Weekly Planner

I’ve done something wrong. I’ve been very bad.

When I first started blogging in 2016 I thought it would be fun to share what I’ve learned with the world and I still think it’s true; but, I lacked a plan and a weekly planner. Without a plan, I stopped blogging because the no-plan plan isn’t a sustainable blogging model. I had so many ideas and no clear, coherent way of getting what’s in my head up on the blog in a timely manner. Ideas just stay in my mind and on my notes app waiting to be unleashed. “I should post it someday or sometime,” I told myself. Fun Fact: “someday” is not one of the days of the week. Nope, it sure isn’t.

I learned that serious bloggers are intentional about what they write, how they write it, and when they share their work.

Fast forward to 2018 when I decided to take a more serious approach to blogging. I learned that serious, successful bloggers are intentional about what they write, how they write it, and when they share their work. In sum, they actually have a due date, also known as a plan, to organize their content and a schedule for when it will be released. I am one of those successful bloggers so I had to get on board and find something that to actually use, pronto!

Mead Weekly/Monthly Planner Review

What it is: Mead weekly/monthly planner, also known as a calendar.

Why I love it: With this weekly planner, I can plan my blog and social media calendars out for an entire year! Instead of floundering around with un-posted content, I now have a way of keeping track of what I’m going to do and what I’ve done. The calendar has a sturdy, hard front and back cover that is unlikely to bend. Speaking of the cover…it is sooo cute! There were many different cover designs available and it was hard for me to settle on one.

Yes, I absolutely spent more time than necessary spread out in the stationary isle at Target. I mean, would it be a complete trip to Target without getting distracted by cute things? And then take up an entire aisle to play with the look and layout of items before you buy them? Am I the only one? Same thing goes with browsing for Mead weekly/monthly planners online. I digress. The sophisticated yet fun cover design theme is carried throughout the interior pages.

This calendar has many different views: four-year at-a-glance, month by month, single month, and daily. The single month view appears before the daily section, has a small area for quick notes, and a mini preview of the past and preceding months in the margin. Let me tell you something- I about flipped out when I saw the tabs for each month neatly aligned on the right. Tabs?! Who thought of these tabs? They need to win an award. Brilliant! Tabs on a calendar?! Amazing!

In the daily view there is enough space for a paragraph. There are additional blank lined pages for notes in the back of the book for my memo-writing needs. For real for real, the main reason I love this weekly planner calendar is because I’m trying to take my blogging game to the next level. I need to stay organized and be intentional about growing Frolic & Courage, which means developing a content calendar and sticking to it. My calendar looks good and travels well in my bag- It’s everything I need to write (and erase) my spontaneous ideas.

What’s not so great: Its made of regular paper so it is subject to spills, rips, and tears. It’s not invincible against the elements. The spiral binding is bound to get snagged in my bag like the rest of my spiral bound books so I expect to spend time squeezing the wire together and re-threading pages before the year ends. There are no pockets for additional papers. There is no clasp or elastic to secure the calendar shut, leaving it vulnerable to bent pages. Oh no! Did I just say bent pages?! It’s a one-time-use weekly planner calendar so at the end of June 2019 I’ll have to buy another. Bummer.

Cost: The price can go up or down depending on the size, design, and content; but overall this planner is VERY affordable.

Where to buy: I purchased my calendar from Target, but I’m sure any office supply store, big box retailer, print shop, or online business that specializes in stationary will carry one.

Purchase tips: Buy one that fits comfortably inside your main bag. I travel with a backpack during the week and a medium-sized Kate Spade bag on the weekends. It’s nice to be able to quickly pull this thing out and write a few thoughts no matter where I am in the world.

Close up of the side of a calendar with each month abbreviated on a tab.
These tabs are the best!
A daily calendar view with empty lines and decorative border.
Look at all the space I have to write ideas, Insta hashtags, posting notes, everything!

So, tell me, how do you keep your blog content organized?

F&C

You may also like these, too:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d