Tag: Erin Condren

Erin Condren Reading Log and Journal

Posted on by Jenna

Are buying books and reading them two different hobbies?

I believe they are and we have a third hobby, tracking our reading! We are going to take a closer look at the Erin Condren A5 Book Lovers Reading Log and Journal (affiliate link – I will earn a commission if you purchase) to see if it will work for you!

The cover is a pastel ombre mid-century circle with gold accents. You can personalize it with your name. It’s a really pretty journal! When you open it, you get a quote page in the same pretty pastels as the cover. Of course you get a how to use this journal, like all Erin Condren guided journals.

What’s included?

You start with two pages with eight goals, which feels like a lot. I usually only set two or three goals per year. Next, you have two pages of monthly trackers. I really love the colors but I know I would not keep up with these trackers. 

Next up is the book review sections. You get enough for 58 books, which for me is about a year’s worth. Each book gets a two page spread with star rating, title, author, dates read, type of ook, why read, length (in page or hours), genre, and if you’d recommend. It also has sections for what you thought about the book, your favorite part, and takeaways. You also get a large space for thoughts, quotes, and memorable moments. 

I really like the top section but for me, I’d need to re-work the other sections for how I review fiction books. 

After the book reviews, you have 12 book club meeting pages each with a two page spread. You have space for the book info, spread (I assume food), what to discuss, what was discussed, memorable moments, your rating, club rating, and next meeting info. I really like how they have space for you to write down what you want to discuss and what was actually discussed. I think we all know how those best laid plans go! I also liked the space for the next meeting. 

Finally, you get six pages or favorite books and six pages for to be read. Each page has 26 lines so you get 156 lines for your favorite books, which for me feels like too much while only 156 lines for to be read, which feels like not enough. Maybe it’s just me but I get picky about what books become favorites. It would take me years to fill up the favorites sections. Yet I want to read everything so I’d quickly fill up the to be read pages. My library wish list alone has 825 ebooks. 

Yes, I have a problem. 

This book feels like it’s meant for multiple years with some sections and one year for others. You get enough pages for multiple years of goals, trackers, and favorite books but only a year’s worth of book reviews and book club meetings. 

I do think the journal is really pretty and I enjoy the aesthetic. I had planned to use it as my reading journal but I’m not sure if it will work for me. Or at least I would only use some of it. OK, I would mostly use the book reviews. I would love to have a book club but as of right now I don’t have one. 

Are you a reader? What do you think about the Erin Condren Book Lovers Reading Log and Journal? Would you use it? Are you in a book club? If not, would you join one? Should I start a book club? Would you join?

Erin Condren New Daily Duo: Worth it?!

Posted on by Jenna

It’s planner launch season! Of course, I ordered from the recent Erin Condren Life Planner launch. In this post, I will share what I ordered and my thoughts and compare the current Daily Duo with the newest version!

I am an Erin Condren affiliate and will earn a commission if you purchase from the link in this post. I ordered and paid for everything in this post myself; Erin Condren did not send any of these items to me.

Up first, the accessories! 

I always order the sticky notes, sticker books, and washi in all the patterns. Everything is so versatile and can be used creatively and functionally! I missed the canvas sticky notes because I was looking for them in the A5 rings version, but they are only available as a snap-in option. That’s a little disappointing.

I also grabbed the two petite notebooks, one in evolve and one in bold blooms. The evolve has the new productivity layout, which is really great for making notes and to-do lists. The bold blooms is a plain line notebook, perfect for journaling or jotting down notes and reminders. 

Lastly, I grabbed the new snap-in pocket dashboards. I have the clear ones from last year, but I couldn’t resist these colors! I use these in my 7×9 notebooks to hold sticker sheets or important papers. 

We will look closer at the new A5 Daily Duo in the ring agenda and I will compare it to last year’s version. 

First up, the new Agenda. I love the smaller size. It feels much more portable and takes up less space on the desk. Plus it’s black, and that’s my favorite color. My only issue with the new agenda is the rings. I feel like they are cheaper than previous versions. The gold finish isn’t the bright gold of last year, and the rings don’t always close right. The pages will catch because they don’t fully close/line up correctly. You have to kind of finagle them. 

If I get brave, I may replace them with higher-quality silver hardware. 

I do wish they would offer silver hardware. I love that planners and notebooks have a silver coil by default. Why can’t the agenda be silver by default with a gold upgrade like everything else? 

The new agenda also has a different pocket layout in front with larger pockets to slide accessories into, like a sticker book. The back no longer has a space to slide anything into the pack of the agenda, but it still has the slit to put a medium-sized Erin Condren notepad in. 

The A5 only comes in evolve or bold blooms. Sadly, canvas is not an option this year. This is probably my biggest gripe. I have the canvas now. Why can’t they offer all three in both A5 and 7×9? I went with evolve because I don’t like the full-page bold blooms on the dashboard or the font in the bold blooms.

The monthly page hasn’t changed, but when you turn to the dashboard, it is now on the left-hand side. I really like this change. They tried it last year in the monthly, which made sense since it was a monthly view, lined page, dashboard, and more lined pages. I think it works in all the planners because you have the dashboard on the left, and then you can use the lined page on the right to expand on the things you put on the dashboard. 

We also get an updated ruler. It is now also a stencil, so you can easily draw boxes, flags, and habit trackers!

The biggest change is that there is now a lined page (front/back) and a weekly overview between each week in the Daily Duo. I don’t think I will use the weekly overview. I have gotten used to using a separate weekly and don’t want to flip back and forth in the daily. 

The weekly overview could be used for many things, such as meal planning and shopping lists, cleaning schedules, bills, workouts, projects, or assignments. You could also use it for work and the daily pages for personal (or vice versa).

I will probably also pull out all the lined pages and put them at the start or end of the month for goal planning. I don’t think I will use them between the weeks. 

We always have Monday on the left side when we flip to the daily pages.

BUT the BIGGEST AND BEST change is NO MORE MINI CALENDAR!!!!!!

I might be a tad excited about this change. I HATED that mini calendar and always tried to find ways to cover it up and make the space useful.

With the removal of the mini calendar, the to-do list has shifted up, and we have a larger blank space at the bottom. I wish the to-do list had been lengthened to fill half the page. There are some days when I have a lot of little things to do and have to go into the blank space. There is no change to the hourly section. 

Overall, I’m happy with the new version of the Erin Condren A5 ring agenda. I’d love to see a few changes, like higher-quality rings. And I really wish they’d offer all three designs in all sizes. I much prefer a very neutral inside. 

What are your thoughts on the changes to the daily duo? Are you ecstatic the mini calendar is gone? Do you hate the dashboard on the left-hand side? How will you use the weekly overview? 

Watch my review here:

From Scattered to Slayed: 2024 Planner Stack

Posted on by Jenna

As we head into the new year, what is your plan to slay your goals in 2024? How will you plan, track, and slay that to do list to make it a done list?

With a planner stack!

If you like to know what planners others are using, I gotchu. This is my current 2024 journal and planner stack.*

*Stack is subject to change at my whim. Switching it up is okay if it’s not working for you!

This post will contain affiliate and associate links. I may earn a commission if you buy through my links. Affiliate links do not affect your shopping experience. They let companies know you like my content. You will see “Affiliate Link” next to all affiliate links and codes.

Erin Condren https://shrsl.com/38mu5 (affiliate link)
Erin Condren 7×9 Vertical Life Planner – The Catch-all
Erin Condren Desk Calendar – The Editorial Calendar
Erin Condren Companion Planner – The Braindump and Lists

The Happy Planner https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-100953659-14092331 (affiliate link)
The Happy Planner Wellness Layout – The Fitness Journal
The Happy Planner Mini Dashboard Layout – The HB90 Goals
The Happy Planner Big Vertical Layout – The Content Planner

Archer and Olive – Code Runsonespresso to save 10% https://www.archerandolive.com?aff=543 (affiliate link and code)
Archer and Olive A5 Bullet Journal – The Monthly Stuff
Archer and Olive Wellness Planner – The Memory Keeper🖤
Archer and Olive B6 – The Media Journal
Archer and Olive 8×8 – The Reading Journal
Archer and Olive 8×8 Lined – The Journal Journal

Other https://amzn.to/3RWIbTN (Amazon Associate link)
Hobonich Day Free – The Memory Keeping Kit Planner

It seems like a lot, but many of these won’t be daily. Some will get set up at the start of the month. Others will be checked in once a week or so. 

What is in your planner stack for 2024? Leave yours in the comments!

Watch the video version:

Productivity and ADHD: A Review and Comparison of Erin Condren’s Goal Setting and Productivity Planners

Posted on by Jenna

Setting and achieving goals can be challenging for those of us with ADHD. You may struggle to break the BIG goals into smaller, actionable tasks. If you’re anything like me, you’ve tried everything to try and crack at reaching your goals. 

Erin Condren has several products aimed at goal setting, and we will compare and review two different planners to see if one or both will help those of us with ADHD reach our goals! And even if you don’t have ADHD, this can still help you take a closer look at the planners to decide if either is right for you!

The Goal Setting and Productivity Planners are A5 in size and have instructions at the beginning. They are listed at $25.50. You can find them both here. Affiliate link: I will earn a commission if you purchase.

First up is the Productivity Planner. The first section is Set and has 12 goal/project pages to plan out what you need to do. After that section is Plan, and you get 24 pages with eight action step boxes each and 18 pages with four checklist sections; each has 13 checkboxes. Then, there are 16 pages with two longer checklists with 217 checkboxes per list. Lastly, the Plan section has 18 lined pages.

The last section is Track, which starts with 20 pages of daily habit tracking with 26 lines per page. After the daily trackers, there are 12 pages of monthly trackers with 12 months per page. After the monthly trackers, you have 20 pages of progress tracking. 

The Productivity Planner ends with two pages of reflection and functional stickers. 

I would struggle more with using the Productivity Planner than the Goal Setting Planner. For my ADHD brain, this planner is very overwhelming. I struggle to use habit trackers and would give up after the first few weeks. I love the checklists and the project tracker and could use those with the Goal Planner. 

The Goal Setting Planner has sections for six different goals. Each section starts with a goal overview and action plan page. Next is a two-page spread of 16 action step boxes. You get 18 weekly pages for planning and reflection, plus two pages at the end to check in. 

After the six goal tabes is a final reflection tab with a lined page to list your accomplishments and an additional five pages for reflection, in the back of the planner is a sheet of decorative stickers.

With my ADHD brain, I need another system to help me use the Goal Setting Planner. It is too open-ended and not detailed enough to use on its own to set and breakdown goals. I would use this with HB90 (affiliate link: I will earn a commission if you sign up) for three quarterly goals. Following the HB90 system, I could easily set up the overview, action plan, and tasks. The weekly page would be perfect for planning what I want to do during that week and tracking taskblocks. 

You could use both planners for projects and goals. The Productivity Planner focuses more on habit tracking and long-term routine building, while the Goal Planner offers weekly planning but no trackers. 

Which one would you pick and why? Let me know in the comments, as I’m unsure if I will use these. 

Watch the video review here:

*New* Erin Condren Home Organization Tools

Posted on by Jenna

Get Your Life Together!

You can send your kids back to school and finally get your house (and life) in order with the new Erin Condren organizational products!

Large Cord Storage Box $24.50

Hide your unsightly cords at your desk or under the tv with the cord storage box. Comes in pink (dusty rose) with the asterisk design on the top. Too bad there aren’t other colors because this pink doesn’t go in my house. Also, no other real use for it other than cord storage.

Adjustable Bookend Organizer $26.50

How I wish this came in other colors! I love this product, but the color doesn’t work for me. It’s flexible in what you can store in it. I can work on your desk, your bookshelf, in your kitchen. If you don’t need it to hold your books for a bit, slide the end in, and you have a desk organizer!

Large Stand Up Folio $38.50

Available in many different designs with black, gray, or pink accents, the stand up folio is great for going from home to the office or coffee shop. It stores a laptop or planner, keeps your notepad and pens handy, and looks great! There are eight total elastic loops to hold pens or cordes, while the mesh pocket can hold your washi or laptop charger. I love this so much that I ordered the colorblends version!

Ultimate Pencil Case $20.50

Match your stand up folio! The ultimate pencil case has a nice hard top, holds six pens, and can double as a phone stand when out and about. *Note I have a Samsung 21 Ultra and fits well without a case. With a Spigen case, it is a little harder to use but still fits!

New EttaVee designs! Stay Golden on the list pad and Hopeful on Family Organizer Planner. I really love the Hopeful design. I like the design and more muted colors.

Monthly Calendar Sticky Notes $10.50

I am not a fan of this one. I don’t know what I would use it for. It’s too big (6×10) to fit in a 7×9 notebook. The boxes for each day are small. Overall this feels like a fail to me. What do you think?

Family Organizer starts at $40.50

A few of the features on the family organizer would not be useful. I feel the recurring schedule would be hard for anyone. Even when I was in school, my schedule would change from week to week. The habit and task tracking allow for one of each as there are only six lines for each section (and it’s Monday – Sunday for the dots, so six weeks?). I think this would be better served with the new monthly planner dashboard tracker. I do think the rest of the sections and pages would be useful for families!

Small Organizer Caddy $36.50

A smaller, more portable version of the previous organizational caddy. Great for taking your planner supplies on the go or toting your supplies around the house. This would also be great for carrying your kid’s stuff in the car. Or maybe items for a picnic? There are probably a million ways to use the small caddy!

Want to grab any of these items? Shop here: https://shrsl.com/38mu5 (affiliate link I will receive a commission if you buy).

What are your favorite and least favorite items in this release? Let me know in the comments!

Watch the video review:

reading notes

How to Setup a Reading Notes Notebook

Posted on by Jenna

Do you do reading notes or annotate your books?

I’ve never done it consistently in the past but have tried a few times to make notes. I have never been successful. I usually take too many notes and I hate writing in books. Recently I got curious and fell down the Google rabbit hole of book annotation. I love seeing other people annotate books but as I read and researched it, I realized 1. I still won’t write or highlight in books and 2. I read a lot of ebooks and audiobooks (many from the library). I thought a book notebook would be a great compromise!

Why should you annotate or make notes about what you’re reading?

For me, I partly wanted to start for book club, to feel more prepared. I also want to be more connected to the books and be present when I read. Lastly, I want to remember the things I read and specifically things I learn when reading non-fiction books, especially photography-related ones. 

As I googled and mulled it over, I thought the new Erin Condren Priorities and Notes layout would be perfect for taking notes. I also went through my stash of accessories and built a reading kit which I put in an Erin Condren planny pack to easily carry with my notebook! I also grabbed my new snap-in pocket dashboards. I can stick notes on and in them. They also section out my notebook and I can easily flip to whichever book I am reading at the moment!

Shop Erin Condren (affiliate link I will receive a commission but it will not affect your shopping!)

What do I have in my kit?

  • Transparent sticky notes
  • Reusable sticky notes
  • Small notepad
  • Highlight strips
  • Pens
  • Highlighter
  • Sharpie (for those transparent sticky notes)

I have been picking pens and highlighters that coordinate with the colors on the book cover. I will have a fun, colorful notebook when I’m done!

The Priorities and Notes layout has six boxes on the left-hand side and lined notes pages on the right. I had hoped to fit a book into one set of boxes/lined page but I realized that will never work for me. I ended up using three pages for my first book and decided that will be my limit for each book. 

My first book, The Great Alone, was a little trial and error. Of course, I will make adjustments as needed but I’ve got a good setup now for fiction and non-fiction books. The first page will be the same for all books. The six boxes will be:

  1. About the Book – Title, Author, Fiction/Non-Fiction, Genre, format, and where I got it
  2. Other Books by the Author
  3. What Others are Saying – I like to google after I read and see if there is anything interesting 
  4. My Summary
  5. Final Thoughts
  6. My Rating – How many coffees, if I’d recommend it

For fiction books, the next set of six boxes are:

  1. Characters (two boxes)
  2. Relationships – between characters
  3. Setting
  4. Main Theme
  5. Connections – what does it remind me of, does the book mention other media

The final six boxes are:

  1. Quotes (two boxes)
  2. Questions – either that come up as I read or after
  3. What stood out to me
  4. Likes
  5. Dislikes

For non-fiction, the second set of six boxes will be (two each):

  1. Key Ideas
  2. References to review
  3. Questions

The last six will be (two each):

  1. What resonated with me
  2. What did I find Interesting
  3. My Ideas – what can I do with this new knowledge or how can I incorporate what I’ve learned

Each book will have three lined pages. Before starting I will review the chapters and/or sections and divide my three-lined pages evenly. I hope this will help keep me from writing down EVERYTHING. I will use transparent sticky notes to highlight or pop out key moments or ideas. I would like to be more succinct with what I write down. I’ve always taken too many notes, not knowing what is important (maybe because of ADHD?). I do want to have a set number of pages because I often have more than one book going at once and want to be able to set up each book in my notebook.

As this is my first time doing something like this I’m sure I will make more adjustments. 

Do you annotate books or take notes while you read? I’d love your tips and tricks! Leave your best advice in the comments. 

Want to see a video version of this? Head over to YouTube to watch!

2023 Fitness Planner Set Up and Goals

Posted on by Jenna

Do you make health and/or fitness goals each year?

If so, how do you track your progress? Do you use an app, spreadsheet, or journal? Maybe you use a couple different ways to track? I believe keeping a fitness and/or health journal can help in so many ways. Often our progress isn’t noticeable from day to day but you can review your journal and really see how far you have really come. 

But before you can start planning and seeing how far you’ve come, you need to set some goals. 

My main goal is to get consistent with workouts, run five days a week, strength train 2-3 days, and yoga once a week. I also want to increase my fruit and vegetable intake and get my post-workout nutrition in check. My number one goal though is really to get back on track and find that consistency again.

What are your health and fitness goals for 2023?

There are many health and fitness journals you can get out there but sometimes having pre-made sections makes it hard to track what you want and need. I have found using a horizontal weekly planner works best for me. 

The monthly calendar allows me to plot out my workouts and track how many miles I ran each day. The dashboard gives me an area to track measurements, such as weigh-in, days worked out, and goals for the month. The weekly pages give me a space to write about each run and a spot to track my stats and the weather that day.

For 2023 I am using an Erin Condren A5 softbound in colorblends. I am hoping the colorblends inspire me to pick it up each day. I’ve been slacking on both working out and recording. But before I can start using it, I like to set up a few things.

I’ve tried many different fitness trackers and logs over the years and I find a horizontal weekly planner works best for me. For 2023 I am using the Erin Condren A5 souftbound because I LOVE the colorblends. The 12 boxes at the front are set for monthly tracking. I record my monthly weigh-in, measurements, blood pressure, and total miles. Each monthly dashboard has additional weigh-ins, measurements, and my goals for the month.

I prefer the horizontal layout because each day I can record how the run or workout went along with important stats like average pace and the weather. And there is a spot to total up weekly, monthly, and year-to-date mileage!

Now I am ready to attack 2023! What will you be using to track your health and fitness?

If you want to start running, sign up for my New Year, New Runner 5k program! It’s currently a free 10-week plan to run your first 5k!