I am not a naturally organized person. In fact, for many years I was probably one of the most disorganized people imaginable. That started to change when I had kids. Keeping some sort of a routine is just a necessity when you’re a parent, like waking up early despite the fact you’re a night owl. When I started my blog, my organizational skills increased again. I do well with deadlines and so I set them for myself when running my site.
In previous years, I used a slightly haphazard but mostly effective system for managing my website and my household. Blog posting dates were marked on a paper calendar I kept at my workstation. Payments I was expecting were marked down in a separate small notebook. Kids’ activities were listed on a separate paper calendar in the kitchen. And school activities were remembered simply because I hung the school calendars the boys brought home on the fridge.
Three calendars, one notebook and I was at the limit of my organizational abilities. Anything beyond that, such as meal planning or goal-setting? It just wasn’t going to happen. In fact, even using a paper calendar to record blog features was starting to become ineffective as my site got busier. Then Simply Plan, the ultimate All-In-One Planner, came to my rescue. This planner is a must-have for any busy mom. While the roomy layout of each day with plenty of space for blog organization was instantly appealing, that’s just the start of the benefits of the Simply Plan organizer!
One of my favourite features is that each week starts with a one-page section for meal planning and a one-page section for managing the weekly budget. I have heard so many moms tell me how much money and time they save when they follow a meal plan and I was especially excited to give the concept a try for myself. And being able to record expenses throughout the week was an added bonus! The two-page layout of each week’s activities was the perfect place to record my scheduled blog posts. And with spaces for AM, PM and evening activities, it also helped me to better manage my time each day. There’s even a space each week to record goals, to-do lists and memorable moments every week!
I would have been thrilled with the Simply Plan All-In-One Planner if that was the extent of its content. But it isn’t. The book also includes Household, Family, Goal and Contact sections at the back to help manage different tasks. From current household projects and meal options, to family information and favourites for quick shopping and gift selection, to chore lists and goal-setting pages, I can literally use my Simply Plan organizer for recording and managing virtually every business, household and family task I have. And to top it all off, the book is simply gorgeous!
If getting organized is one of your goals for 2014, you’re in luck! Simply Plan is very generously offering one lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader their own Simply Plan 2014 All-In-One Planner, a $40 value! To enter to win, just leave a blog comment about one of your goals for 2014.
The best tools in the world don’t bring any benefit if they’re not used to their full potential, so as part of my mission to get organized, I’ll be spending an hour or so every Sunday to organize for the week ahead so that family chores, meals and activities are all noted in the organizer and ready to be referenced when needed. With a little help from Simply Plan, this may just be my most organized year yet!
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One of my goals is to cut everything neg from my life, Surround myself with positivity and enjoy life, leaving negative people and things behind. Thanks for chance, I am always writing on calendars lol.
I’d like to use this planner to combine meals/activities and house hold goals into one spot.
losing the rest of my baby weight and being nicer and more patient with my husband
Be healthy and travel.
Have a healthy baby and lose the baby weight
My main goal is to be more organized, closely followed by being healthier. I have 2 jobs plus 2 p.t. jobs from home, plus school courses to finish my bookkeeping degree ..and a single mom to a teenager .. I need some serious organization in my life !
To declutter our home, and make life much more simple.
Eat more #Bacon
To be more organized! This would be a perfect thing to help me reach that goal!
Spending more time with my new family!