Being a stay at home mom is a lot of work, despite what many have to say about this popular topic. A stay at home mom sacrifices a lot to stay and keep the home. Trust me when I say that being at home for many years is hard.
I have been a work from home mom, stay at home mom, working outside the home mom, and soon a going back to school full time mom. In my honest opinion, I believe just being a mom in general is hard. Nobody has it harder than the other because we are all different and we all go through different walks in life.
One thing I didn’t like in the beginning years of being a stay at home mom was that I wasn’t very organized. It could’ve been the stress of having a baby for the first time and feeling overwhelmed, but I didn’t feel put together. And I wasn’t used to feeling that way.
It wasn’t until I was on Instagram for a while scrolling around, that I came across the hashtag, #plannercommunity. That’s when I discovered that there were tons of moms with the same goal as me- to get as organized as possible.
I wanted to be organized for a lot of reasons, but it boiled down to the same thing. I wanted to crush my goals. And I needed consistency and discipline to get there. So, planning quickly became a way for me to keep track of a lot of things.
I used to go to doctor’s appointments with lists scribbled everywhere, appointment cards were scattered, my purse was a mess, and it was just embarrassing. I was excited to order my first planner and try to be organized. As time went on and I “mastered” planning, I was able to transfer my planning system to any type of planner I wanted to.
As amazing as planning is, there is ONE planner that has kept me organized without ever causing a problem. That’s been my personal rings. I’ve got everything stored in there. You can check out my latest flip of this beautiful planner on my YouTube channel. I post flips about once a week with different planners, but I mostly showcase this one. And that’s because she’s my old Reliable.
Pick a planner system that works completely for you.
What kind of planners do you like? Digital or paper? Are you into daily planning or weekly planning? There’s a lot to consider when you’re trying to find your perfect planner system.
Here’s what I noticed with mine as a few years went by. I always need a monthly because I have so much appointments and events to stay on top of with my kids and husband’s busy schedule. The next is I do need a weekly overview with a tracker.
The tracker is to focus on habits that aren’t included in my monthly habit tracker. This can be anything from: reading to the kiddos at night, homework routines, to tracking any meds anyone needs.
Another thing that I noticed is that I need a lot of different sections. In a bound notebook this can be just plain confusing. Not only do I have a website but I also am going to school full time. Plus I volunteer at my kids’ school. So, it’s a lot to juggle.
To me, a bound is very hard to track this stuff in. I feel like I need different layouts to stay organized on my website. I do have goals for it in the future and I work on it as much as I can.
School is priority, but I don’t want to lose important passwords, dates, or events I need to stay on top of. That’s why rings works out so great. Don’t get me wrong, I get tempted to use different planners and I do! But, ring planners just are easier to use in order to keep track of a variety of things.
I also have a tracker section, lists, to buy, inbox, gratitude, budget, cleaning, self care, health, med tracker, sections for each one of my kiddos, my husband’s health section, and everyone else’s! I know it’s a lot.
I’ve even got a little notebook in the back for miscellaneous things and tons of sticky notes everywhere in case I am on the go and need to write something down. Just today my husband and I went out with the kids and I threw my planner in my bag to be sure I didn’t forget what we needed from the store.
Whatever planner system you are using make sure you make it work for YOU.
Let’s talk bound for a minute. I was a bound planner girl for so long! So, I know how amazing it feels to look back on everything you’ve ever written in the past year. It is great. But, it doesn’t work for everyone.
I still like to try! It would be so awesome if I had something to look back on for the year in between all of this busy work. If you want me to recommend a few of my favorite bound planners, I’ll tell you. My favorite’s are ones that I have used.
So, I’ve used the hobonichi techno A5. Awesome planner but there weren’t enough notes pages for me. Also, the one that worked for me for years was a B6 stalogy. I just got tired of drawing out my own layouts all of the time and decorating it.
Another bound notebook/ planner I have tried is the hoboweeks. And no, I did not stick with it long because it was so small in my opinion. Not enough space for me to write. I’ve tried the Erin Condren which I loved, by the way. For some reason, it just didn’t stick.
A lot don’t stick with me but some do. Like rings for example. Never had a problem with it except I can’t save it as well as bound.
Okay, let’s get down to how to personalize your planner. Lots of cute deco is a way to start. I have a laminator at home and lots of paper supplies. This helps me get creative. Instagram posts help me become creative too. Looking at hashtags helps and connecting with the planner community does too.
Don’t be afraid to make the planner yours. Ultimately, you’re the one that’s going to use it, not everyone on Instagram or YouTube. Even if you just grab a planner from the dollar store, if it works for you: that’s GREAT. You don’t need a fancy planner to become organized. You just need the mindset that YOU want to be organized, productive, and successful.
Follow your to-do lists and prioritize checking them off one by one.
One of the funniest things about making a to-do list, is you make one, decorate a spread, and end up not doing anything on your to-do list. I noticed I did that a lot in my B6 stalogy over the years.
I was trying so hard to make it pretty like what I was seeing on Instagram, that I completely forgot to do my tasks. Another reason why I love rings. Because I get things done with it and don’t worry about it looking pretty.
My advice is: do your tasks. Cross them off. Don’t worry so much about the planner being pretty. Scrapbooking is very different than planning.
Planning is living in the NOW. You’re trying to crush your goals now and cross of your to-do’s. If you can do both, then you are amazing, in my book. For some reason I’m not the best at doing both.
Another advice I have is to create goals for yourself. It’s easier when you outline them and get them down on paper. I’m sure there are tons of planner printables out there on Etsy that have goals worksheets for the month or year, etc.
However, I have been eyeing the commit30 planner this year and I may end up getting it soon! I will keep you posted if so. If I love a planner and really use it, I show it on my YouTube channel. That means I’ve used it for a while. So, make sure to subscribe and see what I recommend over there!
I hope this post has helped you at least want to TRY to get organized. Remember: the next step is to do it and commit.
God bless and until next time,
xoxo,
mrsplanahead
