How I Use My Day Designer to Stay Organized

If you’ve been following Avec Valerie for a while, you’ll know that I’m obsessed with planners. Over the years, I’ve cycled through Moleskine weekly planners, the Erin Condren Life Planner, and the Bando agenda. Briefly, I even tried bullet journaling. More recently, I have been using the Day Designer. For the last three years, the Day Designer has been my planner of preference. If you’re looking for ideas to get your life together, here’s how I use my Day Designer to stay organized.

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HOW I USE MY DAY DESIGNER TO STAY ORGANIZED

ABOUT THE DAY DESIGNER

Created in 2010, the Day Designer is a strategic planner and daily agenda for living a well-designed life. It is for busy people who aspire to live with intention and style. The Day Designer is available in academic format (July to June) or regular format (January to December). Therefore, the planner can be used for school, for work, or even for your blog. Currently, I am using the Academic Mini Daily Planner in the “Chic” print. I use my Day Designer for everything from my blog to my personal life and work responsibilities.

Related: 7 Ways to Succeed in College & Get Straight A’s

MONTHLY OVERVIEW

First of all, I am skipping over the goal-setting worksheets and yearly overview because I haven’t filled out those pages yet. I use the monthly overview pages as an at-a-glance preview of the entire month. On the far left column with the “This Month” header, I write down my goals for the month. Then for the monthly overview, I track important dates such as birthdays, holidays, and paydays. Also, I use the monthly overview to track work responsibilities and bill due dates.

WEEKLY OVERVIEW

Next, the weekend pages are combined with the weekly overview. For weekends, I don’t really use the hourly schedule unless I have specific events or appointments. However, I still use the daily top three prompts to prioritize my tasks for the weekend.

At the bottom of the page is the weekly overview. For the weekly overview, I write down important tasks and events. It helps me prepare for the upcoming week.

DAILY PLANNING PAGE

Finally, the daily planning page was the main reason why I purchased the Day Designer. At the top of every daily planning page is an inspirational quote. For the daily top 3 to-do prompts, I write down my three priorities for the day. Then for the 4 D’s (due, dinner, dollars, and don’t forget), I fill them out as needed. The hourly schedule goes from 7 am to 7 pm and I use it to track my work hours, events I have planned, and places I have to go. To the right of the hourly schedule, I write down my tasks. I try to batch my tasks according to corresponding time blocks on the hourly schedule. At the bottom of the page are a notes section and daily gratitude, which I try to fill out every day.

Thus, that’s how I use my Day Designer to stay organized. Overall, I love all of the Day Designer’s features because it’s stylish yet functional. The monthly overview helps me track important dates and goals. Then the weekly overview helps me prepare for the upcoming week. Lastly, the daily planning page definitely helps me stay on track. Whether it’s at work or at home, the Day Designer helps me be productive. Without my Day Designer, I would be completely distressed and disorganized.

FOR MORE PLANNER INSPIRATION, CHECK OUT MY PLAN WITH ME SERIES.

*This article was originally published on avecvalerie.com.