The Art of Planning Ahead: A Creative Approach to Managing Time and Tasks

As the holiday season approaches, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of preparations. For many of us, this time of year can be overwhelming, with numerous events, tasks, and responsibilities competing for our attention. To stay organized and focused, one creative approach is to take a proactive approach to planning ahead.

One way to do this is by creating a list of important events and tasks that need to be attended to. This can include everything from social engagements to household chores, such as cleaning the bathrooms. For those who struggle with clutter, taking a moment to acknowledge the issue can help them find ways to address it. In this case, our subject matter has noted that their bathroom is particularly prone to getting dirty.

To stay on top of tasks and events, many people rely on calendars or planners. These tools provide a structured space for organizing one's schedule and ensuring that important dates and deadlines are marked. For those who enjoy decorating, stickers can be a fun way to add personality to their planner. Our subject matter has shown an enthusiasm for stickers from various sources, including Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree.

When it comes to decorating, there's no need to break the bank or rely on complicated designs. Simple patterns and colors can create a cohesive look that adds visual interest to one's planner. For example, our subject matter has chosen a pastely color scheme for this spread, which includes a range of stickers to add texture and personality.

Another way to enhance one's planner is by incorporating personal touches, such as page flags or markers. These small additions can help identify important pages and provide an extra layer of organization. In this case, our subject matter has opted for a simple pink paperclip, which she has hot-glued to the back of a heart sticker.

One key aspect of planning ahead is creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. For those who enjoy creative pursuits, decorating one's planner can be a fun way to build enthusiasm for upcoming events or tasks. In this case, our subject matter has chosen a gingerbread theme, which adds a festive touch to her spread.

As the holiday season progresses, it's likely that new themes and ideas will emerge. For those who enjoy planning ahead, experimenting with different colors, patterns, and decorations can help keep things fresh and exciting. Our subject matter has hinted at an upcoming traditional Christmas spread, which promises to be a classic and festive design.

In conclusion, taking a proactive approach to planning ahead can help individuals stay organized and focused during the holiday season. By incorporating creative elements, such as stickers and decorations, one can add personality and visual interest to their planner or calendar. Whether you enjoy decorating or simply need a tool for staying on top of tasks and events, there are many options available to suit your style and preferences.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone so today I am going to do another spread in my happy planner if this is the very first time that you're watching this video a happy planner is something that kind of looks like this and there are little individual boxes that you can actually decorate and customize a lot of this planner is really fully customizable you can take the pages out you can do different inserts you can do different different um covers you can do different binder rings so it's super fun and it's a really cheap alternative to the Aaron condrin planner you can get these for about 12 to $15 at Michael's craft store or Hobby Lobby and each week to make it a lot easier on my creativity I just pick a theme and that makes it a lot easier and I don't have to fight with myself on wondering what am I going to do I just write some of the things that I love the most and then I'll do a theme of that so to recap last week's spread I did a grunch theme so I really went with more of a green color because he is green and I added this little piece of like page insert where you can write stuff on the back and I made most of my stickers by just Googling images and printing them out on sticker paper and I'm going to be doing the same thing for this week the theme that I am going with is going to be a gingerbread theme so I'm super excited about it and I had hauled this sticker from the Dollar Tree and when I saw this I knew that I wanted to do a planner video using these stickers I also have these stickers from Hobby Lobby I've pulled some pieces of scrapbook paper out from this little booklet I don't know it's craft Smith and it comes with all of these patterns this one actually came in a different booklet by the paper Studio but I pulled this piece and this one and and this one and I'll be cutting those up to fit into the little boxes I also pulled these little cute gingerbread stickers they're felt they are a little bit they're not flat obviously so I'm not sure that they'll make it into my happy planner because I do want my happy planner to be flat I don't want like bubbly stickers sticking out so I'm not sure if those will make it and then I have some of the stickers that I've already cut out that I printed myself and if you want to see the measure ments on that go check out my Grinch video I put the measurements for the table properties in your word document on how to um make these and fit them into these boxes these are some more little stickers I cut out and the next thing I do is I like to pull Washi I never know what I'm going to end up using but I pulled some Washi that I thought I might like to use and then of course I printed out my little page I just went to Google images in Google gingerbread houses and I liked this one the most be making another card insert like this because I do like to use this to write additional stuff on the back so the first thing that I do is I am going to start cutting out my boxes to fit here with my scrapbook paper I am probably going to cut about three or four boxes of each pattern not all of them may make it in here so but I'm going to cut out about three or four with my cutter tool so I finished cutting up my boxes and sort of placing them where I think they're going to go and I also cut out my little sidebar box something else that I do is I take one piece of scrapbook that's going to be the main scrapbook P piece that you will see the most in my spread and that way just kind of keeps it from being too busy and so in like this is my main scrapbook piece it will be my sidebar piece you'll see a lot of them in the little boxes and I actually also cut out my little circles which will cover the dates because I don't want to see that black and so I'll kind of like redo the top here once I have my stickers and scrapbook papers where I want them I'm going to go ahead and start to put them down with crafter's tape or peel the back because some of them are stickers so I'm going to go ahead and put these permanently down into my planner for now I am going to Washi the bottom of my planner and I am going to use this fabric Washi I think it is from Target I'm not entirely sure the target dollar spot and I'm loving this baby pink with the white polka dots it seems to fit really perfectly with the gingerbread theme I am going to rewrite in the days here at the top just because I wanted to get rid of that black I don't have any like pink stickers letters for me to use so I'm just going to use this pink marker and hope that it shows up really well I've got my dates filled in with my pink marker and I also went ahead and added this in here with pink as well little to-do section I did this last week and I talked about how this is a really great place for me to put down some items that I'm not sure what day I can actually do them but I know that they needed need to be done this week the next thing I want to do is take I make a little list ahead of time of what needs to go on my calendar and now I'm going to write those things in this is something I also do when I know that I have a lot of things to write in leave my boxes white so I know that I have a couple of things at night on Monday and Tuesday night so I leave those white and these are kind of just random but I really don't have much going on this week at all I almost have too much going on the week that we're in right now that I don't even know what I need to get done this week but I know it's got to be quite a bit because you know it's like crunch time it's before Christmas so I'm going to have to sit here and think about this but I've got my important events that my daughter has to go to know that I'm going to need to go to the grocery store and I definitely need to clean my bathrooms I don't even want to talk about it I don't even know how it gets dirty the way it does but whatever I'm not even going to go there so now what I usually like to do is take stickers and decorate with my stickers even though really I mean there's where else am I going to put stuff but let me tell you I will find places for my stickers so I've got these gorgeous ones from Hobby Lobby and these beautiful ones from the Dollar Tree this one which would look really cute here at the bottom I always like to put a sticker at the bottom where my notes are and now I'm going to use this one is really pretty too put this sticker right here in the middle in the morning like over those two that looks really cute and now I'm just going to add some of these little tree stickers okay I'm going to go ahead and move on and I'm going to make the little page insert that I always like to make for this I'm not entirely sure about this pattern obviously it's different than this pink but it's still like a cute pastely color let's see what are my other options what about this one that's kind of cute let's just go with that I want just enough of these little peppermints to stick out and it gives me a little bit more writing room and then I need a little bit of thickness on the side because we're going to punch the holes here so now I'm just going to trim the top I want it to be almost equal to the bottom and then we will trim the side here I kind of like it right here so I am going to take my marker and I'm going to make dots where I'm going to hold punch okay okay there we go we could also add stickers to this if we wanted to maybe some candy canes would be cute some of these little candies may be adorable okay now I have a really great space to write on and if you want to add more stickers here you could you can also make yourself like page Flags or page markers which I've done here this is just a pink paperclip that I've picked up from the Dollar Tree and they have like multicolors in theirs and I just grabbed a pink one from the stack and then I hot glued to the back of this heart which is actually a sticker and I believe it's from the Dollar Tree from the Valentine's Day decor from this year earlier this year so I just hot glued a little piece back here and it stays very well and I love how great it kind of looks with this spread so if I am going to be taking my planner with me it's my little marker so that I know where my page is at so this is my spread for December 14th through the 20th it's a gorgeous gingerbread theme I'm absolutely loving this you guys I don't know why this makes me so entirely happy but it just does and I I love that I already had all of this stuff on hand I mean obviously I paid for it at one point in time but I've used so much with my scrapbook paper and my stickers I've used it in other stuff and my calendar Advent bags and it's been so much fun doing this theme this week it's just I don't know I don't know why I love this so much and I'm incredibly happy and I hope you guys really enjoyed this video and next week's theme I believe is going to be just a really good old traditional Christmas spread I am going to go ahead and start looking at my material and see what I have but I think it's just going to be just some good old red and green and some gold in there so I cannot wait to share that with you as well I hope you guys liked this and I'll see you in my next video bye ahi everyone so today I am going to do another spread in my happy planner if this is the very first time that you're watching this video a happy planner is something that kind of looks like this and there are little individual boxes that you can actually decorate and customize a lot of this planner is really fully customizable you can take the pages out you can do different inserts you can do different different um covers you can do different binder rings so it's super fun and it's a really cheap alternative to the Aaron condrin planner you can get these for about 12 to $15 at Michael's craft store or Hobby Lobby and each week to make it a lot easier on my creativity I just pick a theme and that makes it a lot easier and I don't have to fight with myself on wondering what am I going to do I just write some of the things that I love the most and then I'll do a theme of that so to recap last week's spread I did a grunch theme so I really went with more of a green color because he is green and I added this little piece of like page insert where you can write stuff on the back and I made most of my stickers by just Googling images and printing them out on sticker paper and I'm going to be doing the same thing for this week the theme that I am going with is going to be a gingerbread theme so I'm super excited about it and I had hauled this sticker from the Dollar Tree and when I saw this I knew that I wanted to do a planner video using these stickers I also have these stickers from Hobby Lobby I've pulled some pieces of scrapbook paper out from this little booklet I don't know it's craft Smith and it comes with all of these patterns this one actually came in a different booklet by the paper Studio but I pulled this piece and this one and and this one and I'll be cutting those up to fit into the little boxes I also pulled these little cute gingerbread stickers they're felt they are a little bit they're not flat obviously so I'm not sure that they'll make it into my happy planner because I do want my happy planner to be flat I don't want like bubbly stickers sticking out so I'm not sure if those will make it and then I have some of the stickers that I've already cut out that I printed myself and if you want to see the measure ments on that go check out my Grinch video I put the measurements for the table properties in your word document on how to um make these and fit them into these boxes these are some more little stickers I cut out and the next thing I do is I like to pull Washi I never know what I'm going to end up using but I pulled some Washi that I thought I might like to use and then of course I printed out my little page I just went to Google images in Google gingerbread houses and I liked this one the most be making another card insert like this because I do like to use this to write additional stuff on the back so the first thing that I do is I am going to start cutting out my boxes to fit here with my scrapbook paper I am probably going to cut about three or four boxes of each pattern not all of them may make it in here so but I'm going to cut out about three or four with my cutter tool so I finished cutting up my boxes and sort of placing them where I think they're going to go and I also cut out my little sidebar box something else that I do is I take one piece of scrapbook that's going to be the main scrapbook P piece that you will see the most in my spread and that way just kind of keeps it from being too busy and so in like this is my main scrapbook piece it will be my sidebar piece you'll see a lot of them in the little boxes and I actually also cut out my little circles which will cover the dates because I don't want to see that black and so I'll kind of like redo the top here once I have my stickers and scrapbook papers where I want them I'm going to go ahead and start to put them down with crafter's tape or peel the back because some of them are stickers so I'm going to go ahead and put these permanently down into my planner for now I am going to Washi the bottom of my planner and I am going to use this fabric Washi I think it is from Target I'm not entirely sure the target dollar spot and I'm loving this baby pink with the white polka dots it seems to fit really perfectly with the gingerbread theme I am going to rewrite in the days here at the top just because I wanted to get rid of that black I don't have any like pink stickers letters for me to use so I'm just going to use this pink marker and hope that it shows up really well I've got my dates filled in with my pink marker and I also went ahead and added this in here with pink as well little to-do section I did this last week and I talked about how this is a really great place for me to put down some items that I'm not sure what day I can actually do them but I know that they needed need to be done this week the next thing I want to do is take I make a little list ahead of time of what needs to go on my calendar and now I'm going to write those things in this is something I also do when I know that I have a lot of things to write in leave my boxes white so I know that I have a couple of things at night on Monday and Tuesday night so I leave those white and these are kind of just random but I really don't have much going on this week at all I almost have too much going on the week that we're in right now that I don't even know what I need to get done this week but I know it's got to be quite a bit because you know it's like crunch time it's before Christmas so I'm going to have to sit here and think about this but I've got my important events that my daughter has to go to know that I'm going to need to go to the grocery store and I definitely need to clean my bathrooms I don't even want to talk about it I don't even know how it gets dirty the way it does but whatever I'm not even going to go there so now what I usually like to do is take stickers and decorate with my stickers even though really I mean there's where else am I going to put stuff but let me tell you I will find places for my stickers so I've got these gorgeous ones from Hobby Lobby and these beautiful ones from the Dollar Tree this one which would look really cute here at the bottom I always like to put a sticker at the bottom where my notes are and now I'm going to use this one is really pretty too put this sticker right here in the middle in the morning like over those two that looks really cute and now I'm just going to add some of these little tree stickers okay I'm going to go ahead and move on and I'm going to make the little page insert that I always like to make for this I'm not entirely sure about this pattern obviously it's different than this pink but it's still like a cute pastely color let's see what are my other options what about this one that's kind of cute let's just go with that I want just enough of these little peppermints to stick out and it gives me a little bit more writing room and then I need a little bit of thickness on the side because we're going to punch the holes here so now I'm just going to trim the top I want it to be almost equal to the bottom and then we will trim the side here I kind of like it right here so I am going to take my marker and I'm going to make dots where I'm going to hold punch okay okay there we go we could also add stickers to this if we wanted to maybe some candy canes would be cute some of these little candies may be adorable okay now I have a really great space to write on and if you want to add more stickers here you could you can also make yourself like page Flags or page markers which I've done here this is just a pink paperclip that I've picked up from the Dollar Tree and they have like multicolors in theirs and I just grabbed a pink one from the stack and then I hot glued to the back of this heart which is actually a sticker and I believe it's from the Dollar Tree from the Valentine's Day decor from this year earlier this year so I just hot glued a little piece back here and it stays very well and I love how great it kind of looks with this spread so if I am going to be taking my planner with me it's my little marker so that I know where my page is at so this is my spread for December 14th through the 20th it's a gorgeous gingerbread theme I'm absolutely loving this you guys I don't know why this makes me so entirely happy but it just does and I I love that I already had all of this stuff on hand I mean obviously I paid for it at one point in time but I've used so much with my scrapbook paper and my stickers I've used it in other stuff and my calendar Advent bags and it's been so much fun doing this theme this week it's just I don't know I don't know why I love this so much and I'm incredibly happy and I hope you guys really enjoyed this video and next week's theme I believe is going to be just a really good old traditional Christmas spread I am going to go ahead and start looking at my material and see what I have but I think it's just going to be just some good old red and green and some gold in there so I cannot wait to share that with you as well I hope you guys liked this and I'll see you in my next video bye a\n"