Planner Season: The FranklinPlanner Catalog

This arrived in the mail last week.

I have no time or money (especially the money part) to even browse the newest FranklinPlanner catalog, but that didn't stop me. I must have paged through it at least 10 times. I treated it like a child of the 80s treated the Sears catalog at Christmas time. I plan to trash it, but before I do, some complaints whines ...ahem, insights...as we approach the new year, or as I like to call it, Planner Season.

Let the judgment commence. (Now would be the time to grab some popcorn.)

*The layout of the FC Studio bound planners is fabulous, but why can't they offer something similar in ring bound? And in a compact size?

It's a horizontal weekly layout on the left side with days/dates of the month along the top. To the right, it offers ample space for notes, weekly to dos, and memories/journaling. It comes in some great colors and truly uses the maximum space on the page. (One thing I hate about FC is when they color in otherwise usable space with greens or blues.)

*There are more options for "One Page Per Day" layouts for compact FC planners, including colorful designs like Sweet Life, Serenity, and Retropop, along with the more traditional Monticello and Originals, but they still insist on either ZERO color or such bold designs that part of the page is wasted.

I'm sticking with my Quo Vadis daily inserts for now. That sucks, since those need to be cut and hole punched. I'd pay for the convenience, if FC just designed something like Blooms in compact size.

*There are tons of planner accessories in the new FC catalog, but most are not visually pleasing.

Take the pen loops, for example...

...or the hole punch.

*FranklinPlanner has upped the game with some fabulous binders (comparable, in my opinion, to Filofax), but they are incredibly expensive and the ring sizes tend to be 1" instead of the far superior 1.25". Also, the rings no longer appear to be interchangeable.

My favorites are the Color Nobelessa Open Binder (compact, 1" rings) in navy, orange, pink, or purple for 87 dollars...

...and the Lizard Embossed Binder (compact, 1.25") in charcoal (also available in orange) for 158 dollars.

Now, you know I love me some planners, and I'd be drooling and celebrating if the Lizard one arrived in my hands. But, seriously, I will NEVER spend 158 dollars on a planner. So I sit in judgment and hope to win the lottery.

*There are bags that I covet, but they are also out of a reasonable price range, considering the quality issues that I've had with Franklin bags in the past. Without one in hand, I have no way to check if the quality issues continue today.

*There are some interesting organizing gadgets available on the website, but only a handful of those are featured in the catalog.

Ultimately, I am still a FranklinPlanner/FC fan. I think they made some long overdue improvements in the product selection, but may have priced themselves out of the market. That would be a sad day.

I figure the best thing for them to do at this point is to hire me as a consultant, don't you? ;)

Etcetera.

Places Where I Don't Carry My Planner

I try to always buy purses that fit my Franklin Covey compact planner (similar to a Filofax personal size).

But there are some places where I don't take my planner.

*Bathroom 

'Cause yuck!

*Kitchen 

But I do leave it nearby, in case a staple ingredient is running low and needs to go on a shopping list. It stays away from cooking surfaces to protect it.

*Gym 

I leave my planner in the car while I workout.

TIP: Put it on the driver side seat of your car. That way, when leaving the gym, you are reminded to write down your workout AND schedule your next one.

*Formal Events

TIP: Put one piece of paper and a small pen in your handbag in case you meet someone and need to note a phone number.

*Bathtub 

I do bring books and my Nook in there, though!

Yes, I bring my planner to church (sometimes, they make announcements and I note them in my planner), to campgrounds (great for killing time when you get up before everyone else and for packing lists and menus), and on dates (my husband ALWAYS wants to talk about kids' Christmas gifts on dates...man of ROMANCE :/ ).

Etcetera.

Making Morning Routines Work

Mornings suck. It's just unfair that the alarm clock goes off right as I am warm and cuddly under the blankets. And then, before I can marathon Scandal or the Duggars on Netflix, I have to get the kids to school, workout, run errands, and work. It's quite the downer.

(Don't judge. One person can like both 19 Kids and a naughty political drama.)

Since I only like mornings that come with a steaming cup of coffee, a blanket, and a sunrise over a lake, and since most mornings do not fulfill that particular fantasy, I needed a way to make them run smoother and suck less. Here are some of the things that help make mornings better for me and my family.

*Have a schedule.

If there is one thing that NEEDS to be scheduled, it's your morning.

(In the picture, today's schedule is at the very top left hand corner. I usually don't duplicate stuff, but the "getting ready" schedule for the kids is on the fridge so they can see that breakfast is served at 6:30 sharp.)

My schedule varies a great deal, but basically it includes 40 minutes to get myself ready and feed the kids, a 30 minute commute, a 45 minute workout, and then the drive from the workout to the office. Fortunately, I work from home (or the library or a coffee shop), so I don't need to shower after the workout or put on make-up.

*Have a routine.

I try to do everything in the mornings in the same exact order, so that I learn it and don't have to think about it. (At first, I post the routine somewhere.)

TIP: Use a dry erase marker to post the routine or a reminder of what to wear on your mirror in your bathroom.

My routine is pretty simple.

Meds.
Shower.
Wake kids.
Teeth/Hair/Makeup.
Make breakfast.
Fill water bottles.
Pack snacks/lunches.
Pack everything else (on a list in my planner - see the first blue section in the pic above - and stacked in a designated launch spot).
Lock door on the way out.

*Don't wake up early if you don't have a kid who is tiny or has special needs.

Why should mom or dad always have to wake up first?

Instead...

*Train other members of the household to follow their own routines.

Note that my morning schedule only lists when I have to do things. At 6:45 this morning, I had to leave for carpool. (Even that varies, depending on whether I am substitute teaching or my husband's work schedule.) How could I do that while getting up at 6:15?

The answer is three-fold. First, I don't work in an office. I do wake 15 minutes earlier when I have to be presentable. Second, I have a "uniform" that I usually wear. On workout days, it's shorts and yoga pants and t-shirt. No work or workout? Jeans or tailored shorts. Third, my kids don't need me to supervise their routines because they are well trained.

The kids, ages 8 and almost 6, get themselves ready. At first, I woke up and got ready early, then oversaw their routine. That lasted about two weeks. I would point out the routine chart (hanging in their bedrooms). It was simple, like my routine.

Bathroom.
Get dressed.
Socks/shoes.
Hair/teeth.
Schoolbag.
Breakfast.

After two weeks, I gave incentives if they "beat the clock." For example, they might get to bring Kindle Fires in the car for the commute. Or we'd listen to a book on CD (checked out from the library) on the way to school. Or they could pick their own snack instead of mom picking for them. Finally, on week five, once they were well trained, they faced consequences if they were not timely (such as losing electronics time or telling the principal themselves why they were late for school).

Of course, things happen. Breakfast gets spilled on the uniform and someone has to change. Or somebody runs out of toothpaste. The kids know that as long as they tell me politely and ask for help, they will not be in trouble for a legitimate delay.

*Pack/list the night before.

All of the leading organizing books will tell you to put out your clothing and pack the night before. But that is not always feasible. I added a list to the packing routines, and it has solved the issue of not having room for everything leaving the house with me or forgetting things from the fridge.

Instead, I put my purse in my launch spot (for outgoing stuff that is leaving with me the next time I leave the house) all the time at home. Other stuff, like my work bag, go there only if the stuff is leaving the house with me. But my clothes stay hanging, unwrinkled, in the closet, and simply get moved to a special spot in the closet. Things like lunches, which are difficult to pack early, go on the list in the first blue spot on my daily planner, to leave the house with me. After all, a list works just as well as stacking everything in a pile.

TIP: Simplify your list by writing "Launch Spot" (or "LS) and anything else you need that is NOT in the Launch Spot. For me, that is often my cell (elsewhere on a charger) and my water bottle (needs ice).

TIP: If you bring the same things every single day, make a sticker with the list on it for your planner.

TIP: Don't put clothes on your list unless it is something special, like a raincoat. You'll probably remember not to leave the house naked without writing it down. (Unless you won't remember, in which case, by all means, write down "clothes.")

TIP: Have two launch spots - one for stuff leaving the next time you leave the house, like your purse and cell phone, and one for stuff that will leave eventually, like the toy that needs to be returned to your sister or a gift for Saturday's birthday party.

*Have a time for others in the household to pack the night before, too.

Give your kids a time to prep for the next day as part of their afternoon or evening routine. Set up launch spots for your roommate, spouse, or children.

For my kids, prep is in the afternoon. They do homework, prep for the next day (my husband takes care of clothing, but they put library books and water bottles and such in their schoolbags), chores, then free play. Evening routine is limited to bath, teeth, and prayer.

Their launch spots are in the hall closet. They each have a shelf.

If you incorporate this stuff into your morning routine, it will work. I promise.

Okay, I promise it will make you morning less stressful. I don't promise a Doctor Who marathon on the beach with a mimosa. We have to be realistic, after all.

Etcetera.

Naked Organizer

A friend asked me to post a picture of my desk after yesterday's blog entry about Organizing Work Space.

I felt a bit dirty (hence the title of this post), but here it is, for everyone to see. My desk, untouched, with today's piles in all their glory.

And now you know that even a person who blogs about organizing has imperfections. Feel better about your own mess?

Etcetera.

Ordering Work Space

Sometimes, I work from home. The rest of the time, I work in a library or coffee shop. But no matter where I work, I have a flexible but established system for setting up the "desk area" (in the picture below, a table at CCs Coffeehouse). Working remotely does not excuse me from needing an organized work space in order to accomplish as much as possible.

I set up my laptop in the middle of the table and whatever I am writing on (a document, in this case, but sometimes my planner) goes to the left (as I am left-handed). 

Here's what the layout looks like...

************************************************
Back of table (away from me and behind laptop):

Left - purse contents/Right - trash

Front of table near me:

Left - writing area/Right - laptop

Tote bag:

Everything not in use or to return home
************************************************

TIP: Right-handed folks might want to reverse the set-up.

And the details...

Trash (old notes to be discarded, empty coffee cups, anything to toss) goes behind the laptop to the right. I used to not have a trash area. I kept mixing trash with stuff to hold on to and accidentally throwing away the wrong thing.

Items for my purse, such as my glasses, water bottle, watch, or cell phone (if any of that needs to be out while I am working) goes to my left, behind the laptop. My planner goes here if I am not currently making notes in the planner. I used to keep the planner in the writing area, but sometimes I'm working with a document and the planner gets in the way.

Overflow documents (maybe source books or a chart) go to the right of the laptop.

Writing goes where it is most comfortable to take notes or draft by hand.

TIP: Make up your own consistent set-up and jot it in the Notes section of your planner until you learn it. 

Consistency will keep you organized. The idea of teaching yourself a working set-up might sound silly, but it means you waste tons less time packing away your desk (even if you work at the same desk everyday) and you get to stop shuffling piles around just to get work done.

I do the same sort of thing in my kitchen, when prepping dinner. I have a consistent set-up and it makes cooking a neat, no-brainer task. Maybe I'll take pictures and tell you about that sometime soon.

In the meantime, click below if you want to join the conversation on Facebook about bringing order to our lives. I look forward to chatting with you.

Etcetera.

Top Ten Steps For Organizing Library Books

As part of my decluttering process, I basically gave up buying books.

Yes, it hurt. Yes, I might have cried a little.

I love the smell and feel of paper. Collecting stories is an incredibly, healthy high. But space and money are at a premium, so the decision to cut out owning books was reluctantly made. (My kids still each have a small collection).

Other than my Harry Potter collection, displayed on my fireplace mantle, I just don't have room in my tiny house for bookshelves. (The collection includes Harry Potter bookends and a time turner. The time turner doesn't work. I tried. Maybe it doesn't work because I'm a muggle?)

The local library came to my rescue.

By checking out library books instead of buying the books, I save tons of money. I can also get music for in the car, CD books for the kids, and DVD movies. I can even check out books for my Nook from the library. Those digital books return themselves, so I'm just going to explain how I manage my hard copy library books and other physical checked out items in this post.

1. ALWAYS write a reminder in your planner to return the items on the last day that returning the item is convenient.

For example, if the items are due on the 17th, the reminder is written on the 16th.

This assumes, of course, that there is time to return them on the 16th. If not, the 15th might be more appropriate. This is important, because if you wait until the actual due date to turn in the book, you might get sidetracked and miss the deadline.

2. Include the actual due date in the return reminder in your planner.

That way, you can reassess your trip to the library if something comes up. Or, you can see that you will not be done by the due date and recheck the items on-line.

TIP: If you have rechecked a book, note that next to the reminder. At my library, we get three three week renewals per item. I note it like this: 1x (rechecked 1 time), 2x (rechecked 2 times).

3. Include the number of items checked out in your planner.

This number includes all DVDs and CDs and other items, as well as books.

4. Include locations of book returns in the reminder entry, if those vary.

In my case, my parish (a Louisiana version of a county) and the neighboring parish, where my kids attend school, have reciprocal card holder agreements. This means that I can check out the books from either parish, but they must be returned to the correct parish's library.

TIP: Within a given county or parish, many library systems allow returns to any other branch in the same system. Check out books from one place and return it to another place, if that is convenient for you.

5. Keep the receipt listing items checked out and due dates in your planner until items are returned, unless tracking that on-line is easier for you.

This saves so much time when you can't figure out what book #15 might be, and you realized it's the CD in your car stereo.

6. Have a folded up tote bag in your purse or tote bag for unexpected library visits.

What, you don't find yourself browsing in the library to kill time while the pharmacy filled your prescription? You should change that! It's cheaper than shopping and much more satisfying!

7. Have two dedicated library totes (or more, if your kids each have one in their bedrooms). 

One tote is for bringing home unread books. Another is for putting already read books in so that you know you are ready to return them to the library.

8. The only book not in the totes should be the one you are currently reading.

I keep that one next to my bed on the side table or in my purse.

9. Have a dedicated home for your library totes.

TIP: Consider using the trunk of your car if your weather is moderate and not humid.

Except when it is extremely hot in Louisiana summers, my dedicated location is in the trunk of my car. (Okay, Louisiana summers last most of the year. But in November, December, and January, I'm rocking those books in my trunk.) I park right outside my living room and am very motivated to grab a book out of the car. Because the books are already in my car, returns are simple when I am driving by the library anyway.

10. Create a Notes, File, or ABC File entry for library policies. 

In that entry, note important things that are good to reference while not at home, such as the numerical limit on check-outs, the number of magazines or new books the library allows, and the name of your favorite librarian.

Happy reading.

Etcetera.