The Real Planner Spotlight is a series where we feature how our customers are using their Balance Bound Planners — getting messy and real, planning their days with our four signature sections, carving out time for self-care, and making the flexible layout of the Balance Bound Planner work for them. In this edition, we are thrilled to welcome Amanda Jefferson to the blog.

On a personal note, Amanda is one of my (Brooke’s) dearest friends who has been a cheerleader of the Balance Bound Planner since day one. She even helped us come up with the name of the product line! Welcoming her to this blog series and seeing her use & love the product that we once chatted about as a little dream in my head is a full circle moment :)

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Photo by Leigh Photography — *Photo by Danielle Nowak*

Name: Amanda Jefferson

Age: 44

Location: Media, PA

Occupation: I’m a KonMari-certified consultant and teacher. Basically, that means that I help people to simplify their lives, myself included. #workinprogress

I founded Indigo Organizing after a 20-year long corporate career because I wanted to help busy working women get their houses AND their sanity back, without the overwhelm of trying to figure it out alone.

Balance Bound Cover Design: My print is Fresh Blossoms in the book bound style. I love that it features indigo, one of my main brand colors, along with other beautiful, bright colors that #sparkjoy.

ON AN AVERAGE WEEK, WHO ARE YOUR “OTHERS” — THE PEOPLE YOU CARE FOR AND/OR MAKE TIME FOR?

My “others” are my husband Fernando, my daughter Isabel, our puppy June, and my mom, who lives with us. There may be a kitten in our future…

ON AN AVERAGE WEEK, WHAT DO YOU DO TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO ENSURE THAT YOU SET THAT NON-NEGOTIABLE TIME ASIDE?

This is SUCH a work-in-progress.

As an introvert, I need a lot of time to recharge, but I’ve never been very good at making that a priority. I tend to just go-go-go. Having this planner forced me to come face-to-face with those pesky blank lines and finally think about what I was going to do for ME.

So I do a few things:

I participate in a group coaching program that uses Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence framework. It’s all about intercepting your internal “saboteurs” and connecting more with the Sage that is inside you. Throughout the day, I do things called PQ reps, which are sort of like little mindfulness moments. I get points every time I do a “rep.” I like points. I am a total kindergartener.
I use the Pomodoro Technique to focus for 25 minutes at a time and then I take 5 minute breaks in between those focus sessions. I try to squeeze in a stretch, a walk to the mailbox, brewing a cup of tea, a few breaths. My favorite app to help me do that is called OffScreen.
I make my bed every day.

HOW DO YOU USE THE FREE SPACE AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE?

I love to use that space to jot notes or to list out the errands I have for the day. When I’m out and about, it’s so helpful to quickly refer back to my planner and see my errand list so I don’t forget anything.

HOW DO YOU USE THE FREE PAGE ON YOUR WEEKEND SPREAD AND/OR THE BLANK NOTES PAGES IN THE BACK OF THE PLANNER?

The weekly blank pages are perfect for my “brain dump” or simply a list of all my loose ends. Sometimes, I use the pages for a technique I call “chunking.” Essentially, I create a grid of categories and then brain dump all of the things on my mind in each category.

If I need a boost, sometimes I create a Ta Da List, which I learned about from Gretchen Rubin. This method helps you to celebrate everything you have accomplished during the week and to take a moment to recognize small accomplishments. This is one of my favorite productivity hacks when I’m feeling overwhelmed or behind.

WERE THERE ANY “A-HA MOMENTS” OR REVELATIONS YOU’VE HAD AS A RESULT OF USING YOUR PLANNER?

The weekly planner has limited space in each of the categories ON PURPOSE, because there is only so much a human should try to do in one day!

At the beginning, I found myself adding a bajillion things to the “others” category, never having enough space, while categories like “self” had hardly anything written. This visual was a big a-ha moment for me. I was NOT putting my oxygen mask on first and was spending the majority of my time doing things for others (aaaaand feeling pretty resentful to boot). This gave me the push I needed to re-balance things.

Another a-ha moment was being able to see a weekly view of my schedule. My brain just needs a weekly view. My previous planner only had a daily view, and I felt like I couldn’t zoom out and see what the week ahead looked like.

ANY OTHER TIPS, TRICKS, PLANNER HACKS, OR DETAILS ABOUT YOUR PLANNER/PHOTOS THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

Oh, how I love tips. Here are mine!

Pick a day to plan the week ahead. I try to do my weekly planning on Sunday. Map out all of your priorities, your appointments, your exercise plan, etc. Take a peek at the weather too.
Highlight appointments in yellow.
Highlight things that didn’t get done in pink. (Carry those over when you plan the next week.)
Use erasable pens to keep things neat.

Finally, pay attention to those empty spaces in your planner and rebalance as needed. The acronym FOCUS can help you pare things down:

Finish it. Just set a timer and get it done!
Outsource it. Is there someone or some service that could help with this?
Cut it. Don’t do it at all.
Uncomplicate it. Can you make it quicker and easier?
Scooch it. Can you do it later?

WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU?

I send a fun weekly email called Amanda’s Top 3, which features 3 bite-sized tips to make your days a little brighter and your life a little easier. You can subscribe here.

You can find me on Instagram at @indigo_organizing.

Stay tuned for information about my brand new course to help working women simplify their lives!

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Thank you so much for sharing, Amanda!

If you’d like to contribute to the Real Planner Spotlight series, please drop us a note.

Ready to test out the Balance Bound Planner to see how it can work for you? Enter your name and email address in our footer below and we will send you a FREE, abridged, weekday, printable layout to test for yourself. And don’t forget to explore the shop.

Real Planner Spotlight: Amanda Jefferson