My fiance’s and my entire life is in a spiral notebook. No, it’s not a diary. It’s our weekly planning notebook. This has seriously been a huge game changer for us. We now know what we need to get done for the week, what food we’ll eat, where we’ve each committed to be, etc. If you have a busy schedule (or two) to manage, I could not recommend a system like this more, and that’s why I’m sharing how we do it! Obviously, your life is different and what works for us may not work for everyone. I encourage you to use it as a jumping off point as you work on creating the perfect system for you.

1. Commit to a time to sit down and plan every week. James and I both know that on Sundays we sit down to plan, so we always make sure to have time for it. Try to pick a time and day that work for you every week. You’re never going to just have free time that you’ll want to sit down and organize in, so make sure to plan for it every week so it happens.
2. Review what you needed to get done last week that you didn’t. Take a minute to celebrate everything that you did accomplish, but also make a list of what you didn’t get done and put it at the top of the to-do list this week.
3. Make a list of everything else that you need to get done. If you have errands to run, projects that need to get done, or any other commitments, list those out. I find that if it doesn’t make it on my list, it doesn’t get done.
4. Pull up a calendar. Write down any meetings, appointments, and anything else you may have scheduled for the week. Add in when you plan to accomplish the items on your to-do list, and any other goals you may have.  If you plan to go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, write it down!  Also be sure to schedule in some time just for you to relax. You can always switch your schedule around, but it should be a pretty good indicator of what you’ll do every day.
5. If you have any big goals, such as going to the gym or going to bed early, set a reward for them! This will keep you accountable and motivated to accomplish the things you want to.
6. Meal plan for the week. This is maybe the most intimidating step, but it doesn’t have to be! We do leftovers or batched meals for lunches, so we just plan 5-6 dinners a week (and eat out the other days). It’s really not that hard to plan 5 meals. Take a look in your fridge or in your grocery store’s ads for what may be on sale, and then hit up Pinterest. Search for “chicken dinners” or “vegetarian meals” or whatever you need, and you’ll find a lot of great ideas. Be sure to pin the recipes so you can find them again! Be sure to fit your meal plan to your daily schedule. If you have a lot to do one day, maybe plan on sometime simple and quick. If you want to make a big meal, do it on your least busy day. It’ll save you a lot of hassle and make sure that you can actually stick to your plan.
7. Make a grocery list. We go to the grocery store once a week (why doesn’t produce last longer?) and so we just do it on Monday with the grocery list we put together the night before. While you have your meal plan, just write down anything you may need to buy for those meals. Then take a glance at your schedule and add anything you may need for breakfasts, lunch, or snacks throughout the week. I’ve found that shopping like this helps me to actually get everything I need and not have to make another trip.
8. Relax. It always feels like a big deal to have such an intense planning session, so we chill after. This step is optional, but I highly recommend getting some dessert, watching a movie, or whatever you like to do to celebrate your accomplishment.

There you have it. I’m so serious that this has changed our lives and made us much more organized people. And being organized truly is being happy, y’all. It is so nice to know what to make for dinner and where I’m supposed to be every day. I really hope something like this works for you too and you can see a huge difference in your life as well!

Do you do something similar? How do you organize and prepare? I’d love to hear about because we’re always looking for ways to better our system.