OOTD: Setting Goals After School

Photos by Cassidy Hopkins

As long as I can remember, I've loved my to do list and planner.

It all started with those school-supplied agendas we got in elementary school. Ours always had messages about productivity to inspire us 10-year-olds to make sure we were getting as much done as possible, which, looking back, was a little weird.

I've spent years developing my personal organization system (you can skip down to the bottom if you're just here for the organization tips). I've experimented with all-paper systems (one of which required me to carry around 3 notebooks at all times) all-digital systems, and a mix of both.

As long as I've spent working on this system, I've always worked within the confines of the schedule assigned to me by my school. The benefit of being in school was that my life had built-in structures for my time. I had due dates for assignments and applications, and I always new what my next 5 steps looked like. Next quarter, I had to make sure to take the next stats section, and I needed to apply for internships by the end of the quarter.

Life post-grad is a completely different story. Sure, I receive due dates at work and I'm supposed to go to the dentist once a year, but my life is largely up to me to structure.

It's so easy to lean into this freedom, a freedom I have for the first time in 22 years. It's so easy to address problems only when they come up — to only go to the doctor when there's something wrong, only evaluate my career path when I need a new job, only think about my financial future when my bank account is running on empty.

Going with the flow and addressing problems as they come up is not by any means a wrong or bad way to live life. It simply isn't the way I choose to live. One of the most important things I realized in my 22nd year was that I have control over a number of things in my life. Making attainable long-term goals is an important way for me to exercise control over my own life.

This year, I'm experimenting with a system of setting measurable goals and less-quantifiable intentions, both short-term and long-term. I've broken my goals and intentions into 4 sections: yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly/daily.

Before I describe how I utilize this system, I want to explain what I mean when I say "goals" and "intentions," because I am not using these words interchangeably. Good goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. As one of my professors once put it, good goals are SMART. I like to use the word "intentions" when talking about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of daily habits I want to form. "Be healthier" is an intention, then, while "run a marathon" is a goal.

The first list I started on was my yearly list. I talk about my intentions continuously with my social support system and in therapy. This year, I want to work on not shying away from necessary confrontation and finding enjoyment in things without having to be good at them.

Going into this year, I had a couple goals for my future that I think I could realistically achieve this year. Among them are moving ahead in my career, visiting a couple friends, and setting up a health network for myself in New York.

From here, I can break down my goals into bite-size pieces to achieve throughout the year. My quarterly goals to help me on my way to moving ahead at work are to introduce a new kind of content to my platform and analyze our top-performing videos. One of my monthly goals for the month of January was to schedule appointments with a dentist and a dermatologist.

I break these goals down even further in my daily/weekly to do list. Last week, I knew I'd have some free time on Friday, so I gave myself the task of putting together a presentation outlining the kind of content I'm proposing for the reference of my team.

I'm hoping that instituting this system will help me get organized enough to be able to accomplish what I want to do in life. I'm finding it hard to set goals for myself when others aren't setting goals for me (take these classes, find a job, complete this assignment, etc). I'm nervous, but I'm also excited to spend this year and the rest of my life figuring out what I want to do and figuring out how to do it.

This top was provided by Top Tier Style. 

GIVEAWAY: Erin Condren LifePlanner

If you've been following me for a while, you might be familiar with my annual struggle to find the right planner to fit my needs. I'm super particular about which planner I invest in: this little notebook has traditionally held my entire life in it, after all! Personally, I prefer to have an entire page dedicated to every day so I can log both events and to-do items.

I've looked into every brand of planner you can think of, including Erin Condren's LifePlanner. I was recently able to score this custom hardbound LifePlanner to host a giveaway to one of my awesome followers. I know I'm obsessed with aesthetically pleasing stationary/organizational products, so I figured my readers would be, too.

A little about the LifePlanner: aside from the obvious adorable cover, this planner is full of helpful (and cute) features. There are monthly and weekly spreads in a perfectly pastel color scheme. This planner features 18 months, lasting from July 2017-December 2018. The pages are lined in a metallic pink foil, and there's a black ribbon attached that lets you mark your place in the year. There are even pages set aside for long-term goal planning and general note-taking.

Enter below by selecting which of my social media accounts you'd like to follow me on. The giveaway ends August 16th, so make sure to get your entries in in the next week!

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So All About That: Closet+

The first time I ever watched Clueless I almost died when I saw Cher's virtual closet. I thought it was something that existed (this movie was made in the 90's, after all!) but that I just hadn't heard about. Having the ability to create outfits without having to try them on is a long-lived dream of mine. I cannot tell you how sad I was to learn that this technology has not yet been invented. While we wait for this fashion revolution to develop, I've found a pretty awesome substitute: Closet+.

This app so satisfies my need to have everything in life properly organized. I love having another method of easy-to-use organization in my life.

What's In My (Book) Bag

A couple months ago I did a post showing you all what I carry around with me in my bag. Nowadays, the only bag I carry around on a regular basis is my book bag. So, what do I bring to school with me that keeps me prepared for class and the general hectic-ness of the day?

1. An awesome Maya Moon keychain.
2. My handy-dandy to do list.
3. My favorite Melissa and Doug markers.
4. My prized Lilly Pulitzer agenda.
5. College-ruled notebooks.
6. Cough drops (every season is flu season in a dorm).
7. My cute and indistinguishable pill box.
8. A 100 pack of notecards.
9. A mini stapler.
10. My camera in its adorable little carrying case.
11. Highlighters (and lots of them).
12. My CollegeFashionista notebook.
13. Sticky notes.
14. "Purse snacks," usually a Luna Bar.
15. Lots and lots of blue pens.

Stay Organized

A couple months ago I posted about how to get organized. However, I'm here now to tell you that being completely and 100% organized will never happen. It just won't. It's impossible. I realized this sad fact this weekend while trying to balance my to do list, budget, calendar, blog planner, and long-term things to remember for the week. It takes at least 6 physical devices to keep track of my life, and it's often not even enough. As someone who's strived their entire life to find the best and most flawless method of organization, I can tell you that whatever it is, it's not carrying around a day planner, to do list, journal, and notepad everywhere you go.

While I'm in the process of negotiating a better (and more practical) method of keeping my life in check, I figured I may as well share a little bit about this insane system I have. If I'm being honest, though, I just wanted to show off my favorite buys from Heart & Arrow and Lilly Pulitzer.

Pictured are my agenda, blog planner, journal, and to do notebook. I also keep a budget on my computer and a CollegeFashionista notebook, but I use those less often. I've always been a complete sucker for office supplies-- especially when they're cute and colorful-- as I never really feel bad about making such a "productive" purchase.

Staying organized (or at least attempting to do so) helps me combat stress and anxiety, and organization in general has always been a compulsion of mine. It's hard to find the line between organized and obsessive, and it's definitely still a line I'm trying to find. My system of organization, while not entirely practical, is very useful to me on a daily basis. It may not work for you, but here are the essentials of what I do to stay organized.

1. Color code. Everything from my school supplies to the ink with which I write my to do list has an assigned color to indicate its purpose. The pink in the agenda and the journal just happen to be an awesome coincidence.
2. Plan ahead. Knowing what's coming up in the next week is super important-- it allows you to plan what you want to do without worrying that you'll be conflicting with what you need to do. I've especially found that pre-planning my blog posts helps on days when I'm slammed with schoolwork and don't have time to come up with an entire post the day of.
3. Coordinate. About once a week I sit down and go through all my notebooks to make sure they're all up to date across the board. I hate when I've marked down an assignment that's due in my agenda but forget to remind myself to do it on my to do list. I also do this with my family's calendar when I'm at home so we don't end up living in the same house but never seeing each other.
4. Be nice. Your future self will thank you for your kindness when you write, "clean room" instead of "get your shit together." Remember: you deserve kindness from yourself as much as anyone! Plus, you're much more likely to clean your room than get your shit together. It's not nearly as daunting and quite a bit more doable.
5. Be consistent. I have a specific pen that I use when planning and organizing. The cohesion of the same ink being used across the board makes me feel that much more organized, and therefore that much more inclined to continue to be organized. I used to write with whatever I had on hand-- pencil, pen, crayon, etc.-- but that only served to make me stop keeping to do lists and calendars because they were "too messy."

How do you stay organized? If you're not organized, check out some of these awesome items below that I've saved on Shopcade. Organization looks different to everyone, but that doesn't mean it can't be similar.

Dorm Room Essentials

I've been at school for just over a week, but we're not all entirely moved in yet (it's hard to move in, catch up with friends, and start class all at the same time!). While I work on getting that taken care of to allow for the best dorm room post of all time, I figured I'd provide you with my dorm room essentials as learned from my two years living on campus.

I love this blanket-- and the little angel peeking out from under it! I took a bit of a risk getting it in white, but it so reminded me of something Kim Kardashian would put in her room that I couldn't resist. Besides, it reminded me of this white sheepskin rug I used to lay on as a baby. It's always nice to have something that reminds you of home in your dorm room.

For some reason, I can never bring myself to buy art or posters. I have approximately one poster from an xx concert hanging in my room at home. Other than that, I have photos, paintings, and drawings decorating my walls. However, I will make an exception for these particular posters. To be fair, I did design them and they're available for sale in my Zazzle store. Sure, this is a little bit of shameless self-promotion, but I wouldn't have made them if I didn't truly love them! *Bonus*: use the code ZFALLSPECIAL and save 15%! Buy left middle right.

This isn't even the beginning of my stash of tea memorabilia-- I also own sugar, honey, an entire container of assorted teas, and an electric kettle. Tea is so important to have in your dorm room because it can provide so many things. It helps a sore throat, can aid in waking you up, and the ability to make yourself tea in the comfort of your own home instead of having to go to the dining room (like you do whenever you're hungry and/or thirsty) gives you a much-needed sense of control. Plus, how cute are these mugs?

I'm not exaggerating when I say I use washi tape on everything. Beyond spicing up some boring old containers from Goodwill, washi tape lines my bookshelves, the light switch, and my desk. It's such an easy way to make your space yours, especially when anything you do to your room has to be reverted at the end of the year.

We have Christmas lights lining our entire room (the school-provided fluorescents will kill your self confidence and make waking up that much harder), but these little flower stems are my favorite alternative lights. They're cute on and off, and can serve as everything from a night light to a lamp to ambience lighting.

Get Organized!

I go to a school that uses the quarter system, so I don't actually start school until the end of September. However, I strongly believe that there is no such thing as too much organization. So, I ordered a Lilly Pulitzer 2014-2015 agenda (yes, I decided to splurge) a couple weeks ago and it finally got here yesterday. I've been spending the last several hours getting my schedule down on paper and updating my to-do list. I'm making this post to share some of my organization tips with you, but more than that, I want to show off my new agenda.

Wow. Look how beautiful this thing is. It was well worth the near $30 I spent to buy it. Everyone keeps their schedule and to-do list in their own way, and it took me a couple of years to figure out which method of organization worked best for me. For me, the act of writing helps me remember what I need to do-- I'm also one of those people who has to write their notes in class instead of typing them. However,  I understand that not everyone has to carry around two or three notebooks to feel prepared for the day. Some people prefer using their smartphone to stay organized, like the people who wrote this article over at PC Mag. I can tell you from experience that not every organization app works for everybody, but I do have to tell you that Evernote and Dashlane are extraordinary apps that can be used in quite a few ways.

 There's also quite a number of to-do list apps, like Todoist and Any.Do. After quite a bit of experimentation, I've found that keeping a notebook of lists with me at all times works best for me. Anyone who knows me knows that lists make my world go 'round, so an entire notebook of lists not only keeps me organized, but provides me with something fun to do when I'm stressed. I update this list every morning and every evening, as well as whenever I have time throughout the day. Here's what I put on this list:

• Daily appointments that I need to remember (doctor, meetings, carpools, etc.) that are short enough to feel like a task that needs to be done
• Small, achievable tasks that contribute to the completion of a much larger project. By breaking down the project into small steps I can take every day, I am able to get it done on time without having to rush to finish it at the last minute. For example, when I have 2 weeks to write an essay, I generally divide the process into 7 daily tasks: writing an outline, writing half of the first draft, writing the other half of the first draft, reading the draft aloud to myself and making corrections, having someone peer-edit the draft, editing the draft, and composing a bibliography. I can do each of these things in an hour or two, making the whole process seem a lot more manageable.
• Basic daily tasks.
• If it's been a particularly rough day, I add things that I'm going to do anyways (i.e. brush teeth, eat lunch). When I cross them off, I feel a little bit more productive, which makes me feel a little bit better about myself. A bit ridiculous, but it works!

I mostly use iCalendar to keep track of my schedule, but having a physical, written schedule helps me better visualize what my week or month looks like as a whole. I also keep track of important dates and birthdays in my planner so I don't forget about it until I see it on my calendar the day of!

Any questions? As always, feel free to leave a comment! And keep a lookout for a Facebook page coming soon: if it helps, put it on your calendar for sometime in the first week of August.