Martha Stewart 2014 Planner

*2015 update: Unfortunately the Martha Stewart planner line has discontinued this year. You can check out the planner I am using in 2015 and also use a $10 off coupon provided in the blog post! Thanks for dropping by!

So I upgraded to a Martha Stewart disc bound planner for 2014 from a spiral bound BlueSky planner from Target. After using it for 2 months, I thought I'd share how I feel about the planner, because when I was searching for detailed information about this planner before I bought it, I couldn't find any! 

The color, first of all, is just gorgeous. It's the thing that drew me into the planner in the first place. Being a Martha Stewart product, you can be sure that apart from the color, it's also a sturdy, quality product. 

The pockets on the left side are nice sizes. They work great for business cards, receipts and letters you may need to look into. I keep my son's doctor appointment information in it, along with his immunization form. 

On the right side, I added my own 2014 goals list. It helps me stay focused. I wanted to stray from the same old checklist style and do something a bit more unique. Also, since this is the first page, it's easy for it to get torn over the span of one year. I therefore reinforced the side of the paper with washi tape.

(The notepad paper is from Erin Condren)

I needed to punch holes for the disc bound planner and also cut out strips of paper from the edge for it to be inserted. The whole point of the disc bound system is that you can take the pages out and insert them back in within a few seconds. There's no need to open any rings of a binder and no need to tear out pages like in a spiral bound notebook. It's very easy to personalize.

Here are the tools I used to make my own inserts. You can also by a hole puncher which is made for punching 8 holes in one go along with the strip at the edge cut off, but it costs $50 and this costs a small fraction of that price. 

Fun side note: see the purple pair of scissors? I bought them when I started first grade and have used them every year throughout my school life, then in university, then after marriage, and still using them regularly after becoming a mom! The stories those scissors could tell... :)

I added these tabs to my planner. I love the look of it! The can be found on Amazon or at the Container Store. Apart from the 12 months, it also includes tabs such as Notes, To Do, Travel, Contacts a few more.

Martha Stewart's 2014 inserts, which I am using this year, have some great info pages in the beginning of the planner. They include Personal Reference, Holidays, 4-Year Reference, Special Dates (that you can add), Clothing Sizes and Conversions. 

The 4-Year Reference page is great for tracking vacations and planning ones in the future. 

Here's a look at my month-at-a-glance from January. I like how on the right hand side there is space for extra notes and you can also refer to the last month and next month easily.

Yes. I color code. But you knew I'd do that.

Now for my biggest problem with the Martha Stewart planner. Her lovely tips.

I'm the kind of person who uses the month at a glance section more than the daily section. It's just easier to refer to a specific day and see what's going on. However, some days don't have that much space to write in because of her long tip of the days. And I need that space!

Really?

I mean, I love Martha Stewart. She is the epitome of creativity. But...I can't go to the farmer's market on a random Monday in June just because it says I have to in the planner and I'd rather write stuff I actually WILL do that day. Sorry Martha :(

Ok. Moving on.

So one fine day I decided to "decorate" my planner pages because it was the in-thing to do. Yeah, as you can see, not for me. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm going to stick to just writing in different colors for different tasks rather than "drawing".

One thing I love about the planner is that Martha gave 2 extra boxes on the bottom which are blank and you can add anything you want in them. They could be fitness related, goal related, work related...anything really. I made one of the boxes for Meal Planning. Always easier to know in advance what you're cooking rather than on the day itself. And in the second box I write "Highlights". I want to write down a positive memory I have of the day so that I can look back some day and remember all the blessings. It's great because at the end of the day it makes you look on the bright side of the day. 

Finally, the planner provided a large pocket which was removable. I added a couple of post it notes and I picture of my favorite little man.

So, the verdict? I enjoyed trying out a new system, that being the disc bound system. It makes it easy to move the pages around. The cover is very durable and just a stunning color.

The inserts are ok. They get the job done. For month at a glance I would prefer no tips, just a blank calendar and some extra space on the side to write notes, which is provided here. As for the daily pages, I personally don't really need a separate section for Morning, Afternoon and Evening, but I know some people do.

If I had a second chance, I would use this beautiful cover and change the inserts inside.  Some of the ones I love are I Heart Organizing's, A Bowl Full of Lemon's and Erin Condren's. However, I was afraid of going through the hassle of printing the first two planners double sided, then punching holes in all of them. And Erin Condren is spiral bound so I'd have to trim the edges and punch holes in them too. Too much work. With a toddler. Not happening.

And so I stuck with Martha Stewart's 2014 planner.

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Note-Taking Tips and Strategies

Recently, I was invited to conduct a workshop at a tutoring center about how to effectively take notes for school. I thought I would share some of the things we discussed!

This is the main handout I gave to the students. Each student received a colored copy of this to understand the importance of colors and style of layout for note-taking. 

Note-taking is an essential skill that has to be mastered by students in order to excel. Apart from helping in retaining information and thereby making it easier to revise for tests, it is a valuable skill that is even useful during adulthood. It can be used at work during meetings, or at talks of interest. It's a skill that never loses its value.

How many times have you gone for an exam after studying from the textbook or slides and gotten out of the exam wondering where some of the questions even came from? Those questions are most likely from something your teacher had mentioned in class and should be in your notes!

Taking notes isn't just an activity a person does during class and completely ignores during any other time of day. It's highly important to get into the habit of working on it before and after class as well, if you'd like to excel in your studies! 

Before class, skim through next lessons texts. If you develop a slight understanding of what the teacher will discuss in the following class, it will definitely help in your note-taking, rather than going into class with absolutely no idea of what to expect. After class, go through your notes as soon as you can. While the points of class are still fresh in your mind, attempt to fill out any missing parts and organize your notes to make it clear and easy to understand. 

As for during class, there are many things to remember:

Do's: 

*If you're in a physical classroom (rather than online), make sure to sit in the front row! Being right in front of the teacher helps in keeping yourself from getting distracted during class, and boosts your concentration level. From what I know, students that sit in the back generally tend to chitchat more with friends during class, and it can get distracting for students trying to stay focused! 

*Use legible handwriting. 2 months down the line when you're trying to study and can't figure out what in the world you wrote in your notebook...it will be frustrating. Don't write too big or too small, and keep the spacing consistent. As a rule of thumb, between each word there should be enough space to fit the letter "o". Also, find pens that work great for you. I find ball point pens to work the best and gel pens to make my writing messy.

*Understand the lecture as you write. Don't keep writing without understanding as the notes won't make sense later on.

*Use symbols and abbreviations. Writing at the same speed as your teacher is talking in is not an easy task. With the help of symbols and abbreviations, you can speed up the task. Here's an example of some:

Source

Make up some of your own if they help you in class! Just make a key somewhere in your notebook so that you don't forget in the future. Also, looking up what is coming up in the following class beforehand helps a lot as you can decide if you want to abbreviate any long words that will come up constantly. For example, if you're in History class and are learning about the French Revolution, it will take up too much time to keep writing "French Revolution" over and over again. Write down "FR = French Revolution" on the top of the page so you know what it refers to in your notes.

*Figure out a method that works for you. Not every method will work for everyone. I will show you some examples of methods in this post!

*Have revision sessions with your friends. Discussing concepts helps to engrave it in your mind for longer, and you will develop a better understanding of theories if you have someone to talk to about it. 

*Use COLORS! Make diagrams! It should be fun to look at.

Don'ts 

*Don't write down everything word for word that the teacher is saying. Condense it and grasp the bigger concepts. Add examples as well for better understanding. Write it in your own words, not your teacher's. Simplify.

*Don't write everything on the PowerPoint slides. You will be given access to these most likely, so it wastes time to write the same thing in class. If you're not given access, ask your teacher for them.

*Don't get distracted while in class. Losing concentration due to checking your Facebook or talking to friends while in class can make you lose out some concepts in class.

*Don't be shy to ask the teacher questions! The teacher is there for a reason and would love to answer your questions. It makes them happy when the students get involved!*

*Don't cramp too much information on one sheet of paper. This makes it difficult to revise later on. As you can see in the example of the handout I passed out, there are some white spaces on the paper. It makes the page easier to read, and one can also write notes on it during revision time if anything extra is needed. 

Methods

Print PowerPoint Slides: For those classes that have PowerPoint presentations in every session, an option is to print out multiple slides (4-6) on one page and write notes around that. This makes it easier during revision as you just have one reference point rather than going back and forth between your notes and the slides. Also, you'll have to write less during class. However, a lot of printing is involved, and not many people are up for that. Also there isn't as much writing space as a typical notebook. Here's an image of how to do it:

Image Source

Cornell Note-Taking System: This is possibly the most organized method, and is the best way to test yourself while reviewing as well. Here is the handout that was given in the workshop: 

Image Source

In this system, 2 lines are drawn out on each page, one on the bottom for the summary, on one on the left side, which is known as the Cue Column. The largest section is the column on the right side, where the class notes go. Bullet points are recommended. The Cue Column is to be filled out after class. Here, apart from key points, you can also form questions. It's like the TV show "Jeopardy", where the answers are in front of you and you come up with the questions. This is great for revising, as you can cover the Note-taking Column and ask yourself the questions you wrote. Writing the summary down on the bottom ensures you understand the concepts and it's great for referring back to the pages when you are revising for tests. This is an extremely effective method!

Rewriting notes after class: Ok, we're down to the method that I used while in university. Everyday, I'd go home and write my class notes all over again, using colors, drawing diagrams and using post-its. That was my idea of fun :) Apart from making the notes visually pleasing, it helped me revise all of the concepts and I understood class material a lot better this way. When the notes were colorful and neat, it made me WANT to open my book and study! It was definitely a method that worked for me, but all of my friends thought I was crazy :) 

One thing is for sure, you need to have time on your hands to work on your notes. In university, my only responsibility was to get good grades, as I lived with my parents. Rewriting notes not only helped me to digest the material better, but it allowed me to be a little creative as well, and I enjoyed that.

I'm going to post some of my notes here. I did it in different steps. After I got married, I continued being a student in online classes. As time went on, I had less and less time on my hands. So my notes posted below are in 3 stages: 

(1) University days: Most free-time. Used colored pens, did drawings, printed pictures. 

(2) After getting married: more responsibilities. Still managed to rewrite notes, but only used highlighters and post-its.

(3) After having a baby: No free time! Didn't rewrite notes, just highlighted after class and used post-its for vocabulary.

 

The bare minimum that should be done after class is displayed in the last picture, highlighting. Normally I wouldn't highlight so much for classes like Science or Math, but if there is Literature involved, I tend to highlight the entire verses for quick reference. 

Finally, the last thing I discussed in the workshop was how to take Math notes. This can be quite tricky as it is not like the other subjects, but I found a video online that I feel will be very helpful to Math students:  

 

Video Source 

What YOU need to do now is figure out what method works best for you! With the correct mindset, you can make writing class notes effective and fun at the same time! 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don't forget to Like this page 

on Facebook and Follow me on Pinterest! Thanks for 

visiting!

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