My Daily Spread - Working the Plan!

Hello my friends, and Happy Wednesday! I'm popping in today to share a little Day Designer news with you!

So, last week - on the 22nd at 12 p.m. EST to be exact - The Day Designer held their official Launch for their new line of 2018-2019 day planners - moving from midyear to academic year platform - and not surprisingly there were some fresh, fun designs! This is my fourth year using a Day Designer, and it's always a challenge to decide WHICH cover to choose, because I really USE my Day Designer!! So that cover will be a big part of my "planning life" in the new year ahead!

There were so many lovely styles - some old, some new - and I was seriously torn between sticking with my current style, "Jungle Out There," because I've loved it so much - the black background and vibrant tapestry-like design really suits me - but in the end I decided to go with something new!

And here it is ...

Isn't it lovely?!? It's called "Climbing Floral," and it makes me think of an English garden. :)

Here are a few more peeks:

Now, the flagship planner is not an inexpensive purchase, for sure ... not something most of us would buy on a whim. But I truly feel comfortable with the price because I absolutely use this planner, every single day, and really work it to my advantage! I'm all for keeping life simple, but life with four kids - one of them special needs, one getting ready for college, one trying to find a job and one still in preschool - life is pretty much "all systems GO" for me every day!

So, not that I need to justify my purchase, lol (my husband gave me his blessing - he knows how much my DD helps me!), I thought I might break down the daily planning page layout and share how I WORK this planner to suit my rather unique planning needs as a homeschooling, busy and blessed blogger mom!

Ok, in the top left corner of the page, we find the "Today's Top Three" section:

This is meant to be a place for setting apart the three most important to-dos for that day, but instead I use this space to highlight any events "of note" for that day - say, a birthday, holiday or full moon - or just anything I need to keep in mind throughout the day. (It's too easy to lose track of the "big picture" as I manage all the nitty gritty.)

So on Tuesday, I wrote:

~ Bill home late (due to an evening dentist appointment) - because our whole evening routine is different when Daddy's not home!

~ EASTER PREP - in all caps, lol. I have an "Easter Prep" list that I'm working on throughout the week. I try to fit tasks in when I have a few minutes "free time."

~ 🌞 pics - this is to remind myself to take advantage of the sunny weather and get my photos done! (My pictures come out much better when it's sunny!) So for example, I took the pictures for this post when the afternoon sun was shining brightly through our kitchen nook window!

~ Amazon delivery - Since I had "Easter basket treats" coming in this package, I wanted to be sure I was the one who got it!

(I also always jot down the weather for the day here, because I'm a weather geek.)

In the opposite corner, we find spaces for "Due/Dinner/Dollars/Don't Forget":

Due - Here's where I write blogging goals to be working on this week. (Posts on which I should be concentrating.)

Dinner - Here's where I jot down what we'll be eating that night. (I could have noted here my older boys made supper that night!)

Dollars - Here's where I note any monies spent that day. (I look back through these during weekend "office hours.")

Don't Forget - In this space I make note of our weekly seasonal homeschooling theme. (There are 52 in all, as described in this long-ago post.)

Now we're getting to the real meat of the planner! In this next section we'll look at the "Today" column:

As you can see, I really work the heck out of this area! I keep my Day Designer on my kitchen counter and check in frequently throughout the day. I keep track of everyday tasks and do some simple habit tracking here as well. I also use highlighters to draw my eye to specific activities ...

--> green - I am going somewhere (aka I am somehow involved with an activity outside the home).

--> blue - Bill and/or the boys are doing something/going somewhere.

--> yellow - We're doing something special at home (eg. hosting a party).

--> pink - I'm doing something for myself. ❤

It's very helpful to keep everyday tasks listed on this planner page because even though I do the same things everyday (after day ...), I can lose track of what I've gotten done and what still needs doing. ("Did I give EB his morning meds?" "Oh shoot, the cats weren't fed!") To organize these tasks even further I write them in the timezone in which they should be done. ( It's also convenient that I have very small handwriting!)

Continuing to squeeze more efficiency out of this page, I use a large < symbol next to a time block in which I can work on a personal project or "rhythm" activity. Usually, these < symbols appear when ABA is happening (meaning, EB is working with his therapists). As you can see between 10-11 a.m. I did pre-k activities with Little Bear. Normally in the afternoon session (between 12:30 and 2:30) I would have another < space but since I had to take Crackerjack to the dermatologist this time was spent driving and running errands.

Note: The farmhouse trip was cancelled because unfortunately EB was having ... A DAY. He was just not in a good place for a community outing. So, it got crossed out and will be planned for another day this week ... when he's up for it!

Ok, now about those the colored dots? Well, with these dots (which are just pen marks) I set up rough time blocks for myself ...

red/pink - early morning before the youngest wakes up (my "sit-plan-consume coffee" time)

orange (a.m.) - mid-morning, after youngest wakes up and before therapy starts

blue - therapy hours, before tidy-time

orange p.m. - afternoon, after therapy and tidy-time, before supper

purple - evening, after supper

These dots match up times with my to-dos ... :)

And so here's a look at my "To-Do" column:

I don't do this every day, but when I have a lot going on, and I really need to make the best use of my time, I love this "system" for keeping up with my to-dos! I put a colored dot next to each task to show in which time block I need (or should) be working on it. So when it's 8 a.m. and I'm standing in the kitchen looking over my planner, I can find, at a glance, the "orange" tasks. I don't even bother looking at the big list itself - no blues, purples or reds - just orange! It kind of simplifies that choice for me!

Also, as you can see here, my to-do list starts with the day's housekeeping routine tasks. I have recently started writing these in blue ink to set them apart. Tuesdays are bathroom days (whereas everyday is laundry day!) and this week's extra chore is any and all Easter prep.

As I go through the day I check off things I accomplish and place a dot in a box indicating that a task has been started. If the task is being taken care of by someone else, I place their initial (in a little circle) next the task. 

And finally we have the "Notes & Gratitude" space:

To be completely honest, I find it a little uncomfortable to write neatly so close to the bottom of the page, so I like to use post-it notes here. I only have two here today (one got moved up to the to-do column). The soft blue note is a list of photos to take and the yellow note is for the day's preschool activities. (Remember, our seasonal theme is eggs this week!) It's very easy to move these notes along as tasks and ideas get pushed back.

Well! I think that about does it for now - though I'm sure I'll have more Day Designer posts in the near future! Speaking of which - I have a post coming up in which I will show you how I use the weekly planner spread, the one I'm giving away to one lucky reader! All the details can be found in the post at the top of this blog! :)

So please stay tuned and as always, I thank you for stopping by! I wish you all a peaceful and blessed evening ... 

See you here again very soon!