull off every day! LOL Seriously, it rides in the passenger seat of my car so I can grab it easily to make sure I’m on track and to update it. It’s the perfect companion for some pretty planning to take back your day. I think it helps that it’s creator, Whitney English, is a mom.
She designed a planner that suits the everyday life of a mom and a business owner. The planner really ties in all the things a mom needs to keep track of while running a home and a business. Taking control of my day is a must because it’s so easy for things to snowball. It sucks to get to the end of the day and realize the things that needed to happen just didn’t. I have a few ideas for taking back your day.
- Make a plan – If there’s no plan, the day could take you anywhere. That’s a good thing sometimes. But when you need to get things done, you can’t completely go with the flow. I make my plan the night before. I wake up feeling like I’m more in control of the day and that sense of control gets rid of any anxiety or overwhelm.
- Don’t be too strict with your plans. I always allow for some flow. I have no more than three priorities for my days. If I pile on too many things, it’s easier to end up disappointed. I keep my list realistic.
- Give yourself a time table. I write down what I need to do in my planner. I use the calendar on my phone to schedule the time that I’ll do things and set alerts so I stay on track. I tend to space things out when possible so that there’s space to be spontaneous and move things around if I need to.
- BONUS: Put something on your list that you look forward to. Hint: self care
As I’m looking at the calendar, I can’t even believe that we’ve eased on in to April! I am revisiting my goals for the year and making plans to stay on track. It’s about this time of the year that many of us have fallen off with any resolutions and goals. We start of the year on fire and kind of fizzle out after a while. If your life looks anything like mine, having my planner to keep it all together is a must!
I ordered mine before the beginning of the year and counted down the days til the New Year so I could use it. LOL If you haven’t got yours yet, check out the mid year edition that’s available now. There are so many gorgeous designs to choose from. I have the black and white stripes. I have a thing for clean lines. I was glancing at the mid year planners though and fell in love with this one. It’s definitely my next purchase.
Having a planner that pretty and stylish makes me want to use it even more. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had planners in the past that I barely touched. You know what they had in common? They were all so plain and boring! Ha! If you want to try the Day Designer style, you can download planning pages from the website to give you a feel of what using the planner would be like.
Have you used the Day Designer? How do you keep your busy life on track?
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3 Comments on 3 Ways to take back your day
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I am pretty hopeless with calendars and diaries. I log all my appointments on my phone, and that’s about it. I have a customer driven business – like who knows how many Mums and Dads and Nanas are going to order a personalised story today.
So, I have to be pretty flexible.
I’d like to be better at planning and sticking to it.
My days aren’t as busy as they used to be when I had kids at home. I carry a purse-size two-year calendar to log my appointments so that I know what days are free to make them. It works for me.
YEAH!!!! A post that takes into account self care! Great job.