My Master Calendar – It Isn’t Perfect or Pretty, But It Works!

Sep 25

Doesn’t it seem as if most people (you!) are on a never-ending quest to find the “perfect” calendar, planner, personal / home management tool? Maybe it appears to be a big, stressful topic because I spend a lot of time with unorganized folks that are trying to become more efficient, productive…and stay on top of their schedule / tasks. Maybe it’s because I spend a lot of time networking / chatting with my professional peers. Maybe you feel defeated when you spy all of those cute printable’s on pinterest. Or read blog posts where bloggers make it appear so easy to get and stay organized because their system / process works.

(Not knocking my blogger community when I say that!)

Well, guess what? As much time as I spend around this topic I’ve learned one thing….what works for one person doesn’t work for someone else. Everyone has different things to stay on top of, different priorities, a different way of tracking important items and appointments.

And I’m not excluded from this group.

I’ve been using the Martha Stewart calendar insert for over a year and it’s been working SO well for me. I first shared my binder here in August 2013…

Then I made a few little tweaks (here) in January 2014…

Now in September 2014, I have one more change. But that’s ok! I’m only making my system more efficient as I figure out what hasn’t been working. It wasn’t a big change or investment, but after using this new insert for more than a month – with huge success – I thought it was a good time to share with you guys!

A few months ago I found this great little pad of weekly family planner sheets…

I discovered it at the Container Store, but you can find the pad online at the MomAgenda website. Just click here to head over to browse her site and grab one of your own!…

Why did I add this tear off sheet?
Because I found I was needing a spot to keep track of each child’s schedule. Everyone has a different schedule and activities to track now that school is back in session. In addition, I have a nanny that helps me a few days a week along with my own business schedule…AND all of the household stuff. AND keeping track of home improvement jobs / appointments. I was feeling the need to get something more detailed, so finding this pad of weekly tear off sheets was a Godsend.
Trust me, you’ll see in a minute just how much I need to track weekly. I’ve got the pictures coming, my friends!
All I do for each week is tear off a sheet from the pad, use my 3 hole punch and add it to the week in my Martha Stewart binder…

 

Like most of you, I have things that happen consistently each week – like the times the kids are at school, band practice or my gym schedule. So I went ahead and added everything consistent first. Then as appointments roll in, I add them to the calendar…
I love how everyone has their own little spot in the planner, including Sandy (our nanny).
As far as the Martha Stewart calendar, I’m now using that to track what I eat, my workouts, notes, and things I need “to do” each day….

 

And I incorporate post-it’s when needed. I find the post-it’s helpful for writing lists for target, phone calls, errands, and small grocery lists. That way if I need to run to target or the market, my list is ready. Or if I don’t get something done that week, I can move the post-it to the next week.
Hopefully this isn’t confusing you! As I said, I’ve basically taken little things that work for me and developed my own system that has been rocking my world lately….in a good way!

 

This Bic White Out dispenser works well within the thin lines of the family planner sheet…

 

Anyway, as I said, it’s not perfect or pretty…but it works for me! I thought I would share in the event you too have been struggling with your calendar since school started up or your fall, upcoming holiday schedule is beginning to drown you.
Have a great evening!
(I linked up with Liz Marie Blog)

Tagged in:

comments +

  1. Erica Ryan says:

    I definitely know what you mean about trying to find the perfect "printable"! It is a never ending quest!! I really like that weekly page from MomAgenda.

    Erica @ Girl, Organized

  2. Patricia says:

    Is there a version online? That way you could enter all the on-going items for the school year and just plug in the changes for each week. Just wondering …

  3. I so totally understand what you are talking about here! This year I used a Mommy Planner I got from Wal-mart and I thought I absolutely loved it but I started stuffing so much into the poor little binder that it was bursting at the seams and it became to heavy to carry around on a daily basis. I just decided this weekend to purchase the Martha Stewart discbound notebook. Found an idea to print my printables directly on to the sheet to keep the theme consistent. So I will find out how take #1 works….

  4. […] Why did I make the change? Because Martha Stewart stopped carrying her calendar insert. Boo! I tweaked my binder one year ago (almost to the day) to my updated master calendar… […]

I'd Love To Hear From You!

DESIGN BY TONIC SITE SHOP

|

terms of service & privacy policy

|

© 2022 Samantha Pregenzer LLC |
Bay Area, California