Now that you know you want an ARC planner, you have to figure out how to organize it. The possibilities are endless and you can customize it to fit your life. Here are some ideas on the perfect planner tab categories. Tips and ideas whether you are a business woman, mom or a combination of both.
I personally find that using tabs in my ARC planner is the absolute best way to keep my time and life organized! Here is a walkthrough of how I use tabs in my planner!
Here are all the products that I use in my planner!
The rest of today's post is by the amazing Suzanne Olden who is a writer, business owner and mom!
Start with the basic categories
Business and family. Now you can start narrowing down to your life. Let's look at mine to give you some ideas. I'm a mom, wife, paralegal, shift supervisor, daughter, and more. My kids are grown, one is out of college, one is in, and I have had all sorts of things go on at different times of my life.
Pro tip: Once you have your categories picked out, use Scrapbook Paper Dividers to keep them all separated!
New mom planner pages
As a new mom I wasn't working right away. I had 8 weeks maternity leave and then was off until my son was 6 months old.
My planner then would have had a section for family that included a tab for infant notes (things like tracking his feeding, sleeping, weight etc.), a calendar tab for doctor appointments.
Another tab would be for me: a notes tab for my physical health, a calendar page for my doctor appointments, appointments with state agencies (the state I lived in paid disability for maternity leave, as well as unemployment once the 8 weeks was up).
After 6 months I went back to working part time. Tabs for that would be work schedules, babysitter notes and so on.
Selling a home and moving
Flash forward two years and we were selling a home and moving. New tabs would then be house listing information, calendar tab for showing appointments, moving dates, appointments for new jobs in the new place.
The family tabs would then include a tab for notes on finding new doctors for all of us, daycare and so on.
Stay-at-home mom
Ok, now several years later, two kids and I'm a stay-at-home mom working part time and also running my own direct sales business. Oh the tabs I could have used!! Family would have a notes tab for jotting down to do's, school needs and so on. It would have a calendar page for everyone's activities, room mom days, field trips, ballet classes, baseball games and so on.
Business would have a lot
First, a calendar that I would use to mark off days I planned to hold shows for my direct sales business. It would take into account my part time job hours and family schedules. Other business tabs would be a list tab for current hosts and customers. There would be a tab for pending orders. There would be a goals page so that I could make sure that my business was keeping me able to stay a stay-at-home mom. I'd have a tab for calls to be made for following up, show scheduling.
Once I had my own small team, I would have had a tab for following up with team members, one for planning team meetings and so on.
Back to full time work
Once my kids were a bit older I went back to full time work. Now the tabs would have changed. Business tabs would include a calendar tab for the daily schedule. A tab for meetings and agendas. A tab for continuing education. Family tabs would be similar to before, except it would include one for each child and school, a calendar tab for track meets, ballet, music lessons, band concerts.
When my daughter got into high school it would then be her marching band and indoor color guard schedules. I'd have a tab for my son's college stuff – schedules of when he needed to be picked up and financial aid tab.
Working full time and a part time job
Now I'm still working full time and I have a part time job. My daughter is in college but living at home and working part time. If I was to start a new planner now it would have business and family as well. My business tabs would include a calendar tab for the daily schedule. A tab for meetings and agendas. A tab for continuing education. Same as before.
But I'd also have a tab for the part time job schedule and continuing education for that. My family tabs would be a calendar tab for all our schedules, my daughter's class schedule and her work schedule. Since we share a car, I have to know when she has to be where she has to be.
Writing career
I'm also trying to work on a writing career. tabs to plan in writing time, to jot down ideas and outlines for book ideas.
So what would yours include? As you can see, each time in your life needs tabs, and being able to change them as your life changes is the best part of your ARC planner.
