Using a planner changed my life. Literally. I used to be so dis-organised – constantly forgetting things and just being a general mess. Sound familiar? I’ve used a planner for around 4 years now and so I’ve learned what works best for me to keep me organised. Hopefully they will work for you too!
If you’re yet to start your planner then take a look at this blog post: Tools & Resources You Need To Create A Kickass Planner.
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1. MONTHLY/WEEKLY/DAILY PLANNER
A dated planner is the MOST important insert to include in your planner. How else are you supposed to remember your appointments!? I write down appointments, due dates and birthdays on my monthly planner and then reminders and ‘smaller’ plans on my weekly planner such as dinner plans and gym classes, etc. I also use my inserts to plan what I’m having for my dinner during the week.
I don’t tend to use a daily planner as I don’t have that many things going on to need it. However if you’re a mum using your planner to control family life then a daily planner might be perfect for you.
2. FINANCES
I’ll admit I’m not the most sensible person with money but I DO try! Budgeting really helps me to get my finances together and pre-plan what I can spend before I get paid. I generally split my budget into 5 categories:
- House mortgage/bills
- Car – finance, insurance, petrol, etc.
- Business – Tailwind, Adobe Photoshop
- Misc – mobile, gym, groceries
- Spare – this is my disposable income once I’ve deducted all of my bills
Need help with your finances? You can download this printable planner here.
3. HOUSEHOLD PLANNER
I think that it’s fair to say that my house would be an absolute mess if I didn’t have my planner. Before incorporating my cleaning into my planner, I used to do a big clean once a week with little jobs in the week. This meant that I dreaded cleaning every weekend as it turned into a 3 hour job! My household planner helps me to break my cleaning down into daily, manageable tasks so that I can actually have a break at the weekend. A lie in without the guilt 🙂
If you prefer to keep on top of your cleaning another way then you can use cleaning tracker stickers.
5. GOALS/PRODUCTIVITY
You know the saying – plan for success. It’s massively important to write down your goals if you want to achieve them. I use my planner to think of long-term goals and then break them down into smaller, attainable goals. For example, one of my long-term goals is to complete my CILEX Diploma. To keep me on track, I’ve broken the end-goal into bi-monthly tasks such as research and completing an assignment.
You can purchase this goal planner here.
Related: How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve in 2018
6. STUDENT
If you’re currently at college then a student planner will be massive help in keeping you organised. Unfortunately I hadn’t become obsessed with planning when I was at university but with lectures, assignments, 2 jobs and Cheerleading, it would have definitely been beneficial to have one!
Whilst I’m currently studying for my CILEX, I use foiled study planner stickers as a helpful reminder to study.
Related
5 Tailwind Tribes for the Planner and Journal Obsessed
The Most Productive Week Ever Challenge
How I Meal Plan Using My Planner
I’m looking for hints and tips for budgeting please as I’m just starting out with trying to get a budget journal together. Then put it together when I get one of them.as we need to sort our finances out asap. As I’ve got my wallets together. So now need to do the rest of the budgeting.and putting our money out into our money wallets for our bills that we have.