It’s here! 2.5 years in the making and many, many sleepless nights and I am beyond excited to share it with you all!
I started this project back in April, 2015. I had left my full-time job on Catalina Island working as a Graphic Designer, Website Designer and Marketing Specialist and embarked on the journey to being a freelance designer. This is a path I honestly never thought I would take; I was so content working in companies, but when I had kids my goals and aspirations changed. My husband and I would work complete opposite shifts so that one of us would be there for the kids as much as possible. Although it worked out great (for the kids), I rarely saw my husband, and we rarely had ‘family time’. I’m a strong believer that life is too short and with that, we should make the most of every day and every opportunity. So, I took the plunge into the ‘work from home’ career. I loved that I could set my own hours, be my own boss and pick and choose the projects that i’d really enjoy.
Well, business picked up fast (and for that, I am forever grateful), but I really needed something to help keep me organized so that I could see how much I had going on for the week. I was soon working 60 + hour weeks, plus trying to juggle the ‘stay at home’ mom thing, and all the reasons I went freelance were soon disappearing. I soon realized I had to monitor the amount of incoming work I took on and get a better idea of what I already had ‘to do’ each day.
I had tried so many planners on the market (daily planner, weekly planner, online planners… you name it) but nothing did exactly what I needed. I didn’t need a daily calendar – I had iCal for that, which worked perfectly for me. I just needed something that would allow me to plan for the day and get an overview of how my week looks, so that I can take on new tasks / projects accordingly. I needed a space to write down lists that wouldn’t go missing or get lost under piles of other lists. And it felt so good being able to ‘dump’ my brain out and not having to remember it. Hands up how many of you have gone to the store for 1 thing and still come back without it? Yep; me too.
I’ve always used lists; probably because I have a terrible memory. But if it’s not written down, chances are it won’t get done. Plus, I love to look back on my day and see all these items marked off as complete. Only then can I truly relax and feel like I’ve accomplished what I needed to do for the day.
The List It Planner isn’t just a daily planner. It’s a place to write down your shopping list, weekly list, birthday list, christmas list, vacation packing list, mini-trip packing list, important information and anything else you want to write down (we have space for that too).
The past few weeks leading up to launch have been busy. Super busy. After a couple of months at the printers making the final touches and making sure everything looked perfect, I started collating everything together. And while I may be good at designing and organizing, I apparently am not too good at calculating the space required for these. You can imagine my horror when the postman knocked on the door with the shipping boxes, and practically had a fork-lift truck for them (I was expecting to carry them by hand).
I think we have boxes and planners in every cupboard, closet and shelf space throughout the house. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am beyond excited to share this with you all and truly hope that I can help alleviate the stress / unorganized chaos from so many other lives, too!