2017 Year Planning – Writing and Life

This year I am determined to put systems and a plan in place to accomplish my goals. If I took a glance at last year I would have one word for it… disappointing.  

This year my goals as outlined HERE are well on their way and I can safely say that even though we are not yet through January. I am ahead of schedule with my posts and well on my way to reaching my goals.  

I wanted to share how I planned out my year with you so that perhaps it will give you insight to my planning process and how I endeavor to succeed this year. 

Disorganization is my enemy when I have to use a multitude of programs for my schedules, plans and written notes so I did some research and came across one app that does almost everything I want! Unfortunately, there are a few things that it does not do so I had to find another program for the rest of my needs. 

Upad3

I recently came across an app called Upad3, which after using it for a few weeks, I absolutely love. I can use their preloaded templates to plan my day, week ,month, year, write notes, add pictures, websites, create folders, etc. It has really created a space for me to see all of my notes, agendas, and inspiration all in one place. It works with the Apple pencil on the Ipad Pro which is another thing I love.

Writing with the Apple pencil provides a sense of writing on paper and i can have it saved to refer back to. (Sometimes I like to see my own handwriting instead of typed words.) The shot below contains an image of my folders and how I am currently using this app.  

As you can see I have a folder for Business, Personal, and Daily. Within those folder there may or may not be other folders. For example: my Business folder has internal folders labeled Projects, Organization, and Notes. Though, I really hate to spend money on apps like this, 5.99 was really worth it for me. 

This program does have many calendar templates for use, it does not integrate with other apps so if you use another calendar you will be doing double duty having to enter it here. I find my google calendar works better since I can create deadlines and alarms for projects and items that need done by a specific time or date.  

17hats

I have also started using 17hats for business and product planning. Although, I will use Upad3 for notes on my projects I keep track of the phases of my projects in 17hats. This also comes with a calendar to plan and create deadlines which I was able to integrate with my google calendar so that I can see my projects on any device within or out of the app.

This program also has its own to do list, an area for you to keep track of leads, projects, contacts, create invoices, view workflow and bookkeeping. You can integrate other apps (although few at present) with this program as long as you upgrade to one of their paid programs (except for google calendar), but as of right now I am ok with the free version. Customize the background to fit your own tastes and work within an environment of your making. 

Have any apps or programs that you couldn’t live without? Tell me about them. I am always trying to simplify my life for as little money as possible.