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Morning Routine|Free Printable

“Behind every impossible achievement is a dreamer of impossible dreams.” -Robert K. Greenleaf

“Your brain has the ability to change and develop physiologically, and it does so based on how you use it. You have the ability to strengthen and develop your brain by thinking about a compelling future for yourself, by regularly and repeatedly thinking about an inspiring vision where you emotionally connect with the life you desire. You can train your brain to act on your vision just by thinking about it. The first step is creating an inspiring vision and learning how to stay connected with it.” – from 12 Week Year

For me, training my brain to act on my vision is found in the routines. We are creatures of habit and as Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right.”

What you think about – you bring about!

This happens whether you are being intentional with your thoughts and actions, as with following a morning routine, for example. Or whether you are unintentional with your thoughts and actions, which by the way turn in to habits…

the habit of sleeping in because you can …

the habit of taking a shower whenever you think about it …

the habit of sitting on the couch all day, because “Why not? I have no where to go.”…

the habit of self-imposed isolation which can and does, lead to depression.

For the 31 Days of Planner Fun Challenge, I am sharing my morning routine with you here along with a free printable you can use in your planner to help you get started with creating your own morning routine. Or if you already have one, perhaps this can help you keep it front and center whether you actually place it in your planner or hang it on your wall next to your bed so you see it each morning (I may or may not do this) 🙂

I find scheduling my morning routine into my planner helps me stay accountable to myself, my vision. The truth is, whether you have a morning routine or not, your body and life will show it. Having a routine will help your brain TRUST that you will take care of it…this goes for other routines as well, evening and sleep routines, work routines, family obligations and chore routines, the list can go on and on.

When your brain trusts you, it is free to turn off the “flight or fight” survival mode and focus on strengthening and growing in the areas you are being intentional about. Your vision and goals become a reality when you are less stressed or have an effective routine for dealing with stress.

A morning routine can help to start the day in an optimal state. I focus my routine on three areas of my life, Being, Body, Brain. Actually, all of my planning and routines revolve around these three categories.

When I am consistent with my routine, I am more alert, engaged, productive and able to handle the stressors of life. Because let’s face it, stress happens but how we respond to stress determines the outcome.

Download your FREE PRINTABLE here and tag me on social media with how you are implementing it.

Join me this month for all things planner related, OneBookJuly2018 and 31 Days of Planner Fun on social media at:

Facebook and Instagram as @theorganizedmiss

YouTube @Deanna – The Organized Miss and check out

It’s time for One Book July !!

HIP HIP HOORAY!! If you are not cheering along, it may be because you have no idea what I am talking about…Read this history of One Book July that will get you up to speed with this year.

Allow me to be the first, or the first of many, to welcome and introduce you to this wonderful, one month experiment that will help you organize, categorize, calendarize and all around improve productivity!

I will be sharing my journey, using a #bilateralplanning approach, along the way.

Whether you are already well ensconced in a system that works for you, or your system is made up of a thousand pieces of paper and post it notes, I believe One Book July will teach you something new about yourself and your planning routine!

I am excited to see what I learn through the experiement of One Book July this year!

Are you planning on participating? Please find me on social media and tag me, I would love to see what you are doing!

One Book July 2017 – Review of Week 2

This week found me a tad bit busier than last week and not feeling 100% but I was able to stay on task, due to prior planning, and get the things done (in a timely manner) that needed to be accomplished. I didn’t get many personal things checked off my to do list but that’s okay with me. This week highlighted the importance of having a flexible planning system.

Observations and changes made this week:

The first and most recognizable change for me this week is the TN cover itself. I have been struggling with the LOVELY TPS Floral TN since my initial set up. While I love, love, love it, the 1.5″ spine is just a little too small for my needs right now.

I am using my One Book July to experiment with tracking all of the things that need to be done this month, both personal and professional. As the festival and pageant are at the end of July and the first week of August, I have little to do and lots of time to do it…STRIKE THAT, reverse it!

The next change I have made is the addition of a dump book. I have one dedicated to all the details that I need to stay on top of this month in preparation for the festival and pageant, however, I didn’t have something to capture all the other items. So, I dedicated some of my self-care time to creating an insert and have already started collecting items to be organized after my Incompletion Trigger List review.

My weekly spread is where the “work” gets done in my One Book July. I noticed that I didn’t consistently use my dailies but went back and filled in what I accomplished, instead of using it for pre-planning. I used stickers to create “word pictures” to help with my memory and this resulted in aiding my recall. Therefore, I have decided to pre-set up my dailies this week. Let’s see how that works for me. I have had a new memory and discovered a 20 year gap…this blank spaces do not mean I don’t remember anything for those 20 years, but rather all instances relating to a specific memory group (i.e. an annual picnic that I have no memories of or the location it has been held in, although I apparently have attended it numerous times). This leads me to look for ways to re-associate people, places, and things in hopes of being able to access the memories eventually. So, I am attempting to use more stickers in my planning routine to create word pictures in my mind. Well, see how this works. This week will be the first time I include the sticker associations in the “guts” of my planning and I am hopeful I can report a success next week!

This Michael’s Recollection’s Hourly Vertical Planner sits on my desk and does double duty as my memory planner.

This is the weekly box spread in my One Book July and functions as a weekly overview of my events and appointments using pictures.

This is a printable from Ray Blake at My Life All In One Place and functions as the “guts” of my planning. I have not previously utilized stickers in this section as it houses tasks…this is where I take my “To Do’s” to “To Done” and document any changes to my planned schedule of events with actual events.

Finally, I have decided to set up my dailies for the week to see how I can better utilize them in the TN. However, I typically use my hourly planner for itemizing the details of my white spaces.

How are you using your One Book July? What have you learned so far? I would love to know how has this “experiment” helped you stay on track to reach your goals.

See you next week!

Week One – One Book July 2017

This week was a week of trial and error…more error than trial! I found that my TPS Pocket TN with 1.5″ spine was a little too crowded. I experimented by making a laminated TN cover with a 2″ spine and transferred the interior of my One Book July 2017 into it.

What I have learned this week … (be sure and check out my video)

I quickly discovered that it had the perfect amount of room for me but I did not like the feel of the laminate as my everyday carry, so within one day I was back into TPS TN.
I did try putting the TN inserts into a ‘B6″ size that I already owned after seeing a fellow OneBookJuly YouTuber try it and while it may work for me if I have a 2″ reinforced spine, the TN I have right now did not accommodate the pocket-sized inserts very well.
I removed one insert, and to be honest, I can’t remember what it was supposed to be used for as I was not using it, don’t miss it and can’t recall what it was!
As of right now, I believe I will be staying in the 1.5″ spine pocket-sized Tn through the month but will start investigating TN’s with 2″ reinforced spines in the pocket and B6 sizes.

Oh, I almost forgot, while at a work-related business meeting, the woman I was supposed to meet walked up to me and said, “You have a traveler’s notebook, you must be a planner girl!” I was so excited to know how far this community reaches, and the joy it brings us “planners” right here in my small town.

How is One Book July going for you? What have you learned this week? Are you participating in the “Go Big or Go Home” version of the challenge? Look me up on social media or YouTube and say ‘Hi’ – I’d love to know what goals you are working towards and how your #onebookjuly2017 is going.

Happy Planning!

The SetUp

After initial research into how I am going to structure my planner for One Book July 2017, I have decided to transfer all of my necessary planning and project management into a pocket-sized TN (traveler’s notebook) from The Planner Society.

Behind the scenes of my YouTube setup video

The OnebookJuly2017 Challenge is to use One Book and One Pen for One Month. However, there are no rules save for the rules you may set for yourself. The goal, as I understand it, is to “get back to basics” and streamline or in some cases, learn what you need to be successful in your planning routine.

Since I am a goal planner, I have included my current projects in each area (Being, Body, Brain) to help me reach my goals. My goal for One Book July is to streamline all of my planners into one carry along planner/wallet that I can have to track EVERYTHING! In order to keep moving forward, I need to assess where I am in any given project, once I evaluate my progress I can decide if I need to make changes or not.

What I have learned so far:

Sometimes, I can not focus and am easily distracted. When this happens I need to step away and do something else, usually a craft project, like mixed media to help my mind get clear and refocus. Then I can come back to the task at hand. It is helpful to know this about myself because I don’t get as discouraged and take a long leave of absence from my goals.
When I am riding the struggle bus, I need my planning system to have a structure and functional form to help me stay focused and follow my plan.
When I am hyperfocused, I need the real-estate that white space provides.
Having this self-knowledge is helpful in knowing which system to work out of at a given time to help me keep moving toward my goals instead of getting frustrated and giving up.

Knowing how you operate and researching the tools to help you is key to setting yourself up for success.

Visit my Resources page to find the inserts I am testing as well as other valuable information I will add from time to time.

See you next week for an update to One Book July 2017 !!

One Book July 2017

Organizing thoughts into SMART actionable goals and planning them can be a daunting task for some…I know because it can be for me. So, when I learned of the ‘One Book July’ challenge from Carie of Paper Planning Magazine I knew I had found a challenge that would help me accomplish my goal of streamlining the systems I use for project tracking.

Prior to December of 2016, I had no knowledge of the planner community. I have used a basic calendar system for scheduling and tracking appointments and events and a plethora of spiral bound notebooks and legal pads for collecting information and (trying to keep track of) projects. Enter memory loss and accompanying challenges stage right. Approximately 3-4 years ago, I suffered multiple seizure/stroke-like episodes that resulted in three hospitalizations and many lost memories. The good news was that I had no idea what I didn’t know, the bad news was that it was reoccurring and lasted for a couple of years. In addition to losing the ability to read, write, count, cook, and a whole host of other activities that I had previously taken for granted, this left me unable to track time. Once I started getting some memories back, I struggled with extreme anxiety as one memory at a time would slowly come back. Also, I faced the realization that I did not know how long it had been since the last time I knew what date it was…(does that make sense when you read it?). I would have periods of time, that I could not track or account for. I would wake up some days and have no idea how many days had passed since what seemed to me was yesterday but a year ago to the rest of the world.

As I began being able to consistently keep track of time again, my anxiety about forgetting again increased and I began using a ‘planner’ (read: any notebook I could find that day). Fast forward to December and my little sister introducing me to the planner world on YouTube!! Cue: Overhead spotlights and the heavenly choir.

As my brain has continued to heal, I have begun the process of reentering life again, taking on projects with gusto, and spending more hours than seems rational watching YouTube videos.

Follow along on my One Book July 2017 challenge as I create a workable system for me and perhaps pick up a tip or two that you can incorporate into your own goal planning routine.