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 Jenn Oglesbee to the blog.

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Name: Jenn

Age: 42

Location: Media, PA

Occupation: Certified Life Coach and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I help women who are feeling stuck, disconnected, or overwhelmed reconnect with themselves, make space for their needs and desires, and live with more ease and joy!

Instagram: @jennoglesbee

Balance Bound Cover Design: Bring me all the colors! Fresh Blossoms was calling my name this year. Last year, I had Colorful Stripe.

On an average week, who are your “others” — the people you care for and/or make time for?

My “others” category is most heavily used for my kids, who are 8 and 4. My “others” also includes my husband (if, for example, I’m on full kid duty while he’s at an appointment or out with friends), my cat (she is old and has a lot of vet appointments!), volunteer commitments and community meetings, and friend and family reminders like sending birthday cards, buying gifts, and scheduled video chats with grandparents.

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?

My self-care looks different from day to day and from week to week. I’ve learned that having a self-care “toolbox” rather than a set schedule is helpful for me. I try to check in with myself day to day and feel into what I need. Some days self-care looks like getting up early and going for a run; other days it means clearing my calendar, sleeping in a bit later, and spending the afternoon with a book.

Having said that, each weekday I do add meditation and movement to my “self” section in the early morning. I don’t get to them every single day—some days I even consciously skip them in favor of something else that I need—but writing them out each week and seeing them in my planner means they happen most days. If I’m not getting regular movement and meditation, I definitely start to feel that in my body and my stress levels rise. 

I also like to have scheduled self-care “appointments” on my planner: time with friends, solo hikes, weekend baths, and monthly check-ins with myself (me + my journal + a review of how I’m feeling, how I’m living in alignment with my values, and my priorities for the upcoming month). I try to treat these like appointments with the same priority as any other appointment on my calendar.

How do you use the four sections each day?

Work: All of my client appointments go here, along with any business-related calls, trainings, or networking events. I may write in a few top priorities for the week, but for the most part my work to-do list stays out of my planner and in my office (as a business owner, this helps me with boundaries and putting my work to rest!).

Self: This is where I put anything that recharges my batteries. If it doesn’t fill my cup or support my health (e.g., a medical appointment), it belongs in another place on my planner.

Others: This is where I put appointments and tasks for my kids/school/childcare, volunteer commitments, birthday parties, holiday and gift reminders, vet appointments, plans for family fun, etc.

Home: This is where all of my non-glamorous adulting tasks go: things like reviewing our budget, grocery shopping, laundry, car maintenance, yard work, etc. I even use this space to remind me of daily or weekly tasks that I sometimes forget, like watering the plants or cleaning the litter box (it’s tucked away in our basement and unfortunately can be easily forgotten—oops!).

How do you use the free space at the bottom of each page?

Lists, quick notes during calls, and anything I need to jot down quickly. It’s a good place for a brain dump or to add details about tasks that appear in the priorities section of the page.

How do you use the free page on your weekend spread and/or the blank notes pages in the back of the planner? 

This is my favorite place to keep lists! I have lists for all sorts of things (2022 dates to remember, house projects to complete, bucket list items, and my personal favorite—gifts to buy myself!). I keep track of them all on the notes index at the front of the planner. I am decidedly obsessed with the notes index—it’s so brilliant! (Page 5 shown above)

I also use free pages for things like call and meeting notes and as a place to jot down thoughts/notes about things I’m working on.

Any other tips, tricks, planner hacks, or details about your planner/photos that you’d like to share?

I adore the book bound format, but I missed the monthly tabs, so I used Post-It tabs to create my own. (Editor’s note: sticker tabs will be an optional add-on for book bound planners when we release our 2022 collection!)

I use colored pens for things I want to stand out, like appointments and business meetings, top-priority self-care items, and important reminders like medical appointments or school closings. I also underline times for any scheduled activities so my eyes can scan the page and see what I have scheduled for the day.

I keep all my colored pens in a pretty pencil pouch, along with black pens and correction tape (I’m probably the last person in the world who uses correction tape, but sometimes the number of crossed out items in my planner gets too messy for me and I need to clean things up!). My pencil pouch and my planner travel together.

I use my Balance Bound planner a little differently than I did last year, and I’m sure that I’ll use next year’s planner a bit differently than this one. I’m constantly learning new ways to put it to use and to make it my “go to” space instead of having what I need in multiple places. I love that it’s so customizable and can change and grow with my needs. 

The format makes so much sense, and paying attention to each section really does help me notice what areas of my life (and myself!) need more attention. My Balance Bound planner feels like my Life sidekick—I’d be lost without it!

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Thank you so much for sharing, Jenn! 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.