Blog and Home All-in-One Notebook {Subscriber Freebie}

Do you blog?  Do you keep a home?  Do you do both?  How do you keep track of it all?  Digitally?  Via a notebook?  On a calendar?  In your head?  Blog Notebooks and Home Management Notebooks can be found circling the web in the blog sphere and on Pinterest, but one thing I haven’t found is ONE notebook that combines it all in ONE simple set up.

In the past I’ve tried several different systems, including both digital and paper setups, but no matter what, several things kept frustrating me.  There were too many tabs in the notebook to keep track of.  I couldn’t see the week, month or day at a glance.  I had a different notebook for my home chores, my blog chores, my prayer list, my goals, my menus, and more.  I had so many different notebooks and action papers I couldn’t keep up. Finally I decided no more.

It was time for me to do some research and find something that finally worked…for me.  I knew I wanted something that didn’t require me to flip through tabs because I like to see everything laid out before me.  I also knew I wanted it to be the ONLY notebook I needed.  Thus the result you see below.  This project has been long in the making as I’ve been constantly trying it out and perfecting it for what seemed to work best.  As a result, I feel pretty pleased with the outcome and hope you’ll find it useful too.

To create my notebook, I began with a 1/2″ white clear covered notebook.  I’ve seen some take their home-created planning sheets to an office store to have it spiral bound but I did not want the added expense of having to have something bound every time I needed another sheet.  Thus the notebook.

From there I just had fun on Publisher.  Let’s take a tour.

Since I am right-handed I actually set up my main area at the back of the notebook.  On the right, slid into the back pocket is a homemade tear-off pad with my weekly schedule.  On my “This Week” page there is a place to write down my week’s menu plans, my top 10 goals for the week, and my daily home and blog to-do lists.  There’s also a place for me to check off my social media interaction online each day.

Menu Plan:  I read in a recent runner magazine that having a rotating set of 3 meals for breakfast, 4 meals for lunch and 5 meals for dinners have been shown to help people loose weight faster and keep it off longer than those who plan more meals at a time.  I have since tried this method and amazingly, it has worked for me.  In my notebook I now just write my meals out at the top and then write the corresponding number in the meal blanks for each day.  So much easier.
 
My Top 10:  I added “My Top 10 Goals for the Week” after reading Money Saving Mom‘s book, The  Money Saving Mom’s Budget.  In it Crystal explains her goal planning methods…one of which, being that she sets annual goals and then breaks them down into monthly and then weekly goals.  In fact, Crystal still blogs about her week’s top 10 goals on her blog.  Since implementing “The Top 10″ myself, I have found that I get so much more done too!  The only rule I set up when creating my week’s goals is that I must have at least one and preferably two goals in each category.  After that, it’s a free for all.
 
Daily Goals:  I include both my household and blogging goals here.  Yes, vacuuming and writing a post go in the same box.  It helps me know exactly what I need to accomplish in the day.  For my social media check-boxes I include a box for parties, pinning, G+, StumbleUpon, buffering, and e-mail.  While I don’t do everyone every day I do try to interact with each one as seems fit for the day’s post.  This helps me not to forget any of these forms of interaction.
 
Creating the Tear Pad:  To create the tear pad, I printed off 26 pages of my “This Week” page and then created my own tear-pad by attaching the paper to a cardboard back left over from an old notepad and applying rubber cement to the top of the sheets.  Now when I’m ready for a new week I just tear off the old week and throw it away.
Cardboard back of a notepad + paper + rubber cement = A Homemade Tear-Off Pad
Paper clip the cardboard and paper together and apply a thick layer of rubber cement to the top of the stack.
Add more paper clips and let dry.
On the last page in my notebook, I keep my current month’s calendar so that I can see both my week and my month at the same time.  In fact I often leave the notebook open to this view on my desk all day long.  It helps keep me focused.
On the calendar page there is a unique Bible verse for each month, several special chores scheduled intermittently throughout the year, a place to write down any events as it relates to my blog and home routines, post planning, and even a few check-boxes for special blog upkeep items such as checking my hyperlinks.
I also put my typical daily schedule goal at the bottom.  It’s a goal…nothing set in stone, but it helps me to stay on task.
Turning backwards one page you would see this view:
On the backside (what most people would say is the front side) of my monthly calendars I have a brainstorming page.  On this page I write down any future blog posts I may want to write, keep track of blog improvements I need to make, add long-term to-do items, keep track of recipes I want to try, and finally record my blog’s weekly statistics.  The nice thing about having it on the backside of my monthly calendar is that as I plan my new calendar’s blog posts, my brainstorming sheet is on the opposite side of the page ready to go.
Turning now to the front of the notebook, you would see this view:
In the very front pocket you would see a copy of this week’s blog party agenda.
On the agenda I write the title of the posts I am hoping to link up too and then at the beginning of the week, I list the number of the appropriate posts next to the blog parties I plan to attend that week.  For example…
The first check box is for me to mark when I’ve linked up to the listed party.  The second box is for me to mark when I have clicked and commented on at least two other links at the party (something usually asked by most party hosts), and the third box is for me to right down back link rankings.  I keep track of this so that if my week is crazy, I know that I should at least try to attend my highest ranked parties, if possible and leave the rest for another week.
In the next column I list the title of the blog where the party is hosted.  I have hyper-linked these on my computer so that I can also open the Word document and easily click the links each week I link up.  The niche column is where I write down every kind of post the party hostess accepts.  Finally, the last column is where I list the posts (by number) I want to link up as appropriated by the niche description.
The first page of the notebook, across from the Blog Party Agenda, is where I have my annual goals.  In alignment with the Top 10 Goals on my “This Week” page, I have my goals grouped by category so that when I write my Top 10 each week, I can easily refer to my annual goals as needed.  As the saying goes, “a person who fails to plan, plans to fail” and we definitely don’t want that!
On the backside of my annual goals I have a running list of books to read and movies to watch.  I’m always running across things I want to read or see so this helps me to keep track of what I have read/seen and what I still want to read/see.
Last, but definitely not least, as my back cover I have a weekly prayer list.  I like referring to my planner during my quiet time in the morning as I prepare for the day, but when it’s time for one-on-one time with God, I close the notebook.  Doing this helps me to focus both mentally and spiritually so the backside of the notebook is the perfect place to keep these constant prayer reminders.
And that’s it.  Sorry for the very very long post.  If you’re still with me, I’m impressed.  I just knew I couldn’t split this one up as it all went together.  I’ve been wanting to create something extra special for awhile to share with my RSS and e-mail subscribers as a way to say thank you for following me day in and day out.  And finally I feel like I have something worthwhile to share as just that–a heartfelt thank you.  If you are a subscriber, you should see the links to these documents below my signature at the end of today’s post.  If you are not a subscriber, I’d love to have you join the community.  To do so, please sign up via the box below and you will see the link to these planner printables at the end of the next post.

There are two downloads–one for the pdf planner pages and one for the editable blog party agenda.  Thank you again subscribers!  You definitely keep me motivated through thick and thin.  Today’s freebie is for you!

Update:  Having trouble finding the link.  Here’s checklist to know you are on the right track.

  1. You have subscribed via RSS or e-mail. 
  2. If by e-mail, you have confirmed your subscription and received a new post e-mail.
  3. You have looked for the links in location shown below.
Planner links are located below my footer.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Please include your subscription type in your e-mail so I may be ready to better serve you.  Thanks!


UPDATE:  For those desiring a EDITABLE version of the above blog planner, one is now available for purchase.  Please click here to get your copy today.  For the rest of you, unfortunately the pdf version of this planner is no longer available.  Please be on the lookout though because an amazing new look will be rolling hot off the presses on December 20, 2012.  It will be one update you won’t want to miss! 

UPDATE 12/20/2012:  The Cornerstone Confessions 2013 Blog-and-Home Planner is now available.  Come check it out.  It now has over 70 unique pages for your blogging and home organization needs!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.  
1 Chronicles 16:34

This digiscrap for this product was created by:

email

Connect with a Comment:

*

Comments

  1. The planner is *fantastic*!!! Thank you so much, Kathy!

  2. Kathy, This is wonderful! I love how organized you are!! Now you have me rethinking the way I’ve organized my life and blog life. Thank you!! I would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/make-it-pretty-monday-week-3.html I think a lot of my readers would find this very encouraging and helpful! Also, wanted to let you know I’m following you and have put your Titus 2 Tuesday party on my party list. Hope you have a grand day! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

  3. I so totally agree with you. At one time I was a VERY organized person; then I got married; bought a bigger house and had a daughter (who is in all kinds of things) and I just couldn’t get it all together. Working full time; trying to keep up at home; plus with the chores and my little blog….I am overwhelmed right now. I quickly glanced at your post here (at work on break) :) I can’t wait to get home and read the entire post. This looks like a GODsend. Thank you so very much!

  4. Wow! This is amazing! I’ve been trying to make my own organizer/calendar but never satisfied with the “fit”- this looks perfect! Thank you!

  5. Great job Kathy! Thanks for sharing!

  6. You blow me away with your amazing creativity. Thanks for sharing your talents!

  7. How do I download this planner? I don’t see a link, I’m sorry. :(

  8. Me too. I subscribed via email (hudsonfallsmom@yahoo.com) and still can not figure out how to download the planner. I am SO excited to see a planner that is more fitting to my needs. Thanks in advance for you assistance. Val

    • If you just subscribed you will need to wait until the next post to see the planner links in the footer. So, if you don’t see them at the bottom of tomorrow’s post then let me know but you should be good to go. Hope you like the planner. You are more than welcome.

      Kathy

  9. I subscribed via email and did not get the link. I love the look of the planner and would love to use it…Help!!

    • Ooops, never mind…I just read the previous post and saw how I will get the link. Thanks so much, they are very pretty!!!! :)

  10. I emailed with the same question about the planner, so please excuse. I am new to how these things work. I thought if I reloaded the page it would show up. Sorry!

  11. What a wonderful idea! Great job!

    Blessings
    Mrs. White
    The Legacy of Home

  12. Love your planner!

    Mrs. Delightful
    http://www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

  13. Anonymous says:

    I was able to get to the link but every time I try to print or download it says there is an error on the page…:( When I print on the labels section it tells me that I must sign up and pay to the scribd site to do that. Please help!

    • Oh dear. I am sorry. It shouldn’t be doing that. I logged on to Scribd to see what was going on and it said they were having “temporary difficulties” so for whatever that means, try again later and see if it works okay. When you open the link select “download” to save the document to your computer. From there you should be able to open and print the document without any problems. If you are still experiencing problems tomorrow, please email me personally via the contact button on the top of my blog and I’ll see what I can do.

  14. I LOVE this planner. Thank you so much for linking up to MMM. I will definitely be featuring this on my link party next week!
    Jamie @ http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

  15. I just came over from You’re talking too much Monday party. I’ve never seen your blog before, but will every day now, I’m on your email subscription. I find it amazing how many times I follow a link and it’s written by another who loves the Lord. He just doesn’t lead me to go to others. This planner looks so good to me, others seem to have too much in too many places. Hopefully by the end of the year, I’ll be able to do this. Health issues hold me back. Love, Janet

    • Yeah! Welcome! Yes, God is pretty amazing like that. Sometimes we forget to look at at the simple little miracles He gives us everyday…”stop and smell the roses”…as the saying goes. Thanks for sharing your little miracle.

      Kathy

      “Dear Jesus, thank you for CTDWM finding Cornerstone Confessions. I pray that you will heal her body of whatever health issues seem to be prevailing her and give her comfort and encouragement during the healing process. Amen.”

  16. This is great! Love love love your planner! So organized :)
    Melissa @ Willamettevalleywonderwoman.blogspot.com

  17. Fantastic info! Thanks for sharing!

  18. You have inspired me to combine my notebooks. I’m currently finishing up “The Notebook” using some of your tips! Thank you for sharing this at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see you again next week. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

  19. This is a really great idea to stay organized. I have a Blog Hop, and I would love it if you would link this post. You can find it at
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/07/3-face-masks-from-your-kitchen-and.html
    It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop.
    I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
    Debi Bolocofsky
    Adorned From Above
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com

  20. These planner pages are so beautiful! I love the pink, it is cheerful looking. I just subscribed to your site and look forward to being able to download these pages. May I ask where you put your homeschool plans? Are they integrated into your daily calendar?
    Blessings,
    CP

    • Good question. Actually, they are NOT included in the notebook. I’m currently developing a separate hyperlinked system for that that I hope to share soon. I suppose you could create a few tabs in your notebook to include those though if you wanted them all in one place. I also like the set up of the Homeschool Tracker which I could see me also incorporating as my children get older. Hope that helps.

      Kathy

  21. Great planner!

    You ask do we blog, keep home? “Yes” plus work full-time away from the home. It’s not easy keeping up with posts and suchlike when we do all these things and prioritising is definitely the name of the game.

  22. What a great way to stay organized!

  23. What an awesome planner!

  24. What a super idea. I will be featuring this tonight at my Sizzle into Summer party that opens at 8pm EST. Please stop by and pick up an I’ve Been Featured button. Thanks.

  25. Is it too late for me to download this? I’m a subscriber, but I don’t t
    See the download link

    Thanks!

  26. this is incredible! I totally just subscribed!

    • I still don’t see the link in any of the posts. :(

    • Jess

      Let’s see what I can do to help. First, let me ask a couple of questions though so I know where to start. 1) Have you subscribed via e-mail or RSS? 2) If you have subscribed have you received a new post after confirming your subscription? By e-mail this process can take anywhere from one to four days depending on the time of subscribing and my posting schedule. Those who subscribe via an RSS reader should see the posts immediately. 3) If you have subscribed and received a new post did you find the link at the bottom of the new post but could not open it? I’m glad you like the planner and definitely want you to be able to get it. Hopefully if you can guide me to where you are in the process we can get you set up in no time. Thanks!

      Kathy

  27. Love this! I approach blogging the same way and could really use this! Thanks so much!

  28. This is great!

    TYFS

  29. Thanks for sharing these awesome tools! I don’t know that I’ll ever get as organized as you, but I know I will use at least parts of them and be better organized than I am now.

  30. Wow! This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing! You’re the bee’s knees. :)

  31. I am so excited I found you today! I subscribed via e-mail and cannot wait to get a new post so I can download your planner and preschool ideas. I am going to school my almost 4 year old this year and deciding if I want to homeschool her altogether. I love your blog thanks for so much helpful information.

    • Oh yeah! Welcome! I’m so glad to have you. Just wanted to let you know that while you are waiting for the next post which will come out tomorrow, you can go ahead and download the preschool idea (you don’t have to be a subscriber to do that). I just posted my first set of plans which are available here: Preschool Week 1 And, more will be coming next week. I would love you feedback. Thanks again!

      Kathy

  32. WOW! This is going to change my life!!!! Thanks so much for this generous opportunity to download this for free. God bless you! I have recently become a single mum to 2 beautiful kids. I need all the help I can get with organization. Thanks
    PS I Can’t wait till your next post. Thanks again. Naomi

  33. It says I have to pay for Scribd Premium Reader. Is this correct? I’m not sure how I can get it free since I’m an RSS reader.

    • Susan, oh how I wish you had left your e-mail address so I could contact you personally. Please e-mail me and I’ll be glad to help you out. No, you do not need to be a scribd premium reader.

  34. Kathy….I want this planner!!!please!!!priscila_meine@msn.com kiss

  35. Thanks!

    Can’t wait to download!!!

  36. Can’t wait to download. Thanks for sharing

  37. Am trying to find out how to download, must have this planner :)

  38. Am trying to find out how to download, must have this planner :) and I subscribed to Cornerstone Confessions via RSS or Email thanks…

    • Priscila, you should have received an email for the next post today. Did you? If so, the links are at the bottom of the post. If you did not receive the email or cannot find the links, please feel free to email me personally via the link provided in the menu bar on Cornerstone Confessions. Thanks for following!

Trackbacks

  1. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  2. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  3. [...] Blog and Home All-in-One Planner (of 2012) [...]

  4. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  5. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  6. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  7. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  8. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  9. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  10. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  11. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  12. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  13. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  14. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  15. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  16. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  17. [...] free home and blog planner printables have been out for several weeks now but this week I made available the opportunity for you to [...]

  18. [...] making new friends.  And, if you follow me via RSS or e-mail you’ll receive a link to my Blog-and-Home-Planner Printables FREE as a thank [...]

  19. [...] more to life than partying. 2.  Make a linked list.  A couple of weeks ago I shared with you my home and blog planner that I was super excited about sharing with all my subscribers (speaking of which, if you [...]

Home|Advertise|Submit a Guest Post|Become an Affiliate|Privacy Policy|Disclosure Policy|Terms of Use|Contact Me

Return to Top of Page

Copyright © 2012 Cornerstone Confessions · All Rights Reserved · Design by Amy J Delightful


myfreecopyright.com registered & protected