Productive Style

May 1, 2019 Achieving Goals, Get Started Now, Motivation, Planning, Productivity, Ten Minute Plans

How to Get Organized in Less than 3 Minutes! (Free Printable)

Have you every had a week where your head was spinning with the long list of to-dos? Then this post is for you.

Let’s work together and get organized. In this post, I’ll share my favorite new printable to help you get organized and focused on what is most important.

How to Use:

Set a timer for 3 minutes. Take the first 30 seconds to think about and write out the three most important big goals in your life (i.e. Get a degree, organize your home, write a book, find more joy in life). These help set the pace and priority for the rest of the exercise.

Next, take 30 seconds to write down your top motivation. Are you working to be your best self? Are you motivated to succeed for a family member?

Now it’s time to get all those to-dos down on paper. Take about a minute and quickly jot down everything that you know you need to do. Don’t worry if you miss something, you can always add it later!

Finally, let’s get priorities in order. In the final minute, re-read your goals and star items from your to-do list that are either urgent (I have to send in this bill today), or important (writing a chapter on my book). Take those starred items and add them to the urgent and important lists at the bottom of the sheet.

Now, take a deep breath and start to tackle those items in the bottom boxes. Start by knocking out quick urgent items and build from there. Schedule time as best you can for the important items. They help get you closer to your goals and deserve time from you! Good luck and leave a comment to let me know how this works for you!!

Free Printable: MyBestDay_MyPriorities_Teal

Do you want more free printables? Follow along here and on Instagram and Twitter for the latest news!

June 25, 2018 Collections, Daily Spreads, Journal Lists, Journal Spreads, Planning, Productivity, Ten Minute Plans

7 Planner Spreads that Take 10 Minutes or Less (Part 1)

Ten Minute Plans

One of the biggest pain points I’ve heard from those who are starting with planning and journaling is carving out time to plan. Luckily, planning does not have to be time consuming! Over on Instagram I’ve started a new series that features planner spreads that take just 10 minutes or less to create. These are simple, easy to follow planner pages that can help you get started planning. Be sure to follow me over on Instagram so you don’t miss an update.

If you use any of these spread ideas, please post and share! Just tag me/include the #tenminuteplans tag! You may be featured online!

Supplies:

Another trick I’m using for this series to quite literally lighten the load is to work with a limited supply set. I normally carry quite a collection of pens and tools around while I plan. For this series, I’m sticking to the basics:

Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Medium

This is one of my favorite journals to use. I love the dotted pages, the creamy page texture, and the hardcover option for travel and durability!

Tombow Dual Brush Pen

Tombow Pens are great for lettering, filling areas, and doing thick lines. I’m using one color for this series – black. Did you know you can buy colors individually online???

Staedtler Pigment Liner Pens

These are my go-to for water resistant permanent ink. I love the variety of thicknesses offered in this pack!

Helix Angle and Circle Maker

My favorite tool for drawing. You can use it to create circles in a wide variety of sizes. I find it much more accurate than a compass and it allows you to measure angles like a protractor as well. It’s also super portable since it’s flat.

Ruler

Here is one of my favorite rulers. It’s not fancy, but the edge is crisp and lays flat against the page.

Example Spreads

Here is the first set of spreads. I’m so excited to share these. They were all easy to do, take less than ten minutes, and can easily be modified to fit your journal or planner theme! Leave a comment if you like any of these or have spreads you’d like to see posted here!

Day 1: Dreams

Day 2: Tracker Page

Day 3: Daily Memories Spread

Day 4: Circular Schedule Spread

Day 5: Doodled Daily Spread

Day 6: Positivity Tracker

Day 7: Scribbles Daily Page

May 18, 2018 Uncategorized

18 Planning and Journaling Tools to Try Out in 2018

One of my favorite parts of creative planning is all of the wonderful tools and supplies to try out. I’ve always loved art supplies, and the market is exploding with fun pens and stationery. Here are some of my favorites that I’d recommend trying out this year! Click on each to see details.

1. I love the versatility of these watercolor pens (plus they’re great with the brushes below!).

2. If you enjoy watercolor, but would like to make it portable, these pens are fantastic. Fill them with water and go!

3. My first journaling pen set was the 16 pack of Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. These are fantastic, and I soon upgraded to the 36 pack. If you’re looking for ALL-THE-COLORS, check out this 50 pack in a tin case!

4. My go-to favorite for pastel highlights on planner pages are the Zebra Mildliner pens. This set contains all of the old favorites, plus a pack of new colors too!

5. This one is the stand-by leader for brush lettering, or simply adding color to your planner pages. Here is one of the newer color sets (galaxy). The pen tips are tapered and flexible to help create beautifully contoured shapes.

6. Sometimes lettering calls for some highlighting. I love the Pilot gel pens for all the looks they can give! Add a glimmer or make neon-style letters. They just glide over top of other colors and make a fantastic addition to your pen collection.

7. If you want to make a splash of colors, check out the new Tombow TwinTONE marker sets. They come in pastel and bright. These have more rigid tips than the normal Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and have two size nibs for outlining and filling.

8. I love the soft colors that colored pencils can add to my journal. Here is the set to end them all!

9. When I want to create clean, permanent, lines on planner pages, I reach out for these pens. They come in six sizes and I love the travel case.

10. Another tool that I use OFTEN is my Helix Circle and Angle Maker. It helps make a variety of sizes of lovely circles and acts as a protractor too. The middle ring spins to create larger circles.

11. If you’re looking for a great adhesive to add items to your journal, this is a wonderful addition to your arsenal. The glue strips aren’t messy and apply so easily!

12. If you want to get started in lettering this year, this all-in-one kit by Tombow is a great place to begin!

13. I love washi, but sometimes the thicker varities just take up too much space on the page. The thinner rolls are lovely and practical, plus they’re a great price!

14. Anyone use french curves? These architect’s friends are fantastic for creating swirls and borders in your journal!

15. If you’re ready to add some sparkle to your watercolor journal highlights, these are a great place to begin. I love metallic paints!

16. If you love the look of clean lines and shapes, these can help you achieve that quickly and easily. This mega-pack of stencil is made just for journaling.

17. If I’m not reaching for the Zebra Mildliners, these are my next in line choice for highlighting. The pastel colors are gorgeous!

18. Finally, it’s good to find a journal to use! On this one, I’m torn, so there are two options. I’ve always been a die-hard Leuchtturm 1917 fan. The pages feel rich and I love the cream color. I just picked up a Scribbles that Matter though, and I LOVE how well the brighter pages photograph. You can’t go wrong either way!

Note: Some links above are affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through the links here, at no cost to you. These are all products that I use and love, and any purchases made help support my site and newly-found stationary addiction. Thank you so much for your support and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions!

May 16, 2018 Achieving Goals, Goals, Productivity

The 3 Secrets of Successful Goal Setters

Whether it’s a new year’s resolution to write that book or the determination that you’ll finally at long last start a gym routine, everyone has a goal that they would like to achieve. Some people excel at setting and achieving their goals, some have trouble getting started, and some are a mix – achieving goals easily in some areas and falling behind in others. Regardless of which camp you fall into, here are three tried-and-true methods to setting and reaching goals!

1. Be realistic.

While it may not seem fun to set a little goal and achieve it, the biggest goals are not achieved all at once. Set a goal to go to the gym three times THIS week, not 7 days a week for the next 6 months. You’ll start a snowball effect from getting started and continue it as you reach each little (measurable) goal. One trick to make sure that your goal is realistic is to write it down clearly and concisely. Then, step away for at least a day. When you go back to the goal, does it feel doable or does it cause anxiety? If it’s not doable, break it down into smaller pieces, choose one to focus on and repeat. Continue doing this until you have a goal that feels reasonable and motivates you!

2. Have accountability.

As human beings, we are often trained mentally to consider how others view us. This can either cause undue anxiety or can push us to excel. Use this fact to your advantage. Share your goal with someone who will check in on you. If you don’t feel ready yet to share your goal, create a tracker in your planner or journal and mark off each step you take toward it. Regardless, creating a system of accountability to yourself or others will help you keep going!

3. Failure is not a permanent condition.

Of the three secrets here, I’ve found this one is the most important to remember. We can get caught up very easily in what we’ve not been able to do in the past, or where we’ve fallen off the bandwagon. One thing that every successful, goal-achieving person has in common is failure. It is part of success. The difference in those that achieve their goals and those that do not is simple: those that achieve their goals pick up and keep going after failure. Your past failures do NOT define your future self.

Supplies Used:

Staedtler Pigment Liner Pens

Tombow Dual Brush Pens – Bright

Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover Medium Dotted Journal – Sand

Binder Clips

April 28, 2018 Productivity

Three Tiny Productivity Hacks that Will Change Your Life

Do you want to be more productive? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by making a major life change to reach your goals? Guess what, you don’t have to. Tiny changes can make a huge impact on your productivity. All three of these can be tried quickly and easily and will yield serious results to your day.

1. Write It All Down

How many times have you had several thoughts and ideas swirling in your head? It’s easy to get caught in a loop of thinking through your to-do list, and yet not quite starting any item on it. What if you could feel more calm an organized in just 10 minutes? This simple logical trick will help.

First, take a pen and paper and give yourself 5 minutes. Write down every thought, worry and idea that comes to mind. List form is ok for this and perfect grammar is definitely not necessary. Next, take that list and take 5 minutes to sort it into a to-do list, a worry list, etc. Underline each item and then categorize them. I like to break things down into the following categories:

Quick items to do – Think of these as tasks that take <10 minutes, like a phone call or email).
Must do today – These will be your focus items for now!
Ideas
Worries – Set them aside and then come back later and mark off the ones that aren’t really worries. You’ll be surprised at how many disappear.
To do later – Sometimes it’s just as important to know what NOT to focus on.

This works really well just before sleeping. If it’s on paper, you can let it go out of your mind as you sleep.

2. Batch Your Schedule

Do your days feel hectic? Do you rush between tasks or multiask and find you’re not able to concentrate on what’s at hand? This one is for you. I’ve recently been doing this and it really makes a huge difference in the amount of time I have in a day.

To get started, look at all the items you have to do for the next few days or even the next week. Then categorize them. For example, for ProductiveStyle, I want to: write blog posts, draw journal and planner layouts, create a kindle version of my new book – Floral Planner Doodles, draw how-tos for Instructadoodle on Instagram, create drawings for my next book, do photo edits, and do photography for posts. In the past I would draw a post, do the photography for the post, do the edits on the photo and post it. Every time. By grouping activities together you can really have a better flow of work and can get a LOT more done.

Here’s the trick: each time you switch between activities, there’s a period of setup/downtime. Even if the switch is mental, time is taken. For example, when I do photos, I have to set up lighting, a background, etc. When I do blogging, I need to log in to my content management system and decide on a good title, etc. In computer programming, that time is called a context switch.

As busy individuals, we spend a LOT of time context switching. If you want that time back, just set aside blocks to focus on one task. Maybe Monday is a day to put aside two hours to put pen to paper and create journal spreads and Tuesday is photography day.

Think about what that means in your schedule. Can you re-arrange meetings so you have a block of free time to focus instead of half hour blocks spread through the day? Can you arrange to do all of your shopping on one side of town at one particular time each week? How about preparing lunch items for a few days ahead? Once you try this with set of to-do list items, you’ll start to see more and more ways to be efficient with your time.

3. The Countdown Method

The last trick may be the simplest of all, but it is tried and true (just ask my Mom!). When you have a task you dread, count down to the start. In your mind start with 10, or 5 or 3 and count down. On one, take some small step toward it. The hardest switch we have to make in our day is to get started. Once you start, you’ll find that everything just flows from there. Whether you’re trying to get out of bed on time, exercise, or just start doing chores, this simple mind shift is powerful.

Just check out the video below if you have doubts!

April 19, 2018 For Fun, Planning

5 Irresistible Benefits of Planning

1. You suddenly have more time in the day.

Planning ahead lets you combine tasks that make sense, move meetings into groups, and plan logistics in a way that simply isn’t possible if you approach your day as it comes. By planning, you can give yourself blocks of time to focus on various tasks. This reduces the time lost in switching tasks (context switch time) and lets you get more done.

2. You can clear your mind.

Have you ever had trouble sleeping because a thousand things to do run through your mind? Write them down. If you plan, you can capture all those worries in a list and you no longer have to worry about remembering each item. It takes a lot of mental capacity to worry about remembering your worries, which can then be free to focus on more joyful topics.

3. No more dropped balls.

If you write it down, you will remember it. You may not be able to get to everything on your to-do list. That’s ok! If you have something important that you cannot make, you can at least let anyone who’s waiting on you know a more realistic timeframe. That helps build better relationships and keeps you focused on the most urgent things at hand.

4. You have a new creative outlet.

Whether you keep your plans minimal, have lots of doodles, or add fun colorful stickers and stamping to your journal/planner, it’s possible to enjoy the creativity of planning. You can experiment with different layouts and page spreads, you can invent your own icon system for to-do list items, or you can simply have fun expressing yourself with each new planner page.

5. You can look back at progress.

As you build a planner over time, you will be able to look back and see how you have moved toward your goals. That may be through reflecting on filled in tracker pages, looking at goal and resolution lists, or simply reviewing favorite memories. Regardless, your planner provides a glimpse of your life and how it is progressing!