If you Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail

People often tell me I am organized, but I'm really not.  I am a huge procrastinator and I'm very forgetful.  I've tried so many planning systems over the years, from Palm Pilot to Microsoft Outlook to Franklin Covey to my smartphone, and now, my Mead spiral-bound planner I got for a few dollars at Target.  It's okay, but I recently found out about Erin Condren planners, and I want to give that system a try.  You can get more information about the planners here.  Unlike my current planner, the days are set up vertically, with a week's view on two pages, and each day is divided into three parts.  My days are broken up this way.  Morning and evening are more family time, where I am getting my family ready for the day in the morning and helping with homework and winding down in the evening.  I like the separation of the day so I can prioritize tasks.  It reminds me that I need to wrap up "me time" and get back into family mode.

With all the advances in technology, I still work best with a paper planner.  I hardly note appointments in my phone any more.  Good old pen and paper seem to work for me.  Towards the end of last year I started planning on paper again and it's reduced my stress level a lot.  I try to stay on top of managing my household (and I still forget stuff!) but I've been more successful when I wrote tasks down than when I didn't.

I just ordered my Erin Condren planner.  There's currently a 40% off sale, so you know I am thinking about this one!