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How to Mesh Planning Real Life and Business Life

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As a busy mom and business woman, keeping my calendar and plans organized are super important, otherwise I end up running in circles all day long. I once kept separate business and personal calendars, but since the lines between my business life and real life blur together it felt clunky to keep separate planners.
When looking for a calendar or planner, I always run into trouble since my two lives are so intertwined. A personal planner had no room for business plans, while a blogging or business calendar had no room for my life (and never really met my needs, which we will talk about later.)

I have to admit that I am not an electronic planner. I realize that is pretty ironic for someone who makes her living in an electronic world. When it comes to planning and organizing, I need to write it down. I need to flip pages, and see the big picture and the small picture simultaneously. I need to move my pen to make my brain think. I need my planner sitting on my desk staring at me, saying, “Hey, you have some work to do today!” and “Don’t forget ball practice for Michael tonight!”

Before figuring out how to mesh planning my life and business in one place, I always had lists in a million places. Then I could never remember what I wrote down where.

I never managed to keep an editorial calendar, and I struggled to keep up with actionable tasks for projects both at work and at home. I was like a spinning top, dropping things, trying to squeeze projects into the last minute.

I began researching blogging calendars, on blogs, on Pinterest, and on Etsy. But everyone blogs so differently, most of those calendars just didn’t fit my blog at all. Plus none of those options addressed the need to mesh my real life with my blog/work life.

I even tried printing my own planning sheets for a binder, but it was bulky and cumbersome, and I rarely opened it even though my intentions were good.How to Mesh Planning Real Life and Business Life

My blog planning was a complete chaotic mess. All that changed when I found Plum Paper Planners. Seriously all my planning problems were solved with the customizable ME planner. The planner is most often used as a family planner with each person in the family getting his or her own section. But, I’ve found the set up of this planner perfect for meshing the planning of both my work and my home life.

The coolest thing is that you can customize it exactly for your blog! Recently at a blog conference, people loved my planner, so I thought it would be a great idea to show you how I use a Plum Paper ME customizable planner to mesh my real life and my work life.Plum Paper Month at a Glance view

I just created my 3rd Plum Paper planner– so I can promise that once you go Plum Paper you will never look back. Each year I re-evaluate my categories and add-ons, as my blog grows and my needs change. I just tweak it each year to keep up with my needs. Even the cover can be customized. You can add your blog logo, or a photo you love, or even change the color of the cover (I changed my cover from the standard pink to turquoise)!

Guess what? One Big Family Blessings reader will win a $50 credit to Plum Paper to create her very own personalized planner at the end of this post. So, keep reading to see how I use my Plum Paper Planner, and then win one of your own!

Ready to see how I use my Plum Paper Planner?  Keep reading to learn more and to enter the giveaway.next

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59 Comments

  1. I’m the same way. I have tried electronic calendars but it’s just not the same. I need something I can flip open everyday. Old school all the way.

  2. I’m a planner nerd! This looks like a fantastic planner to use! Love that I could customize and have both my blog and personal life all in one planner!

  3. This planner looks amazing. I am overwhelmed with my family’s busy schedule. I think this will help organize the chaos. Love that I can customize it.

  4. I used to use a Passion Planner. It didn’t work for me. I’m still into calendaring, which I know is an antiquated process, but it really helps me focus. I do need to better organize my social, blogging and planning for writing and find it hard to do that in my current planner, but my kids activities take up so much space in the day.

  5. I NEED this planner! I am in the market for a new planner that is more functional for me. I have six kids and their schedules, plus 3 businesses to keep up with. Love how you shared exactly how you use it.

  6. I am on the endless search for a planner for my life! I cannot use my phone for this. I love the features you share. I love the personalization factor. Does it have a month at a glance as well? If so, what do you use that for? I love to see how others make use of this ! I am still struggling. Thanks

  7. Wow, this planner looks amazing!! I have never heard of the company before, but it sounds perfect!! My head is spinning thinking of which categories I would add . I’d probably add bible study, prayer requests and something with recipes. Thank you for the giveaway!!

  8. I have a hard time with this. I need a good planner and only 1! I have the family calendar, business, pilates, etc. I need a one stop planner in my home.

  9. I love being able to see exactly how you use your planner. I get planners, but end up not really using them. Seeing how others use them is inspirational and give me ideas I can use to make better use of my planner collecting dust!

  10. I love my Erin Condren planner, but I loved some of the tips you provided. I like writing in a paper planner so much more than a digital one, ANY DAY.

  11. I can’t believe how organized you are! Some of your system might work well for me. The only thing I can’t use is post-it notes because the cats pull mine off all the ding dong time.

  12. I can’t work without my planner, it has everything that I need written on it. From schedules to events it really helps me keep track of the work that needs to be done! It would be great to have a personalized one. This sounds amazing.

  13. These are all great tips! I have been trying to get more organized, so will look into this planner 🙂

  14. This sounds like such an awesome planner!! I’m almost due for a new one, this one sounds perfect!! I especially enjoy that the different categories, that could help me out a lot. 🙂
    Thanks for sharing!

  15. Thank you for sharing how you merge the different parts of your life in one planner. I have struggled to find the way to do it. I have my IRL, our blog, work, and an etsy store (and outside sales!). I started dividing my planner too and it helps.

  16. I wanna be so down with the planner life I really do. I am just bad at organizing my stuff on paper…I’ve always struggled with it but I am ready to buckle down and get to organizing.

  17. I really need to get more organized with a planner like this! I have a hard time meshing my wahm and sahm life!

  18. Very cute! This planner looks so similar to one I have from Erin Condren – I absolutely love it! I love your idea of using post-it notes that are easy to remove from the planner, genius!

  19. I am a school teacher and I would be lost without my planner. I am always looking for new ones that will meet my need, and this one looks great!

  20. This is a great idea! I use a planner for my home life and my work life, but not for blogging. Thanks for reminding me to treat blogging more like a business.

  21. I recently started using a planner again (I used to use planners years ago), and it’s been so helpful. I find that the layout really makes a difference. I really like how this Plum Paper one is setup! I would have a schedule/IRL section, chores, blog tasks, and I really like your system for scheduling posts.

  22. I have been trying to combine my personal and blog stuff in one planner, and it just doesn’t seem to work for me! I like how you set yours up. As for me, I have three planners – one personal, one blog, and one homeschool. Lots of paper but it seems to be working right now!

  23. I have been looking for a great planner to use for both things and this one looks great. I am going to have to look into getting one.

  24. A planner keeps my life in check. I don’t think that I could ever function without one. I love the way this one is laid out.

  25. I’ve been looking for a new planner after using intheleafttreetops mom planner last year. I’ve found I need a horizontal planner with more room for notes and came across your post. I’m excited about all the add ons available too.

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