September 2016 Planner Setup with DIYFish and Sew Much Crafting

**Please be forewarned that this post is very picture heavy and probably quite long.**

This lovely little beauty is my Limited Edition Teal Kikki K in medium size with a rose gold leaf pattern. You can find it on the Kikki K website here. I use it as my everyday carry (EDC) and it holds everything. I don't use a separate planner or notebook for any aspect of my life.

Inside my front cover I have a few Target Bullseye page flags that I use for forward planning and the short Kikki K notepad that came with the planner. It is a quick way to jot down things while I'm on the go without showing someone inside my planner. Behind the secretarial pocket I keep important papers like my ultrasound pictures and upcoming doctor appointment card. My dashboard was custom made by Pink Bow Ties. As of the writing of this post, her shop is on vacation.

This is my post it note dashboard. I use these for items and notes that need to be placed in my planner and dealt with at a later time. The colored flags on the top right side are only used in my project planning section.

This is the start of my project planning section. I keep a master project index so that I am always aware of what projects are current. School, social media (including this blog and YouTube), and PTA are permanent projects that are always ongoing so they have their own sub-sections. The colored page flags next to the numbers 1-6 correspond to the 1-6 tabs going down the right side of my planner. These are temporary projects that can be removed and filed once they are complete. The goal is to never have more than 6 active projects in addition to my permanent projects.

This is my someday/maybe project list. I pull from this list when I have time and space on my master project index to start a new project. My someday/maybe list is different than David Allen's. These are things that will not get done this month but will be done in the next 2-6 months. Anything beyond 6 months that is not time sensitive (like our family vacation next summer) is a "bucket list" item to me.

My three permanent projects (school, social media, and PTA) all have an index at the beginning of them so I know what I have in each section. Very rarely are those pages removed because they are normally things I need to reference on a frequent basis.

Social Media Index

PTA Index

The next section is my Yearly section. This was a 2015 yearly calendar from DIYFish. I kept it because it has a yearly overview of 2016 and 2017. You can find the current DIYFish yearly calendars here.

These are my Sew Much Crafting Month on 2 pages List format and can be found here. *(Danielle from SMC is currently in the process of releasing 2017 inserts so a lot of her 2016 inserts are either on clearance or if they are sold out she will not be restocking them.)* I have these inserts through June 2017 and a blank page for July-December 2017. I use these for forward planning things like my 6 year old's school dates, PTA activities, OB appointments, and the birth of our little one due in January. I loosely color code on these inserts.

These are my Sew Much Crafting Month on 2 pages Traditional format. I was using these inserts before I switched back to DIYFish this month and I didn't want them to go to waste. I use these for meal planning (I told you everything goes in one planner). I meal plan for two weeks at a time so it is good to see the whole overview so I know where I can buy bulk items for multiple meals. I color code my meal planning. Black is a regular meal that I can make off the top of my head, blue is a crock pot meal, red is a new recipe (I also put a star next to where I have the recipe stored, normally Pinterest), and green is for when we eat out or I'm not cooking (going to a cookout or family's house for dinner). In pink I put in paydays, grocery shopping days, and evening events that may affect what I have time to make or what time we eat dinner.

This starts my planning section and is the meat of my planner. I keep my color key here in case I need to reference it. 

DIYFish vCarie

This is the monthly calendar from DIYFish vCarie. It was named after the wonderful Carie Harling and can be found here. (DIYFish inserts are color coded based on the size planner you are using and can be purchased in 3 month trials or for the entire year). I put all appointments, paydays, bills, and any other time/date sensitive information on this calendar.

DIYFish vCarie

This is the back of the monthly calendar in the vCarie inserts. These inserts were made to be project planners, although you can use them however you wish. In the top left section you are supposed to write events happening that month that can affect the time you have to work on projects. Because I have those events on the other side on the calendar, I thought it would be too repetitive. I use that section to list tasks that need to be done this month that are not associated with a project. In the bottom left section, you list out the projects that you plan to work on for the month and that is how I use it. The right column on the left page is broken down into all the weeks of the month. Here you list which projects from your list on the left can be done on which week. (This is great if you have projects that have deadlines or are time sensitive). This month, none of my projects have deadlines other than what I gave them so I look at my monthly calendar and decide on when I can work on each one. Some projects span multiple weeks.

*The vCarie inserts also come with the blank page that you see on the far right. There is one for each week of the month and it is dated. You use that to break down your weekly projects into individual tasks. I don't use them because I do this breakdown somewhere else.

DIYFish v2.2b

This is the weekly insert for DIYFish v2.2b and can be found here. V2.2b does not come with a monthly calendar so it works perfectly paired with vCarie. On the foldout flap I transfer appointments and date specific items from my monthly calendar. I also schedule my recurring tasks page flags here until I do my daily planning. The grid chart, known as a weekly chart, is where I do the breakdown of my project tasks. These are color coded as well. I list the name of the project, the individual tasks I want to get done this week, and I put an open box around the day(s) I expect to get them done. I put a dot in the box if I worked on it but didn't complete it and I completely shade in the box on the day it gets done. If I decide not to do that task(like one of my pink task) I put an "X" in the box.

V2.2b comes with day on 1 page but you can request day on 2 pages, which I did. Because I have day on 2 pages, this page next to my weekly chart will always be blank. I use this to list tasks I want to get done this week that are not associated with a project (similar to my monthly task list).

DIYFish v2.2b Day on 2 Pages

This is the Day on 2 pages that I got with my v2.2b. I use the top left box to record the weather so I know how to dress my son for school, I list his specials for the day so I know if he needs gym shoes or socks for dance class, and I list my dailies. My current dailies are make bed, scripture writing, take prenatal vitamins, back pack check, and daily planning. These are the things that I need and want to do everyday that will slip my mind if I don't have a reminder in front of me. I also list what we are having for dinner that night.

Underneath that I use the pentagons to track my water intake. There are 8 of them so I just shade in the whole pentagon for one 8oz. glass of water.

The bottom left box is already formatted like a to do check list and that is what I use it for. I draw a square next to each task and use the same bullet system that I do with my project tasks. If I don't get a task done and need to migrate it, I leave the box empty and put an arrow to the right of the task. (I only do it this way because my arrows don't fit in the checkbox).

The right column on the left page is a time schedule that goes from 1am to 12 midnight. I put in appointments that I have and also schedule certain tasks so I make sure to get them done.

The right page is a blank grid page that I use for any notes for the day. Also, if I think of anything that I need to do but know I won't get it done today, I list it as a task with a check box on this page. This lets me know when I do my daily planning at the end of the night that I need to schedule it on another day, week, or month, depending on what the task is.

Because my daily pages did not start until Thursday, September 1st, I just printed extra grid paper and used a bullet journal system for my daily pages for Monday-Wednesday. These pages have the same information as my pre-printed pages.

My next section is a notes section that is pretty self-explanatory. Most of the notes in this section are things I need to reference a little longer than the post its on my dashboard. This set of notes was from when I was deciding on what DIYFish system would work for me.

My next section is a lists section that is also self-explanatory. I keep an index in this section as well so I know what lists are in here.

This section is my personal section. I keep meal ideas and reference information for our home.

I also keep a master template of my recurring tasks and how often they need to be done.

This is the back of my template and the actual flags for my recurring tasks. Most of them are on my calendar pages ready for the next time they need to be done but some are habits I am trying to start so I haven't scheduled them yet.

This is another dashboard from Pink Bow Ties. This has my due date on it. This is still part of my personal section, but I sectioned it off because it is more private information. I have a sheet for each of my family members with their clothing sizes and gift ideas, my personal info sheet, emergency contact numbers, my son's school and doctor's numbers and information, and a few sheets from the Recollections Pregnancy booklet that I use to record information until I can put it in my Pregnancy Journal/Baby Book.

This is the back of my binder where I keep an extra Filofax ruler and a back page lifter. The last section before this is my expenses section. I keep our bills and budget info, credit card sheets with my driver's license, debit cards, etc ( I use this as a planner/wallet combo) and a zip pouch where I keep cash and receipts.

Whew...that was very long but I do appreciate you for sticking with me. I linked to everything I could think of but if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below in the comment section. 

I hope these pictures and my explanations helps someone with their set up.