Tag: Happy Planner

Posted in Planning

Managing Mondays…and A week of one event after another

Posted on by shesipscoffee

Sipping coffee this morning I thought about how busy this week was really going to be and I spent the quiet time focused on meditating instead of making lists. Afterall, I deserve to gift myself a bit. Tuesday is my birthday!

Weeks ago I told my offspring that the only gifts I wanted were ones that included their time working on projects around the house…indoor and outdoor beautification and organization. I am happy to see a little improvement each day as these small to big projects and various phases getting completed. So far so good. The goals are aggressive so the timeline was extended to the first week of June.

I love birthdays.

This week is also the last week of school for my youngest. So early release days and finals make the week hectic. As a working mom I am negotiating pick ups for the early release days. I truly am very blessed to be surrounded by a village of family and friends who help out on crazy weeks like this one.

I have work partners who are in town this week so I have a dinner out with them while they visit. I made sure I batch cooked a few meals yesterday to be easily warmed up for lunch or dinner. Good thing too since I got the invite to dinner on Wednesday very last minute.

Thursday includes an all day meeting and an appointment for my daughter. That day could be ripe with conflicts since it also the last day of school with an early noon release. Did I mention how blessed I am to have a village of support? I just need to note who is who and when so I don’t get confused or set false expectations with anyone. I cannot imagine life without my planner on weeks like this one. How would I ever keep it straight otherwise? And then there is the all day meeting…so of course there will be a lit of notes and action items. Insert a half page for a list and notes.

This coming weekend is Phoenix Comic Fest and as much as we want to attend all four days, we are only attending on Saturday.

Insert Checklist! This is a work in progress. Planning Cosplay and a survival kit for a day long convention requires planning and preparation.

But that’s not all…next week is Vacation so….I need to start making the packing list.

I want to keep it simple so that throughout the week I can add to my list and pack whenever I have a window of time. I know most will be last minute. That’s the beauty of the lists. I have a place to note down whatever I think of whenever it comes to mind. I can worry less and enjoy the busy birthday week.

So, let the list making and note-taking begin. I think I am ready for the week. Just keeping my coffee fresh and my planning time quiet and productive.

Have a great week!

Posted in Planning

Managing Mondays-Busy Days with Lofty Goals Await

Posted on by shesipscoffee

This week is full of fun and I have a lot to do around all of it.

  • Live Music
  • Movie
  • Mother’s Day
  • Work
  • Appointments
  • Writing
  • Home Organization and Cleaning

Will I get it all done? I have a plan. And I decided to color code my days with Work in pink and Home in Green.

This is a new idea. With so much going on I thought the segregation would help my mind focus and fight the clutter. Let’s see how it works.

If nothing else I love the symmetry it lends to the design. This layout is using 100% Happy Planner brand products. Well, and a pen.

I love busy weeks yet when I start laying out the week I get a bit anxious. The events are non-negotiable. Time with friends at movies or live music shows are Aces to me. I live for moments that make memories. And I am well rested and camera ready. By the time Sunday comes around I will definitely love the fact that Mother’s Day means I get to take the day off. No chores from this Mom! And my son gave me a ticket to the live show on Sunday which will make the day the best ever. Ending a week eating at my favorite restaurant, enjoying live music that I love all on Mother’s Day means my blessings are truly overflowing.

With a week ending in so much joy I already feel motivated to rock this week at home and at work. I know I can get it all done and more.

Back to sipping my coffee before I tackle it all!

Posted in Planning

Strength & Dignity-Keeping Faith and Trust Day by Day

Posted on by shesipscoffee

Enjoying my coffee time when all is quiet. I cannot say all because the fur babies are awake and their paws are tapping away on the wooden floors. There are some days where I wish I had more rugs along their beaten path to muffle their clickety-clack. On days like today, I have to sip my coffee a bit more eagerly so that the caffeine kicks in and I can tune out their distractions.

I set aside 10-20 minutes in my morning meditation to journal Bible verses. In January when I built my Vision board I chose words Strength and Dignity. I choose to surround myself in reading, writing, praying, playing, and meditating on those words. And funny enough, I seem to run across or search for items and articles that focus on that positivity.

Today, I served up my java in one of those pretty finds that I came across at The Daily Grace. This site is a Women’s Bible Study ministry that is one of my go to sites for study tools and topics. I have acquired quite a collection of journals, pens, studies and accessories. And my cup is one of my most recent acquisitions. It is just so lovely.

Bible Journaling

I appreciate that there are many ways to study the Bible and journaling is a relatively new discovery for me and I enjoy how my love of writing and crafting are married with this mode of spending time with God.

Throughout each month I have 3 or 4 methods that I dive into every day. Days that are short on time you will find that I invest in only one. But invest I do. Time with my coffee and in the Word sets my day along a calming and focused path. There are days where I may oversleep and am sipping coffee on the go and the day seems to run me more ragged. On those days, I find a quiet time later, pour another cup of coffee, and just find my quiet chair in my room and ensure my day doesn’t end as it began.

I encourage you to find time with your favorite beverage and a quiet place to journal, meditate, and read. Start your day off this way and see how the day goes. End your day this way and see how your sleep is restful and healing. Do both and get a double whammy of positivity for yourself.

Here are some of the quiet time techniques that I enjoy.

Daily Verse Journaling

This is one of the simplest ways to spend 10 to 15 minutes a day. Pinterest is filled with themed monthly ideas for each day. I snagged a couple of ideas I planned for May below. I may not get to these every single day and spend a weekend morning catching up. I love how one of the many creators always seems to know what encouragement I am hoping to find in Scripture from one month to the next.

Wonder how to take this into practice? I have a planner for that. Here are some snaps from my January pages in my Happy Planner.

The Reset Girl’s Faithful Life

My girl, Cori, over at www.theresetgirl.com is so inspirational and creative. I consistently enjoy her easy way of incorporating crafting, journaling, and studying all in one space. She offers a free monthly prompt for journaling verses in a theme. Visit her website to find more.

Let me show you some past pretty pages I have made with inspiration from Cori and the Facebook Group.

This month she provided this idea and I am looking forward to some crafty journaling this evening.

Prayer Journal

Some days I really enjoy just writing out my prayers. It feels so much like writing to the best pen pal out there. I share my hopes and dreams. I thank him for the little things and the major things. I lay out my worries and I ask for His advice. I have so many journals , large and small. Everywhere I go I have one with me so that I can pop in and write a love letter to God.

Coloring The Word

I have an Inspire Bible and some days i just love picking it up and coloring the “coloring pages” in the margins while I read the verses and meditate on what I have read. Coloring is so relaxing. Many groups are out there who take this even further with mixed media and maybe some day I will explore further. These crafters have perfected such an amazing art form of beautiful expression. For now, coloring in the lines is it for me. Baby steps.

Focused Studies

In groups and alone I find time throughout the year to pick up studies and inspirational fiction and non fiction and dive in. My mornings are so quiet that I allow myself to go deep into the content and learn about God and about myself.

Some people really are neat about it. Me, not always. I confess that during some of these studies I write in my Bible and in the books. And I know when I look back that I am probably the only human who understands.

I honestly feel pleased as punch when I am in a group or self-study and a reference takes me to a place I have been. I get to see what I learned before and maybe even add something new. Continuous learning is important to me.

I have many studies in my to be read pile but I find new ones and often go back to old ones to read again. One that I regularly go back to is Fervent.

Getting through this pile is ongoing because I let the Spirit lead me through them. I never worry about them in a deadline sense. I always seem to pick one up and the context and learning is timely to my heart and need. I love that plan.

I have a group of friends whom I have worked with who are also part of the same church family. We often get together for fellowship, friendship, encouragement and study. We pick a word each meeting and go away finding related verses to study. At our next meeting we share our favorites and we discuss why. This has given me more opportunities to be crafty.

Here is one week where we studied Grateful whereI learned about a woman of the Bible I had never given thought to when I read the verses before. Strong and faithful women like Priscilla who are “every day women” are always so inspiring to discover.

So there you have it!

I like variety and flexibility. It keeps me out of a rut of boredom. So many options are presented when I am sipping coffee and asking myself what sounds like fun in the time I have each morning.

I hope that these ideas bring you blessing and encouragement. If it inspires you to change up your quiet time, please let me know. And please share with me how you spend time if it is something not presented in my ideas. I love finding new ways to learn and meditate.

I am headed back to sipping coffee.

Posted in Crafting, Family, Holidays, Recipe

Organizing Recipes – Decluttering the Piles

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I have so many recipes in so many random places. Santa brought me a Happy Planner Recipe Planner a couple of years ago. And it is full of blank pages that are just waiting to get filled.

Over the past several months I have been finding recipes I have jotted down, saved as favorites, and printed. I look in a box, a book, or a drawer and suddenly a new recipe is stuffed inside. Instead of sticking them back, I have started putting them in the pocket folder of this planner and while I binge watch one evening each week, I WILL transfer them to my recipe planner. Finally!

I love the format and flexibility of this planner and hope that I can eventually have all of my recipes stored here.

As I use it I will also include love notes and memories in these pages for my kids to have for years. I can embellish with stickers and pictures and washi tape so that it can be another memory-filled and likely food-stained reminder of my crazy obsession of making things pretty.

And of course I have themed stickers to include in the fun!

How do you organize recipes? If you are looking for a binder like this I found mine along with expansion packs at Michael’s. I have also seen them on Amazon and of course, at one of my favorite sites, wwe.thehappyplanner.com

Share your way of organizing favorite recipes. Show me some pictures too. I would love to see them.

Posted in Goals, lists, Planning, Vision, Writing

Managing Mondays-How I Planned

Posted on by shesipscoffee

On Sunday, whether sipping coffee, iced tea, or wine I plan out my week. At least as much as I can. Everyone has a process. And for me personally, there are three basic steps with a lot of flair.

How I get from step to step depends on my mood or something specific about the week that might help drive a theme.

This week launches the first day of spring so flowers sprung to mind. Spring colors are popping up all around the neighborhood and in my house as we switch up accents like pillows, kitchen towels, placemats, and flowers. Our neighborhood had planters and flower beds being refreshed with daisies and petunias. Oh the joy of Phoenix living! Many places are still getting snow and ice and we are already battling seasonal allergies as the smell of orange blossoms begins to fill the air.

Since the outside is blooming, I want my page to bloom too. So, I went through my vast supply of papers, washi, and stickers to celebrate the first day of spring.

With my garden of materials ready, I began the real first step of pulling my pages out of the planner. It really does make it easier to not have the binder discs in the way. This is really one reason why Happy Planners make me so happy. (Pun intended)

I wanted to demonstrate that buying stickers is not the only way to embellish a page. Pen and paper really can go a long way and can be more affordable in the long run. I may have to write a post on finding pretty paper on the cheap. Yeah?

One page I selected had cute items that would make great tips for my spread. So I cut them out.

And I saw some colored designs I thought would look great as blocks in my vertical spaves so I used my HP Classic Punch to make a few for my layout. (I often use a plastic template to make these. I will show you that another time. You don’t have to have a punch. I have only had mine for a couple of months and I love playing with it.)

I really love the spring colors so far. And the butterfly is simply sweet.

Now is when I get to have fun. I take all of these pieces and start placing them around until I love what I see. There is no science. Getting to a point that makes me smile is my goal.

And then I start gluing them in place. Now, this time I used a glue stick. If I want to feel less committed, I often use repositionable glue tape. Next time I will bring that along and show you how great that is.

All that is left to complete the Step (maybe I should call this a phase): Before Pen, is to get some washi tape. I have actually done some weekly spreads using only washi tape and pen. That can be fun and simple too.

Wow! I just love it so far. I did grab a few stickers to pop in some key events for the week. It wasn’t necessary but it was fun to sift through and find ones I thought tied into my theme. Now we are ready for the final phase with pen!

4 key focus blocks I tend to repeat are:

  • Goal for the week
  • Space to jot things foe next week
  • specific to do lists
  • Key appointments or meetings each day

Here is this week’s plan.

In one view I can see all of the most important tasks, events, and priorities for the week and by day. I have a place for important things to keep in mind for next week. I know when my work day really starts and whether I can roll out of bed and go straight to work after my morning quiet time or if I have to plan extra time to commute. And I love this little dashboard.

Do you plan your week? In a plannet? In your head? Would you like to see more of my weekly spread styles? I would love to hear from you on what I can share on Managing Mondays.

I hope your week is focused and rewarding.

Posted in lists, packing, Planning, travel, vacation

Seriously…What to pack?

Posted on by shesipscoffee

Saturday and Sunday I started packing, I organized myself and got down to brass tacks. I am sipping coffee and reviewing my lists. Because, well, do any of you live in New Orleans? Southern Florida, Cozumel?

I think I may need to adjust my plan. I see lots of rain and plain old chilliness on some days in the next two weeks.

I did the laundry, got the suitcase out of the closet and checked the weather forecasts. Then I put only definite items in the case and set it aside. Because I decided today was the day to look at the forecast one more time and make final adjustments.

Is packing such a process for you? I am still trying to avoid cranky. Cold and wet cranky is like a wet blanket. I think I need a couple of sweatshirts and sweaters in the mix. And a beanie and gloves to layer with my jackets.

I saw this post from a friend on social media saying that the day we sail out of NO LA will be chilly. To this Phoenician that high in the mid-50s will feel icy. I might look like I am heading to Alaska as we sail away but I assure you I am hoping that our captain puts the pedal to the metal. (What is the ship speed equivalent? Anyone know? Full Speed Ahead? Or is my Trekkie-ness showing with that one?)

Anyway. I never really worried about forgetting any thing because my lists have been ready and I will follow them. The dilemma is making adjustments. A reader suggested some capsule bloggers who are masters at packing and wardrobe optimisation. I may watch a few tonight. If anything resonates for me to recommend I will share before I set sail and let you know how it worked. For now, I have some coffee to sip.

Any last minute tips? Any suggestions to add to my “while in NOLA” list?

Posted in Goals, Planning, Vision

I Have a Planner for That, Part Two

Posted on by shesipscoffee

My 2017 Planner strategy was a fun and creative adventure and definitely had a strong influence on what I am using in 2018. Let me share how I turned my planning solutions around.

My 2017 Needed a Plan

As 2016 was coming to a close, I knew I wanted to start using my planner for more than work and basic important personal dates. While on the Covey site, I noticed they were selling flair for decorating planners and I began to wonder when that became a “thing.” So I, like many people, consulted YouTube. Who knew?!? I found out there is a whole world out there of planners. Eric Condran, Happy Planner, Carpe Diem, and so much more. How would I ever choose? After hours of advice obtained through bloggers and YouTube-ers I had to think of what I needed. So I made one of my famous lists. I wanted a planner that helped me with:

  • Budgeting
  • Weekly and monthly cleaning
  • Family stuff: school, activities
  • Personal goals
  • Work goals
  • Meal planning
  • Grocery shopping
  • To do lists
  • Daily schedules
  • Stickers to make my plans pretty

With the research and the realization that I had a lot to track, I decided that a buildable, customizable, and pretty option was the way to go.

Visiting my local Michael’s as suggested by all the online sages, I grabbed the basics.

And I fell in love with how I could fit all of the pieces into one place. A new planner became an exciting adventure and my 2016 Christmas present from Santa was done!

2017 Changed…So did the planner

By March, I realized that I needed more rings and more for home. So I built a home planner that separated the home care, budget, cleaning, and shopping into a separate planner. Best idea ever. I only needed that stuff once a week and it added bulk to my daily routine. And when I was researching Happy Planners for home I found out they had a recipe planner too.

I went from one to three planners instantly and have been centralizing my recipes into one place over time.

I love the format. Even here I embellish. I want my kids and my future grandkids to know where special recipes came from. This one is from my grandmother and we make it every Christmas season.

Making three separate places for things has been an amazing evolution. I focus more in monthly planning and imagining and creating. Because HP styles foster such time and the creators have thoughtfully designed tools that make my heart sing. Here are some of my pages.

Washi tape and stickers have become an obsession of sorts. They make me smile and I use them on everything now.

I have flexibility and a place for every personal and professional goal. And it I can track anything I want. Here is the bonus: I want to use it! I don’t struggle with it. And on weeks where I am busy or just not feeling it, I still use it and just ink it up and keep the stickers and washi for another time.

So at the end of 2017, I had a decision to make. What planner? You see, I new Happy Planners work for me. So that part was easy. I was fully invested in the product. But until you have spent hours through the year with the HP Sages, you have one major decision. Of all the new dated planners (and there are many) which will my new favorite design, layout, and size?

That, my friends, is for part three of this series. I will share how I plan to plan in 2018. And it will be the introduction of my upciming weekly series called Managing Mondays.

Do you use a planner? Which one? What do you love and hate about it? Share photos please! I love seeing how people use their tools. There is so much to learn from each other!

Posted in Planning

I Have A Planner For That, Part One

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I have used planners in some fashion for the past 20 years. I started when I became a corporate trainer and the company gave me a planner and sent me to a class at Franklin Quest. All you needed was a pen, the binder, and all the green pages within. Hey, this was before my company had a system-wide windows based calendar or email platform. Am I showing my 40-something age, or what?

Even with the evolution of technology, I still love the feel of paper in making to do lists, taking notes, brainstorming ideas, and planning. And I know that I am not alone. Until 2017 I used my Franklin/Covey planning tools. I evolved from the standard green to the pretty colors and designs because I love pretty things. Over time, the digital revolution limited the pretty options. Disheartened in selections and the changes the company has made in their planner styles, I tried new ones, and for a time simplified to my digital tools and used plain spiral notebooks and pens. I loved the traditional format of the two pages per day Covey layouts but realized I wasn’t using them daily. So why spend the money? Frankly, I like pretty things and working now in the technology space for my employer, I have adopted most of the digital tools for my work place needs….except where brainstorming, note-taking and list making comes in.

My life is way bigger than my job. And I have a creative heart that desires fun and joy. Working 60+ work weeks while being a mother, a daughter, a boss, and a friend, my personal time and self-care was sitting in a back seat. I was a passenger on the personal train, not the conductor.

As my grandmother’s health began the steady and rather rapid decline the latter half of 2016, I started crocheting again and teaching my daughter the art. It was my way to connect across the miles when she was not up to our weekly phone chats. I crocheted or made dishes from her recipes and spent time in traditions. In these moments where I stepped away from the rat race and social media, I revisited The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. That book was transformational for me in my mid-20s. At 40-something, the currency and relevancy is poignant. I dove back in. I tracked my habits and began recognizing life is more than to do lists and time management. I reintroduced me time, sipping coffee.

In my me time I started the search for something new and different for fun planning. From Google Searches and YouTube binging, I found out about a whole world of planners. I researched EricCondran, Happy Planners, and many, many more. 2017 was the year of tossing bulky binders, notebooks, and sticky notes. I bought a Happy Planner and took it for a year long test,drive. I learned I can make my own pretty layouts and customize weekly and monthly to meet my lifestyle and feed my creative spirit. And I found a whole community of amazing people who I could learn from online and locally.

Look for part two, later this week to find out more about planning and planners. I will review 2017 and share what my 2017 planner plans will be.

Do you use only digital planning? If so, what apps do you like? Do you use paper? What are your successful methods?