New Weekly Layout!

This week has already proven to be super busy... but very productive.

I've been working on a side project for A Broken Umbrella and lots of hours have been spent getting things ready over the past few weeks... and will continue for the next few months.  Which meant that this week I had to create a super quick and simple Weekly Layout.

Last week was a 3 day weekend, and I had ample time to layout the month of June and create a fancy layout last week, they were super detailed.  Unfortunately, I spent my weekend at work on Saturday for 10 hours and another 6 hours painting on Sunday, so I was really short on time.  This week's layout is super simple.  I've kept my daily tasks on the left, last week I found I was cramming a ton into that left page.  This week I separated out a few things, giving myself an area that was about the size of a 3"x 3" post it note to work with on my daily lists.  So far it's been working out nicely.




On the right I plan through my larger (non-day specific lists).  This week I separated out my water and sleep trackers (from my daily lists) this saved so much time!  In last week's layout I had to break each day out for a tracker, which involved many more smaller lines/boxes.  This week I just had 2 small grids to make and was fun!  Also, I walked away from my color highlighters this week.  Trying to keep things simple. I have been filling in my grids with lines with my handy dandy Straedtler 0.3 pen, which is my standard log pen.  No need to carry around all of my markers, though I miss them, I've been far less concerned about tracking by color.


Speaking of tracking by color.  Last week I took a step away from my rainbow food tracking to a simple day plan.  I took things a step further this week by planning out my whole meal plan (work days only).  This has made mornings much simpler.  At night while I'm tracking my notes/reflections/lists from the day I put my food together in the fridge based on meal plan I created and in the mornings I can just throw everything in my lunch box.  The goal is to eat though the refrigerator and not my feelings.  When I'm left to pick out food I will always go with what I want to eat instead of what I should eat.
I love eating my feelings......
my feelings always want cheeseburgers...

This week I've laid out a plan and so far I'm sticking to it, yes I know it's only Tuesday.  So far, I have had enough food with me every day and if I take my feelings of the equation, I find that I can only eat what I have, and it's a much healthier option.

Here's to making a plan and sticking to it.  Making a plan is always easier to follow then making the plan, but I'm working on it.  Thanks for checking out this week and see you soon!  I have a bunch of new listings in the shop and hope to have another post about them coming soon!

happy journaling!

HELLO JUNE!

So excited for a new layout this month.  I usually do my journal prep the weekend before a new week; it's a nice check in time, figure out the next week and take some time to draw!  It just so happened that the beginning of this week was a 3 day weekend!  I had extra time to draw and organize the plan for June!

Every month I change my washi tape edge, this helps me designate which pages have specific dates based on the color of the edge.  It's a quick reference for me.  I've recently discovered washi tape ( I know I'm behind....)  Anyway, I found this geometric mint green, coral, gray, black, and white tape that reminds me of Friendship bracelets, and I love friendship bracelets!

June is designated to friendship and creativity!!!
So I made this super bright cover page!

So far, June is just fine!  The weather is turning warmer and I have been able to spend more time outside, which really does help my mindset.  I think it's part of the inspiration this month... be lighter and have fun!  Sometimes I forget about fun!!!
Opposite my hello page I add my monthly work schedule, it's a great way to stay away from checking my schedule electronically, less screen time please!






























For my layout this month I changed up my calendar layout to a more traditional Bullet Journal Style, similar to Ryder Carroll's original simple layout.  I did break my lines into columns to help delineate my tasks.  So far in layout it has really been helpful.  I'm able to scan daily appointments or tasks and add into my daily lists.

I won't lie, last month's tracker was intense.... I was tracking far too much.  SO! I simplified my list a bit and added a column for priorities, NOT WORK PRIORITIES!

I was tracking reflection points daily and taking up some space in my weekly journal pages, so this month I created a monthly reflection area.  I think this will help me stay focused, but not bogged down with having to take a minute to reflect every day.  Now when I have a reflection I can write it down in my monthly layout and be able to scan my list much easier.

Beside having to track some upcoming babysitting for my son, since his school is out 3 weeks before mine.... I think I'm ready for June and some Sun!

Happy Journaling!

New Weekly Layout for June!

It's a long weekend and I had time to play with my journal layout!


Nice and New!  I was so excited that I started marking it up already, just jumped right in!

I was able to take a few notes from last week, and turn them around for this week's Tuning.  I found that I had a few tracker and layout ideas that ended up falling by the wayside; biggest layout fail was my meal tracker.


I've been doing a retrospective, track what I ate by color style food tracker.  I had given myself the goal of trying to eat the rainbow in fruits and veggies everyday.  So, I set up a small grid on my weekly layout and I would color in a square with the corresponding color of fruit/veggie I consumed each day.  It's been nice, but I had to carry around all of the different marker colors, and tracking 4-5 times a day (since I eat smaller meals throughout the day) it actually took time out of my day to fill in the tracker.  So, this week I will track my meals, in planning form/ in advance, not just color.  I do use a post-it for the week to plan out dinner (on the family calendar) and my daily food plan just kind of happens the night before.  So this week I'll try adding my food information straight into my journal, instead of on an outside list.


See here for more images (Last week's Weekly Layout)

I like the weekly info/plan on the left, though it's becoming a bit crowded.  I have some plans for next weeks layout... keep it simple stupid....

I've come up with a few different ways to incorporate my lists, and not take so much time on layout.  I like the CAPA (work) to do list of the last few weeks on my post-its, but after 2 weeks I found several items were leftover from week to week, so I don't need as big of a space.

I have a couple of projects this month that will need to be pulled to the priority list, so I've added a few separate category lists to the right side.







School schedules are winding down and I'm not working as many 12 hour days.  My schedule should go back to being predictable, 8-4 type of thing, and I'll be able to put less focus to my daily (ever-changing) work schedule.  Hoping for more time for fun and projects.

I'm excited to work on these new projects, I'm sure I'll have new page ideas and will try to share them here.  Look out for my New Monthly Spread- in Hello June... coming up next!

Happy Journaling!

Flower Bed Pages!

I've been setting aside time for myself, time to reflect and plan has been a huge anxiety reliever for me this month.  I have also found that I have increased my sketching/drawing time 100% over the last 30 days.

When I say I don't know the last time I sat down with a sketchbook, it is the truth.  Unless I have a design or deadline to fill I find I don't draw for fun anymore.  Drawing has begun to feel like a task, instead of something I truly enjoy.  I have this want to make all drawings perfect, instead of remembering a sketch is just that ( a quick reference and rarely perfect).  Remembering, drawing can never be perfect without practice.

It has been wonderful to be able to be outside again!  I forget how much we use the yard, and how wonderful it is to spend the whole day in the sun!  Come the end of the fall we close up the yard in preparations for winter.  However, the black yard is really another room at our house.  By the time spring comes and we start using the backyard, the more at home I want to stay.  It's nice to make home the place we want to be.  I love projects, surprise!

Most weekends, the husband and I have at least one Home Depot trip for some outside materials; most recently, some garden equipment and flowers for the front steps.  We got home and while Husband was clearing the gutters and mowing the lawn(I am happy to pass this chore off from time to time) I was able to weed and maintain the gardens.  Easter weekend I usually take time and clear the flower beds and put in some new bulbs.  Then clear the veggie garden and start the planning of what to grow each year to eat.  I've been fairly organized about the Veggie Garden each year.  I actually created a Victory Garden Layout Page, where I can put notes, and sketches of the progress in the back yard.  However, the side yard flower bed has been more of an "organic" process.... any by "organic" I mean not planned in anyway and very sporadic.

A few weeks ago, my father-in-law gave me some Birds of Paradise tubers, ready to plant.  However, these tubers should be dug up and stored inside for the winter.  So, I needed to find a way to track where I plant them in my "organic" Flower Bed.  So, after I cleared a few spots and put them in the ground, I did some sketching and began to layout my Flower Bed Pages.   It's been wonderful to give myself time on Sunday afternoons to layout the week, add any additional pages, and get my brain set for all the tasks I have for the week.

For this layout I decided to track everything together.  I have flowers planted to bloom in rotation, the goal is to have something in bloom at all times from April through August.  I back tracked a few dates(gave a general monthly timeline as I play catch up) but it is a great placeholder and reminder to track everything in really time next year.  The plan is to draw each flower as it blooms in location, next year maybe I will delineate from season to season, who knows.  As I sat sketching out the layout and filling in the squares my iris flowers (planted new last Easter) were beginning to bloom.  I would look back to the garden and notice the slightest shade of blue forming at the tops of each bud.  This morning... they opened!  Unfortunately it's been raining, but as it's Saturday.... Husband is coming back with some Mulch in a bit, then I plan to add sketches if the iris bloom to my journal.

 Remembering: I like doing all of the things I do. To do these things, like draw, I actually have to take the time to notice.

Here are some pages and observations.  I'll be back with updates as the summer progresses!  Enjoy the day and Happy Journaling!