She Does Better

Emilie Burke

Planning Series: Continuous Planning

// Blogging, Personal, Planning, Professional

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Once you make the decision to start planning you will slowly start developing a system that suits your needs. It’s really important to be willing to adapt as you find out what your needs are. The only way planning can be helpful is if you actually, continuously plan. 

The first step than is to not bite off more than you can chew. Start planning- in print or digital, whichever is more conducive to your lifestyle. Start with just your to-do list. And build from there.

Incorporate planning into your schedule in bite-sized chunks. If you go from never-having-planned-before to it-takes-an-hour-to-plan, it’s overwhelming and you won’t do it (see a theme here?).

 

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

Having a good space to plan is crucial. You do not need to have a designated place, though an office or desk would probably be super nice. It can be your kitchen table or the living room coffee table. The important thing is to have consistent area.This will help contribute to your consistency in planning. Plus, a pretty printable on the wall never hurt.

This is part of a Createyou86’s Soar Into Summer Planning Series that I am co-hosting. You can meet my two other co-hosts here and here. Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Past Posts and Future Posts:
1. June 20: The Importance of Planning
2. July 2: How I Plan
3. July 6: Etsy Wishlist
4. July 9: Using Stickers Effectively
5. July 12: Rookie Mistakes in Planning
6. July 20: Favorite Planning Blogs

Transitioning your wardrobe

// Beauty, Planning

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Friday, I had to make a presentation in front of a crowd of about 50 people. It’s certainly not the largest crowd I’ve ever had, but it was a new topic and a new team to present on behalf of. The stakes weren’t high, but this was not something to let slide by. I always find a sort of comfort from going into those situations in being well-dressed. When you look good and feel good, you do good. 

I’m going to share for you my top five tips for transitioning your wardrobe from casual to smart casual. This could be useful whether you’re going from college to the real world or getting prepared for a summer internship.

To keep reading, head over to my friend Megan’s blog at The Audacious Queen.

Click here to keep reading. 

 

Planning Series: 3 Rookie Mistakes in Planning

// Blogging, Personal, Planning, Professional

Reading Time: 2 minutes

At 22 years old, I’ve been planning regularly for six years now. That doesn’t mean I’m an expert, but I would call the experience under my belt significant. Along the way, I’ve learned a couple of tips that I’d love to share with you.

1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

I’m super guilty of this, but I am consciously working towards getting better. It’s really easy to want to implement a new method of organization in a big chunk. Baby steps, though, are much more effective. Instead of buying a planner AND decorating it AND tracking everything in it, adjust just one part of your fay. For example, keep your to-do list in one place, instead of all over.

2. Trying to be someone else.

You need to find your own planning style. Following planning blogs or planning Instagram accounts can be really exciting. It’s always really nice to find great inspiration, but you cannot try to be them. You need to figure out what style of planning and decorating will work for you. You are unique. Your life and your obligations are unique. So too, your planning style must be.

3. Planning your planning.

I have seen people get so worked up about planning that they never actually start planning. Remember that the point of planning is to make you more organized and efficient. If you’re spending more time planning how you’re going to plan than actually planning, take that as a red flag that something isn’t right.

This is part of a Createyou86’s Soar Into Summer Planning Series that I am co-hosting. You can meet my two other co-hosts here and here. Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Past Posts and Future Posts:
1. June 20: The Importance of Planning
2. July 2: How I Plan
3. July 6: Etsy Wishlist
4. July 9: Using Stickers Effectively
5. July 16: Continuous Planning
6. July 20: Favorite Planning Blogs

Planning Series: Using Stickers Effectively

// Blogging, Personal, Planning, Professional

Reading Time: 2 minutes

If you follow any planning Instagram accounts, you can sometimes feel the pressure to make a really “pretty planner.” I’ll admit that I often do and sometimes I just don’t have the time to spend prepping my planner. For that reason, it’s really important to be efficient with using stickers for your planner.

It is really easy to go sticker happy. Here’s one of my first planning weeks

 

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

It’s busy and really pointless. I had stickers on the page for the sake of putting stickers on the page.

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

This is the starting point for my weeks. Washi along the side and washi along the bottom cover up the things I don’t want and find distracting, while adding the pop of color I love. Next, I pick a row that I’m going to have be my to-dos for the week. Usually, it’s the top row, but in this case I was inspired to do the middle. I make sure to add the check boxes for that section. I then pick four random boxes to embellish with more washi to add some more color. And that is where I start.

Here’s another example:

 

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

Stickers are about increasing efficiency. They’re about empowering you to use more planner more quickly. They are not about being pretty for the sake of being pretty, though that’s nice too.

This is one of my favorite Instagram planning accounts. I feel like this account really captures using stickers efficiently.

Here’s one thing you have to embrace: Blank space in your planner is okay. I think a lot of people thing they need to fill blank space in their planners to make it prettier and I’m here to tell you that is not the case! Wasting stickers is costly and inefficient. And not something you want to be doing.

Here are my three tips for using stickers efficiently while planning:

  1. One sticker per event, item, or obligation.
  2. If you think it’s a stretch of a use for a sticker, it probably is.
  3. When in doubt, washi it out. (Washi is more forgiving.)

This is part of a Createyou86’s Soar Into Summer Planning Series that I am co-hosting. You can meet my two other co-hosts here and here. Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Past Posts and Future Posts:
1. June 20: The Importance of Planning
2. July 2: How I Plan
3. July 6: Etsy Wishlist
4. July 13: 5 Rookie Mistakes in Organization
5. July 16: Continuous Planning
6. July 20: Favorite Planning Blogs

Planning Series: Etsy Planning Wishlist

// Blogging, Personal, Planning, Professional

Reading Time: < 1 minute

In the second installment of the planning series, my co-hosts and I agreed to talk to you about our Etsy Planning Wishlists. Instead, I’ve decided to highlight for you some of my favorite Etsy shops! These shops have been features on my creative Instagram and I regularly used in my myriad of planners! You can see their beautiful work below!

Lucy’s Vinyl Decals: Shop here

 

Ryan’s Custom Designs: Shop here

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

Creating and Co: Shop here

Tweemob: Shop here

 

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

Aloha Prints Co: Shop here

Planner Candy: Shop here

 

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

A photo posted by Burke Does (@burkedoes) on

 

This is part of a Createyou86’s Soar Into Summer Planning Series that I am co-hosting. You can meet my two other co-hosts here and here. Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Past Posts and Future Posts:
1. June 20: The Importance of Planning
2. July 2: How I Plan
3. July 9: Using Stickers Effectively
4. July 13: 5 Rookie Mistakes in Organization
5. July 16: Continuous Planning
6. July 20: Favorite Planning Blogs