How i'm getting organised for 2019

Oh man, I love a fresh start, forget resolutions for me January is when I wipe the slate clean and set myself some goals for the year ahead. This year getting organised is more important than ever, Gabe has graduated from crawling to cruising around the house and with his 1st birthday rapidly approaching I'm on a mission to use every precious minute wisely! 

When it comes to getting organised it's all about the lists, I physically and mentally feel better when I've written down all the things I need to do! I know some people swear by organising apps on their phones and I've tried them all but I just can't get onboard with them. I always return to writing down my to-do lists (and buying new stationery is just the MOST satisfying thing in the world.. am I right?)

Every year I start off with a fresh new diary, calendar, and notebook for the year ahead. This year I've totally upped my game and teamed up with Snapfish to make some personalised stationery!

Creating my own custom photo notebook was just the EASIEST thing ever (my sister gets her photo gifts from them every Christmas and now I know why) For me it was just a simple case of using the app on my iPhone and importing a few favourite images from Instagram and Facebook. 

(I didn't want to be ~ that ~ person but I couldn't not use photos of Gabe for mine lol)

I found the hardest part was actually deciding between whether to use one of their ready-made designs or pick a photo layout of my own in the builder tool. There's so much choice and it's fun playing around with options like the embellishment tool that adds phrases and images. Eventually, I opted to use one photo for the cover and then used the text tool to write 2019 (I liked that it gave the notebook the appearance of a minimal diary without the restrictions of dates and boxes on the inside pages, perfect for my to-do lists.)

The notebook pages are also perforated.. don't even start me on how much I love this aspect. Tearing out pages after I've completed a to-do list is next level satisfying. (Yes, writing this is making me realise what an incredible geek I am.) 

In all seriousness I have recently started changing how I write my to-do lists, I used to write the most epic ones that I never had a hope of completing and they just became another way to procrastinate. Now I write really focused lists, the easiest way to keep on track is decide whether something is a 'want' to do or a 'need' to do. (I put my want to do's in a separate list that I ignore until I have some babysitting time lined up.) The focus is on the ones that are urgent and related to work. Being strict and accepting that most will have to go on hold has really made me work smarter as a self-employed mum. 

Every year I also have to get myself a new calendar, this wood block desk calendar was an easy choice for me as it fits so well into my home decor. Personalising it was a breeze, just a few photo uploads and the option to choose whether to place them manually or let Snapfish autofill to finish the calendar in record time. There were a few versions I liked, it's great to have a range of contemporary and more modern designs to work with including a photo caption design that would be lovely for documenting travel or sentimental images. 

It's so handy to have a quick reference on my desk for dates, working at home (combined with the odd sleepless night) can sometimes make the days seem to merge into one..

If you want to turn some of your images into cute photo gifts you can save 40% sitewide by using the code CHEERS40OFF - happy snapping!

I'm also undertaking a digital detox, clearing out my laptop and iMac desktops and backing all my images to an external hard drive as well as clearing my iPhone and refreshing my apps. I'm also planning a social media update as I've really struggled to keep up with a lot of my favourite accounts since becoming a mum- I want to unfollow old accounts that aren't relevant or impact me positively as I've set screen limits on my iPhone to stop me wasting time scrolling on Instagram.

How are you getting organised for the year ahead?

back soon

caroline x

Post in collaboration with Snapfish, thank you for supporting the companies that help make content on burkatron possible!