Whew, that title's a mouthful, isn't it? Well, I couldn't think of a better way to say it ... this is a continuation of our Planner Party, but the words and pictures in this post (and the next eight to come) will be from one of my readers (in this case, Kelly), not me!
(Well, I'll talk a bit at the end and obviously I'm talking now, so I am here - just not for the "meat" of the post!)
So onward we go ... let's hear from Kelly!
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Hello Dawn!
I am very excited to participate in your planning post! I have two main planners; one is for daily use and the other is for weekly use. Here are the details on what I am using:
Daily planner details
I began this planner in March of this year, I think after you published a bunch of planner posts. :) I had a vision and it evolved as the year progressed. In the beginning, I only created a month or two at a time so I could make tweaks as I went along. It’s October now and I feel the best about this planner than I have about any other I have used or created! I am currently brainstorming the layout and plan for my 2016 planner. I haven’t decided yet if I will create the whole thing at once (horrors in case I want to change anything!) or go 2-3 months at at a time. We shall see. It is a lot of work to create it from scratch but I am SO happy with it that it is worthwhile.
This is the book I am using: Moleskine Folio Professional Portfolio. The photo you see below is my 2016 planner just waiting to be created!
This is what a weekly spread looks like:
The top picture gives a good overview and the bottom picture allows you to see close up. There is a document on the right side of my weekly spread and that is my homeschool plan for the week. It is stapled over the previous or next week so that I still have access to the dates if needed, but is right there with my current week-at-a-glance. For each day of the week, I have the date, my husband’s work schedule, and any feast day or holiday. The next column shows any commitments I have out of the house so I know what I can and can’t plan to do at home that day; and next week I am adding a small “notes” column at the far right to write in prayer notes for that day and times to observe the moon or other tidbits like that. I think this will be a good column to add without taking away too much space for my to-dos.
This is what a monthly spread looks like:
On the left is a small calendar just for noting special holidays and feasts that we will observe in some way. I am not using it to its full capacity yet; more to think on. Below it are seasonal notes for the month; if I clip anything from a magazine or anything like that, I just file it in my FCS and make a note of it here. I plan to add seasonal cleaning tasks to this page. The right page is my list of to-do’s for the month. I add them as I think of them. I also have budget notes and anything else I want to keep track of for the month. I will use a highlighter for any really big projects that must get done this month. Anything left undone at the end of the month gets transferred to the next month or dropped. This has helped me get so much done!
In the remaining pages of the book, I have a section for a log of picture books I read to my kids, my own personal reading list and log, and a huge section just for notes. Anything I am brainstorming or working through, I write in here. I did all of my homeschool brainstorming/planning in this. I also have notes from a retreat, chore plan ideas, snack/cooking ideas, etc. It is truly a home for anything I am thinking about and needing to work through. Next year I will number all of the pages and add an index page at the front as my notes are rather random. :)
Weekly planner details:
This is simply a 3-ring binder decorated with a beautiful Victoria magazine cover! I have four sections in this book: HS (homeschooling); HH (household); Seasonal/nature; and Field trips. I spend two nights per week doing our homeschool plan for the next week (two nights so I don’t have to stay up so late either night). While the year’s plans are already made, this is the time to look at math and reading lessons and gather materials needed; gather liturgical/saint books to read; etc. I have a list of all of the areas I need to cover during my planning nights so I don’t miss anything. Once a week I do my household planning for the next week. I also have a list of areas I want to be sure to cover, for example, assigning days to do laundry and other cleaning (I am so weak in the cleaning area!); updating our budget and/or paying bills; planning our family time if it won’t happen naturally; planning meals for the week (I do meal planning two weeks at a time). The seasonal/nature section is where I keep notes about what I hope we’ll study according to the month. Field trips? Places we can go - it helps to have them all handy.
In addition to these, I have reference binders for several different things (homeschooling and others) but they are used only on occasion.
With my daily and weekly planners, I really do feel that I am accomplishing a lot and keeping track of important things. Thank you for letting me share! Sorry this is so long. :) If anything is clear as mud, please let me know!
Take care,
Kelly
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Kelly, what a fantastic post! Everything is perfectly clear and never-ever apologize for "long" posts/comments/emails, whatever. I'm the wordiest person I know - I LOVE long conversations! :)
Well, this is a lovely system you have - I like that you have a weekly AND a daily planner, because right now I'm trying to decide which is better for me and now I'm thinking - why not both?! :) Your Moleskin is designed beautifully - I've spent a good deal of time on Pinterest looking at Moleskin planners and bullet journals! Their efficiency and adaptability are perfect for planner-making! And I love how you have everything so well thought out, especially how you've scheduled "maintenance" times - which I think is a real KEY to success. I think so often we set up this or that system and then just assume it will go well ... but without taking time to sit down and actually manage the system - to plan and write things down and tweak and consider - the system won't really work for us. We need to take an active part in the planning - as much as I love planners, they aren't magical objects! We have to commit to our planners if we want them to be the best they can be!
Thank you so much, Kelly, for sharing your planner with us here ... you have me eager to really think through my 2016 planner. How I can make it fit my needs better!
My friends, if you have a moment, please drop Kelly a note in the comments box below! Is anyone else using a Moleskin notebook for planning? I'd love to hear about it!
Enjoy your Saturday, my friends! I'll be back tomorrow with our next guest post!
:)
