I’m awfully glad we’re good friends at this point because I’m about to unveil some new crazy I haven’t shared with you guys before.
I am a planner.
I need a schedule with a list every single day because, honestly, I suffer from something-shiny syndrome. Unless I have focus, I find myself… staring out the window… starting laundry… grooming Cooper… squirrel!
That hot pink binder above? That’s my daily work planner. Everything lives in there: schedule, projects, tasks, reminders, everything. The brown notebook at the top? That’s a loose-goosey journal. I write constantly to get things out of my head and onto paper, and it all goes there. Without those two notebooks together, I’d have no idea what to do. My brain holds nothing. It’s all in those two books.
(I warned you… a whole new level of crazy I haven’t shared with you before…)
But! Today I’m sharing the newest addition to my planner love, that disc-bound one on the bottom of the pile for a big, huge, fun, year-long project!
{{drumroll goes here}}
Announcing the 2017 Best Life Pet Planner Challenge!
I’m so honored and excited that my dear friend Jodi from Kol’s Notes invited me to help her co-host this challenge with her. It was a million percent her idea. I totally went crazy for it, and basically forced myself on her! 🙂
What does it mean to you to live your “best life”?
If I had to guess… I’d predict that pets make up a big part of your best life!
They’re such a huge part of mine, and when you combine that with my love for planning and journaling, you get THIS exact project!
Here’s the gist in Jodi’s words: “Part day planner. Part Memory Book. Completely Awesome.”
So, what does that mean?
I’m super addicted to emoji stickers, as you can see above. 🙂
There’s really no right way to do this project! You’re finding your own unique way to capture a year in the life of your pets.
It’s whatever YOU want it to be!
Here’s what you need: any kind of notebook/calendar/planner and some pens or pencils or markers. That’s the minimum, and you can get through the whole year with just that–a notebook and a pen!
For Jodi and I, we’re using The Happy Planner, which is available Michael’s. I also bought a couple extra goodies when I was picking it up… as you can see in the pic above, I got a big pack of stickers to go with it, along with a Sharpie and a stencil.
Pictured above is last week’s spread. It’s a mix of stuff… some thoughts about a blog post I was working on, along with some tracking info for Em’s appointments, and journaling about the weather and Cooper’s behavior. I used a fun little tip-in with the “winter is coming” scrapbook card I happened upon that I taped down to journal under.
I’m not super artistic, but my goal for this project is to approach it as a scrapbook/memory book/tracker for the herd. I’m NOT using it as a planner (see my crazy above), so it’s going to be a just-for-fun thing that I can look back on and remember all their silliness.
I’ll have tons more details as I work through this each week.
I’m a week behind, so this week’s theme was supposed to be resolutions. I actually did those in my planner last week, shown above.
Jodi shared the launch of the challenge here and a darling free printable sticker set here. Definitely go check out that first post at the minimum for a far clearer explanation of the project than what I was able to write here. 🙂 She also created themes for each week that are totally optional.
However, there’s no falling behind, no feeling overwhelmed, or anything like that. If you want to follow the themes, great! If not, also great!
This is a fun, creative, do-what-you-want-when-you-want project. There’s no right (or wrong) way to create!
So, ya with us?
Jodi Chick
Ahhhhhhh! I am so excited. First off, let’s be clear, I begged you to join me. I was terrified I was gonna screw this up alone and you were just the first sucker dumb enough to talk to me about it. ;0) However I suckered you in, I am SO GLAD to have you here and so glad to share this challenge and I LOVE LOVE LOVE how much journalling you’re doing! I think it’s SO SMART that you’re putting notes about pain and good days/bad days in yours and I will be stealing that IMMEDIATELY.
I also LOOOOOOVE the taped in card to make it look fancy and hide MORE JOURNALLING underneath. You’re brilliant. I should add some of those to the next sticker set!
Maggie
I’M so excited! I’m also so far behind. I’m responding to comments from two weeks ago. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…. 🙂
So, the journaling is totally the “thing” for me. I’m not super artsy and struggle with making decorative elements look right on the page. The writing helps me bring it together.
I saw the taped-in cards on a YouTube video. I think she called it a “tip-in” and I plan to use it a BUNCH!
Lindsay
I can so relate to the planning and constant note taking, etc. My husband plans everything digitally and I have to have it all on actual paper.
Maggie
Totally! I can’t do the digital thing. I tried, but somehow when it goes online it becomes invisible to me… I need things to be laid out in front of me, ideally on pretty paper! 🙂
Dz Dogs
I used to be super obsessed with my planner, it was my whole brain I used to joke! I carried it everywhere! But that was all during school, I think the habit started sometime in middle school and ended with my bachelors degree. I was also super picky about how the planner looked, was laid out, and the spaces of the boxes etc… but after school I just kind of stopped.
With our house building just around the corner you reminded me that maybe I should pick it back up again to keep track of all the schedules and contractors who will eventually be coming around..hmmmm…maybe i’ll join in, i’ll let you know if I do!
Maggie
Oh, my gosh. That is a HUGE amount of data to keep straight. Please do let me know how it goes!!
I actually started using a paper planner in high school. I found myself scrambling with last-minute assignments or missing things altogether, so tracking work on paper (I think our school even gave us a spiral-bound planner for free?) helped me learn the skills I needed to meet deadlines and get sh!t done! 🙂
Rebecca
I love this idea about focusing on your pets! With all your planners and journals, have you ever looked Bullet Journals? I just started on making one, but now i’ll add a section on my dog and tracking her behavior/training/health. Thanks for the ideas!
Maggie
Oh, my goodness… I was so excited about the bullet journal idea when I first encountered it. I think it was on Pinterest? But here’s been my issue: I’m SUCH a compartmentalizer. That’s why I have the binder for my work planner, the notebook for my journal, and now this as a memory keeper/scrapbook. I struggle to combine things, if that makes any sense. I’d LOVE to see what you come up with for your dog tracking section, though!! Sounds fab!
Callie, Shadow, and Ducky's Mom
I’m not really much of a planner any more since I retired. The only thing I do schedule any more are our doctor, dentist, and vet appointments. And the occasional service appointments (plumber, electrician, termite control, etc.). And I try to do my school work in the mornings before hubby gets up and turns on the (UGH!) news.
That said, The planner looks like a fun project. I really need to journal more – especially while I’m trying to find links between Ducky’s anxieties and her daddy’s OCD flare-ups.
Maggie
Oh, my gosh. Scheduling all that schoolwork must be a TON with all you have going on. It sounds like you’re a morning person, though. That’s so amazing!
I’m using this as sort of a scrapbook/journal/memory keeper for the dogs, which is really fun. I’m trying to capture the “little” stuff, those things that I probably wouldn’t remember a year from now without it. We’ll see how it goes since I’m not super artsy! 🙂
Christopher
I like taking notes and reminders in my journal, but this idea is great and nice. Thanks for sharing
Maggie
I’m such a note-taker. If something isn’t written down, it’s gone forever. That said, I’m approaching this project as a creative endeavor, more for capturing memories than truly planning. Glad you like the project! Hope you take part!
Golden Daily Scoop
Your planner looks great! I am so happy I came across this project on Jodi’s Facebook page! I am constantly writing things down, making lists and trying all different ways to stay organized when it comes to my dogs and blogging. And I love that I can keep everything in one place. These Happy Planners are amazing and addicting! Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂 – Kristy
Jan Van Patten
Thanks!