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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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Using 2 Planners / My Planning Routine

September 26, 2017 by Taylor 6 Comments

Using 2 Planners + My Planning Routine - Espresso and Ambition

If you haven’t already figured out, my planner is basically my most prized possession. Correction: my *planners* are my prized possessions. As I mentioned in my Picking a Planner post back in July, I’m currently using two planners at once: my Day Designer and a bullet journal.

I’ve actually gotten a number of questions from people about how I manage to keep track of two separate planners and why I even bother going to all of that trouble – my favorite iteration of this was “do you ever get behind on your schedule because you’re coloring in those little boxes?” (In case you were wondering, the answer’s no; I usually designate the first and last 10 minutes of my day to getting my planners together.)

Anyways, for today’s post, I thought it’d be fun to walk through my planning process and show how I’m able to use two planners to maximize my productivity and organization. Between a blog, work, school, an internship, and clubs, staying on top of everything is key.

 

Yearly, Monthly, Weekly, Daily

The main reason that using 2 planners works so well for me is that the planners themselves don’t really overlap. My Day Designer has a monthly spread and daily pages, while my bullet journal has a yearly overview and two weekly spreads. This means that there isn’t a ton of unnecessary overlap – having these different spreads means that I can see my life planned out in a variety of perspectives. I’ve got the zoomed-in version in my daily pages, and the zoomed-out version in my yearly pages. It’s just different enough to be valuable.

 

Portable and Not-So-Portable

Despite having two planners, I only carry one around with me. Since my Day Designer is kind of bulky (and also so pretty that I’m scared of it getting messed up in a bag), it lives on my desk. I keep the page of the day facing up so that every time I sit at my desk or pass by it I’m reminded of what needs to get done. My bullet journal, on the other hand, goes everywhere with me. It’s a much more portable size, which is incredibly helpful when you’re carrying a heavy backpack everywhere.

 

Weekly Planning

Using 2 Planners + My Planning Routine - Espresso and Ambition

The only major weekly planning thing I do is my bullet journal layout. I’ll usually plan to spend about 15-20 minutes getting the whole layout set up, and then I’m good to go for the rest of the week. When I do this, I also like to write in all of my to-do’s for the week that I already know about – it makes planning out what needs to get done on a day-to-day basis so much easier.

 

Daily Planning Routine, Step 1

Using 2 Planners + My Planning Routine - Espresso and Ambition

I like to do my planning either right before I go to bed or first thing in the morning. It usually depends on my schedule – if I have an early morning workout class, planning gets done at night; if I have a more leisurely morning, I like sitting down in from of my planners with a cup of coffee to get me going. I start a planning session with my Day Designer. The Day Designer website has a much more detailed method of planning out your day, but my routine is pretty simple. I write out what I’ve got scheduled for the day on the left, and fill in my to-do list on the right. Then, I pick my top 3 to-do’s and write those in. I now have a clear strategy of what I need to put into my bullet journal.

 

Daily Planning Routine, Step 2

Using 2 Planners + My Planning Routine - Espresso and Ambition

Now I go into my bullet journal. Much like my Day Designer, my bullet journal breaks things down by hour. However, I use my bullet journal to track tasks instead. For example, if I know that I’m planning to work on homework from 6-9, I’ll write that in my Day Designer just like that. In my bullet journal, I break it down by task. I’ll spend the first hour working on an assignment for economics, and the second and third hours working on my public relations campaign. This keeps me productive and prevents me from sitting down to do work and getting overwhelmed because I don’t know where to start.

 

Since I carry my bullet journal with me as well, I’ll also update it throughout the day. I’m a huge fan of this system and it really helps me feel like my life is more put-together. Juggling everything that I do is definitely a balancing act, but having two planners to record everything saves me time and time again.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Organization

Comments

  1. Cecilia says

    September 26, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    I love reading the different ways people plan! I personally use a bullet journal & it’s my absolute favorite. Thanks for sharing how you organize yours!

    Reply
  2. Kasia says

    September 26, 2017 at 2:27 pm

    I’ve always wanted to try a bullet journal (let’s be real I’m OBSESSED with planners too!!!) but I’m super intimidated/don’t know where to start/not really artistic haha But I love the idea behind it and the organization. Any tips on how to just get started with a bullet journal? Thanks girl!!

    Reply
  3. Kayla says

    September 26, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    I have SUCH bullet journal envy! I totally failed at BJ-ing but I use a paper and pen planner for big commitments like if I have tickets to a concert or a doctors appointment. I think write out a weekly and daily to-do list. During especially crazy weeks I’ll use g-cal to visualize my day hour-by-hour.

    Reply
  4. Caitlin says

    September 26, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    I just started a bullet journal and after using so many different planners, I’m finding the bullet journal is so much more flexible with my schedule. This is such a helpful post and I know I’ll be referencing it! Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Emily says

    September 28, 2017 at 8:28 am

    Loved this! I love seeing other people’s planners. What highlighters do you use in the day designer? Also, unrelated to this, but I say in your LSAT post where you used the powerscore self study method. Did you buy all 9 books, just the bibles, or some of each?

    Reply
    • Taylor says

      September 28, 2017 at 11:36 am

      I use Mildliner highlighters! I think they’re linked on one of my bullet journal posts 🙂 also, I bought all 9 books but honestly didn’t use the workbooks all that much – the bibles and the type training books were so useful though!!

      Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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