Blog Archives

A Simple, Happy Valentines Day

2/14/2018

So I was going to write this high falootin’ blog about the commercialization of Valentines Day by the greeting card industry and the candy industry and the restaurant industry and the .....

And how we should embrace a simpler, more heartfelt expression of our love for our special someones. And how we should be expressing our love everyday through acts of compassion and kindness.

All that is what I truly believe. But you know what? I don’t want to contribute another blog post to the World Wide Web that tells you how to live your life and what you “should” be doing and what you “shouldn’t” be doing. It’s your life. Do what you think is the best version of you.

Be kind.
Be happy.
That’s it.

Oh.... and Happy Valentines Day from my heart to yours. ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for stopping by,
WAML
With All My Love
Laurie

0 Comments

Here's the Thing About Daily Layouts

2/5/2018

1 Comment

Let me just say it.... I feel like a failure. There I said it. Out loud.

Now let me explain. I love old fashioned paper planners. I used them during my corporate America years and I continued to use them when the world switched to digital calendars and planners.

I have always used weekly layouts to see what my week looks like. I have my schedule of appointments and my list of To Dos and my meal planning and my exercise trackers. I may change the weekly layout but it was all there.

But when I started selling notebooks and notebook accessories over on Etsy, I thought I needed more detail and more structure. Because it’s not just selling stuff on Etsy. It’s managing (well, first learning, then managing) social media content, it’s bookkeeping, it’s learning SEO ( crap! I had no idea what Search Engine Optimization was much less how to optimize it, sigh) it’s posting layout ideas.... It’s. So. Much. More!

What better way to keep uber organized than incorporating daily layouts into my planner? So that’s what I did. On Sunday afternoon I would create my weekly layout for the week. Then I would create my daily layout for Monday. I only did one daily layout at a time as things always change. All the things I thought I would get done on Monday probably didn’t get done so I needed to slide the leftovers onto Tuesday. You see how that works, right? So part of Monday evening was laying out Tuesday, part of Tuesday evening was laying out Wednesday, etc. etc. etc.

Since I make notebooks that can be used for planners I put this pressure on myself to try to have beautiful arty layouts like you see all over the web (Pinterest I’m looking at you in particular). I signed up for doodle challenges and handwriting challenges and journaling prompts challenges. All with the best of intentions.

But you know what? When I close up my workspace for the day, I’m done. I want to spend the evening with my family or in pursuit of some of my personal “Intentions” for 2018. And, as I have come to find out, that doesn’t include making a daily layout for the next day.

I lost sight of what a planner really is used for — to keep me organized and help me stay on track and accomplish the things that need to be accomplished. A planner should assist with organization and help minimize stress not cause stress and anxiety.

After beating myself up for a few days I decided to be true to myself. So I’m going back to my very fundamental, very functional weekly layout. There probably won’t be any cute little doodles or fancy calligraphy. There’s bound to be stickie notes and a To Do List a mile long. But you know what? This is what works for me.

So while I will be admiring all those beautiful planner layouts I see on the web and I’ll even be pinning them to my Pinterest boards, I will be using a very minimalist layout to get my sh*t done. And I feel ever so much better about that.

Thanks for stopping by,
Laurie

1 Comment

It's Here!!! Big Sale on Handmade Notebooks

A Simple, Happy Valentines Day

Here's the Thing About Daily Layouts

Categories

Archives