I am a huge pre-planner; with things going on at work, home, and doctor’s appointments, my planner is essential for being able to write things down in advance, but I still love being able to decorate and use my weekly spreads one week at a time. My solution? My monthly spreads! They’re absolutely essential to helping me stay organized (so they may look a little rough around the edges sometimes), but I love bridging the gap between “just cute” and “functional.”

In my A5 inserts, I have the Lauren floral design, which I love coordinating colors with. It is such a pretty floral, and it works so well on it’s own or in combination with washi tape or stickers. For the month of March, I knew I wanted to incorporate some green washi tape for St. Patrick’s Day, but without going over the top with green. For me, my foiled bow washi tape is always a perfect solution. When it comes to applying washi tape in each month, I like to cover up the white space for days not included in the month. It helps me focus in more on the specific days in that particular month.

For the month of March, I added in my coffee washi and a green polka dot to go for a cozy theme. I live in Illinois so March definitely still means winter, but I have my fingers crossed for spring (though something tells me that’s not going to happen). With the washi tape, I used a couple of stickers from weekly kits that I had leftover to add to my cozy theme. In the daily boxes, I use some wacky holidays that I purchased from a shop on Etsy. Obviously this part is optional, but I think it adds a little bit of fun to my monthlies while still giving me plenty of room to write in each box. To give myself enough space, I center them on the top line (not in the exact center of the box) so I can write beneath them.

For me, one of the key aspects of functional in a monthly spread is color-coding. I can easily see at a quick glance whether something is for work, home, finance (like bills or payday), or important appointments. For work, this can be days off, early release days for students, end of the quarter, etc. Home is separate from appointments because I consider it to be my more fun things -- my friend’s baby shower, my dad’s birthday, and even the premiere of Celebrity Big Brother, which now that I see the cast could probably be crossed out of my list. Finance includes bills and payday, and appointments are doctors, hair, nails, vet, etc.

I always carry my four colors of pens with me in my purse, in case I need to mark something down, and I love having everything available to me at a quick glance in case I need to schedule an appointment or mark down something at work. What do you use your monthly spreads for? Let me know, and be sure to tag me on Instagram with your monthly inspiration! I could always use more ideas.

Instagram: @JennS_90