Planning Made Easy with Day-Timer®

Can you believe school will be starting again soon? While I love the summer, it is also kind of exciting to start a new school year. I really love organizing for the new school year.

When I was a student, I loved gathering my supplies - pens, notebooks, papers all ready for note taking and learning. As a mom, I also love to prepare for a new school year and one of the tools I love to help me plan and organize is my Family Plus™ Solution Set. I have used Day-Timer® for many years now, first as a student, and now as a Mom.

This is not your typical planner. Some of the great features include:

• A wonderful week at a glance format with areas for a to-do list, appointments by family member
• Separate sections for school/community activities and personal/me time
• A section for menu planning for the week
• An area for notes for the week
• Month at a glance sections

Let me show this in a little more detail.

A. Family Schedules

I love the idea of seeing the family schedule by person. Seeing the schedule at a glance helps to streaming errands and keep information organized. I can see who is doing what and I am a visual person, so seeing it written down side by side is really helpful.

 B. Menu Planning

It is so nice to have a menu plan right next to my weekly schedule. I easily know what nights  I plan to serve specific meals. I can take into account family activities and time increments when planning meals as well.

C. Community, Personal, Errands

Can I just say that I appreciate the check lists for community and personal time? At the top of my pages, there are sections for all of these to do lists. By incorporating these tasks into my schedule, I can be sure to stay focused on my personal goals. I find that if I do not have it written down as a task, I am more likely to forget or find an excuse to not do it (read go to gym).

D. Notes

This is another great section. The notes section is where I can make additional notations and reminders. I can even put a couple of sticky notes here. They fit perfectly.

Besides the weekly sections, there is also a month at a glance calendar, contact section and a zippered pouch, business card section and a ruler bookmark!

I am a happy camper with this planner. Do you use a paper planner? Does this sound like it would be helpful to you?

You can order one for yourself at the Daytimer ® wesite.

FYI, Organized Island readers can get free standard shipping with no minimum purchase (expires 9/30/13). Just use the code CTFSHIP13

Disclosure: I was provided a Family Plus Planner for review. Honestly, if they had not sent me one, I would have bought one anyway. All opinions are my own.