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Saturday, December 3, 2016

Simplified Planner Organization

Happy Saturday! Today I am sharing a post that I have been working on for a while, how I organize my planner!


If you don't follow along with my Instagram, you probably haven't seen how obsessed I am with my Emily Ley Simplified Planner. I had been constantly checking out and debating investing (about $60 yikes!) in this planner for the better part of a year - pretty much since I discovered the Emily Ley brand. However, I couldn't get over the fact that these planners were SO expensive, and it was after all just a planner. 

My super sweet boyfriend was well aware of my obsession and knew I would never spend the money to get the planner for myself, so he got it for me as my birthday present! I have been using it all semester and have finally gotten down an organizational system that I like. Today I am sharing how I set up my planner and some tips for keeping your planner (and life) organized. 

// the planner //

I have the Emily Ley Simplified Planner, Daily Edition, in Gold Pineapple. First off, it's adorable. I was a little worried about the white background, but it has held up very well, even though it shows a little wear from constantly being lugged around in my backpack. I got the daily edition which has a page for every day and the page is split between a schedule and to do list, with space at the bottom for dinner and notes. In the past, when I had weekly calendars, I always struggled with fitting my schedule for the day, assignments, and to do list in the small amount of space. With this planner I have more than enough room. Emily Ley also offers a weekly edition that still has each day broken down, just with fewer slots for schedule and to-dos for every day.

// how I use it // 

Color coding - when I first got my planner, I assigned a color of pen to each class I'm taking, as well as ones for sorority obligations, things specifically regarding my officer position, Mike, my part time job, and the blog. I always write the things for each specific area in the same color so I can easily see what I have going on. (Pro tip: the notebooks/folders I got for each class match their planner pen color). These are my favorite pens!


I fill in the monthly view with all of the big events I have going on for the month - birthdays, big assignments and tests, interviews, meetings, etc. I love having an overview of everything that I have coming up. I fill in each month at the start of semester with all of the dates from my syllabi. As the month goes along, I add in other things I have coming up.


At the start of each week, either Sunday night or Monday morning, I fill in all of the reoccurring events I have during the week - class and my work schedule. I will also fill in events specific for that week. It seems a little tedious to do this every single week, but it really does help me to write it all do and have a visual of what the schedule of my day looks like. I have a google calendar with my schedule as well, but there is something to be said for writing things down.


Each day, I will make a to do list for that day in the second column on the planner. My to do lists are often ambitious and I know I won't get it all accomplished, but then I'll transfer things to the next day when I have more time. I would like to have a little morning ritual where I write down everything I need to get done, but more often it's when I get to my class 15 minutes early that I fill out my planner for the day.

On each day there is also a dinner and notes section. Now I don't really need to plan out dinners (I'm a college student, I either eat in the dining hall or eat out), so I'll cover the header of that section with washi tape - just because I love fun washi tape - and use it to write out assignments or reminders for my classes for that day. I don't always use the notes sections but it's really nice to have if I have a sudden idea for the blog or need to jot something down during a meeting.

The Simplified Planner is hands down the best planner I have ever used! I tell pretty much everyone how great it is and that they need one too. This is definitely not my last Emily Ley planner.

What is your favorite planner? Do you have a certain way of organizing it? I would love to hear!

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