As the middle of the year approaches and we inch closer to the start of school, it’s a fantastic time to dive into a new planner! There’s always something so inspiring and motivating about beginning fresh. A gorgeous planner with all blank pages sets the stage for a successful year ahead. And this time of year, an academic or midyear planner is the best choice for busy moms, diligent students, and anyone looking for that fresh start right about now!
Whether this is your first time to use a planner or you’re a seasoned veteran, we’re sharing our top tips to help you prepare for your best year yet. Here’s how to set up the perfect academic planner!
1. Pick a Planner
To get started, if you don’t already have your planner, you’ll need to choose your favorite layout and cover style. Not attached to a particular format? Then you have a few decisions to make!
• Do you want to plan and view your schedule on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis—or perhaps a mix of each?
• Do you like the idea of having everything in one place, all bound together? Or would you prefer the flexibility of a binder system so you can add and remove pages?
Think about what will work best for you.
We believe a daily planner is essential for making it all happen when it needs to—each and every day. Many of our planner friends prefer a combination of a monthly overview and daily pages. Our Flagship Daily Planner offers two-page monthly spreads, our signature daily planning pages, and combined weekend pages.
Over the years, a weekly planning option has been a popular request—and we’re launching that this season! Our new Flagship Weekly Planner offers two-page monthly spreads and two-page weekly spreads, plus much more.
However, planning styles vary and we get that! For flexible and customizable planning options, take a look at our Today & To-Do Collection which is undated—and our A5 Luxe Collection which allows you to create your own layout!
So many choices! Feeling confused on which path to take? Our advice: Don’t get hung up for too long on step one! Pick a planner, get started now, and begin to see the difference.
2. Gather Schedules
It’s time to gather your upcoming events. Think through everything you’re juggling and get the dates in front of you. Don’t forget:
• Holidays and Birthdays
• Trips and Vacations
• Health and Fitness
• Appointments: Doctor, Dentist, Specialist, Hair, etc.
• Social Events and Church Events
• Membership Schedules: Clubs, Groups, etc.
• Nonprofit Events and Volunteer Schedules
• School Schedule (yours or your kids’) and Events
• Sports Schedules and other After-School Activities
• Work Schedule
• Spouse’s Schedule
3. Select Favorite Supplies
Day Designer pages are simple in design yet many of our creatively passionate friends can give these pages some serious personality. We’re talking planner stickers, washi tape, colored pens, page markers, and darling dashboards! Within each of those categories, you’ll find an array of styles, colors, materials, and more. The options are endless!
If you’re not the decorating type, don’t worry—you are not alone! You’ll love the simplicity of the pages, especially once you fill in your schedule and to-dos. Just select your pens (or pencils) and you’ll be set!
4. Set Goals
Think back over the goals you set for yourself this year. Ideally, you have these written somewhere (perhaps your previous Day Designer!) so that you can pull them out and read back over them. Whether you started the year with a list of big goals or not, you likely know which activities, habits, relationships, etc. have been working for you — and which haven’t. Take some time for personal reflection and a midyear review.
As you begin to set your goals, start by simply asking yourself these questions:
• Who do I want to be in the upcoming year?
• How do I want to feel in the upcoming year?
• What are the goals that will get me there?
• What goals can best support my personal and professional development in the upcoming year?
This process is not meant to make you feel bad about what you haven’t yet accomplished or what may not be going well in your life. Rather, it’s about reflecting and refreshing, to ensure you’re being intentional about the way you spend your time and the goals you’re pursuing. Aim now to live a well-designed life in the year ahead!
Looking for some inspiration on how to set goals? We are big believers in balanced goals—a flexible framework for goal-setting focused on five different life segments (as shown in the boxes above).
5. Review Priorities
In addition to setting your goals, you’ll also be reviewing your priorities. While things like family will always remain at the top of your priority list, you may find that other things may have shifted. At this point in your life, what’s most important? Where do you want to be focusing your time? When new projects, tasks, and opportunities arise, you’ll want to think about where they fall on your own personal list of priorities.
6. Record Everything
Yay! It’s time to fill it all in—you have arrived at the most exciting part of the process! Get those events, birthdays, holidays, and trips onto paper and see how it all lays out. Incorporate your lists, tasks, and notes where needed! Visualize your upcoming days, weeks, and months.
Finally, admire your work, notice your clear mind, and get started! We can’t wait for you to see the difference in focus and productivity, allowing more time for what truly matters most. Don’t have a planner yet? View our collection!