MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - Documented Life Planner....

.... Ready for business!!

As you can see, I've still not done much with the cover. I'm not sure I'm going to. This will not only be on my desk but be in my bag and taken with me every where I go. The one thing I thought I might do is to add some cut-outs and stamped images then do a clear seal. That would protect the items while still letting me have a bit of fun. I'll keep you posted. 

The headband is working out well. I cut the headband in one spot and used 2 snap eyelets on the back to hold them to the book. I'm sure this will be a trial/ error thing as I continue to use the journal to see how they hold up.

Keep in mind, The Documented Life Planner is normally done in a Weekly Moleskin journal. I don't work by the week. I work by the day. Trying to compile an entire year by the day in one journal would be impossible. So I have broken my DL Planner into quarters. I have one composition book for each 3-month quarter of the year.  

Let's peek inside....

Any trips I plan or things I want to do with Bob are planned around his schedule. As a riverboat Captain, he works 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off. So I've used the 2-page Month - At - A - Glance section of one of the Monthly calendars as a tip-out in the front of each quarterly journal so I can see when he's home and when he's out for his 21 days without having to go to that month. This will be particularly handy when I'm in this quarter's planner and need to know when he's home say in the last quarter of the year. I've attached this with Washi Tape so I can move it from one planner to the next.

At the beginning of each month I've added one of these plastic pockets. They come in a 5-pk at the office supply for around $4. They are made to fit the standard 5.5 x 8.5 dayplanners. This will be a great place for me to keep track of receipts when I travel as deductions are important come tax time.

 For the months of April and May, I had been using a full-size spiral notebook to track my daily activities while these books were in the gesso stage. When the books were done, I cut those pages down to size and adhered them into the DL planner. Thus the line frame you see here. But the important part of my planner is the Time Block sheets I've attached to each page as a fold out with Washi Tape.



Here's a close up:

Similar to the dayplanner pages marked out in 1/2 hour increments, I have blocked out my day. This helps me keep track of how much time I am spending on any one task. Since implementing this I'm no longer working 12-15 hour days trying to get everything done.  Unless I want to work on my novel - which I try to do for a couple hours each night after supper, the computer is shut down by 6 p.m. every day.

When you fold out the time block sheet, this is where I keep track of what I've done, who I've called or emailed. For my Texas trip, I used this space more as a journal of my trip.

Lastly, I have multiple blogs and tasks that are Must Do each day - though they may differ from day to day. So I've created these colorful bookmarks. If you click on the picture you'll see a detail of my blogs and my topics for each day. Again, just a visual to help keep me on track.

The Documented Life Planner is also about art and one of the reasons I latched onto this concept. With the gessoed pages each day I can safely play with markers/ water colors, etc. I also have a place to attach pockets to hold memorabilia or anything else. 

Now that the journals are put together, I'm going to travel backwards, incorporating the Art to the 5th Challenges. 

Creative Blessings!