Free Printable Daily Planner
One of my biggest goals for 2020 is to be more organized and more efficient with my time. One thing I have ALWAYS struggled with is procrastination and disorganization. I am a creative thinker. My mind can go in a million different directions…but I have a hard time focusing on JUST ONE THING. And even though I am only one week into the new year, I am already getting more done thanks to my Printable Daily Planner.
Why a daily printable planner??
I am ALLLLL about list-making. If I can make a list and check items off, I am one happy lady. I have to admit I have even added items to my list after accomplishing them JUST so I could mark them off. What can I say…I am easily entertained I guess. For the past, I don’t know how many years, I have started the year by purchasing a brand new planner. And each year I would use it faithfully for a few months and then put it aside. The planners had so many sections and categories, that I was stressing TOO much about the how and where to worry about the WHY. So I eventually stopped using them. (Does anybody else have a stack of half-used planners in their possession…man I hope I am not alone in this one).
How is it different than other planners??
So THIS year I decided to create a daily TO-DO LIST that will keep me more organized, doesn’t have TOO many bells and whistles to get in my way, and most importantly DOES NOT require perfection. Because let me be honest for a minute…When I am doing ANYTHING and then fall behind…I quit. So my problem with most planners, notebooks, agendas, etc is that if I miss a day or forget to fill out a week, I am done. Or when I use all of the cute stickers and add ons, I get WAY too overwhelmed. I worry about my handwriting. OR I work so hard at making my weekly layout cute, that I do not want to mess it up by crossing things off. I understand I am letting my crazy tendencies show…so feel free to judge me by the way.
ANYWAYYYYY. I needed something simple…BUT effective. I decided to create a printable daily planner page for a few reasons. FIRST, because I wanted to use the HAPPY PLANNER that I already have. SECOND, because I wanted to be able to create different colors and patterns throughout the year to keep the pages feeling fresh and to keep me using the planner. And THIRD, because I figured if I was needing something new to keep myself organized, there had to be others feeling the same way.
What is included on the pages??
I have included a few different spaces to fill in daily, but not toooo many to make it overwhelming. I like to make a list of anything and everything I want to accomplish in a day FIRST. Honestly, I only get to about half of my to-do list, but that is fine with me…I just move the unfinished items to the next day. Then I pick ONE main focus for the day. The ONE thing that needs to get done. Have you read the book EAT THAT FROG by Brian Tracy??? He talks about choosing ONE big ugly task per day (the frog) that you have to “eat” before you get distracted by the million small tasks that can fill up the day. It is a great read if you are a procrastinator (like me…I am the queen of pushing the FROG off until the last possible second or forgetting to do it at all). So I left a space to fill in the BIG FROG (or focus of the day). Having it there looking back at me all day is a GREAT motivator to GET IT DONE and THEN empty the dishwasher, fold the laundry, and answer emails.
If you have been around these parts for a while, you probably already know I am obsessed with EMeals and Walmart Pickup. If not, you can read all about it over HERE. But having a spot to include my meal plan for the day keeps me on track. Instead of panicking at 5 o’clock and grabbing fast food, I already have a plan for which Emeal I will be making that night. This saves me time, money, and most importantly MY SANITY each night. If I am being honest, I could NEVER make dinner again and be TOTALLY fine with that:)
How do I use a printable daily planner??
SOOO how do I use my printable daily planner pages??? I have a stack printed up and I just fill one out each night for the following day. The printable was created to print on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, but I print at 84 percent to fit my happy planner rings. So far I have liked the smaller size, but I am not married to the idea. I am tempted to try full sheets out for a bit too. That is the best part. I have spent ZERO money on a new planner, so I can change my mind and feel NO guilt. And if I do not want to keep the pages in a planner at ALL, I can just print out a copy and tape it to the fridge. OR if I miss a day or week, I can just jump right in and not fret about catching up. Or if I want to just grab the page and fold it in half and throw it in my purse…no worries. No judgement from the planner gods if I skip a few days either. I just jump back in and start TODAY.
And because I KNOW someone is going to ask, I DO keep my calendar on my phone. It is just too handy being able to share it with my kids and husband electronically. Currently I am using Artful Agendas and LOVE it!! You can use code RJ21871, if you want to check it out…I should probably do a post all about that one of these days too…BUT that is a FROG for another day. If you want to print your own daily pages…you can find the free printable HERE. And if you, like me, are ready for ALLL the organizing this year, you can find my spending tracker HERE and my Clean 15 organizing sheet HERE. Happy planning friends. Let’s chat again soon!! Jess
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