Planning Ahead for the Year

Each year us parents always make claims to make it the best year ever. But most of us fail on planning ahead for the year! Here are some ways on planning ahead to create that best year ever!

Planning ahead for the year can seem daunting because so many things can change in a year!

Things come up and things change as the year goes on! But regardless, there are some things that can help you with planning ahead no matter what the year brings.

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A lot of people also start the year strong on planning ahead but then fall off the wagon around March. These tips will help you stay consistent for the whole year.

Get a Cute Planner

A cute planner means you are more likely to use it daily or weekly depending on what type of scheduler you are. Here are my favorite planners.

Also get a few different versions of planners if you aren’t sure what you like. This way you can test out a few different ones.

I also keep my personal calendar stuff and work stuff separate. I usually keep my personal and family stuff in my phone calendar color coded for different categories/members.

Then I keep a written planner for work stuff. This way I can keep most things out of my head and written down to keep me on track.

Set Short Realistic Goals

Setting realistic goals will also keep you motivated for planning ahead year round.

If you plan too far in advance you might overwhelm yourself and then fall off the planning ahead train.

Plan only a week or two ahead. Obviously if things like business meetings or family appointments are planned further out, then write those down of course.

Writing events in the calendar is not really planning ahead. Planning ahead for those events save for a week in advance.

Plan Accordingly

Planning things too far in advance can be overwhelming and then you can also give yourself too much time to change your mind over and over.

Plan for whatever event or work item you need to within one week. If you can, plan for two weeks out. This way you can have a fresh mind and not be thinking about things months from now.

This is clearly dependent on whatever job you have. Some jobs require you to plan months in advance, just like some events like weddings.

But what I mean by planning ahead accordingly is, if you know you have to send out save the dates in three months and get your dress altered within the next month, get the dress handled before the save the dates because those have time to send out.

Categorize Your Work

Just like I mentioned earlier about how I use different colors to coordinate each family member or categories like school or paydays, use categories to plan ahead work stuff.

For example, I have three different colors I use in my written work planner to organize and categorize my work. I use blue for blog related things, I use pink for social media related things, and I use purple for sponsored items and affiliate link posts or things I need to get done.

This way I can clearly see in my planner what category I need to accomplish that day and I’m not overwhelmed by what may seem like a huge to-do list if it is broken up by color.

I also use apps to help me stay on track and organized. For example, I use Planoly for my social media content scheduling and creating.

It is all about tricking your mind into staying calm and not getting overwhelmed. This will keep you from giving up mid way through the year!

Check Yourself

Make sure and give yourself a reality gut check. Or have a family member or friend do it for you.

This way you are held accountable plus it will help you stay with the planning ahead for the whole year.

Make sure you aren’t going too far ahead in your year. Yes it is fun to dream big and plan super fun events, but you have to balance that with the daily grind of it all.

But also reality check yourself to make sure you are giving yourself some self love and care once in awhile. Make sure you are taking time for your family, your kids, and yourself.

This way you know you are living your best life and balancing life equally. Sure some things will give every once in awhile but in order to stay organized and planning ahead, you need to give yourself rest days. This will help avoid mom burnout.

The main take away from learning planning ahead for a well balanced and successful year, is to just gain some sort of control. Whether that is finally separating work and home life or it is color coding to keep your mind at ease, the main thing is to just start.