One of the great features of Limelife’s planners is the amount of note pages included. There are so many different ways you can use them: taking notes, meal planning, grocery lists, to-do lists, packing lists, etc. I find myself using the notes pages around the monthly spread for to-do lists of things that should get done at some point in that month, but don’t have to be done on a specific date.

I’ve also used the pages near the monthly spread as a place to make a packing list. I went on a trip over my spring break in March, so I made my packing list on the March notes pages. This is one of my favorite uses for the notes pages, not only because it helps me ensure I have everything I need for a trip, but because it also means I have a fun trip planned :) In this case, my categories were clothes, toiletries, and miscellaneous. I split clothes into tops & dresses, bottoms, shoes, and miscellaneous to make sure I covered everything.

I typically use the notes section at the back of the planner for taking notes at miscellaneous meetings. During this last year of college, I had a variety of groups and meetings I had to attend, but none of them were frequent enough to need their own notebook. I also use it for notes about things I need to get set up – for example, I was recently looking for an apartment so I used the notes pages as a place to keep information about that (phone numbers, addresses, prices, dates of showings, etc.).

In addition to all of the wonderful products you can purchase from Limelife, they also offer a variety of printables for FREE! You can view them all here!

There are general ones such as calendar pages, a meal tracker, and several home-related checklists. I’m using the calendar pages this summer while I have a roommate so we can be aware of each others’ schedules/when one of us might be gone for a bit. We keep it on a bulletin board in the kitchen!

Also available are a variety of education printables, which are really awesome according to some teachers I’ve heard from (I think they look awesome too, but I’m not a teacher).

Lastly, there are also desktop wallpaper downloads. I used the Mandy Desktop Wallpaper on my computer at my internship last summer and was always getting comments from others about how cute it is. Once I get situated at my new job, I’ll get a Limelife wallpaper on that computer too – they are great for adding a pop of color to your workspace!

You don’t need any sort of code to get the printables and downloads for free, but if you’re interested in purchasing something else, here’s $10 off!

Feel free to say hi on Instagram @live.life.inspired! I’d love to see how you use Limelife printables!

We've all seen pictures of beautiful pinterest-worthy planner spreads and hoped we could one day make something as stunning.  I'm guilty myself of occasionally "planning for the picture."  Hundreds of thousands of planners are sold every year and a disproportionately high number of the "pretty" ones wind up on the internet.  For me, sometimes, what is behind the camera is another struggle entirely.  Even though I'm new to this, some people have told me they find MY plans inspiring, which I still find hard to believe!  

Occasionally I love the process of creating and organizing my week and showing it off is a bonus.  Other times, I am overwhelmed by it and wonder if people who expect to see me post on Instagram or a group will be disappointed.  In reality, I realize it's silly, but when my head space gets out of whack, it makes me feel inadequate.  Like anything else, too much of a good thing can take the fun out of it.

So today I thought I'd talk about getting back to planner basics.  All you REALLY need is a notebook and a pen or pencil.  If you really want stickers, head to a teacher supply store.

I like to return to my "planner roots" by making lists. It starts with a brain dump.  Literally, just write anything that pops into your head onto paper. Don't worry about how it looks or is organized or even if it's a note (noun or sentence), a task (verb or doing words), or encouraging quotation.  If you have a planner, don't be afraid to "ruin" it or use it!  That is what it is for.

Then, take the brain dump and categorize it.  Your categories may look different, but some examples are: to do, to schedule, to buy, to clean, or self care.  Occasionally I make a separate list alongside my categories of everything that is making me anxious.  I include a column that has a time component off to the side.  I've found that my anxiety triggers have a time element to them and they resolve or pass naturally.  Acknowledging them is all I need.

The categorized and anxious list is enough to get me through most of the time.  At this point, I may transfer to a "planner type" layout with set boxes but it's ok not to.  Just writing down the days of the week along with appointments or what tasks must be done that day is basic and will keep you organized.

15 Things To Do This Summer 

Summer Bucket List - Family of Four (Kids under 3)

It's officially summer in our home! With two educators and two kids, not yet in school, you can understand our excitement. 

Apollo is just under three years old and Aria a few days from turning one - we have to be creative. During the last few weeks of school, I began to brainstorm different ideas to keep our family entertained in my Limelife Planners A6 lined notebook. 

This size went along with me very easily from home to work because it fits nicely in my work bag and diaper bag. 

What's missing from this list? Anything you're planning to do with your family this summer break?

Even though the school year just ended/is ending soon, it’s getting to be time to think about your planner for the next school year! The great thing about Limelife is that there are so many great layout options. I’ll be showing you how I used Layouts B and C as a college student. (Note that Layout C has been updated slightly since I purchased mine, so it looks a little bit different in my pictures than it will if you order one—remember, you can always see what the layouts look like and try them out before you buy.)

This last school year was my first year using a Limelife Planner, and WOW was it great! I’ve always used a planner, but I hadn’t found a layout that I absolutely loved…until I tried Limelife’s Layout C. I used Layout C for the whole school year, and decided to order Layout B as my next planner since I’ll be transitioning from student to a 9-5 employee.

I loved the six boxes of Layout C and how easy it is to customize them. Because I had a consistent schedule, I mostly kept the boxes the same for an entire semester. If you plan to keep your boxes the same for several months, check out these wonderful customizable box labels!

Here’s how I used the boxes in Layout C:

Class #1

Class #2/Job & Apartment Search (This class was only for the first half of the semester, so once that was done I changed up my labels.)

Class #3

Class #4

Work

Misc (Social Events, Extra Curriculars, Errands, etc.)

I use the boxes for my classes to write down homework for the next class period and big projects or exam dates.

Here’s how the same week looks planned in two different layouts (top is B, bottom is C)!

A little disclaimer about Layout B (hourly): I didn’t get it for college, I got it to start using after my Layout C planner finishes up soon. Though the hourly layout was alright, it wasn’t as great of a fit for my college schedule. I found it to be redundant writing out my class times that are the same every week, and it’s more structured than I liked, especially for homework. However, I loved using an hourly planner for my internship last summer, because meetings were always at different times each day/week, and no two days were the same. That’s why I got a new hourly planner to use for my first adult job!

While I don’t have experience with any other layouts as a college student, I’d highly recommend Layout C for your next academic planner! As a student, another thing I love about Limelife over other planner brands is that you can pick your starting month. No more having to buy a January start and have one academic year in two calendar year planners!

Start thinking about what planner you want to use next school year, and order soon! There’s still plenty of time to order in time for August or September, but remember to allow about 3 weeks from the time you order for all of the customization goodness that Limelife does + shipping. That would mean ordering in early July if you want an August start!

Ready to buy your next planner or other Limelife goodies? Have fun shopping—here’s $10 off!

Follow me on Instagram @live.life.inspired or check out my blog to see more Limelife goodness!

Hey fellow Limelife lovers! I’m Erin, one of the new Media & Creative Team members. Today I want to show you how I’ve been using my Sermon Notes notebook! As a college student living away from home, I typically watch my home church’s sermons online. I do this either by live-streaming it or watching the recording later in the day/week. I’m thankful that my church provides the sermons online so they can be viewed at any time, and over and over again! While it’s not the same experience as being AT church, it is better than nothing!

I wasn’t really a note-taker in the past at church, but sometimes I would find myself wishing I had written something down. Then I discovered Limelife’s Sermon Notes notebook! It’s a beautiful 7x9” notebook with space to take notes for 64 sermons. I love the size of the notebook; it has a good amount of writing space for each sermon, but it’s not too big to toss in my purse! While the cover it comes with is wonderful, you can also pick a different cover if you’d like (I got the standard cover). For those of you who are loving traveler’s notebooks right now, it also comes in Cahier and A6 (both have room for notes on 13 sermons).

One thing I like about watching it online is being able to pause the video when I want to write something down. I am able to watch the sermon at my own pace, which is great. Here’s what my first spread in my Sermon Notes notebook looked like!

I love the flexibility that this notebook offers, while still providing some structure for the date, speaker, and title of the sermon, along with a box on the left and a quote and “what I want to remember” area on right. For example, in the box on the left side of the spread, sometimes I hand letter a short phrase or quote from the sermon, while other times I write out something longer like a Bible verse.

The notebook is made of the same lovely paper that Limelife uses for their planners. I’ve been using a purple Ink Joy Gel pen (my favorite pens at the moment), and I haven’t had any issues with the ink bleeding through, even where I did some hand lettering. It shadows just a tiny bit, but that doesn’t bother me at all!

This sermon notebook would be great if you usually take notes on the back of your church bulletin, or if you’re like me and wish you would take notes but not have a place to keep them. You can also use the notebook for taking notes on special church events, conferences, or guest speakers in addition to taking notes on the regular weekend sermons.

If you’re new to Limelife and would like to try the Sermon Notes notebook, you can get $10 off your purchase!

Follow me on Instagram @live.life.inspired or check out my blog to see more of my sermon notes and planning goodness!

It’s Springtime already! Time sure has flown. And with the change of seasons, it’s also time to announce our new Media & Creative Team. Please join me in welcoming this talented new group of ladies.

Jasmine

Jasmine is known on Instagram as @simplybyheart. She’s active in the planner community and loves florals.

Amanda

Amanda is known on Instagram as @leftyloveslimelife. She’s into bullet journaling and is sure to inspire you with her beautiful hand lettering. Subscribe to Amanda's YouTube channel here.

Erin

Erin is known on Instagram as @live.life.inspired. She’s a college student and blogs at www.livelifeinspired.wordpress.com.

Please be sure to follow our new M&CT members, use their $10 off links, and interact with them in our Facebook group. Welcome to the Limelife family ladies! We cannot wait to see how you inspire us with your talents and creativity.

If you're interested in joining a future round of our Media & Creative Team, make sure you're following us on Instagram, Facebook, and subscribed to our newsletter. We'll announce there when we start the search for new members.

It is that time again! We are looking for new members for our Media and Creative Team! We are really excited at the interest we have seen from people wanting to apply to the team. It's great to see such passion and excitement for Limelife products!

Who We Want

We want passionate planners. We want the people that keep it simple in their planners, and the people that get creative. We want anyone who is passionate about productivity, goals, and the power of writing it down.

Stand out applicants will have:

Beautiful Photography

A lot of what we ask from you is pretty images. We love sharing your pictures of Limelife products on Instagram and we want to see your planning in all it's HD glory. Here's an example of an excellent picture from a recent blog post from Kristan Kremer.

Creativity

By creativity we don't mean you have to be the next Michelangelo. What we really want is for you to have a creative mind so you can write about topics that you would want to read about. A big part of the M&CT job is writing blog posts. We want you to come to the team full of ideas on what you want to write and what images you want to share with our readers. Here's an example of a great post from Katie Clark.

10 Dollar Tree Planner Supplies

Passion

We want folks who are passionate about Limelife Planners. We are proud of being a small business. We are proud to create products that help people achieve their goals. We want our Media & Creative Team members to feel the same way. Emilee Adams has been a member of the M&CT twice now. She has always showed a passion for a products through her posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. We love that she loves Limelife and shares that passion in her Youtube videos!

How It Works

In exchange for us sending you Limelife Planners goodies, you will write blog posts and share Instagram images of your Limelife "stuff."

Responsibilities

• Write three planner/organization/crafty related blog posts per month. Dates will vary and can be set up to accommodate your schedule. We will also work with you to come up with blog topics if needed. Or, new this time, in lieu of blog posts you can create 2 high quality Youtube videos per month featuring Limelife Planners Products.
• Share at least 4 of your own images per month on your personal Instagram account, and tag #lovemylimelife, #limelifeplanners, #limelifeplanner. Most of the time we will be "re-gramming" these images on our Instagram (@limelifeplanners).
• Email Katie with a headshot of yourself that will be used for our website and the footer of your blog posts (media@limelifeplanners.com). 

In return, you'll get a FREE Limelife Planner of you choice as well as an advance sample of new products that we release during your time on our Media and Creative Team.

Media and Creative Team members are hired for 5 month contracts.

How to Apply

Email your application to media@limelifeplanners.com.

Include the following:

• Name
• Email Address
• Social Links (Instagram, Pinterest, Blog, Youtube, etc.)
• Attach 3 of your best product images to the email.
• Statement of Interest (tell us why you want to be on our team)

We will be choosing members by September 5th, and we are asking that you apply no later than September 2nd at midnight. Good luck!