Hello lovelies, and a happy new year to you! For me, 2015 is shaping up to be full of creative challenges, so I decided to create something not only close to my heart, but something that can hopefully be helpful to you as well. Goal setting, prioritizing and an achievement-based work process can be kind of tricky, so I came up with a system to help me, and you set up projects, set goals and deadlines, all in the name of making the most of this year! I've written a short introduction on how the system I'm using works, the guide on how to's and further tips are down below, enjoy :)What it is:
I came up with the name "Design your life", since, essentially, it is what we all do, weather or not you think of yourself as a creative person, you still seek ways and tools that help you organize your projects and your daily life. This can be a colorful planner full of your own ideas and doodles, or just a bullet-pointed list you've printed off, but in our own ways, we try to find the planning resources tailored to fit our needs - and "tailored to fit" is probably the key phrase in effective planning, I'll tell you why:
Why it works:
We're all guilty of getting those cute sticky notes from the dollar bin or purchasing that colorful notebook even though we have no idea what we're going to do with it. I have no doubt that for some of us, colorful and cute stationery can be a big help in prompting us to work. If you have some sort of planner or at least need/like to write down everything on paper, chances are, you're a visual person. This is why the idea of work planned with the notion that while doing it, you can use something visually pleasing is more exciting than just using that blank sheet of paper. You can start to see what I'm getting at, right?
So here is Design Your Life. Take it as a challenge, take it as a prompt or take it as a helpful guide to achieve peace of mind, knowing that your life and work is on track this year. The plan is this: I'll be creating a #designyourlife post every month of this year, and each post will contain resources and tips regarding project planning, personal planning and everything in between. Some examples of what I'll be sharing with you: 2015 year at a glance planner insert, 2015 month at a glance inserts, freebie filofax dividers and much more, obviously paired with the designs you've already gotten familiar with, here on Black Forest Designs :) Here's the calendar of what I had planned for this series, with a planning prompt each month and a printable freebie which you can use in your filofax!
Excited yet? I know I am :) This month's topic is, of course, new year's resolutions, or better yet, 2015's goals lists! If you're on my mailing list, you've already been sent my #designyourlife 2015 new year's resolutions printable, if not, take a minute to subscribe.
To start off the Design your life challenge, complete your 2015 goal list! You can print it off and take a photo of your complete list, or fill it in digitally, hell, you can even use another printable or just write down your goals on a blank piece of paper. The only "rule" is, if you want to take part in the challenge, is to upload your completed list to facebook with the hashtag designyourlife (#designyourlife), this way, we all can see each other's lists and we can participate in this together. Have fun with it and stay tuned this week for some chit-chat on prioritizing, as well as your free printable priority list! Don't forget to subscribe and I'll see you later!
