Have you found the perfect planner?
For years, I've been searching for a planner that organizes my life, motivates me to keep moving, and holds me accountable to my goals. A post-it will work if you do, but I want it to be cute, too. Amen? I've tried every planner from Kate Spade to Daytimer, and I haven't found one that's an improvement over iCal.
There are a handful of tasks on my to-do list that I've been staring at for months. Why? Because I haven't scheduled them. Something I would prefer to skip, like taxes, will never take priority over a fresh issue of InStyle or the endless pinteresting content on the internet. I need structure, simple as that. If I'm going to have exactly enough time for what's most important, planning is the name of the game.
Last month, while talking time-management with my girlies, I had an epiphany. A planner is Paper & Glam, just like scrapbooking, writing, and graphic design. Paper is what I do, I have home field advantage here...I can make a planner!
Game changer.
Ready to get organized? Motivated? Inspired?
Your planner is ready...just click on the links and print. Use all of it or just the pieces that work for your life. Once you print it, I recommend taking it to Staples and having it bound for $4. If you want to get fancy, you can laminate a cover for another $4. You can staple it together, use a binder, whatever...make it work for you.
Each month has it's own seasonal color, so if you don't share my pink obsession...you're covered.
My prayer for the Paper & Glam planner is that it helps you stay motivated, organized, and strong. Ready to see her? Here she is...
Monthly
Download Paper & Glam Monthly Planner
Basic monthly calendar planning plus built-in lists for monthly goals and bills. 
Weekly
Download Paper & Glam Weekly Planner
The weekly planning section is built around each part of the day: morning, day, and evening. Use this section for committments, scheduling workouts, projects, playtime, whatever needs to happen for you.
There's also sections for the lists we keep each week: to-do list, things to snag at the market, and errands to run. 
Daily
Download Paper & Glam Daily Planner
The daily section runs the course of the workweek, Monday through Friday. Each day, there is a Bible verse, to do list, a workout/meal planning or recording section, and a spot for notes.
I always need to be reminded that vitamins are clutch, and that I need to hydrate today for tomorrow's workout. I also got some great feedback that meal planning sections would be huge, so that's there, too. Or if you're training like me, use it as a food journal. Even if we don't keep track of what we eat, our body keeps very accurate track. Amen?
For each work day, I've picked what I feel are 200 of the most inspiring, motivating, and captivating verses in the Bible. Each week, has a verse from the Old Testament, Gospels, Epistles, Psalms, and Proverbs; covering the span of the Bible in four translations (NIV, NLT, MSG, and KJV).
"Written down so we'll know how to live well and right,
to understand what life means and where it's going. A manual for living."
{Proverbs 1:2-3, MSG}
One of my goals is to memorize more scripture. Memorized verses are weapons for life. There is incredible power in the word of God. The process of spiritual growth is replacing lies with truth. The more truth we've committed to memory, the more capable we are of teeing up epic wins. In football, you've gotta memorize the plays, or you're on the field with no idea what's going on. In life, we've gotta read the life playbook to learn to truly live.
Special Dates. Project List, and Title Pages
Download Paper & Glam Planner Extras
Special Dates
The special dates pages keep track of holidays, time changes, and seasons. It has spots for each day of the year for upcoming important dates (weddings, birthdays, etc.).
Projects
The projects section is for keeping track of projects, to-dos, or goals that aren't time-sensitive. If you're like me, you have several half-finished projects lying around that have been in the back of your mind (or closet) for like ever. Or there's some projects, you'd like to start and finish.
I love seeing a visual list of things I've accomplish in a year. I list everything from books read, scrapbook layouts made, to dreamhome projects in progress...like the half finished gallery wall sitting in my closet.
Title Pages
I created titles pages as section dividers. These are just a bonus, use them if you're so inclined.
The past two weeks test driving the planner, I've had my strongest weeks of training. I made it to the gym all five days for the first time in Denver. Why? Because I scheduled my runs. Some in the morning, some after work, some on Saturdays...they went in the planner and hit the pavement.
The verse in the test version of the planner was,
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.
{2 Timothy 1:7}
It's no coincidence that I had an amazing couple weeks of working out and eating clean. There's great power in the word of God, we get to choose if, and how we leverage it. He promised us, His power is sufficient for our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
(photo credit)
If we want to be someone that runs, we've gotta run. If we want to be someone who knows the Word of God, we've got to read it. If we want to scrapbook, bake, write, get to that project, we've got to plan for it. But if we fail to plan, we can plan to fail.
We're all the sum total of our choices. There are a lot of ways we can spend our time, we need to choose wisely. What could be more important than making intentional choices, writing them down, and holding ourselves accountable? I think it's time to rock it old school, go back to the basics of paper and pen, and plan life.
Something happens when a thought funnels from your brain, through pen to paper. It becomes real and actionable, less complicated, and managable. My hope is that I've created a tool that helps you manage your life, stay accountable to your goals, and inspire you at the same time.
so much Hope,
Lisamarie
