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I began my career working from home right after my daughter was born, over four years ago. Before that, I worked in a traditional office setting for 8 years as a married woman with no kids. To say that trading in my panty hose and office setting was a transition, is a huge understatement. I was more than ready for a change, especially since it meant I could stay at home with my new baby, but it didn’t come without it’s challenges.
Perhaps the two biggest obstacles to overcome was learning to separate my work and home life (especially now that they literally resided in the same space) and staying organized about both. When I worked in an office, heading home for the day literally stopped my work from continuing. And having my business and personal appointments kept separate was so easy because I had a work computer and calendar, and the same for my personal items. Today, I’ve figured out that keeping a planner to organize both aspect of my life is the key to staying organized as a work from home mom.
There are so many types of planners available now, especially in the digital realm. However, I like to stick with paper planners because it’s easier for me to flip a page then have to scroll trying to find what I want. In collaboration with Purple Trail, I received a planner to keep me organized and to provide an honest review. My Purple Trail planner arrived in such a cute package that I had to take a picture! How cute is that packing tape?
Upon opening, it was obvious that my planner was wrapped with care. It was packed in bubble wrap and then in a sheet of brown packing paper for extra security.
I loved the personal touch that this note added. A sweet thank you note also detailed the specifications of my planner, and the back included ways to share my planner with the Purple Trail social media team. So cute and thoughtful!
There are TONS of options for personalizing your own planner on Purple Trail. Not only can you pick from roughly 100 cover choices, you can also pick between colorful or black and white interior pages, two sizes, three cover options and also whether you want to organize by daily, weekly or monthly views. I personally like to have a large calendar for each month, and then two pages per week so I can write down more appointments. This cover is the Vintage Rose, because I love all the florals!
One of the great things about this Purple Trail planner, is that I was able to choose the start month- I didn’t automatically have to start in January. This was a perfect option for me because currently, I have a mid-year planner that ends in June. That means, I started my new planner in July, which was something I was having a hard time finding. Most planners are a typical calendar year but now I don’t have to waste half of the year!
One of my favorite parts of the daily Purple Trail planner is that each month begins with a summary sheet. You can write down all the birthdays, events and other things to remember as soon as you think of them. Sure, you can also write these things down on the calendar or in the daily pages, but it helps to write them here so you don’t forget before you plan your month in greater detail.
This is the monthly view and I love that it spans the entire two pages. This was the main reason I went with the 8.5×11 sized planner- I need tons of room! I particularly like the notes section on the far right of each page. This is where I like to note all my bills need to be paid each month and I like that I don’t have to take up space on a particular day, that I could otherwise use for playdates, etc.Some of the other things I love about this planner are the double sided, laminated tabs. It makes flipping to each month super easy. I also LOVE the thick paper because I can use either pens are markers to make notes and there’s no bleeding through the pages!
Ok! On to actually using my planner. Because it starts in July of this year, I’ve been only able to start planning my big picture obligations, as opposed to jumping in and using it right away. But, since I’m a mom, that means I also have plenty of things to plan since it will be summer and I want us to stay busy. Starting in July, I was able to pin down important dates already (ahem, my birthday), VBS for my four year old, and some traveling that my husband will be doing.
I always love the option to personalize and add color to any of my projects, and my planner is no different. I love using stickers and washi tape, and apparently I have instilled this in my daughter. She likes to add her own stickers to an old planner of mine and I do have to say- she’s so darn cute!
I can’t wait until I have more of a full calendar so I can add more stickers! In the meantime, I’m so relieved to have found a planner that I can start using, instead of piling on the sticky notes all over the remnants of my ’16-’17 planner.
I’ve tried many a planner in my years and I have to say this Purple Trail version ranks at the top of my list! I love the ability to completely personalize, the large space to plan and write and the size. Suddenly, trying to balance my work and personal life doesn’t seem so daunting.
If you are ANY type of mom, whether you work from home, at the office or you are a stay at home mom, having a planner will benefit you in many ways. Not only will you keep your appointments straight, I think you’ll find you have more time than you thought you did to plan with your kids and partner. Don’t let weeks go by without a date with your husband, or special one on one time with each of your kids. Instead of your life running you into the ground with stress, I think you’ll find that having a planner (and actually using it!) will give you more freedom than you thought possible!
This planner was provided to me free of charge for my honest review.