Let’s face it – life is insane. Between school, work, blogging, family, my relationship, and wait, I’m supposed to have a social life, too? And in all this chaos, I have a confession to make: I’ve never been the most organized person. I was the girl in high school whose homework assignments and urgent reminders were inked in Sharpie on a strategically placed spot on the hand. While this used to work for me (kind of…) my daily responsibilities have grown with my age. My sharpie technique has gracefully evolved into a notebook that’s attached to my hip. While I’m adamant about writing my to-do lists, things can sometimes be overlooked. I needed a way to take my to-do lists and lay them out for a visual look at my days and weeks ahead. This is where The Happy Planner by me & my BIG ideas came to my logistical rescue.This planner has quickly become my organizational bible. Oh, and it’s a creative’s dream. Let’s start with the basics: it’s an 18-month planner (this one starts in July 2015 and goes to December 2016) with easy to read overviews and weekly views of each month. If you’re visually oriented like I am, the layout of a planner is more important than anything. This one is on expandable rings, so you’re able to customize it in whatever way you want. From changing the cover, to adding the Home Planner extension (a must), to putting in extra notepaper where it’s needed, it’s impossible to not find a way to make it fit your lifestyle. There’s also plenty of extra space on most of the pages, which is good because you’ll want to use a lot of their stickers. Not only are the packs color coordinated, they are ones you would actually use in a planner. From Don’t Forgets to plenty To-Dos, there has been an appropriate one for everything I’ve added. There are also ones that aren’t so much for function as they are for making you happy. My favorite sticker pack is the one with little inspirational sayings that I add to a day when I just need it, you know? I also found some inspiration via the me & my BIG ideas Instagram (so many good ideas there!) for making another book to add one more layer of organization for the accessories.   I simply used the extra pocket folders from the pack of six and the smaller rings that were left over after I added the larger rings to the planner. It makes it so easy to just grab both books and a pen whenever I’m in the mood to map out my life.This planner really helps to alleviate a lot of my stress that comes with thinking of the days to come. Being the worrier that I am, I’m always finding myself dwelling on what I need to get done and any plans that I have in the near future. My process to help this issue is pretty straightforward: I’ll write a comprehensive list of everything I have coming up. Then, I’ll take that list, sit down with my planner, and design my weekly calendar to fit my schedule. The days are split into morning, afternoon, and evening so there’s no mistaking when an assignment is due or when I need to be somewhere. Being able to flip to the current week and see what I have planned daily helps me to not worry or doubt that those things will get done.Overall, laying out my plans in a creative, aesthetic way is nothing less than therapeutic. I love anything that I’m able to put my own creative stamp on, and something like the Happy Planner, which is just as functional as it is enjoyable, is rare to find.

As a little something special for you readers, use the code “HCTAYLOR” for 20% off any me & my big ideas online purchase!
(Hurry, it’s only valid until December 31, 2015!)

Thank you to me & my BIG ideas and Her Campus Media for partnering on this post!