Hi y’all! 

Have you taken a few minutes to check in and ask yourself – how am I doing? During all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s easy to go into “auto-pilot mode.”  As mothers, wives, friends, and nurturers, we tend to be thinking about others, often times a lot more than ourselves. While that is a beautiful quality, it can also be a detriment to our physical and mental health.  I encourage you today to pause and take stock. Ask yourself, how are you and what do you need right now?  Take time to address what those needs are in the short term.

Longer term and bigger picture, are you able to find some time to envision 2021?  What are some of your goals this coming year?   Planning is one of my favorite things and I have created a few tools to help make many planning processes just a little more exciting.  I find that I am happier when I have taken some time to plan – both short term and long term!

Have you seen my Goal Setting Notepad? On the left, take your goal and break it down into obtainable, baby steps.  The perforated lines allow you to tear your list off.  There are stickers included with the notepad to hang it as a reminder.  The right column has bigger picture monthly goals that you can use to work towards your annual goals.  Goal setting doesn’t have to be daunting or complicated.   There is no right or wrong way to do it.  What’s important is that you set aside the time to think about what is important to you.  What will 2021 look like for you? What is important this coming year?  It may be about your career, your marriage  or relationship, friendships, a hobby or activity that you’d like to learn or pursue – there are endless options!

Time  is one thing that there never seems to be enough of.   For this reason, I’ve also tried to make products that help reduce the amount of time things take like, for example, grocery store shopping or meal planning.  I also aim to make things more fun, too!  Check out my Meal Planner Notepad and the Weekly Meal Planner Notepad.  I am a big fan of simple touches that elevate so you will see both of these have real gold foil on each page.  Who says planning is boring? Not me!  

Another organizing tip? Check out my best-selling Choose Happy Weekly List Pad Planner.  While I am a huge fan of a hardbacked calendar/planner (I just launched a new one for 2021), I also love having a paper, tear off pad.  I’ve seen large families use this as their family calendar.  Store it on the kitchen counter or in a high traffic area and allow everyone to add their events, appointments, practices, & etc.  Another great tip?  Color code each family member with a different color pen.  Check out my motivational, colorful pen sets here.

“Mindfulness” and “Intentional” are two words that we are hearing a lot more of these days.  What do those words mean to you?  To me, the help me focus and prioritize and live a more enriching life.  Planning ahead can make things run more smoothly for me, and when I am prepared, daily events can be more enjoyable and less hectic. 

What are your favorite planning products or tips & tricks? Share them with me here or on my Instagram at @taylorelliottdesigns