September is for Securing the Bag

Originally published on www.kesifelton.com

September 1, 2017

September is already looking up to be a great month, mainly because I have an excuse to listen to my favorite Earth, Wind & Fire song every day. This month is also going to signify the start of a lot of amazing things I'm a part of on campus, as well as my second internship. I was actually really nervous about how much I was taking on this semester, but I took a lot of time in August to plan and prepare, and now I feel confident and ready to get my feet wet. For everyone else who's making money moves this month, I wanted to share some tips, advice, etc. that I'm trying and that have helped me get my life in order so that I can be as successful as possible:

1. Passion Planner

I've used the Passion Planner since my sophomore year of high school and I honestly don't see myself using another planner. Like ever. The Passion Planner helps you organize your goals from three months to a year from now, and even what you'd like to accomplish in your lifetime. It has spaces for due dates to make it easier to create a timeline and hold yourself accountable. For every week, there is a different motivational quote and subsequent call to action and space for you to come up with a focus for the week and each day, list your personal and work to-do lists, and free space to write whatever.

And before each monthly calendar, there is a monthly reflection that also helps you figure out what you can improve on in the following month when it comes to working towards your goals. I appreciate this part of the Passion Planner the most because planners often remind us how busy we are and this forces me to sit and reflect on what and who I'm grateful for, what steps I've made towards my goals that I may have overlooked, and create a plan before diving into next month's tasks. 

2. Whiteboard/ Bulletin Board

I had a whiteboard last year, which was good for writing my to-do lists, but I wanted to treat myself to a little bit of an upgrade for sophomore year. My new whiteboard has more space and a bulletin board, mainly so I can organize my thoughts/to-do lists/ important documents better and in one space. The board also came with a magnet dry-erase marker and five magnet strips that you can write on. 

3. Notes (the iPhone app)

I rarely ever use the Reminders app that comes on the iPhone. Notes is really my favorite when it comes to jotting down quick to-do lists, grocery lists, motivational quotes/ Bible verses that I hear and want to remember, ideas for a blog post or anything else that comes to mind. It's the next best thing I can go to if I don't have a notebook close or if I don't want to forget something before I can find one. 

​The last thing I would suggest to keep yourself on track is that when all the titles and positions get stressful or overwhelming, remember that you are deserving and capable and that you wouldn't be where you are now if you weren't. Remembering that keeps me motivated to work hard and push myself to see what I'm capable of.

Make sure you've written down your goals and intentions for September and let me know in the comments or on social media (@kesifelton) how you keep your busy life organized and intentional!   

–kf