That being said, first semester went off without a hitch!  I did well in my classes, but I was left with the feeling that I could have done much better.  There must have been some way I could better organize myself.  As if someone out there heard my plea, I stumbled across a "life planner" made from Erin Condren.  I did my research, and a friend of mine gifted me my very first life planner as a late Christmas gift, what a great guy.

I jumped headfirst into the life of a planner addict, buying stickers, post-it notes, colored pens/markers and lots of washi tape.  I'm not even ashamed at how much I've spend on the "hobby" so far.  It's done wonders in reminding me of due dates on projects, exam dates, things I need to pay and so much more.  The part I love most about my life planner is that it's so easily customizable and whenever I crack it open to see what needs to be done that week, I'm met with a new spread every week.  Creating these "layouts" every week is something I've found to be quite therapeutic.  It gives me the chance to sit by myself and collect my thoughts.  Put my ducks in a row, if you will. 

Even now that school is out for the summer, I find myself scheduling a lot of my work appointments in there, as it's a book I bring with me almost everywhere I go.  It's now such a critical part of my life that I'm not even sure what I did with myself before I owned it.  And as the 2015 calendar year crawls to a close, I'm scrambling to decide what I'd like to do, planner wise.  Do I want to stick with Erin Condren, or would I like to explore my options and discover new avenues?  These aren't questions that I ask myself lightly and the answers are sure to take plenty of time to come up with.

So many people have suggested I simply use Google Calendar or notes on my phone, but it all really comes down to the fact that I'm a "hands on" person.  I can better remember something when I've written something down and taken care to make it look nice.  Not only that, but again I find this doing to be a very soothing process and I don't wish to give it up any time soon.  I've already concocted a list of things I'd like to improve for this coming school year, and I'm sure I'm going to continue to grow as a planner addict.

Do you guys use planners, or are you more the type of person to use your calendar app on your phone?  How do you keep yourself organized?