One of the many questions I get asked on a regular basis is how do I manage a full time job, a successful blog, a family and find time for myself? Well….three words: IT’S NOT EASY! That said, I do put in place as many tools as I can to manage my time effectively and be as productive as I can.
As a blogger, I have a long list of ‘to-dos’ and sometimes I have to plan months in advance when it comes to seasonal launches and stories.
So really…how do I do it? Well, I have to say I struggled for months and months to find a solution to manage my time. Everything was in my head or on scraps of paper around the house, but when I got my Erin Condren Life Planner, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Today I’m sharing with you what my planner looks like and how I use it. ONE LUCKY READER will have a chance to win a $100 gift certificate (USD) for your own personalized planner at the end of this post!
What is an Erin Condren Life Planner?
It’s an all-in-one agenda, diary, calendar that can be personalized and customized to your own taste. Beyond the basic planner, there are options to add on, take away and many things in between.
Here’s my planner.
It actually matches my C-Wonder monogrammed phone case – I so love pink chevrons!
As soon as you open the Erin Condren Life Planner, you get a nice motivational message “work hard, play hard”. This is consistent across all planners.
The next two pages are a full 2015 calendar at a glance calendar.
There is always a monthly view for each month, and then a weekly view and the color scheme changes from month to month. The weekly view is divided by morning, day and night and you have the opportunity on the left and the bottom to write daily notes.
Any planner is not complete without a note section. Having blank pages for notes is great because it means I don’t have to worry about always having a second notebook with me! Some of the note paper is lined, and some are blank (I like the blank pages for sketching some of my designs).
I always have loose items that seem to find their way to the bottom of my purse – important receipts, business cards, coupons etc. This pocket on the left is perfect for slipping in pieces of paper and the plastic envelope on the right means you can keep important small items contained.
As a little extra, on the Erin Condren site, you can actually use your own pictures for stickers to use in your planner. Aren’t these too cute?
One annoying aspect of having a paper planner is that you always have to re-enter important dates every year. With this new forget me not calendar – you don’t have to!
Make-your own labels are also included in the Erin Condren Life Planner along with some standard labels “birthday, day off, vacation”.
Extra Accessories
I think my favorite thing about the Erin Condren Life planner is all of the customizable accessories that you can add to your order. Anything from a second cover (If I ever get bored of the pink chevrons…doubtful), an elastic that holds your book together, a ruler to mark your page and of course labels – we organized gals love our labels!
So all in all this Erin Condren Life planner has saved my life. I plan everything in here – my blog posts, my personal appointments, my work commitments etc.
Check out google images for Erin Condren and you’ll see how creative you can get with your own planner.
Giveaway Time
I’m so thrilled to be working with Erin Condren to offer one lucky reader the opportunity to win a $100 gift certificate for your own personal planner! Perfect timing for 2015. Contest closes Saturday December 13th, 2014. You may even decide to gift your prize to someone you know who has been drooling over the Erin Condren Life planners (though let’s face it, you’ll probably keep it for yourself).
The giveaway is open internationally, but please note that anything above $100 US will have to be paid by you. To give you an idea of cost, you can purchase a gorgeous planner and a few accessories for about $80 USD and then shipping is on top of that.
Until next time,
Comments
The adorable designs they are available in is my favorite part
The designs and maybe a step in the right direction on the never ending train toward organization!
I love how colourful it is and everything is there in the binding… I don’t have to worry about what types of pages I should include or not.
I love all the options to personalize! All the designs are so cute!
Amazing!!! Would love this!!!!
So excited about this! I’ve been needing a GOOD planner!
I never had one but would love to try them
My favorite thing about the beautiful planner is the way you can personalize it so nobody else has one like it they’re absolutely beautiful
Whoops! The* haha
I think my issue with sticking to planners is I forget to carry them, get bored easily, etc, but since Erin Condren planners are so fun and beautiful I think it would be easier to keep it with me! I’ve browsed the website before and just love thr seemingly endless options.
It’s COLORFUL & BEAUTIFUL
I love how there are a range of choices to choose from! I also like how they’re colorful and customizable!
I love the flexibility and whole layout of the planners,,, they allow for so many possibilities when it comes to planning and also allow you to customize your planner so that it says you as an individual…planning made so easy and effective
My favorite part about the planner is that it is definitely not boring! lol I love that it is colorful and that you can become really creative when using it. Thanks for doing this giveaway! 😀
The quality of the paper and the range you can choose from !
I love that Erin makes an organized planner or functional and pretty
I love the fun, unique layout!
I love that I can make the planner exactly how I want it.
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks so much for this fabulous review (w/ stunning imagery)! We really appreciate your feedback and are so glad you’re enjoying all of the extra goodies/ accessories that came with your Life Planner.
P.S. We just pinned to our Pinterest review board… Check it out: http://www.pinterest.com/erincondren
Happy Planning!
Best,
-the EC media team
#eclifeplanner
I cannot wait to get my planner! I have been searching for one that would work for me and I have had 4 different planners for the past 4 years and its been so difficult to find something I like. When I found Erin’s website I fell in love with the life planner! It has everything I want and with college and 2 jobs I think its exactly what I need to get organized!! Hope I win!! Good luck to everyone else! Lindsay I love your post about your planner! Definately may borrow some of your ideas!!
I would love a planner like this!
I am obsessed with planners! Started seeing Erin Condren planners on YouTube and I cannot wait to get one for the next school year! I cannot function without one lol
I love everything about this planner – the layout, the stickers, the colors – everything 🙂
I love all the different covers that you can personalise.
Thanks for sharing. The Erin Condren products are so nice. I want one of everything please! 😉
I would love one of these!! I like to keep little notebooks with me to jot down stuff, but this seems like a perfect solution !
This is fantastic! Thanks for doing this giveaway!
I’ve been wanting a life planner for over a year, I finally ordered one but of course now I am obsessed and want a wedding planner for myself and my sister and want lots of accessories!!! Thanks for sharing your review. 🙂
Ah I love this – looks like it would keep me on point!
Coommeee on luck! dont fail momma now!!
Thanks for such a great post. Was great to see the inside of the planners in such detail. I’ve wanted one of these for so long!
I love how cute and colorful it is!
The costumization is my favorite thing about this planner
I love the personalization of the covers. I put my entire family with 9 grands on it. I always can share it with everyone.
I love the personalized photo stickers plus the stickers you created for your own planner (blog post, etc.) Erin Condren is too good! Great post, thanks for sharing!!
I love the customizable covers! They are so unique and adorable!
I love the layout!
Erin Condren’s Life Planners are absolutely beautiful! I’ve been wanting to buy one for the past year but, unfortunately, it just isn’t in my budget. I love how beautiful the details are and how practically everything is customizable. I am a very busy college student and having an Erin Condren calendar would be absolutely wonderful. Thank you for allowing us to take a look inside your planner 🙂
I love the cute colors and the pocket that would definitely come in handy!
I love the covers and of course the stickers – what planner would be complete without those? Thanks for the chance to win!
I definitely need some erin condren in my life to get my youtube channel organized!
My favorite thing (well one of my favorite things!) is the separation of the day
I love the interchangeable covers the colors and the quotes !
I love the endless possibilities on how the EC planners can be utilized.
It is really beatiful and stylish
Pingback: CND Vinylux Holiday Giveaway! | Nail That Accent