^{This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SharpieClearview http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV}

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” I couldn’t agree more. I really am a huge fan of spontaneity and impulsivity, but at the end of the day, I’ve yet to find success while wandering around aimlessly without some variation of goal setting. I need a plan. I need color coding. I need to obsessively organized. I need my Kate Spade planner. I need it all.

The “back to school” season is literally one of my favorite times of the year due to the amazing display of office supplies and college paraphernalia scattered around my favorite stores. It’s all usually on sale, too, so I take this time to stock up on highlighters, pens, colored paperclips… basically anything I can use to make my planner more organized and, intuitively, more fun. This year I came across Sharpie‘s new Clearview highlighters at Walgreens, and I couldn’t say no. They’re cute, colorful, and the perfect way to color code tasks on my calendar. Oh, and I also bought a handful of other Sharpie products, since a girl can never have enough lime green or hot pink markers.

These are my all-time favorite highlighters, since they legitimately do not smudge, which is crucial for any OCD perfectionist like moi, and you can throw them anywhere (purse, desk, etc)  without the fear of leakage. They come in a variety of fun colors, too, so color coding on the go, and yes– I will update my planner in the car–, is a breeze.
So how exactly do I keep my life {via my planner} organized? I always plan a month ahead. All of my blog ideas, professional and social events, important dates, holidays, etc. are all mapped out on my monthly calendar. I also research the unique holidays, like National Pancake Day, and make sure those are marked, as well. There are some days, ie National Lipstick Day, that a girl just can’t not celebrate, and they can provide great topics for post ideas and inspiration.

Next, I detail my week-by-week calendar as intricately as I can. This is where the color coding and note making becomes most valuable, since I flip through my planner almost 45 times a day looking for information. Yellow highlighting indicates anything Diary of a Debutante-related, pink highlighting indicates an important date, and green highlighting represents a work event or deadline.Hosted events and/or travel plans usually get their own post-it until the details are cemented, since dates constantly change and I despise scribble scrabble black-out marks. This is why I always keep a variety of colored notepads and markers handy, too. Once the plans are finalized, even if the dates have passed, I’ll write them in my planner for record keeping.

I always keep a notepad in my planner to make daily “To Do” lists. I used to keep these in my phone, but it was hard to remind myself to look at it often enough  to ensure that I was on track to actually accomplish the day’s goals. When tasks are completed, the little box gets highlighted, which is a great way to further visually identify the day’s progress.

Even though my organizational habits may lean on the extreme side, I don’t miss deadlines, I don’t forget birthdays, and I’m always prepared to meet the personal and  professional expectations set by my company. Plus, I’ve got a super cute planner that’s filled with structure, color, and memories.

Do you live life by your planner, too? What organizational tips do you have?