Do you find yourself always buying a planner, telling yourself that you’re going to finally get organized and on track?

Then, you get home, excitedly break out your new planner and fancy pens and begin scribbling away, planning how you’re going to be a whole new you.

Buuutttt….

Then a week goes by and you don’t even know where your new planner went.

Ya, I’m totally guilty of this, too!

It gets better though:

When I finally found the planner of my dreams and learned how to use it effectively, I become 1000% more organized and productive.

I know what you’re thinking:

“How does she not know how to use a planner?!”

Well, of course, I’m capable of writing down goals, appointments, to-do lists, etc.

What I didn’t know was how to record this information in the most efficient way possible in order to increase organization and productivity.

Because the bottom line is:

It’s fine and dandy to scribble down “publish five blog posts this week” in the notes section of your planner.

But what are the action-packed steps you’re going to take to actually accomplish that goal?

That’s where these 5 planner productivity tips come in:

1. Invest in a planner you love
2. Make time for your planner
3. Use your calendar for big picture stuff
4. Use your weekly/daily spreads for action-packed to-do’s
5. Use all that blank space for….

Let’s dive in!

Recommended Reading:

• 6 Best Planners To Get Organized & Crush Your Goals

I strongly believe that you won’t be able to effectively use a planner until you find a planner that you actually enjoy using.

I’m not talking about a planner that’s cute and visually appealing (although, also important).

I’m talking about a planner that has all the bells and whistles!

Because the truth is:

If you don’t have a planner that you love, it is hard to use it effectively.

You might be wondering what planners I recommend.

You’re in luck!  I’ve got two killer planners for you to explore!

1.  The Erin Condren LifePlanner

The Erin Condren Life Planner is easy to use and comes with everything you could ever want from a planner.

The LifePlanner includes:

• Vertical, horizontal, or hourly daily planning pages
• Goal Setting Worksheets
• Inspirational Quotes
• Two-Page Monthly Overviews
• Monthly Notes
• Two-Page 2020 Future Planning Page
• Folder
• Stickers

I really appreciate the easy layout of this planner and die over the cute design.

It’s true:

This planner helps me plan out and accomplish my goals every single day.

I would be lost without my LifePlanner!

2.  The Life Boss Planner

The Life Boss Planner is an un-dated life planner that will help you stay productive, plan your days, and track your success.

Included are 38+ planner printables that you can use year after year.

Some of the planning printables included are:

• monthly calendar
• weekly planner
• daily planner
• time-blocking schedules
• meal planner
• habit tracker

and more!

Related Reading:

• 4 [More] Kickass Planners To Get Organized & Crush Your Goals

You can’t plan for things if you don’t have a time dedicated to planning, right?!

Whether it is once a month, week, or day, find the time to sit down with your planner and fill in your goals and action steps for the month/week/day.

This way, you’ll have to simply glance at your planner each morning to know your schedule for work, appointments, to-do’s, and more.

I like to cozy up with my planner once a week, usually on Sunday’s, to plan out my upcoming week.

I am far more efficient at getting something done if it is scheduled at a specific time during the day.

Related Reading:

• 8 [More] Things You Should Do Every Sunday For The Best Week Ever

Use your monthly calendar for big picture stuff only!

Ugh, I used to squeeze soooo much information into the monthly spreads in my planner.

I mean, it was mainly because I used to buy planners that only had monthly spreads, hah!

But, also because I didn’t know any planner productivity hacks.

Use your monthly spread for big picture things like:

• big-picture monthly goals
• bill due dates
• appointment times

This makes it easier to get an overall feel for what your month looks like at a glance, but doensn’t overwhelm you with tons of information.

Your weekly and/or daily spread is where you can really get down to business with your goals and tasks.

This where you should plan out your action steps to achieve the goals you wrote down on your monthly calendar.

I tend to focus on three goals each month,

• one personal,
• one health-related,
• and one career-related.

Then, in your weekly and/or daily spread, write down the action-steps you’re going to take to accomplish your goals.

Now, you can wake up each morning, glance at your planner while eating breakfast and clearly see an outline of what needs to happen that day.

For example, if one of my big picture goals was to write five blog posts this month, my daily spread would include action-steps such as, “draft first post, edit post, create graphics for post.“

Doing this has really, really, really helped with my productivity!

Is it just me, or do most planners have more notes pages than you know what to do with each month?

I never utilized these pages, until, a little light-bulb went off.

Now, I use these blank pages for:

• important dates
• memories
• milestones
• goals
• random lists
• quotes
• gratitude

I love jotting down cute things my kids say, saving the dates of all their milestones, and adding small pictures to relive the moments. (Yes, I am that person who saves all of my planners, lol!)

The notes sections are also great for recording your thoughts and reflections.

Utilizing the blank space in my planner this way has made it so much more personal, and is a great, all-encompassing planner + journal.

Do you often find yourself wishing for more time to get things done?  Juggling your work, your life, and your family is hard.  And, staying productive while balancing all of this is a daunting task that often leaves us overwhelmed and anxious.

But, I have something to help, something created by people who understand that you’re looking for practical productivity solutions that will work in your world.

It’s called The Ultimate Productivity Bundle and it was created and curated by people with real-life responsibilities just like you: they have families, work part- to full-time jobs or run businesses, don’t have personal assistants or the budget for hiring lots of extra help.

Included are 5 eBooks, 14 eCourses + videos, and 26 printables + workbooks, all for only $47 (That’s like, $1 per resource!)

Skip to the bottom?

It’s cool.  Most of us do. 😛

Let me recap for you:

1.  Find A Planner You Love – You cannot use your planner successfully if you hate it.  So, take the time and invest in a planner you enjoy using.  I equally recommend the Erin Condren LifePlanner and The Planna Planner to anybody looking to discover their dream planner (or planners!)

2.  Make Time For Your Planner – Once you have the planner of your dreams in your hands, schedule out planner time to increase your organization and productivity.  Try writing in your planner each night before bed or plan your whole week on Sundays!

3.  How To Utilize Your Monthly Calendar – Only use your monthly calendar for big picture stuff.  Stuff like: big-picture monthly goals, bill due dates, appointment times, etc.

4.  How To Utilize Your Weekly and/or Daily Planner Pages – Use your weekly and daily planner pages to write out your action steps to achieve your goals.

5.  How To Utilize All That Blank Space – Is it just me, or do most planners have more notes pages than you know what to do with?  Use these pages for important dates, memories, milestones, goals, random lists, quotes, gratitude, etc.

Happy planning,

– michelle

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