Having a full-time job, while trying to juggle a blog and having a social life can get pretty hectic. Thankfully, I discovered Cloth & Paper at the beginning of this year and started to get my personal/social life and my blog in order. My goal for using an agenda was to keep my life events, blog schedule and ideas, and my fitness, finance and life goals organized in one place.
Today, I’m giving you an in-depth look at my Cloth & Paper agenda and how I use it to get all aspects of my life to resemble some semblance of control.
Planning Supplies + Accessories
To set up my planner, I ordered Cloth & Paper’s A5 6 ring agenda in black, 2018 monthly capsule planner inserts, 2018 dated daily capsule inserts, gold foiled ceo dividers, black paper inserts, and matte black tape. I also ordered stickers from etsy (favorite shops here, here, and here) and accessories like page markers, white and black pens, and black sticky notes from Amazon and Muji.
How I use each section in my agenda:
Schedule
Monthly Inserts: Life events, bill & pay day schedule, days off and vacations.
Daily Inserts (pictured below): Daily schedule broken down by time, to-do lists, motivational quotes & mantras of the day, reminders and daily gratitude.
Memos
Shopping and wish lists, notes from podcasts & books, and important reminders and notes like gift card numbers, etc.
Goals
Business plans and ideas, meeting notes, and other personal goals.
Finance
Budget, expense tracker, savings plan, and online order tracker.
Ideas
Monthly blog content schedule, post ideas, to-do lists, and general blog notes.
Misc
Health and fitness plan, tracker, workouts, notes, and grocery lists.
Organizing My Personal + Social Obligations
I love to start off each month by filling out my monthly inserts in the Schedule section. First, I jot down the recurring dates/obligations like due dates for bills, pay days, and birthdays/anniversaries. I then make note of any vacations, holidays, and days off. Next, I note any upcoming personal and social obligations. I review my monthly schedule every weekend to add any new events or cross off any cancellations. This also keeps me on top of what’s coming up on my schedule since I don’t look at the monthly section in my agenda every single day.
Organizing My Memos, Goals, Finances, and Health & Fitness Plan
Out of all of the sections, I use my Memos & Goals sections the most. I am always reading, listening to podcasts, and watching videos trying to learn new skills and gain new perspectives. My Memos section comes in handy as a way to quickly refer to what I’ve recently learned. I’m always brainstorming business ideas and setting new goals for myself. I utilize the Goals section to make sure I don’t forget any of my thoughts and to help me keep track of my progress for everything I want to achieve.
I check in on my Finance and Health & Fitness Plan sections bi-weekly to monthly to make sure everything is going as planned but this is something I want to get in the habit of checking weekly.
Organizing My Blog Using an Agenda
I have a separate set of monthly inserts in my blog section that’s strictly for scheduling blog posts. I use blank or lined inserts to jot down all of my blog posts ideas, then schedule them on the monthly pages each week (pictured above). By doing this, I’m able to plan, write, and schedule posts in WordPress on the weekends, leaving me organized and stress-free during the week. I also make note of any blog-related tasks I need to get done such as updating my layout or sending out a newsletter update.
Some bloggers like to plan their posts for the entire month but I change my mind often and don’t want to feel obligated to post about something that I’m no longer interested in.
PIN IT
That’s my agenda setup for 2018. How are you using your planner this year? If you don’t use a planner, how are you staying organized?
