As a mom of three, college student, homeschool family, and wife I need a planning routine that sticks. I have tried so many different planners, routines, etc. and I think I have finally found something that works and is keeping me motivated to stay on track.
We will be entering a new year soon so I thought that I would share with y’all what my planning routine is. Whether you are here to get ideas that you can implement into your own routine or just trying to see how I keep up with everything, I hope that you enjoy this blog!
I have 3 planners – paper planner, digital planner, and a homeschool planner. I use them all basically the same but I do not put the same information in all of them. I will share more on that later.
My paper planner is a Kikki K 6 ring binder with Agenda 52 inserts from Hobby Lobby. These are stock photos off of HL website and I don’t know if this particular insert design is still available but all of their stuff is cute.
My digital planner is by Plannerscollective on Etsy. I love this planner! It is customizable and so easy to use. Digital planning is like my favorite thing to do! Here’s a picture of mine and it comes with a lot of covers to choose from!
I sit down on Sunday nights (sometimes during the day but let’s be real.. it almost always happens on Sunday nights after the kids are in bed.. like right now) and I pull all of my planners out. First what I do is write down whatever I know is happening on a specific day during the week. For example any appointments, extra curricular activities, birthdays, etc. On Sunday nights I also plan out Monday and write down things I need to get done, places I need to go, etc. I like to plan the night before for the next day all throughout the week. So Monday night I will plan Tuesday, Tuesday night I will plan Wednesday, and so forth. Below is a blank weekly and daily just to give you an idea of what mine looks like.
I do not write everything down on the weekly layout. If I have a day where I have a lot going on I will fill out a daily layout with my whole to do list, schedule, etc. It helps me see what all I need to get done and being able to cross things off helps me feel better about what I get done everyday. Because let’s be real trying to get things done while your kids run behind you undoing everything you just did… is a nightmare. It messes with my mental health and overall productivity level. But seeing all that I have crossed off at the end of the day shows me that I DID have a productive day and my kids are just being kids.
When I sit down to plan the last week of the month I will also plan the next month. I will write down bills, appointments, etc on my monthly layout that way when I go to fill out my weekly plans I can just pull from my monthly and know exactly what I have going on each week. I find that this is much easier than sitting down the first of the month because I wasn’t always remembering to do the month and then I was all kinds of behind and messed up. I have not sat down to fully plan out January but this is what it looks like.
I have a method for budgeting/bills that I use in my digital planner. I use a different highlighter color for each payday and then will list the bills on the sidebar and highlight them with whatever paycheck they need to come out of. Seeing it laid out that way has made it so much easier for me to budget and keep on track of everything with our finances.
For my homeschool planner the whole week gets filled out on Sunday if I have not already filled it out. There are times – very few and far between – that I fill out a whole month at a time but if I don’t I fill out the whole week on Sunday nights when I sit down and fill out my other planners. I also have daily layouts for my homeschool planner that I fill out with a more detailed look at our lesson plans or any notes that I need to remember for a specific lesson. I have a to do list for each of my girls that I homeschool so that I can go into more detail if I need to for their lessons. The monthly page is just where I keep when units begin/end, test or review dates, breaks, etc.
In the past I have planned every day that morning. On Sunday morning I would plan Sunday, Monday morning I would plan Monday, etc.. and it did not work.. again, I kept forgetting to pull out my planner and write shit down. I have so many planners that are half used, if that, because of this poor planning method.
I am so glad that I have found a planning routine that works for me. It is so nice to see everything laid out and be able to look at my monthly and move whatever I need to to the current week. It keeps me on track and seriously just helps so much with my sanity. Sitting down to plan relaxes me and I actually consider it part of my “self care” because of how relaxing and calming it is for me.
I hope that through this post and the pictures that I have shared you understand my planning routine. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. Also, share with me how you plan. I love seeing other people’s routines and learning things from others to implement into my own to make it better or more functional.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
Xoxo
lena ralene 