Also at this time, you can order. I'm a hot mess from September to January. . . then an even hotter mess from January until April!
Let me explain.
Look how adorable and fun this Happy Stripe Simplified Planner is!!! I had to have it...
Then...
They came out with a bigger and better Pineapple Simplified Planner with COFFEE STICKERS! Plus it was wire bound. Oh gosh, I had to have it!
But how functional was it for me? In all honesty, I did like this planner, I don't need an everyday life planner. Now that it's just me and Eddy, we go with the flow. I don't have to keep the schedule of four little boys along with school projects, homework, or even ball practices anymore so the big daytime planner really isn't what I need.
What I need is a good business planner with goals in it. Goals, meaning, a production schedule of all my books along with everything I have to do get the books in your hands.
I have to write the book, schedule the editor, schedule the cover artist, write the blurb, get the preorder up on KDP, get the book up on Goodreads, get the book up on Author Central, get the book up on Bookbub, schedule the formatter, make the memes, do the edits. . .the list goes on and on. It takes me a good three weeks to get the particulars of a book completed (not counting how long it takes me to write it), and ready just to get up for the preorder.
That's the list I need and the kind of schedule I need. All of the things that need to be done have a certain order in which you have to do them. Sometimes I forget to do it by a certain date and then I'm scrambling.
In December, I promised myself I was going to have a great system for this year. Quickly, I soon realized that this year was the year that I was going to have to live by trial and error to see what works for my business, the writing business. After all, it's a business and has to be run like one.
But look at all those awesome stickers! I love the stickers....but the planning has to come first.
Sadly, it was goodbye Simplified Planner and on to something else.
I decided to make my own planner and went with the Happy Planner disc system. Then the shiny stickers got me again.
Talk about sticker crazy! I went nuts. Eddy would see me get out my stickers and say, "is it playtime?" I would give him the stink eye and growl at him. But he was right. I didn't and don't need all those stickers and it wasn't a productive planner for me.
After I got some wits about me and really sat down to plan out what I truly needed for the business side of writing, I did research like any good writer and found what's called the Master Planner. The girl who came up with it was in my boat. She was looking for a functional planner that would help keep her on course for her goals and not get all google eyed when a pretty sticker popped up.
This planner has an actual goal setting, task, and daily accountability sheet for all of those tasks that need to be complete. It's actually been a month now and I've actually grown to LOVE this planner.
Though there are a few spots that might have a couple shiny stickers in there to scratch that sticker itch!
Do you use a planner? Do you love stickers as much as me?
I love planners! And stickers! I'm still trying to find the perfect planner. My day job doesn't require a whole lot of schedule-keeping, and my boys aren't engaged in a ton of extracurricular activities, but I do have appointments and things that I need to keep up with (and hey, if my editing side hustle ever takes off, maybe I'll have more to keep up with!). This year I'm trying the Anchored Planner. It's got a spot for meal planning (important, as my children seem to always want me to feed them), a daily devotional, and enough hours on a daily spread to give me room to keep up with things. So far I like it. But I may try another one next year. Have you tried the Powersheets from Cultivate What Matters? I hear that one is good for goal-setting, although I've not tried it myself.
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