I have been getting a ton of questions from you all lately asking me if I am going to do another Free Filofax Printable for the month of January, and the answer is OF COURSE! I have actually been incredibly excited for this printable for a while because it is totally New Year’s themed.
Since January is right around the corner, I thought this insert would be the perfect opportunity to give you guys the task of testing out a different resolution each day of the month! Whether you are trying to get healthy, manage stress, change your job or save some cash, this insert has you covered. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely someone who has a hard time sticking to a resolution, so consider this your opportunity to try before you buy! Accomplish one task per day and by the end of the month you should have a better idea of which resolutions you want to stick with and which may need to be saved for next year! So what are you waiting for? Hop on over to my shop and download your free copy of A Resolution a Day and get your year started off with a bang!
Of course, if you do download my printable I would LOVE to see a picture of it at home in your planners, so make sure to snap a pic, upload it to Instagram and tag me, @MissTrenchcoat so I can check it out and leave you a like! I hope you all enjoy the printable and that all your wishes and resolutions come true in 2015! Cheers!
With precious few days left in 2014, I thought that it would be most appropriate for me to change-up my monthly favorites post and instead of talking about the things I loved in December, look back over the year and pick out my favorite things of 2014! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, 2014 was a year of great positive change for me and I feel like I have so much to be proud of as I look back throughout the year. It’s not so much physical objects or items that I will remember from this year, but mostly experiences and life changes that will define this time. Of course, there are some physical representations associated with some of these memories, and I can use those to help outline this very special edition of Editor’s Faves for 2014!
At the very end of 2013, I purchased my new laptop, Apple’s 11” Macbook Air! It has been an amazing tool for me this year in helping me to achieve my goals and major life changes. It has been a life saver having such a small and portable computer that makes it easy for me to get my tasks complete, my writing in order, and my images edited! You can definitely thank my Macbook Air for awesome projects like my free printables, my tech wallpapers and of course, my Shop!
This year I made a very large and very symbolic bag purchase to celebrate new success and opportunities to come for me in 2014! You may have seen this bag around, I did do a whole What’s in My Bag style post for it, dubbing it my Blogger’s Bag and I think it has been something of a lucky charm for me. Back in April when I first chose the bag, it was a large purchase, but one I needed to make in order to celebrate how far my blog and I had come and to really mark this time in my life as one where I was serious about my online entrepreneurship goals. A month later I went full-time with my blog, and now as I write this at the cusp of a new year and look back through my stats and my accomplishments for 2014, I know that bag was just a symbol of what was to come!
5. 2015 This Is Your Year Printable
You have probably already seen and downloaded your own free copy of my 2015 This Is Your Year Printable that I made for my personal sized Filofax. It was my new year rendition of a very inspirational 2014 version I had found on Pinterest and had tracked to a wonderful little Philadelphia based design blog called The Atelier. That 2014 image sat front in center in my planner for the majority of the year, acting as something of an inspiration board for my planner, filled with inspirational quotes and a powerful message and challenge that truly felt like it had been created for me! So, for 2015, I dreamed up my own version and bought it to life, and I hope that for 2015 it brings me the same motivation and drive as it’s predecessor! I truly believe that 2015 will be a year of great things, not just for myself but for you as well. So long as we keep a sensible head on our shoulders and our eyes fixed upon our goals, there is nothing we won’t achieve in 2015!
Not only is there a new month right around the corner, but in a few short days we come to the end of another year! What a fabulous year it has been for me! 2014 was filled with so many wonderful changes and exciting new adventures that I just cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for me. Of course, it is also time for me to publish a new set of tech wallpapers for all your devices (laptop, tablet, smartphone etc)! So, I thought this time around I would design something meaningful to start the year off properly.
My Best Year of Your Life design is a refined black and bone pallet with a straight forward quote front and center. “This is going to be the best year of your life,” and you know what? It will be if you believe it! So, keep that thought at the front of your mind always with these high resolution wallpapers!
Desktop Background. Right click image to open in new page and save full resolution file.Smartphone Background. Right click image to open in new page and save full resolution file.Tablet Background. Right click image to open in new page and save full resolution file.
I hope you enjoy these free designs as much as I do and I truly hope they inspire you to make the most of your year from day one! If you do happen to enjoy these images, please make sure to send me a picture of your gadget all decked out and ready for 2015 via Instagram.
As the fall semester of most colleges and universities comes to a close, you may be taking a good hard look at your grades for the semester and wondering how you could have done better. If you are early in your college career, you may not yet have learned the best ways to maximize your time in class and in college as a whole, so I thought now would be the perfect time to share some tips about how to get more out of your college classes. Think about these tips as you head into winter break and get yourself a plan of action for the spring semester!
1. Show Up: Look, college isn’t like high school, you are actually paying to be there and believe it or not, the time spent in class can have a profound affect on your knowledge and understanding of the world. Make your best effort to show up to all your classes, and make sure to get there early to snag a great seat!
2. Sit in the front row or center aisle: Apparently, studies have shown that students that sit in either the front row or center aisle of a classroom score higher than their peers in other seats. Make this special T zone your permanent destination in every class.
3. Actively participate in class: Yep, classes can sometimes be boring and even though you are in college, there are still classes that you are required to take that may not interest you. But, you know what they say? Time flies when you’re having fun! So, actively engage in your classes, take copious amounts of notes and ask questions regularly to keep your brain working. This will result in more information retention for you and a much quicker and enjoyable experience all around.
4. Buddy up with your professors: Although some of your professors may seem big and scary, for the most part, they can be some of the most interesting people you will ever meet. Now, I’m not saying that you need to hang out with your professor regularly, however, getting comfortable with them will drastically help you with your classes and workload, because you will feel more at ease asking them for help or advice. Plus, if you become friendly with professors in your major, they are more likely to write you great recommendation letters for grad school in the future or be a great reference for a resume!
5. Get your assignments done early: In most classes you will receive a syllabus on day one outlining all your assignments and their due dates for your class. If you stay on top of your work and get your papers and projects done early, you will be ahead of the curve. A week or two before that assignment is due, when your other classmates are just beginning their work, you can bring yours to your professor and ask them to review it for you before you hand in a final draft. This means you get feedback from your professor on your project or paper with enough time to make the necessary edits and hand in perfect A+ work!
With 2015 right around the corner, I thought it was about time that I shared with you all my planner setup for the upcoming year. Ever since the beginning of 2014 when I purchased my first filofax style planner, the large Mint Kikki K Time Planner, I have been searching for the ever elusive concept of Planner Peace. If you are not familiar, planner peace is essentially a state of organizational bliss where you have found the planner system that works best for you and are regularly using it to keep yourself organized! Well, it has been a long year, but I found peace at last with my pair of Fluoro Pink Originals; one in personal and the other A5. To go along with my two planners, I also have a supplementary third planner from Sugar Paper for Target, this lovely gold python number pictured above, that basically completes my planner needs for 2015! So, without further ado, let’s jump into my setup!
Let’s start smallest first, shall we? Although the Sugar Paper for Target pocket sized planner is the littlest member of the group, she certainly isn’t the least! This planner has a very specific purpose for me in 2015 as my only bound planner. This is going to be my food journal for the year!
As someone who tries to make sure they are keeping a food journal, I have found that I tend to keep my food journal entries all over the place, but now I have one dedicated spot with space enough for the details of my meals that is bound together in one compact little planner!
Next, moving on into my personal Fluoro pink, which is my every day carry planner! As I have explained in previous setups, my personal sized is my main planner, housing all the information for my in progress projects as well as keeping track of my tasks and calendar schedule! If you are familiar with my previous setups, you will know that not much as changed, but I would like to point out a few new additions! First of all is this custom personal information page I made for myself! I think it’s much cuter than the run of the mill info page I was using before.
The next major change to my personal sized is my calendar pages! I am currently using a month on two pages of my own design that you can purchase in my shop, as well as my custom week on one page insert. These two calendars contain my daily schedules with important information I need to keep track of.
After my calendar section, comes my yearly overview. For 2015, I made this lovely little printable filled with quotes and reminders to keep me on track and focused on what is most important to me throughout the year. If you would like this printable, click here to download your copy now!
The next major element of my yearly overview section is this year at a glance calendar that I downloaded from Philofaxy.com! Philofaxy is a great resource for planner lovers and they keep a library of free inserts that I love to use whenever I am interested in trying out a new layout or style! This yearly page is something I use to keep track of health related items like my workouts and weight.
The final element in my yearly overview section is my project planning and tracking inserts. They start off with a month on one page insert of my own design (available on my shop alone or as part of my project planning bundle). This insert keeps track of date specific as well as month specific tasks that relate to projects I have on my plate!
The next insert which is also part of my project planning bundle is my yearly goal tracker. This insert is another trifold like the year at a glance page, and is a place for me to keep track of my short-term, mid-term and long-term goals for the year!
Once my yearly goals are tracked in my yearly page, I break them down into manageable action steps within my project planning pages which round out my project planning bundle of inserts! If you like these inserts, feel free to check them out in my shop, they are available in both personal and A5 sizes.
After my yearly overview section comes my work section. The main focus of this section is my Blog & YouTube tracker pages that help keep me organized and focused on content for my blog and youtube channel. These inserts are also my own design and available on my shop as well! Other than these trackers, I also keep pages with lists of blog post and youtube video ideas within this section, as well as other work related items such as inserts and designs I want to create for my shop.
The next section of my planner is filled with miscellaneous and personal information and inspiration! Not much as changed in this section in comparison to previous set ups, however, one notable addition is my Pen Scratch Testing sheet, which is essential a piece of personal sized paper that I use to test pens when they stop writing. I have that problem a lot with my pens for some reason, so it is good to have a dedicated page in my planner where I don’t feel guilty scribbling to get my pens to start again!
The final section of my planner is a lists section where I keep, you guessed it, lists! Anything I need to write a list for is here in this section, and so I keep this divider stocked with a variety of notepaper and inserts. This To Do list above comes from a Garance Dore for Rifle Paper Company notepad that I absolutely adore!
Now, at the very end of my planner, I also like to keep a custom file folder in case I have any loose items that I need to store quickly! I used to use a two-pocket folder that I have a DIY File Folder video on, however, when I moved into my personal original, I found that it took up too much space so I made a slimmer pocket instead.
Well, now we have made it to the final element in my 2015 Planner System, my A5 Original! If you have seen my video on How to GTD with a Filofax & 43 Folders, you already know that I use this planner as a storage and organization system using the 43 Folders method.
Of course, technically, this is a 45 folders system because, as you can see in the image above, I actually have added two more folders to the mix; one as an inbox, and one as an outbox! The inbox is just a place for me to quickly stash away papers that I will later file into my 43 folders system when I am in a rush, and the outbox is a place where I keep things that need delegating or mailing.
So, after those first two folders, I actually have 12 file folders that I made using standard paper files, one for each month of the year. These folders act as catch alls for any paperwork or items that need to be processed in the month before I schedule the tasks to be completed on a specific day.
Following each monthly folder is also a custom made month on one page calendar where I can keep track of important events and information. On the flip side of this calendar I also have a master monthly checklist that helps me to keep track of items I have processed like bills and items that I need to remember!
In addition to the 12 monthly folders, I also have 31 tabbed pages, one for each of the maximum number of days in a month. Although these would also be files in the 43 Folders system, to save space in my planner, I just use a single sheet of A5 sized paper to represent each day of the month. Here I will stick notes or insert important paperwork that may be date sensitive. I will also distribute any items from the monthly folder to days of the month in order to manage and organize my workload! As you may be able to tell, this planner is less about tracking, and more about storing and organizing information that is not yet actionable, or is simply too large to be kept in my personal sized planner.
The final little touch in my A5 is one of my favorite notepads, this iPad tablet style notepad that I purchased from Walmart! I use this as extra notepaper if I need it, its a great size for this planner as it is about A5 size!
Now, of course I made a complete setup video on all of my planners! Here is the video linked above, and if you are interested in seeing a page by page flip through of these planners, feel free to check it out! I go into much more detail about elements in the system within the video, so definitely give it a watch when you have the time! Just a warning, it is a longer video because I am covering three planners within my system, so keep that in mind!
Well, that is it for my 2015 Planner System! Like I said, this is the system that has brought me to Planner Nirvana and I am so excited that I have a great system set up for 2015! If you have found planner peace, please let me know down in the comments what your setup is like or feel free to tag me in Instagram photos and even send me the link to your own setup video! I can’t wait to see what your planners and setups look like!
Every once in a while, I get an itch. A feeling like I want to do something I have never done before, perhaps I have seen an upswing in a certain trend that I had always admired, or just feel like I want to change something in my life in a big way. I get an urge for spontaneity and adventure, and that stereotypical “you only live once” mentality comes on. Of course, when I sit down to give good thought to the idea of dying my hair turquoise or getting a foot tattoo, two of the more prominent urges I often feel, I end up realizing that for me, those choices would be a mistake. There are plenty of opportunities I have missed throughout the years, regrets scattered here and there that I try not to give thought to, but these are the five things I’m glad I’ve never done!
1. Smoked: I’ll admit that when I was 18 I bought a pack of cigarettes just because I could! They were those super small and skinny girly cigarettes and I would sit with my father at his favorite bar and pretend to smoke them. “You’re not inhaling,” he’d notice. “Of course not,” I’d respond. “That’s what get’s you addicted!” He would proceed to laugh at me with a gang of other regulars, eventually coming to the conclusion that I was too smart for my own good. Coming from a family of smokers, I’m often surprised that I never actually took up smoking seriously, but then again, I always hated the smell of cigarette smoke and growing up it was definitely hammered into my brain by one too many after school specials that smoking was bad, just say no! I’m often surprised at the number of people my own age that smoke. I firmly believe it’s a result of peer pressure and a need to just fit in, but geez, sometimes I feel like people should just know better!
2. Got a tattoo: My father always told me that if I got a tattoo he would cut it off me with a knife, but when my younger brother proceeded to cover his body with them, not much of an argument was raised beyond an opinion of their ridiculousness. In college I had a bunch of friends that had tattoos, little marks here and there that were easy to hide with clothing or in places that were not commonly exposed. I gave great thought to the idea of getting a tattoo, and I still sometimes think that if they ever come up with an ink that is able to be removed in a single laser removal appointment, that I just might. But, for now, I am glad I’ve never put a drop of ink into my skin!
3. Been promiscuous: Apparently one of the trademarks of my generation is that of promiscuity. It’s common for teenage girls to lose their virginity to a random high school boyfriend and then follow it up with a series of lovers through college and into formal adulthood. I, however, being the good little Catholic girl I was raised to be, abhorred the idea of casual sex. Not only do I find it to be gross, but I don’t understand nor do I believe that people, women really, can separate the act of physical love with the emotion side of it all. I believe that casual sex as a form of sexual freedom is a lie that promiscuous girls tell themselves and others to legitimize and rationalize their acts, and I believe men exploit this for their own ends. Now, I may not have been a virgin when I got married, but I’m proud that I was able to rise above the pressures most girls face and reserve that part of myself for the few true relationships I have had in my life.
4. Dramatically changed my hair: For the majority of my life, I have had long, dark brown hair. When I was younger, I hated it. It was too thick, extremely curly and impossible to manage in middle school. I desperately wanted to go blonde and made several attempts that resulted in a reddish/copper toned mane that was far from platinum blonde. Once my hair had returned to a more neutral hue later in my high school years, I made the discovery of a lifetime. The Chi! Yes, a hair straightener that acted like a magic wand, changing my hair from big and frizzy to sleek and soft gave my relationship with my hair a fresh start! After that, I began to enjoy my thick dark locks in a way I never had before, growing it out long and lovely. I am often told that I would look good with this or that certain shorter cut, but I wouldn’t dare change it dramatically, I just love it too much. Likewise I often see images of girls with lovely pastel and rainbow toned hair and think to myself “well, I work for myself now, I could dye my hair turquoise without fear,” but the end result is always that I refuse to change one single hair on my head!
5. Followed the crowd: From a young age I distinctly remember realizing that following the crowd was not the way to happiness. Yes, I always wanted to fit in and be accepted at school and such, but I never felt like I needed to do xy or z in order to be accepted. So, for the most part, I was always a little bit of an outsider. I had friends and I wanted them to like me, but not at the expense of my own internal compass. To be honest, there were times when going it my own way was a little tough, I still find it hard to fit in 100% in certain social situations and I go out of my way for people because I am a self-proclaimed people pleaser, but when I did something, I did it my way, and as far as I can tell, this was the best approach to take. It took me years to realize that going it my own way and being comfortable with myself and my beliefs actually made other people envious of my freedom. I may have been on the outside, but when your standing out on your own, its much easier for other people to see you!
I hope that at least some part of this post resonated with you. Let me know in the comments which things you agree or disagree with. I’d love to know your opinion!
From time to time, you might have heard me mention this little site called YouTube and how I have my own YouTube Channel where I create regular videos! I happen to be a big fan of YouTube, not just because I am a content creator there, but also because I believe, as a medium, that YouTube is a great place to actually discover fun, entertaining and informative content for free! I feel like sometimes YouTube get’s a bad rap, or is slightly misunderstood by people who may not be very interested in internet and social connectivity online. You may think of it as a place to find funny videos to share with friends or to watch leaked footage of a celebrity sex tape, but in truth, I believe YouTube is a great place to find and watch entertaining content, the likes of which have never been seen on television before. So before you think to yourself that you need a TV or cable box to have a relaxing evening of easy entertainment, think again. Here are 5 reasons YouTube is a better destination for regular entertainment than your TV or even a movie theater!
1. Variety
Without a doubt, the best thing about YouTube is the sheer variety of content you can find there. Every single form of entertainment can be found there from movies to music, audiobooks, theater, reality, informational- you name it, YouTube has got it, and on top of that, it has much more of it than even the most advanced package of satellite cable! There is literally something for everyone on YouTube, just type in a few words about your favorite hobby or interests and you will find a plethora of content to enjoy!
2. Quality
Although YouTube is composed of a collection of videos created by people just like you and I, you’d be surprised at the quality of many of the videos you can watch on YouTube. Yes, there is a lot of crap on YouTube, but because it has become such an open platform for creating content, it has attracted a massive amount of creators that are dedicated to creating high quality content. To me, some of the videos and series you can find on YouTube rival and even surpass much of the content you will find on TV on any given day. I believe this is because YouTube creators, unlike TV and Movie executives, aren’t focused on creating content that is broadly applicable and marketable, instead, YouTube creators are focused on creating the best and most interesting content they can. As a viewer you get much more bang for your buck than you do with standard television and even cable, and you’re not even paying for it!
3. Accessibility
Obviously when it comes down to it, YouTube is much more accessible than television. For one, you don’t need a television or cable subscription to watch the content on YouTube, you just need an internet enabled device and you are watching your videos from anywhere at any time! That’s right, because unlike TV, content isn’t on a schedule on YouTube! You get to watch what you want, when you want! With YouTube you can tailor the content you watch to your own interests, subscribing only to channels you are interested in and funneling out all the other noise.
4. Innovation
As I explained in point number 2 above, YouTube content creators aren’t bound by the same economics and industry standards as television and movie executives, so they are able to create more interesting and innovative content! YouTubers are constantly pushing the envelope creating new forms of content, incorporating various elements of new media and the power of the internet to enhance the experience of the end user (you)! How often do you get to give live feedback to the creators of your favorite tv show or movie? How often do you get to watch a live stream of your favorite video game on TV? When was the last time your favorite TV channels collaborated to give you awesome hybrid content? I think you see where I am going with this- there is just more possibility with YouTube than TV and cable, and it results in a more exciting and interesting experience for you as a viewer! Seriously, the most innovation to come to television lately has been reality TV, think about that!
5. Education
The one thing about YouTube that never ceases to amaze me, is the amount of educational content you will find in comparison to standard television. If you look closely, education is often at the core of many videos you will find on YouTube. Unlike television and movies which are often pure entertainment, YouTube is built on the concept of blending information with entertainment to bring maximum value to the viewer! Take a close look at some of your favorite YouTube channels and you will see that more often than not, the creator is sharing knowledge and information with you to help educate or inform you on a certain topic. You probably didn’t even realize it was happening, but I’m pretty sure YouTube is making you smarter one video at a time!
So what do you think? Are you a fan of YouTube? Any great channels and awesome content creators you think I need to know about? I am always looking for new YouTubers to follow, so I would love your recommendations!
I know I say this every month, but WOW, I can’t believe it’s December already! Where has the time gone? I feel like I have officially entered that stage in life when you begin to notice that the days, weeks, months and years are passing quicker and quicker! This is exactly why I think it’s important to stay on top of your plans and goals and to celebrate the little things throughout the month and December is just another wonderful month filled with exciting opportunities for memory making!
First off, if you didn’t see it, I do have a December FREE Filofax printable up on my shop, 31 Days of Merriment & Cheer is your monthly checklist of festive and seasonal to-dos and prompts for special moments to create and share in your own life! You all seem to really be enjoying these printables, so I am glad to create them for you, but please make sure to share pictures of your inserts at home in your own planners via Instagram (make sure to tag me, @misstrenchcoat)!
Second item on the agenda for this month is VLOGMAS! In case you aren’t aware, Vlogmas is a daily vlogging challenge for the month of December, where you put up a vlog (video blog) everyday in the month leading up to Christmas. I did it last year and I am doing it again this year. It’s one of my favorite daily vlogging challenges and I hope I am successful this year in my endeavor. I won’t necessarily be posting my videos here on the blog everyday (one or two key vlogs may make it into a post) so make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube Channel to follow along with my daily adventures. I will also be kicking off a really fun little event for Vlogmas this year starting in my first video which will be up today, so make sure you check that out to see what I have planned!
Next order of business for the month is my vacation! Yes, Mike and I will be going on vacation this month to Las Vegas. We have never been, so we would really appreciate your suggestions for things to do, great places to eat and all that jazz. Please leave me a comment below with your suggestions- I would really appreciate it.
Well, that was a lot to update you all on! Other than that, it should be business as usual around here. I will be posting during my vacation and of course I will be putting up some lovely photos on my Instagram account, so if you would like to follow along on my adventure to Las Vegas, please feel free to follow me on Instagram! I have a lot of great content planned for the blog this month as well. I’ll be writing about why YouTube is better than TV (and even movies), providing a guide to taking great photos of friends and loved one’s during the holiday season (and year round!), and even sharing my fashion necessities for winter!
So, go make yourself a cup a hot cocoa, snuggle up with your favorite blanket and your tablet or laptop and enjoy the content I have for you this month! Happy Holidays!
