How I plan ahead

I am a planner gal.  And by planner, I mean a good old fashion paper planner with all the accessories.  In fact, not only do I have a fancy paper planner but I have a mini paper calendar that I bring with me everywhere I go so I know when I can schedule appointments, etc. or meet up with friends and family.  

Having both my fancy planner and my mini calendar helps me keep #allthethings organized for not just myself but my family.  I color code my planner; orange for family schedule, yellow for my husband's and Church events schedule, blue for my schedule, appointments, meetings and other fun things, and pink for my Mary Kay and Thirty One Business goings-on.  My mini calendar contains all the same things as my planner but is easier to bring with me everywhere I go. 

At the beginning of each month, I sit down with my husband for about 10 to 15 minutes and we write down everything we know about at that moment that is going on that month on our joint paper calendar that hangs on a cabinet door in our kitchen so we can always have it to refer to.

Once everything is written down on our joint calendar, I write it all in my fancy Keepsake Planner from Thirty One Gifts, in pencil and then highlight each category with the appropriate color, on the full month spread for that particular month, say December, since that is the month we are in right now.

Once I'm done with filling out the month spread in pencil and highlighters, I move onto each week and only write down #allthethings for two weeks at a time, again in pencil and this time not highlighted because things can change from day to day at a moment's notice, especially being a clergy family; my husband can be called to leave at any moment or have a sudden meeting come up which changes the plan for the day.  But having a good routine in place helps create flexibility too, which may seem counterintuitive.

Setting up my planner and mini calendar for the month and two weeks ahead of time, takes me about an hour.  Yup, all the things I just described above takes me about an hour.  If I can find an hour at the beginning of the month while being a stay-at-home mom and keeping everything going around our home as smoothly as possible, then so can you.  And trust me, making the time to get your monthly schedule organized at the beginning of each month will alleviate a whole lot of stress in the long run.  You will thank yourself for taking the time to do this for yourself and your family, I know I do everyday.