Nothing gives me chills more than helping people run through that organization finish line. And I love helping others lasso / hog-tie their time…ultimately seeing their productivity soar. But the next best thing to helping people is treating myself to a little organization, productivity boost. Last week my boost arrived in the mail…with the help of my new planner!…

**NO, this wasn’t gifted to me – I paid for this boost by myself!

After years of DIYing my own planners – successfully, I add – I felt like upping my planner game and treated myself to a new Erin Condren planner! Look at this baby!

Say hello to the next 18 months of successful scheduling, planning, organizing and time management! Yes, because this little gem spans from July 2016 to December 2017.

Why did I finally bite the bullet and purchase a planner? The quick answer…

I’ve long admired Erin’s planners. I’ve also followed a couple planners (meaning people who plan) closely over the years, specifically my friend Jen of JenPlans. She shares planner inspiration on her blog and addictive YouTube Channel. My DIY planners have been incredibly helpful and hit every pressure point (since I’m making it myself!) but admittedly, haven’t been very “pretty”…on the inside, at least. And while I’ve admired pretty planners, like Erin’s, for a long time…the interior pages didn’t seem to fit my specific needs. Since I work with clients in periods of 3-4+ hours, I need an hourly schedule, among other details.

So, when Jen recently shared a video tour of the upcoming release of the new Erin Condren Life Planner, I was excited to see the interior finally hit every requirement! To top it all off, the planner is stunning and the accessories are beautiful!

Once I’m finally able to get started with the planner (my first available day in here is June 27 – boo!), I’ll return to share how it looks while being used…and also give an update on how I feel about the planner as a whole. It’s going to take some getting used to because I’m used to a full-size binder planner. This is a smaller scale. In the meantime, I wanted to share the interior. The Life Planner was made available for ordering last week. I pre-ordered mine and it arrived much sooner than the expected date.

First of all, the planner arrived beautifully packaged, with a few free gifts…

While ordering, you have a choice of colorful interior pages or a neutral theme. I went neutral so that my ink colors / the accessories will stand out…

There’s inspirational quotes scattered throughout…

This section can be customized and am thinking about how I may use it – for goals, business planning, upcoming project ideas…not sure!…

Each month begins with a full calendar…

Next you can choose how you want your days displayed. I went for the vertical hourly layout…

The planner has stickers / labels included in the back, but you can purchase additional accessories / stickers to make your pages over the top adorable!…

The included back pocket came with a perpetual calendar too – so cool! Have always wanted one!…

The planner arrives with a clear pouch which can be added to your planner or not…whatever you wish…

The only accessory I purchased are these pretty rose gold metallic sticky notes…

How cute are these?!

And the pack snaps right into the planner…

Honestly, I don’t even know what to do with myself having such a pretty planner. This is so not me. It’s getting put to the test while being thrown around in my work bag or lugged to client homes and hardware stores. Ha! So pretty and excited to start using it later this month…

Have you been using an Erin Condren planner? Would love to hear some of your planning tips!