As a slow learner and a self-proclaimed know-it-all (a lethal combination), I was very delayed in joining the Planning Movement. When I learned about all the different planners and stickers and pens and journals and washi tape and everything, I mocked it, not knowing what planning actually meant.
To me, planning meant I would fill my to-do list from top to bottom and schedule my days with all my appointments, meetings, and volunteer commitments.
I wasn’t spending any time with my kids (let alone meaningful time). I was constantly biting my husband’s head off because I thought he didn’t understand the pressures I was under.
He would look at my fully packed calendar and say, “You can’t do all of this. You have no down time.”
And I would snap back, “But I have to do it all. It’s my job.” He would shake his head and clamp his mouth shut knowing there was no reasoning with me.
For the longest time, I thought that I didn’t even have the time to make a plan.
Until suddenly, one day, when I was listening to Melissa Kaiserman talk about how she organizes her family’s life, I got it. It clicked and I dove head first into planning mania.
It has changed my relationship with my work, my husband and my kids. If you are feeling overwhelmed like I was, maybe you want to give planning a try.
To begin we need to ask ourselves just two questions:
Why do we need to plan and How do we plan?
The Why: Priorities
Each of us has different priorities and motivations, but we all want to make the most of our time. I learned from two other Brilliant Business Moms how they decided priorities and planned for their lives.
Carol Paul of The Clean Team
Carol is a mom who has multiple businesses including The Clean Team and rental properties. She just recently retired from running Coach Woottens Basketball Camp.
Carol’s Priorities are
- Spouse & kids
- Volunteering
- Business
- Self-care (working out, healthy cooking, etc)
- Thrift store shopping
- Socializing
I love that she put things she loves on there that energize her so it’s not all work. I love that she is prioritizing some fun in her life.
At the end of the day, her goals are confident children, a close family and a wonderful relationship with her spouse. When goals and priorities line up like Carol’s do, it makes planning much easier.
Carol’s organization system is pretty unique in that it works well for her family and her business.
Sarah Baehr of Organizing Less (in the start-up phase)
Sarah is a mom who is just starting her own blog. She wants to be a resource for moms to inspire them to nurture happy, healthy families.
Sarah’s priorities are:
- Faith
- Family
- Business
- Personal Development
Sarah sees that she is in for the long haul and wants to grow as her family and business grows. I’m so glad that she realizes that is necessary to plan for personal growth.
Sarah lives her life with the mantra, “Find your happy.” She recognizes that there are so many things to be thankful for and happy about even in tough situations. It also challenges her to work towards her goals because achieving them brings her happiness.
Gianna Kordatzky of Family Fun Twin Cities
As one of the co-founders of of Family Fun Twin Cities, I have been known to struggle with how to do everything I want to do. Then one day when I was going through my Brilliant Business Planner, I realized that something that matters to me a ton–friends–wasn’t even in my top five passions.
My priorities now are
- My relationship with Jesus
- My relationship with my husband
- My relationship with my kids
- My health (which includes my friendships)
- Family Fun Twin Cities
At the end of the day, I want to have listened and cared for others while being authentic.
The How: Personalities
On The Smart Passive Income Podcast Episode 210, Pat Flynn interviewed Dana Malstaff from Boss-Moms. She said something profound that caused me to stop.
“I came up with what I call the One Bucket Method. We put all our priorities and ideas for our families in a bucket. And we put all our priorities and ideas for our business in another bucket, so we have two buckets. But there’s only one of us, so we end up having multiple full buckets and not enough time and just a lot of stress and anxiety.We use the one bucket method because every single thing in our life is just part of one life….All the things you do in your family and the things you do in your business can feed into each other…can help each other grow…”
Planning systems are more about your goals than your supplies. Here’s what Carol and Sarah said.
Carol’s Personality
How do you organize your priorities (what is your planning system?)
- I mix my priorities all the time…
-I involve my spouse and kids in my volunteering work
-My kids work for my business
-My family works out & cooks together
-I socialize with co-workers and volunteer with friends
-I make my work environment and volunteer meetings very social
-I make sure my volunteer work helps my business and vice versa
- The more I have to do, the more I get done – “it’s not what’s on your plate… it’s how strong your plate is”… if we have a strong base, we can take on anything!
- I am always running a huge event (silent auctions, school carnivals, Christmas bazaars, etc) as well as running my business. For a few years I even ran a weekly youth group in addition to running my basketball camp and raising my 4 kids. To keep “my plate” strong and my priorities in order, I started Team Clean in 2000. My husband, four kids and I have cleaned our house as a TEAM once a week (Thursday night!) for 16 years now… without ever skipping a week. We end with a family night every time. We started when they were ages 4-13.
What are the strengths of your system?
- Eliminates stress
- Gets the house clean
- Teaches everyone in the house where things go, how to clean, responsibility, harmony, organization, self discipline, etc.
- Nobody feels the sole burden of the household responsibilities
- Ensures you spend family time each week, so you don’t look back and have regrets!
What are the weaknesses?
In the beginning a parent has to be patient as they teach a child to do a job that they could actually do faster themselves…so the start up is hard on Mom and Dad.
Sarah’s Personality
How do you organize your priorities
I review my master list of passions which are broken down into goals and then to do lists (for each passion).
Then, I add those smaller goals and tasks to appropriate places in my planner (such as my monthly, weekly and daily pages).
Color coding system– I use it to keep track of which tasks are urgent, high priority, and low priority for each day, along with a color coding system for each family member.
What are the strengths of your system?
My system keeps me intentional with my time. It also helps me quickly and easily build my weekly and daily to do list based on my large goals and the areas of passion I am currently pursuing, so I stay on track with what I want to accomplish by a certain date.
What are the weaknesses?
It can be overwhelming when I look at my long to do lists for all these areas in my life. I also get anxious about completing certain goals/tasks when I look at the big picture. I have to remind myself I will get there when the time is right.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve been give that helps you when you are overwhelmed?
Take it one day at a time, one task at a time.
Gianna’s Personality
How do you organize your priorities?
Every week, I sit down and do a brain dump on paper. I unload everything that is on my mind and on my calendar. I plot every appointment I have on my Brilliant Business Planner. I then determine what parts of the day are dedicated to work and which to my family/health.
When I am done with the week’s overview, I move to my bullet journal. Each day I draw myself a plan. Sometimes I take a page for an entire day, and other times I make a weekly spread over two pages.
I prioritize into three major categories in my life: health, to do’s and to go’s.
At the top, I write down my exercise for the day, my hydration chart and our meal plan for supper.
Next I write my to-do list. Sometimes I have to move something from the previous day to this day or assign it to a different day completely
Finally, I write down my appointments and meetings. It’s another way to remind myself to be aware of the time.
What are the strengths of your system?
With all the writing and rewriting I do, it’s hard to forget my goals. I get to be a little creative or a lot creative during the planning process and it’s fun.
What are the weaknesses?
It’s takes up a lot of space, and I can forget where I wrote something down. Also, sometimes I have more fun planning than executing the plan.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve been give that helps you when you are overwhelmed?
Stop! Take a deep breath. Walk away for five minutes. Come back with some fresh air in your lungs and pick up where you left off.
Nobody’s planning methods are exactly the same. We have to work out the system that works best for ourselves and our families. But I do promise it is possible and you will be glad you did it!
Gianna Kordatzky identifies as a follower of Jesus, a wife to Chris, a mom to four blonde balls of energy and a co-founder of Family Fun Twin Cities. She loves to serve families and does it in a variety of ways: through Family Fun Twin Cities, a crisis pregnancy center in town, and overseas to international families working for non-profit organizations. She loves to connect with people and encourage them in their life journey!
