10 Ways to Organize Your Planner to Get More Done!

#1: Map Out Your Month


The first way to organize your planner for more productivity is to map out your month. The way our lives are structured, a month is a great unit of time to map out, in order to get a good big picture view of whats going on and what we need to be mindful of for our time management.

On a monthly basis its a great idea to sit down with your planner and take stock of the month ahead:

  • Make sure to map out Special days like holidays, birthdays, anniversaries.
  • Appointments, scheduled meetings and due dates for projects.
  • Track Travel plans, content calendars, and reoccurring items like paydays or trash days!
  • If you set monthly goals, make sure to list those out on your monthly calendar as well!

#2: Track Your Tasks for the Month


Sticking to the month as a good basic unit of time management, during your monthly planning session its also a great time to make a list of tasks that you want or need to accomplish in the month.

If you have project plans or lists of todo’s, i recommend reviewing these and identifying which tasks belong to your month so you can have all your to dos listed out on one master monthly task list.

For habits, routines or reoccurring tasks that you want to keep track of, I recommend listing those out on a monthly action tracker that gives you the ability to check off these individual items in one place, saving you lots of precious space in your planner!

#3. Manage Your Week

Once you have a plan for your month in place you can break down your plans into weeks!

When I plan my weeks, I like to first identify any appointments or scheduled items and make sure those are clearly marked in my planner.

Next, I turn to my master month task list and assign tasks to my week overall, or to specific days in my week. I try not to plan too far ahead and leave plenty of white space (or buffer time) in my days because you never know what surprises might pop up in your week and nothing is worse than over-planning only to leave tasks incomplete!

In order to avoid over-planning each week I like to identify 3-5 projects that either need to be completed or moved forward during a week so that I stay focused on my essential tasks and don’t take on too much at one time.

#4: Balance Your Workload with a Yearly Project Tracker

Another great way to organize your planner so that you are staying organized but not overwhelming your schedule is to project plan!

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “You can have it all, just not all at once” then you understand the concept of my yearly project tracker!

Over the course of a year I might have dozens of projects I want to complete, but I can’t do them all in one month- so breaking them out over the course of the year gives me the sense that there is time for everything, when I am intentional and have patience!

#5. Plan Out Your Projects

Now, when I have a project I want to complete, it’s important for me to create a project plan where I can keep all the details in one place.

Think of a project plan like a to do list of like items that have a specific objective in mind.

Making a simple task list for a project is great, but I like to to things one step further and use project planning pages where I can lay out tasks along side a clear description of what I’m trying to achieve and any resources or notes that I need to consult along the way!

#6. Get It Out of Your Head and on Paper

If you struggle to find clarity with your planning, then this tip is going to be essential for you!

From time to time, on at least a monthly basis, if not more frequently, I like to perform a brain dump. A brain dump is a funny way of saying a mental download, or the process of writing down all the tasks, information and ideas that you have been holding onto in your mind!

Despite a popular misconception, our brains are not meant for storing information, but for processing information. So, if you have a hard time planning or finding clarity, a brain dump can really help clear your mind of clutter through the simple act of writing things down.

But once your done writing everything down, what do you do with all that information?

Great question! This is where I like to use a prioritization matrix to help me identify which tasks need my attention and which can be delegated to someone else, added to a to do list for later, or deleted completely. By taking the time to understand which tasks are important, not important, urgent and not urgent, my planning becomes so much simpler and I get an instant sense of clarity!

#7. Brainstorm Your Brilliant Ideas

Now, before I can schedule my tasks into the calendar portion of my planner, I need to have a good idea of what I am working on, right?

Before I even make a project plan, I need to brainstorm to help me outline my ideas and decide what I want to accomplish based on the problems I am facing or raw ideas I want to bring to fruition. So, I will have a brainstorming session (or a few sessions) where I will use a specially designed planner insert to define my problem or objective, and then come up with ideas to solve the problem.

This insert that I designed is a great tool to help me organize different steps or categories of information, and then create the skeleton of a project plan that I can review and edit until I feel confident moving forward. Of course, plans laid out in a brainstorm will then be codified into a project plan!

#8. Take Notes

Your planner is made to be written in and studies have shown that writing things down actually helps us improve our memory and productivity! So, having some lined note sheets in your planner for extra information that doesn’t quite belong in your calendar is always a great idea!

I use the notes section in my planner to keep lists of quotes, meal ideas, and inspiration for my life and business. The options are endless, so make sure you have some spare notes sheets to use as needed!

#9. Index It

What is the point of filling your planner with all this important information if you can’t refer back to it and find what you’re looking for?

One of the drawbacks of using a paper planner is that they lack a search function to help you locate text, but, by numbering your planner pages and using an index, you can create your own system for tracking the contents of your planner for quick reference in the future.

You can create a simple list by page number and page contents, or create categories of information and list out the pages that contain that information for you to track it!

#10. Use It or Loose It

Your planner can be a powerful tool to help you organize your life and achieve your goals, but only IF you use it regularly!

Becoming a daily planner is definitely a habit that you can build through repetition and by using a planner that is functional enough to contain everything you need to plan. I find that so many people struggle to use their planner because they actually have to use 2 or more different planners or notebooks in order to achieve ALL of the tips I shared with you today.

That is why I highly recommend that if you struggle with planning, to purchase the Charmed Life Master Planner!

The Master Planner is a Functional Planning System of my own design that includes all the inserts you need to organize your life and get more done. The Master Planner isn’t just one single planner, but a family of different planners so that you can choose the precise system that suits your needs.

First of all, the Master Planner comes in two varieties, Bound and Print on Demand!

You can choose this Matte Black Undated bound version of the planner, or the 2019 Dated version in a while marble effect!

Both of these bound versions are Half Letter dimensions 8.5” high by 5.5” wide and only 1” thick making them very compact and lightweight options you can carry with you in most bags.

Next, I now have 3 formats for the Print on Demand Master Planner, lets review them from smallest to largest! Starting with our smallest print on demand planner, the Personal Sized Master Planner is formatted to fit Filofax Personal Size and equivalent binders. It contains all the inserts you saw today formatted for the smaller system with a week on two pages vertical layout!

Next, the A5/Half Letter Master Planner fits A5 or Half Letter Binders as the name suggests. Again, this print on demand planner comes with all the same inserts you saw today with another great week on two pages vertical planning layout!

Finally, the A4/Letter Charmed Life Master Planner fits A4 or US Letter sized binders. Same great functional planning system as its siblings, but with a more detailed week on two pages view that gives you the space to list out a lot more information that you might need for your week!

So, what are you waiting for? I would LOVE for you to purchase one of my Charmed Life Master Planners because it truly is a unique planner system that is designed for functional planning and productivity.

CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE THE MASTER PLANNER THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU!

And of course! Don’t forget the Master Planning Master Class, my companion class for the planner that will walk you through the functional planning philosophy, how to get the most out of the planner and help you to overcome the 3 most common planning mistakes!

I can’t wait to hear about how you are using your Charmed Life Master Planner to organize your life and improve your productivity!

xoxo,

A Planner is Born!

Chic + Sophisticated 2019 Personal Size Print on Demand Planner

SHE’S HERE! SHE’S HERE!

The 2019 Printable Charmed Life Master Planner in Personal Size is officially here! It’s always such an exciting day when a new planner is born, and I can’t wait for you to meet her.

Chic + Sophisticated 2019 Print on Demand Planner

This Printable Planner is a comprehensive solution that includes of a number of beautiful and well designed layouts that will help you maximize your planning in a streamlined way! As an all-in-one planner solution, this printable planner integrates Month on Two Pages Spreads within the Week On Two Pages Spreads in a continuous calendar cycle and bundles in project planning, brainstorming, note taking and more!

Included in this planner are the following:

  • Creating Your Master Plan (How to Use the Planner)
  • 5 Functional Planning Worksheets
  • Month on 2 Pages Calendars
  • Monthly Master Task Lists
  • Monthly Tracker
  • Vertical Week on Two Page Planning Pages
  • Yearly Project Tracker
  • 40 Project Planning Spreads
  • 20 Braindump Spreads
  • 20 Brainstorm Spreads
  • 30 Notes Pages
  • 8 Index Sheets

Let’s take a look at the spreads!

Month on 2 Pages

Monthly Tasks & Tracker

Week on Two Pages

Yearly Project Tracker

Project Plans with Notes

Braindump + Organize & Act

Brainstorm + Plan & Prep

Notes

Index Sheets

When you purchase now you will have access to 2 files:

#1. 2019 Charmed Life Master Planner PDF optimized for Personal planner systems

#2. 2018 Charmed Life Master Planner October-December PDF to begin using your planner asap!

These inserts are all print-on-demand PDF files for use at home or feel free to bring them to your favorite office supply store to have them professionally printed! Although these inserts will print on standard printer/copier paper, for best printing results, I highly recommend using 98 bright 24-32lb paper!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE 2019 PERSONAL SIZED PLANNER NOW <

Also, for a little behind the scene’s extras, check out my recent YouTube video where I designed this planner!

 

Enjoy!

xoxo,

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My Weekend Checklist

Happy Friday!

I just created a simple little checklist that I wanted to share with 5 to dos that I strive to complete over the weekend. I know we don’t normal think of the weekends as a time to complete a to do list, but for me, I feel a sense of purpose when I can achieve some simple, intentional actions over the weekend that put my weekend to go use. These tasks not only help me enjoy the weekend, but also prepare me for a productive week ahead, so I highly recommend saving the list and giving it a try this weekend!

Just as a reminder, with the new month right around the corner, I have a live monthly planning workshop scheduled for Sunday September 30th @ 1PM EST over on my YouTube Channel. If you are on my list, you will be emailed the link Sunday morning before the event. If not, click here to get on my list and download your FREE Productivity Toolbox to help you get started Functionally Planning your month.

Hope to see you on Sunday and have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Get the FREE Productivity Toolbox!

Are you ready to have Your Best Week EVER?

Enter your information down below for my latest FREE Productivity Toolbox, which contains:

• A CHARMED LIFE MASTER PLANNER Printable Sampler: Test drive my Best Selling Planner by mapping out your monthly calendar, weekly plan, and projects with the help of 8 productivity focused planning spreads.

• MONTHLY DASHBOARD: Highlight your important goals and tasks for the month with this redesigned reusable monthly planner dashboard.

• TECH WALLPAPERS: Stay inspired to make the most of your days with your digital devices as well with this exclusive new wallpaper set formatted for smartphones, tablets and computers!

• YOUR BEST WEEK EVER Planning Guide: Get step by step instructions and strategies for how to use the printable and digital tools included in your Toolbox in this helpful guide.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR DOWNLOAD OF THE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLBOX!

THESE 10 THINGS HELP ME FEEL ORGANIZED & PRODUCTIVE!


Today I am sharing some of my Amazon Favorites for Amazon Prime Day! I have been obsessed with watching these videos because they have been giving me such great inspiration for items that I could be using to improve my life. I hope this video provides some awesome inspiration to you for getting your life organized and helps you feel more in control and productive in your daily life!

→ MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO

✔️ WEIGHTED BLANKET: https://amzn.to/2NhNdpE

✔️ SLEEP MASK: https://amzn.to/2zG9r2U

✔️ ROBOT VACCUUM: https://amzn.to/2uFohR8

✔️ PURSE ORGANIZER: https://amzn.to/2zJKHGH

✔️ PLANNER: https://amzn.to/2uCwmX6

✔️ ESPRESSO PODS: https://amzn.to/2NnpPHx

✔️TRUE LEMON: https://amzn.to/2zK3cuS

✔️ HAIR STYLING CADDY: https://amzn.to/2uDlhVy

✔️ MAKEUP ORGANIZER: https://amzn.to/2zG9vQc

✔️ MARBLE CLOCK: https://amzn.to/2uDmWKN

ENJOY!

xoxo,

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Oh, Hello May! FREE Planner Inserts & Tech Wallpapers

Tomorrow is May! Can you believe it? Well, make sure to grab your FREE Printable Planner Inserts & Tech Wallpapers to get yourself prepped for the month ahead.

Wishing you all a wonderful month ahead!

xoxo,

INSIDE MY PLANNER!

{PLANNER LAUNCH} The Charmed Life Master Planner is HERE!

I’m launching a NEW Charmed Life Planner

and it’s a little different than the rest!

Why?

Because its BOUND!

That’s right! A physical BOUND planner.

The Charmed Life Master Planner

Isn’t she a beauty? I’m absolutely smitten with her and I think you will be too! So let me give you some specific details!

The Charmed Life Master Planner is a 3-in-1 planning, time management and brainstorming tool to help you generate ideas, formulate project plans and schedule the time to execute successfully on it all!

The Charmed Life Master Planner is broken into 3 sections:

Section I: The Master Plan
•12 Months of Undated Month on 2 Pages Calendars
•12 Months of Master Task & Expense Sheets
•5 Week on 2 Page vertical panning spreads per month

♥ Section II: Important Projects
•Undated Yearly Project Tracker for short, mid and long term projects
•40 Pages of Project Plans with Notes

 Section III: Brilliant Ideas
•20 Braindump & Task Prioritization Sheets
•20 Brainstorm & Planning Sheets
•30 Extra Notes Pages

♥ Index

The Charmed Life Master Planner also includes 8 index sheets to track the content of information on specific pages to help locate and organize information quickly and efficiently!

FORMAT & SIZE

The Charmed Life Master Planner is a 5.5” by 8.5” book bound planner with a soft matte black cover and 382 bright white facing pages. The paper is approximately 26lb or 90gsm in weight and 98 bright white in color, which makes it excellent to use with a variety of pens, inks and highlighters with minimum bleed and ghosting.This binding and size was specifically chosen for a number of reasons to make The Charmed Life Master Planner as functional and flexible a tool as possible. The soft cover book binding makes the planner a discreet and portable tool that you can confidently carry along with you in even the most professional of settings to keep all your plans and ideas organized together. The planner is sized to fit comfortably into a variety of everyday handbags or briefcases. The universal half letter size also accommodates a variety of notebook or compendium style covers available on the market for added protection and functionality as desired.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The minimalistic black matte cover was designed specifically to make this planner timeless and elegant. You will find no external branding of the creator on the cover because this is your planner not a billboard for a personal brand. In order to minimize the look of fingerprints a matte cover was chosen over glossy, however oils from your hands will still accumulate on the cover and to clean these, all you need is a simple wet wipe. Keep in mind, this is a paper planner, so you don’t want to use anything too wet that might damage pages, but the careful and controlled use of a wipe or moist towelette followed by a dry microfiber cloth is sufficient to remove any visible oil spots without damaging the cover.

The Charmed Life Master Planner is proudly printed and shipped from the United States. 

Why a book bound format?

When I first began the project of creating this planner I had three non-negotiable values that I committed myself to.

Price, Aesthetic and Accessibility. 

I had a specific price point that I wanted to stick to for the retail of this planner. I know there are many planners on the market that retail from as low as $1 to as high as $100+ but I had an idea in my mind for where I wanted my planner to be priced in the mix.

I also had a specific aesthetic I wanted to stick to. I knew I wanted the planner to be as streamlined and universal as possible, something that anyone could carry into any meeting discreetly, could pull out of a bag and take notes in comfortably without feeling out of place or self-conscious and was inconspicuous enough to just sit out on a desk without feeling like it was drawing unnecessary attention.

Finally, I wanted this planner to be as accessible as possible for my community, just as easy to access as my print on demand planners and tools sold within my digital shop. I personally hate to wait for things, I know patience is a virtue but when it comes to planners, I don’t want to wait for a pre-order of a product, and then wait for that period to be over and then wait some more for my product to be manufactured before it even ships out to me. Let’s not even get into how annoying it can be to want to order something and this it’s out of stock! I have been down that road before with products I wanted and it is not an experience I want to give my community. I want people to be able to see my planner, be able to order it as soon as they decide they want it, and then receive it within a reasonable period of time.

So, as I was evaluating options for binding and design for this planner with those three key values in my head, it became clear to me that the best way to achieve what I set out to do was with a book bound planner. And this wasn’t a situation where I was settling on the binding either, I am very thrilled that my planner is a bound book. I know in recent years you have seen me with ring or discbound planners, but before I formally joined the planner community, I used a softcover moleskine as my planner and I loved it. There is a part of my sentimental heart that romanticizes books on a level like none other and so for me personally, I am in love with the concept of a soft cover book bound planner. It comes with so many positives to me that it outweighs those few negatives that I know you all want me to address, so let’s talk about it!

Let’s start with the few negatives of a book binding as I see it!

1st NO SPIRAL. Yep, this is the one major negative of a book, it doesn’t spiral BUT let me remind you that a soft cover book CAN flip pages over on themselves and with no coil, spiral or rings or discs to content with, it’s actually a very comfortable experience writing in this planner whether you are left or right handed on either side of the spread!

2nd This actually leads in perfectly to the next drawback of a book bound planner, which is that it doesn’t lay flat on your desk. That’s true, this isn’t like a binder or spiral style planner that lays flat, however, again, you can keep a book bound planner open by flipping pages back and as any avid reader knows, you CAN train a book to lay open by breaking in the spine which is doable with this planner. Another easy solution for this would be to use a paper weight to keep your planner open OR to put it in a book stand. So there are some easy solutions to this problem as well!

3rd and final obstacle of a book bound planner is no reordering or personalization of pages. This is an issue any bound planner would face of course but we have found hacks around that in spiral bound planners haven’t we? Well, we don’t have many clever hacks for book bound planners yet but, remember, you can always add to a book bound planner with sticky notes, paper clips and loose sheets of paper, but there is one thing you still can’t do with a book bound planner: reorganize pages!! This is why The Charmed Life Master Planner comes with an index in the back and numbered pages. For those who are familiar with the bullet journal method you will be familiar with the concept of using an index to help you organize your book and quickly find and reference information.

So those are the three obstacles I see with a book binding, but we all know its not just book bound planners that have obstacles, no planner binding is a perfect solution, it’s just about finding the planner and binding that has the issues you are willing to deal with and the benefits you are looking for!

So, let’s talk about some of the benefits of a book bound planner and why I am so thrilled about The Charmed Life Master Planner. 

1st It’s securely bound with your entire year and all your plans, projects and ideas in one place! Yes, I LOVE planners that you can customize and add and remove pages, but that’s only because in most customizable systems you need to constantly adjust and allocate space because they can’t hold everything you need. Well, The Charmed Life Master Planner is everything I will need in a year for managing my time, planning my projects and coming up with ideas! So there is nothing I need to add to this because at 382 pages, I have everything in one place!

2nd NO bulky cover or binding! So this is something you are going to have to see to really understand how excited I am about this binding. When I compare The Charmed Life Master Planner with the discbound planning system I was using before, it’s clear which option I would prefer to tote around. The discbound system is much bulkier! I cannot fit my discbound planner in my everyday handbag, BUT I can fit The Charmed Life Master Planner comfortably! Now, it’s important to note that the pages within each planner are the exact same, half letter sized 26lb paper, and yet I can only fit half a year of inserts, and a smaller project planning and notes section in my discbound. Again, The Charmed Life Master Planner is the full year and enough project plans, brainstorm and notes sheets for a year of ideas. Even if I were to switch this leather cover with a thin plastic option, the discbound is still bulkier and contains only half a year of inserts at one time.

3rd It’s sophisticated yet discreet! Can you think of anything more discreet and unassuming than a book? You can literally take a book with you anywhere you go and it draws almost no attention to itself. It’s not a cell phone or tablet that might need to be turned off or handed over in delicate situations. It’s not a leather planner that might be mistaken for a wallet and stolen. It fits seamlessly into nearly any work situation or life scenario without screaming “look at me- there is private information in here!” I love that this planner is so versatile, portable, gender neutral and yet elegant and sophisticated all at the same time.

I can’t wait for you to get your hands on The Charmed Life Master Planner to see and experience the ease of this complete planning system yourself! I have a feeling you’re going to love it!

xoxo,

March Free Planner Printables and Tech Wallpapers are Here!

Are you ready to Make Your Own Luck this March? Well, I have some awesome FREE productivity resources and inspiration waiting for you!

Wishing you all a wonderful March and if you want to know a little more about what I’ll be up to this month- check out my recent video on the Exciting New Chapter of My Life!

xoxo,

January FREE Planner Printables and Tech Wallpapers Are Here!

January 2018 Printable Planner Dashboard

Happy January Charmed Ones!

Well, now that 2018 is finally here I think it’s time we hit the ground running and set ourselves up for success for the month ahead. Of course I am continuing my monthly tradition of creating fun and helpful freebies for your planners and devices. My dashboards are going to continue in the style I designed last year because I LOVE THEM and apparently so do many of you! I am changing my monthly check list just a little by changing up the design. From now on these checklists will come in one size accompanied by instructions for printing them at various popular sizes.

January 2018 FREE Printable Checklist: A Resolution a Day!

The biggest change this year are my tech wallpapers, however, which I am totally redesigning! After a few years of doing the calendar style I decided to switch things up and make them more universal and inspirational with quotes or mantras. So January’s wallpaper says January! Got Goals? I’m sure many of you enjoyed the calendar wallpapers, but I needed a change and I hope you come to enjoy these just as much!

January Got Goals FREE Tech Wallpapers and Backgrounds

So, that’s it for my little update, check out the links down below to grab your monthly freebies!

Wishing you a productive January and 2018 ahead!

xoxo,