Guys, after much trial and error, I opened up a shop on my website!  I’m super excited about it, although in truth, I was supposed to launch everything over a month ago and was also supposed to do more promotion.  Well, this full-time working mom just did not have time for all of that.  So we’re accepting second best and opening things as is.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY SHOP!

My New Paper Planner + Shop

My shop was born out of necessity.  After watching a gazillion YouTube videos  on how people plan out their weeks on paper (if you’re curious watch this one this one or this one this one), I knew I wanted in.  I’ve always loved planning and the fact that people made their planners pretty was even more appealing to me.  It’s a mini hobby that you can do in your alone time.

I also noticed that when everything in my life was digital I was always on my phone. I didn’t want my life to be that way. I didn’t want to be one of those people always looking down and not enjoying the good things that life is all about.

The issue was that I couldn’t find a planner that was right for me.  Most of these pretty planners start their weeks on Monday.  My week starts fresh every Sunday.  Also, Sundays are usually my busiest day, but many planners had a very small box for Sunday.  That just wouldn’t work for me.  I also thought it would be nice if my planner had candle-lighting times specific to where I live.  This way I wouldn’t have to bother writing them in every week.  And it would be nice if I can add in my own additional papers and notes as needed.  Flexibility!

My Planner Must-Haves

1. Sunday start
2. Large to-do box on Sunday
3. Local candle-lighting times specific to where I live
4. Flexibility to add/remove papers
5. Inexpensive!

So, since I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I created my own and want to share it with you.

Paper planners not for you?  Use Evernote Templates to digitalize your life.

How I Set Up My Planner

I set up my planner in order to suit my needs.  I wanted a disc-bound system because it’s flexible and with smaller rings, does not take up much space in my work bag.

I started with an ARC notebook – I bought this one at Staples, but they sell similar notebooks in Walmart.

Then I added in some accessories:

And I also bought an Arc hole-puncher, paper cutter and heavy-weight paper (not shown) so I can print these out at home.

How I Plan

Every Sunday morning I sit and plan out my week.  This doesn’t take long at all!

Each day on the weekly pages is split into 3 sections:

TOP:  I use the top to note what is going on that day. Appointments, birthdays and candle lighting times all go at the top.

MIDDLE:  The middle section is my to-do list for the day

BOTTOM:  The last section is for our dinner menu. Since I’m working full time and none of us are home during the day we basically eat the same breakfast and lunch each day, so I do not plan it. Rather, I just make sure we never run out of cereal, milk, bagels and cream cheese.

Routine Tracker:  Instead of repeating the same tasks every day, I added a routine tracker as a simple daily checklist.  I add things like Daven, pack lunches, excercise, etc…

Get Started!

And that my friends is how I’ve been planning out my week. I’m hoping that these ideas will help those of you who are not technically savvy and like good old fashioned paper lists.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY SHOP!

Share tips and tricks with us – how do you plan out your week?

Until next time,
Shaindy