As most of you know I’m a digital organizing type of gal. As much as I love writing down a checklist and the AMAZING feeling of crossing off an accomplished task, it always ends up being more work than it’s worth. The reality is I never have my paper checklist or planner with me when I have the opportunity to use it (in line at the grocery store, at the vet for Reagan, waiting for bus, etc). But what do I have with me that absolutely never leaves my site? My iphone 🙂 .
I was introduced to LadyPlans last year as the team was preparing for their launch. What perked my interest was the fact that the app has been developed by working moms who need to keep their entire family organized, not just themselves. So they got it…. the balancing of everyone’s calendars, the handling multiple upcoming events, the integrating work and personal life in to one busy schedule!
Instead of just being ‘another app’, LadyPlans actually takes the place of several apps I had on my phone (grocery list, calendar, vacation planner, to-do list). So when it launched this year, I downloaded it immediately! This simple switch from using 4 different apps to LadyPlans has helped me get more organized than I could have imagined.
This was really important for me, not only because it’s annoying to switch from app to app to keep me organized throughout the day, but also because I take a ridiculous amount of photos on my phone. I’m always getting that dreaded “out of room” popup. So if I’m able to cut down the number of apps on my phone, then that means more room for photos!
Included in the FREE LadyPlans app are the following:
- Event Makers to quickly add events in your calendar
- Planners to anticipate and plan events requiring preparation
- All your Calendars in one place
- Useful ready-made Checklists
Before I give you a step-by-step on how to utilize all these features, here’s some tips of how I organize all my to-dos:
- Each week I look through my to-do list to determine what needs to be accomplished that week. I then put these ON my calendar at the appropriate time. It ensures that I stick to them!
- I organize by to-do list based on things I can do ‘at home‘, ‘on my computer‘, ‘to call’, ‘out & about‘ and ‘later on‘. This way my to-do items are organized with like items. For example, if I’m on my computer to book a flight, I can also pay my bills online.
- In addition I have a list of items that I do daily, weekly, and monthly. For example: paying bills is coded as ‘monthly’ and ‘on my computer’.
- Always break your tasks down to the most granular level. Instead of have a to-do such as ‘plan dinner party’, I list the each of the tiny steps needed
As I mentioned above, LadyPlans has 4 key components that are integrated seamlessly in to the app. I want to give you a brief description of each of these so that you understand the HUGE HUGE HUGE value of combining all these components in to ONE app!
Event Makers
The Event Maker helps you quickly add new entries in to your calendar. Remember that LadyPlans helps you organize & manage ALL parts of your life, so these events don’t have to be just for you! Create events for your kids, spouse, home items and holidays/celebrations. When you create a calendar entry through the Event Makter the ‘who’ & ‘what’ fields are automatically populated. All you have to fill in is the date & times. Checklists & reminders can also be added to all these event markers right on to your calendar. BRILLIANT.
Planners
Planners are for planning events that require preparation, so these are the events that you’re hosting (or involved with) as opposed to events that you’re just attending. Not only does the Planner have a checklist for to-do items, the long list of checklist items are PRE-POPULATED in the order in which you would likely want to accomplish. AMAZING. (You can totally add more, edit or delete.) But that’s not actually the most impressive part. The absolute coolest part is that the due date recommendations automatically calculate based on the event date. Planning a birthday party? Bachelorette party? Pregnancy calendar? LadyPlans has you covered!
The planner section is also where you’ll store a birthday list (which will also populate to your calendar).
Have you ever put together a list to prepare for the holidays? Then fast forward to next year and you have to recreate that list AGAIN knowing you probably missed a couple things? Yep, I have too. Fortunately the Planner can hold those checklists so that you can use it year after year! No more recreating the wheel. LOVE that.
Calendar
So I love the Event Maker & Planner, but I LIVE by my calendar! I’ve come to realize that adding my to-do list into my calendar forces me to stay accountable for what I need to get done. Fortunately the Event Maker, Planner & Checklists sync seamlessly to the calendar. SCORE.
I know what you’re thinking …. but I ALREADY have a calendar that I’ve put TONS of events in to. Don’t worry at all. You can sync your calendar (Google, icloud or Outlook) straight to LadyPlans so that you no longer have to toggle back and forth.
Checklists
No organizing app would be complete without a checklist. The Checklist feature connects to the Event Maker & Planner for a really seamless effect. LadyPlans also takes it a step further. Their checklist ALREADY has items in it! What?!? As a self declared master of creating a fabulous checklist, I still love the idea that LadyPlan helps do part of the work. Their pre-populated checklists are based on common events and lists that a busy gal will need. Think beyond a grocery list (although they do have one of those!) to school supplies and planning for a new baby to cleaning routines.
There’s even a checklist of items to do before you leave on vacation and we’re talking really granular items…. even “toss fresh flowers”.
And of course you can create your own lists too!
For each list you’re able to ‘reset’ once you’ve finished so that you can use it for next time, which is PERFECT for weekly grocery shopping.
May you now have LESS apps and be MORE organized!
Thank you LadyPlans for sponsoring this post!
Betty says
Good ideas. I love having my checklist and planner on my phone. It helps to keep me paperless. I especially like the checklist on my phone when grocery shopping.
Brigit says
This is brilliant! Sometimes digital organization gets put on the back burner, but it is so important to organize our digital spaces as well! Great post.
Lindsay @ Crazy Organized says
Awww so glad you like it! Thanks so much for stopping by!