How to Flourish in a Busy Season Instead of Drowning in Overwhelm - tips from a mom of 6 who is ALWAYS in a busy season!
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: Choosing a Binding

Newbie Planner Girls Start HERE! 6 tips for you

Planner-pretties

The planning community is so amazing.  It's fun and creative but OMG it can be sooooo overwhelming!  There's so much to see and learn and obssess over ;) There are so many different types of planners and inserts and stickers. 

How do you choose?! 

Not to mention the endless amount of terms that people toss out on periscope, youtube and in FB groups. Words that everyone seems to understand but you!  'Half boxes' and 'dori' don't mean anything to the average Joe, so it's quite intimidating to newbie planner girls. Right?  Do you remember what it was like when you joined the planner community? Or maybe you are a newbie planner girl.  If so keep reading!!

I've got 6 tips for all you overwhelmed planner newbies:

ONE. Just start!  With any planner.  Do a bit of research, but don't obsess. Print some free printables from the internet or buy an inexpensive planner.  Chances are that it will not be the perfect one for you and you will move on to another one soon enough, but for now, just start with whatever catches your eye.

TWO. Don't buy all the things!  At least not just yet.  You may want to jump in full force but wait just a bit. Stickers are only a few bucks, but it adds up fast!! Not only in expense, but they take up room too. Wait until you know what you'll use.  Buy a few thing at first but don't go crazy or you'll have a bunch of stuff that you won't use taking up precious storage space.

THREE. Watch and Learn and Participate. The best way to get to know a new online worldd like the planner community is to get involved.  Watch youtube videos, and periscopes.  Check out pictures on Instagram and read the comments.  You'll slowly pick up and understand more and more. and it's so much fun!! 

FOUR. Make using your planner a new habit. If you are new to using a paper planner all together, it's hard to get in the groove of using it.  Set alarms on your phone to remind you to check it. After 3-4 weeks of using your planner, you should be getting used to it and that habit will be getting set in.

FIVE. Watch what's working.  This is the MOST important tip today! It's the squeaky wheel that get's the grease, so you have to be extra attentive to what is working for you.  Keep track of what you love about your planner system as well as  what is driving you crazy.  A page in the back of your planner would be the perfect place to write all these things down.  So when it comes time to change to a new planner or even just change out the inserts or some other element of it, you will know what to look for and what to stay away from.

SIX. Learn the lingo.  Whenever you step into a new area online, it's almost as if they are speaking another language with all terms and acronyms.  It seems like everyone knows what's going on except for you!  I've gotta little treat for you ;)  I created a cheat sheet that you can use to learn the language and end the confusion whenever you hear people talking about TNs and unicorns and team vertical!

Click here for the free cheat sheet:

PLANNER NEWBIE CHEAT SHEET

If you liked this post you can check out the other posts: 

OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: Choosing a Binding
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What SIZE to choose
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What inserts to choose
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: How to Make Multiple Planners Work
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: 4 things to do Before you Buy All the Things!

 

And if you're new to the Planner World don't forget my free (and pretty) Planner Newbie Cheat Sheet with some of the definitions of those terms and acronyms that seem so foreign to you, but everyone else seems to know what they mean, then just click here:

Planner Newbie Cheat Sheet

If you've been at this planning thing for awhile now and have the hang of it, you could hlep out a newbie too!  Let me know in the comments what you would tell your best friend if she saw your planner and decided to jump in whole hog into the planner world.

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