One Notebook to Rule Them All

I like my lists. I also like taking note of things. My planner has been extremely useful for me but I feel so limited by the amount of space I have to just simply write things down. I have found a system with my planner that works for me (I might write about it soon) but I still need 1 place to write down the things that come to me in the middle of the day. I also struggle with having to bring my planner all the time because it can be bulky, plus its extremely colorful exterior (which I love)on top of all the color coded post-its make my clients look at me funny when I pull it out...so I decided to have a more discreet notebook. Something I can easily carry around with me to help me corral all the thoughts, ideas, goals, to-do lists inside my brain down into one place.

After several trips to several bookstores (I've had my eye set on this for literally a year before finally taking the plunge) I gave in and purchased this:

What I love about it is that you can put in any notebook inside. This way, when I run out of space, I can just replace the notebook with a new one.  I chose this particular model because I like the snakeskin pattern and also because I like the garter straps around the edge...or so I thought. While I love the straps and the fact that I can put in as many things inside the notebook as I want. When the straps are open they cause the back of the notebook not to lay flat which makes writing a bit more difficult than it should be. It's only a slight discomfort though and it still works for me. 

Let me walk you through the inside of the notebook as well as an explanation of how I use it for my needs. 

The top photo shows how it normally looks like. See how the notebook is just inserted into the leather cover while it is perfectly secure it is also very easy to take it out and replace. The bottom photo shows the objects I chose to keep inside the vertical slot. ( I covered the front page with a post-it to hide my private information)

I have a legend of my color coding. I use pretty much the same codes as I have in my Google Calendar, planner, and iPhone (which is basically just a copy of my google calendar) but I added 2 new colors: green for dreams/goals/ideas and purple for inspiration. 

TRIVIA: The legend is an idea Andrea gave me when we were making study cards for her homeschooling =) 

I also store these sticky flags to help me identify where I have to-do lists.

At the top of the page I write the date. Then I just write whatever comes to mind or whatever I feel like writing. The yellow mark indicates something Andrea said that I found funny and would like to remember. The green mark is an insight I had on reaching for your dreams and then followed by things I have to do in relation to a goal I am currently pursuing. I put boxes similar to those used in bullet journaling and check the boxes off when I've accomplished them. I then put a sticky flag with a tiny bit protruding at the edge of the page to mark my to-do lists. That way it will be easy for me to find my to-do lists at any point. So if at the moment I want to work on my personal goals...I will find the pink flag and turn to that page. The flags will be removed or transferred when all bullets have been completed. Here are more pages for you to see how I am using this notebook.

This has worked so wonderfully for me and I love it very much. It does not in any way take the place of my planner but the planner is something that I generally use at night to plan out the day before or my general schedule. This notebook goes down to the nitty-gritty of my daily grind.

Mom 24/7 2014 Planner Review

I am a planner fiend. I don't know why but I am just irrationally drawn to them. I have dozens of apps to help organize my life on my iphone but when push comes to shove, nothing beats having a solid planner and pen to help me get my thoughts in order.

I find that the older I get, the more picky I become with planners and the more specific my requirements become. For my 2014 planner I went with Mommy Mundo's Mom 24/7 planner. I am quite happy with the option (I should be as I literally went to 6 bookstores, and took 5 weeks to choose the planner I really wanted).

Let me start by talking about the things I absolutely loved about the Mom 24/7 planner.

1. The size. It fits most of my purses but at the same time it's 6*8 size lets me write comfortably per page. 
2. The binding. It uses a high quality ring to bind the pages letting me fold the pages back completely without damaging the planner.
3. The paper.  It's high quality paper that lets me use gel pens without the ink bleeding through. I also love that the paper is not glossy like some planners so I can use any kind of pen without worrying about smudging.
4. Lack of excessive ads. Another widely popular planner in the Philippines has just an insane amount of ads spread out amidst their planner pages. I appreciate the need for ads as I know it drives down the cost of the planner but I really do not wish to dig around for my planner pages. 
5. The cost. I was surprised to find that this high quality binder comes at a very reasonable cost. 
6. The features. This is just chocful of features useful for moms. (I'll go into more details later)
7. The design. The design looks fresh and modern and very hip. Even the inner pages have great typography and is clearly well conceptualized. 

*I am going to talk about some things which are my personal ideas of what would make a planner superb. This does not mean in any way that I think the Mom 24/7 is inferior, I just have very specific preferences as to how I like planners to be laid out. 

FEATURES:

Monthly View - This planner has a monthly calendar on one page with enough for some small notes on the side. I use this feature to plan out trips in advance, put in special events and birthdays. The design of the monthly calendar is very clean and modern looking. I think it would make it even more special if the month is laid out in 2 pages to have more room. 

The beautiful dividers - I know this isn't really a huge feature but it really makes things easier for me. I am able to go from one month to the other much more easily because of these dividers. They're really pretty to look at too. 

To-do List - This was actually the selling point for me. I loved the full page to-do list with so much room for an avid list writer like myself. I was so disappointed  when I saw though that the to-do list can only be found at the beginning of the month of January. I thought there would be a to-do list for every month =(

Weekly Calendar - I love love love the weekly calendar. I love the fact that you can factor in the schedule of your kids. I think you can include the schedule of up to 3 kids. I only have on daughter so I am using one row for my homeschooling schedule and another for expenses. I also love that there are goals for the week and even a little bit for notes, thoughts and reminders.

Pages and PERKS!!

I love all the extra pages. I still have to figure out how to use a lot of them but I'm so excited to start using them.

Child's Info Sheet - there were 4 pages of these (which seems weird considering there's only room for the schedule of 3 kinds on the weekly calendar) and I think these pages would be so helpful. I specially love the spaces for the shoe sizes.

I think I'm going to use the extra pages for nephews and godchildren.

Kids Health Record - this is another thing I love. I love being able to take note of illnesses, medications, prescriptions in one page. Awesome. Strange that this time there's space for only 2 kids. (It doesn't affect me though since I only have one kid).

Immunization Record - My child is already on the stage of boosters so this is not as useful to me. But if I have another child I'm sure I'd be all over this feature.

Menstrual Tracker - another wonderful thing to have. 

Parents' Health Record - YAY. Finally someone remembered that we parents get sick too. I love that there's also space for my husband's record

Gadget Tracker - this is one feature I'm not sure I'll be using just because I'm not that much of a techie to begin with. 

Household Staff File - This is just heaven sent. I've been telling myself I should start taking note of this and voila here it is. I have no more excuse. 

There are other features of this planner that I didn't include which you may enjoy. I highly recommend this planner for all moms out there. 

(I bought this planner with my own money.)