How I... Plan Out My Life: BusyBodyBook

** UPDATE: The BusyBodyBook is no longer being made after 2012. If you know of a similar product, please share! **

Have you heard of the BusyBodyBook? It's a personal and family grid organizer. I absolutely love it and have been a fan for a few years now. It's even an item I have in my Amazon store -- Tiffany's Favorite Things. =]

I've always loved using personal organizers for planning things in my life, but every one I've ever used has always become a mess because everything ends up crammed all together in a small space.

A few years ago I saw the BusyBodyBook in a magazine and decided to check it out. I instantly fell in love. The BBB uses a grid system for planning. There are 5 blanks at the top of each week for you to write in names, categories, or whatever it is you're needing to plan in your life. A family could write the name of each person in a box to sort out everyone's schedule. Since I do not yet have children, I use it in a different way.

I fill my boxes with the following: me, school, menu, fitness, blogs. Mine changes throughout the year. While I was student teaching, I had one box for that type of school specifically (the one I still use is for my college class). Sometimes if I have a lot of bills to be paid -- that I don't pay right when I get them -- I'll change one of the boxes to bills. Recently I've taken up a fitness kick, so that box is what is filling the bills box right now. Chris doesn't ever have appointments or anything, or else he'd have his own box. If anything does come up at this point, I just add it in my box.

Another nice thing is the to-do list section to the left of every weekly page. It's split up with lines and a spot for check marks on one half and is blank on the other. I love this part so much. It allows me to keep everything I need to do in one place without sticking it all in my daily schedule, unless needed, of course.

Another cute feature is the little reminders for different things on the left page. This week's reminder is to "finish up your U.S. tax returns". At one point I was reminded to test my smoke alarm and replace the batteries.

Other features I love:

• There are pockets on the front and back covers.
• There are calendars in the beginning that show the whole month at a glance.
• In the back you can find pages for appointments & plans for 2012 (there's a section for every month of 2012), notes, to-do lists (that you can tear out -- they're perforated!), important people (for addresses & phone numbers), and a section for restaurant and take-out numbers.
• It's a great size. It fits in my handbag nicely and isn't too thick.
• I don't think it's too expensive compared to others I've bought that don't work out for me how I need it. They run for $17.95 and you can purchase them on Amazon or the BusyBodyBook website.
• BBB makes academic planners too that run August to August.

Check out the cute colors and designs for the 2012 calendars. I'm not sure which one I want yet. I'm leaning towards the blue flowers though.

 

They also make a wall calendar that has 7 boxes at the top of each week and it costs $14.95. I don't have one of these because we don't really use wall calendars. The only ones I have up in my house were free from Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.

How do you plan out your life? Do you use an electronic calendar, wall calendar, or planner?