I pride myself on organization, but let's face it, I slip up sometimes. Between school, dance, friends, and blogging, my life gets pretty hectic. So many places to be, things to do, people to talk to, blog posts, essays, and articles to write, and on top of that I need to keep my sanity?? Whew. Before I continue, let's all just take a deep breath.
That's better.
Even as I write this blog post, I have a million things going on. I'm on the elliptical, for starters. I just finished writing my speech for student council elections, and I've got my latest iTunes playlist on in the background.
On an average day, I've got school, Poms practice, homework, dance, more homework, and blogging to balance. Poms and dance both go pretty much year round, and my courseload is mostly honors. Next year, it'll be mostly AP. Just yesterday, I was interviewed for my school's TV station, and one of the main things we talked about was balancing everything. So I'm sure y'all are dying to know, how did I answer the age old question, asked with a nervous tinge and a slight wince:
"How do you do it?"
And the honest to goodness answer is my Lilly Pulitzer agenda.
How cute are the sailboats??
I've used an agenda since sixth grade. Yes, I was that girl. I am still that girl. The one who would not, could not, in a million years just use the school issued assignment notebook for the sole reason that it's too small. Too small in size to be found easily in my huge tote and too small in terms of space for both my huge handwriting and the amount of things that absolutely must, without fail, be written in. And let's face it, there are so many cuter options!
Everything that goes into my agenda is color coded, and I choose the colors based on what fits best with the agenda's color scheme for the month. I told you, I'm that girl. Homework assignments are written in one color, events I need to be at (including practices, sporting events, dinners out, and meetings) are in another color, reminders to work out in yet another color, and blogging/writing and "extras" each get another color. I define "extras" as anything that wouldn't normally appear in my planner or daily life, like tests to be made up or field trips. I write my homework assignments in the order that my classes are scheduled (i.e.: First Period gets the first line, Second Period gets the second, and so on).
Since we're only midway through the week, only the left side is filled up!
I'm super picky about how my agenda is organized, but it makes things so much easier! Knowing exactly what I need to do and where I need to be straightens out my busy schedule and allows me to break things down into manageable chunks. Of course, there are still late nights, but that's to be expected!
I've been using a Lilly agenda for the last two years, and I absolutely love it! They come in the cutest prints and each page has absolutely adorable designs. It's also the perfect size, I never have to search for it in my bag, but it's not so big that I can't easily fit it in a bag smaller than my gigantic LL Bean tote for school.
If I wasn't so attached to my Lilly agenda, I'd definitely want to try one of these!
All through junior high, I used a Franklin Covey agenda like this one. What I like about the Franklin Covey system is that it allows you to choose exactly what type of format you want on the pages, but having to find the same type of refills every year was a little bit of a hassle.
The personalized covers on the Erin Condren agendas are just too cute, but they are a bit pricey.
If I were to switch agendas, it would most likely be to one from May Books. The covers are fully customizable...and can be monogrammed!! Here's the cover of a planner I designed with my monogram!
How do you organize your life?
XO
North Shore Prep
