I have a confession… Even though I am a self proclaimed tech junkie there is one “non-techie” thing that I can’t seem to let go of. I am an obsessive note taker; I love to write things down in a notebook. I love to have it and my hands and visually see what I need to get done. As a result there are notebooks everywhere in my house; in fact there was a time when I would buy a new notebook every time I went to Target.
That was until I was introduced to the moleskin, I’ve seen them a zillion times but never bought one until last year and now I’ve gone through well let’s just say several.
What do I like about the Moleskine?
The Moleskine gives me the flexibility to create my own customized mom planner and organizer. I’ve tried every mom planner out there and still never found EXACTLY what I was looking for. I’ve even tried using my Iphone calendar to schedule updates and changes and google calendar for any important editorial due dates and meetings. None of them worked as well as my customized solution.
A Moleskine Hack for Mom Bloggers and Mom Entrepreneurs
I bought the standard Moleskine size (3.5 x 8.25 inches) and divided into six categories; calendar, monthly goals, blog calendar, blog ideas, giveaway/review calendar, to do’s, and free space.
Calendar
12-month calendar.
Monthly Goals
I got some help with this section from www.productiveflourishing.com, he offers some really great calendars, planners and organizers. This section fills 2 pages, left side covers Major Events of the month and Objectives. The right side is divided into the 4 weeks of the month.
Blog Calendar
Because I own and write for several different blogs I broke this section up in two different ways. For this blog bizziemommy.com I am scheduled to post on a daily basis so this calendar is broken down daily for every week so I can plan out each post. For blogs that I post on once a week I simplify the calendar with room to make notes on 4 posts a month.
Blog Post Ideas
Anytime I come up with a blog post idea I write it down in this section.
Giveaways/Reviews
To help organize my reviews and giveaways I put them in another section so I can schedule them evenly throughout the month.
To Dos
This space is reserved for anything I have to do for my online store, from redesigning a page, adding products or publishing an online newsletter.
Free Space
The great think about the Moleskine is even after adding all the space for the calendar and goal setting there is still plenty of free writing space, which is something you don’t usually find in a “ready-made” mom organizer.
When it comes to organize your business, blog and life, do you keep track with a paper organizer or digital?
I love your Mole hack! I’m always looking for inspiration for keeping my blogs in order and doing everything else we moms have to do each day. Thanks for showing us this!
I just recently discovered www. productiveflourishing.com and wow! Where has Charlie been all my life?? He’s now my planner guru.
I liked your method and keeping it all in one journal is a great way to be lightly organized on a heavy schedule. Mike @michaelpokocky and @thisismikesblog
Looks gorgeous. But I know my personal version wouldn’t be quite so pretty.
I’ve got a ton of notebooks. Every now and then I even write in my daughter’s homeschool notebooks, just because I can’t find one of mine. There is no inherent organization to them at all, just a place to catch my thoughts when I’m away from the computer. Usually, I end up transferring their content to digital as soon as I get a chance because I like being able to do a control F to find certain topics. I’ve used Evernote a bit and really like it so far.
I do love the idea of using the moleskin to plan out daily posts.
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..J and J =-.
[...] like I am not the only techie who still uses a paper planner. Check out Bizzie Mommy’s own moleskine planner hack. – Bizzie [...]
As an IT person I get made fun of a lot for my paper lists however my notebook never fails to open, nevers freeze up or gets a virus. Even if I spill coffee on it I can still read what I need to do & I never have to call in a warranty repair – duct tape does fine!
Actually now that I think of it, I would be three shades of hosed if my son’s rabbit got a a hold of it (her hobby is old phone book shredding) but that’s easily preventable.
Many times the simplest thing is the best.
Your post has been up for a while but I figured I’d let you know that your link to productiveflourishing.com is broken. It looks like a broken href tag.
BTW, your site was exactly what I was looking for!
Thanks Chris for spotting the broken link. I’ve updated the page and thanks for the compliments in regards to my blog.
Great tips. I remember when Jessica Smith did something similar, but in her own style. That’s the great thing about Moleskines… you can make them fit your own needs and lifestyle.
I also keep some of their little plain brown wrapper kind in my purse for jotting down writing ideas. My daughter even caught the bug and keeps one with her for writing songs and poems in.
Sugar,
Yes I remember Jessica’s as well I’ve been tweaking mine so many times I think I finally came up with a great solution for me. I need to get some stocks in moleskin because I’ve gone through so many of their notebooks.