Moments Inked: Finding Better Balance

Good morning, everyone! It's my turn to share with you how I'm using my Papertrey Ink Moments Inked Planner these days, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about balance and how I'm hoping to find better balance in 2016.

This past year was a wonderful one for Sean and me, but we completely lost sight of work/life balance. "Everyone does that" you say. "He opened a brand new restaurant last year, what do you expect?!" you ask. "You're self-employed; you can work whenever you want to" you insist. Well, maybe, but after months of working 12 to 18 hours a day, six or seven days a week we found ourselves burned out, tired, and not as connected to one another as is probably healthy. So when this year began, I was bound and determined to reclaim our balance.

The way I figure, the first step to finding balance is actually writing a schedule and sticking to it. I've never written a schedule for myself before; I just start working when I wake up and stop here and there for snacks masquerading as meals. No more! When Sean entered his schedule into our joint Google calendar I decided to write a schedule for myself based on his hours (in large part because when he's home I get distracted and want to spend time with him).

I chose a Papertrey color for each of us (Canyon Clay for him and Aqua Mist for me) and stamped and die cut enough little banners for about six months in each of those colors. He writes his schedule four weeks at a time, so it will be easy to stay out ahead. We're both really committed to sticking to our schedules so we can spend our off time together doing things that we enjoy (and not mindlessly staring at our computers because we're too tired to do anything else).

I also wanted banners for my blog schedule and deadlines as well as for the various newsletters I handle for Papertrey. I chose to use Simply Chartreuse for all blog work. The deadlines and posts are differentiated by the secondary text stamps. The newsletters are all done in Stormy Sea and I used the small dot to specify which newsletter is which. The monthly news is stamped in Harvest Gold, the Design Team Tips in Winter Wisteria, and the Moments Inked in Hibiscus Burst. The nice thing about the Stormy Sea is that it's light enough that I can write the name of the Design Team member in charge of that week's newsletter (so I can crack the whip when they forget...just kidding, they're all really great).

The easiest way for me to keep the banners handy is to have them in an envelope inside my planner. But rather than just tuck an envelope in a binder pocket I decided to create a monthly dashboard with a velcro tab attaching a glassine envelope to the back.

I paired the new Binder Page dies with the Monthly Moments: Year Round 1 Die to create my dashboard. I chose patterned papers and cardstock that coordinated with January's color scheme (Summer Sunrise, Canyon Clay, and Raspberry Fizz). It's perfect for keeping my banner sticker easily available and it's a handy landing spot for my Post-it to do lists (I love the white ones so very much).

I also created a simple key for the banners using the smallest Binder Page. I thought a visual reminder might be a good idea, not only for myself, but also if Sean wants to peek inside to know what's happening when.

I simply die cut a Fresh Snow Linen page and embellished it with some Simply Chartreuse patterned paper before sticking on one of each banner with a quick note regarding their purpose. This will be particularly important the first week of each month when I can't remember which newsletter was which color. Because that will happen, people.

So there you have it, a few ways I'm working to find a better balance in 2016. I hope you've enjoyed today's post! Have a great day and I'll see you again soon!

Recipes:
Banner Stickers
Stamps: Moments Inked: Planner Banners, Moments Inked: Blog Banners, Moments Inked: Family Banners - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Adhesive Sheets - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Canyon Clay, Aqua Mist, Stormy Sea, Harvest Gold, Winter Wisteria, Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, True Black - Papertrey Ink
Other: Moments Inked: Planner Banners Die - Papertrey Ink

Dashboard & Post-Its
Stamps: Moments Inked: Posted - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise Polka Dot Paper, Raspberry Fizz, Canyon Clay - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Canyon Clay, Raspberry Fizz - Papertrey Ink
Other: Binder Page Die, Monthly Moments: Year Round 1 Die, White Post-It Notes - Papertrey Ink; Velcro; Glassine Envelope