I simply cannot believe it’s January and 2019, the start of a new year and a new adventure with Cocoa Daisy! This month’s kits are called “Paper and Ink” and they’re full of an old school stationery theme and ephemera. I have several favorite items that I’ve used to set up my planner for the month, and I’d love to share them with you!

One of the first things I do when I’m setting up my planner for the month is to make dividers for each of my sections. This month, Christine included some vintage inspired black tags. I knew as soon as I saw them I’d be putting the traditional tabs (that come in the main planner kit each month) aside and using them instead. I also mixed things up a bit and made a set of top tabs rather than side tabs. I used the silver ink pad from the planner add on kit and an older stamp set to create a label on each tab.

I’ve also decided that I’d like to use my “Simon card dash” (click here for the tutorial  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjhQ3Hs-hHo) up front and center each month. Here it is in action for January!

One of my must-have items in my planner is a place to list a daily gratitude. I’ve found that if I take the time to do that first each day, and then work on planning out the details of my day, I have a better focus and frame of mind. I’ll be using the weekly stripe pages for that again this month. On the back, I like to add a reflection, quote or inspiring scripture.

This month, I’ll be doing something different for my monthly goals. I took the month on 2 page and glued it down to the back of my weekly inserts. Since they are immediately following the stripe pages in my setup, I now have a 2 page spread for my monthly goals!

There were a few special items in this kit that I just absolutely fell in love with, too! The first daisy pen, with it’s daisy top and gem barrel, it’s simply stunning!

There were also some rub on phrases included in this month’s kits. I chose to add this one to a dashboard and it was not only really simple to do, I think it added just the right touch to the dashboard!

Lastly, I’d like to share with you the most important section in my planner that helps me be the most productive. I love the daily pages and the fact that Christine designed them to be a day on 2 page spread, shown here. I keep my timed appointments and tasks on the left hand side. On the right hand side, I use the top section to list must do priorities for the day, followed by general to do items on the bottom section. I really prefer this layout because it can sit open on my desk at work and I can quickly see everything that needs to happen for the day.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my planner setup for January! Happy planning and happy New Year! I can’t wait to see where Cocoa Daisy takes us!

Jennifer Crowder

@happyplaceplanning