Hey everyone! It's time for another Friday's with Danielle post!
Last week I showed you my Erin Condren life planner and told you how I felt about it. If you want to check out that post you can find it here.
In todays post I thought it would be helpful to some people to show exactly how I use it. When I intially bought it I had a rough idea of how I was going to use it but I knew it would take me a few weeks to be completely happy with it!
I will explain how I changed and adapted things throughout the post. The pictures will be bigger than normal in comparison to other Sukilu Crafts post but I felt it would be easier for you to see what I'm talking about.
Please excuse my awful handwriting! Also anything covered up with post-it's in my weekly spread are just for privacy reasons.
I knew exactly what I wanted to use the monthly spread for before the planner even arrived and it has made such a huge difference. As I have mentioned in another post me and my mum found it hard to keep track of what post is going up when and what kind of things we wanted to do next. This part of the planner is perfect for keeping track of post going up when. It has even helped with future posts as we can easily look back to see what has already gone up to avoid repetition.
This part would also be useful for a student to keep track of any assignments due in or lecture. Or any who works from home!
I'll be completely honest, I wasn't at all happy with my first week. I used bits of thin card for my headers on the boxes and I regret it so much! It made it so difficult to write on the other side of page and I don't really like how it looked. I tried to add decorative elements but I felt it looked more of a mess. However as I've said I wasn't expecting to completely happy with my first week.
The next week I felt was slightly better. I started actually planning my week and I assigned each box for different things. My top box was my daily 'to do' list, my middle was anything I was doing during the day - appointments, days out, lunches etc, and my bottom box was anything Sukilu Crafts related.
The only problem I found this week was I planned too much. I filled it all in on the Sunday before and never really looked at it. The only time I used it for reference for was anything for the blog.
The next two weeks I had similar problems. I wanted it to be something that almost motivated me more and helped me manage my time better.
I had watched many people plan with my on YouTube but I never felt I had seen a spread that would work for me. I eventually came across Andrea Marie's YouTube channel and I fell in love with her spreads and how she planned. She owned a sticker shop herself called Scribble Prints Co.
Andrea's Youtube channel - here
Scribble Prints Co shop - here
The way she planned was exactly the way I felt would work for me and I really wanted to give it a go. I wanted to order some stickers from her shop but most were out of stock at the moment due to them high demand.
Rather than waiting for the stickers I wanted to come back in stock or ordering stickers from multiple different shops I decided to give it a go making my own. It took my hours and hours! I'm so glad I did and I love how my spread turned out!
NOTE: I do not have the best cutting skills!
I still have my 'to do' list at the top but instead of using a whole box for Sukilu Crafts I just made the stickers I needed for that week to keep track of everything. I then ended up with a bigger space in the middle to add some decoration and also take note of things I'm doing during the day or anything important I need to remember.
I'm still playing around with my sidebar!
This was extremely time consuming but in my opinion it's worth it. I love that I can make the stickers I need. It was just very difficult to cut them all out and peel the backing off the smaller stickers.
What I did different this week as well is that I put all my important things to remember and anything I knew would have to be done on the day in my week and every morning I took my planner and made my do list for that day. This has helped so me out so much and I've noticed myself getting a lot more done even though I technically don't have extra time!
There is a lined page before each month and I've started to use it as my goals for that month. I've hidden it because some of personal goals and some are related to Sukilu Crafts that are secret...for now!
After hearing so many recommendations I purchased a Staedtler Triplus Fineline pen and it works amazing for this planner!
I also have a lot of cheap stickers I have bought from crafting shops so if you don't want to decorate heavily definitely pop into your crafting suppliers and see what they have!
If you are new to the planning world or have just recently bought a planner then my advice would be give it some time before you get your grove of things. As happy I am now for my how my spread has turned out this week I know I still have areas where I can improve. Play around with different ideas. Watch plan with me's on youtube and see if you can relate to anyones spread. Also check out etsy, there are so many amazing sellers that have stickers for specific planners!
I'd love to know how you plan. Do you have any favourite planner supplies?
I made these small travellers notebook style books for me and my daughter for the Listers Gotta List challenge. My niece wants me to make her one as a sort of diary - want a tutorial on how I made them? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post and I hope it's helped anyone who's a bit stuck with their planner.
Any requests just let me know in the comment down below or message me on Twitter.
If you would like to purchase this planner or anything on the Erin Condren website you can click the link below where you can receive a $10 off coupon code.
Disclaimer: If you use the link above, sign up and make a purchase I will receive a $10 coupon to spend online at Erin Condren. I completely understand if you prefer not to use this link. You can just go on the website itself and sign up then receive your $10 coupon without having to use my link!
Hugs
Danielle <3
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