VDS A5 Manager as a Journal

After having a muddled few days I decided to get started on my journal in my A5 VDS Manager and as I started pulling it all together it made me wonder why I was actually waiting...it's not like it is dated or anything as I had already decided to just write as and when I felt I needed to offload.

Anyway, I realised that I didn't have notepaper inserts and after rummaging around in my stash of stuff I came across a Kraft A5 Notebook that I got from Sainsbury's for £1.50. Imagine my delight that (a) it was cream in colour, (b) it already had rounded off corners and (c) it is fountain pen ink friendly!!! Why did I not know this earlier???

Oh and just the icing on the cake (d) it has easy tear off pages....!! Woohoo!!

I put a handful in my planner which made the notepad itself quite thin - and ideal for putting in my handbag so that if I need to urgently empty my head (which is more frequent than it should be!) I have my journal pages already with me!!  I have made little templates of where the holes will be punched so I don't get carried away and write in the wrong place, I am very pleased with the outcome and I feel quite positive that this is going to work very well for me.

Indeed it has been a week or so now since I stumbled on this and I am finding that I am writing on the go, penning out thoughts, ideas and musings and even a bit of doodling along the way...once I get home I am hole-punching the pages and popping them in.  The only thing I really need to make sure I do is date the pages!  I have bought a couple more of the notebooks in readiness for them being used.
Another good thing about using A5 is that I can easily shrink down articles or information and put that in too.  With a simple page tab I can easily see where this is or if I end up putting too much of that type of thing in there I will consider a separate section.  The Manager has got HUGE rings so this is never going to be a problem.

Result I think!!

Happy 2015 - both VDS Planners set up :)

Oh boy have I ached this week!!  Sunday's yoga class left me with aches and pains in my shoulders and my abs...which I guess is a good thing as it means those muscles have been worked but oh my...I felt like I had done more of a workout than the gently relaxing yoga class I thought I was going to!!

Never mind, regardless I booked in again for Monday (and did that make my poor abs hurt even more!) and Sunday.  The timetable is all messed up due to the festive period but once the New Year starts it settles down to a Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.  Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I intend on using the gym and Sunday is a day of rest!!

I am loving all these dots in my planner :)  It is making me feel quite accomplished.  I am adding another colour - orange - for study time (and I have one of those already too!) and now also yellow for the exercise bike as that has come back indoors now the Christmas Decorations have all gone.  I am hoping by the end of the month I would have got into the routine and have a pretty rainbow of colour to show for it - along with better measurements, weight and knowledge!  Hopefully by then I would have submitted a couple more assignments too!!

Week of Christmas, joined the gym on the 24th and started on the 26th

This was last week, it was closed on Thursday for New Year

I am not kidding myself, this is going to be a tough year but I think a truly rewarding one if I can stick to my guns...not only that but I am planning on saving some money too (which lunchtime study should help with, working in a city is not good for the bank balance!).

I was a little concerned about where I would get my 'highs' from - being a self confessed shopaholic, but I am going to re-focus these concerns to getting my highs from the lows on the scales and tape measure!!  All the clothes in my wardrobe that still have the tickets on that will soon fit will be my 'free shopping trip' and I will obviously have the feeling of satisfaction that it is all working to plan and I am losing weight, getting fit and acquiring knowledge all the time...yeah, I have a bit of work to do in convincing myself that's going to work!!  I love shopping, it is what I was born to do!!  

Would be nicer though I think to be able to save some pennies and reward myself for being a good girl...mentally and physically...I'm going to give it a go and see how it works out.

I have started on the diet too, fat-free greek yoghurt, bran flakes and a banana for breakfast instead of my usual packet of doritos!  For lunch I have quinoa salad made up of celery, apple, walnut pieces, cucumber, raw mushroom and a little bit of cubed cheese.  It's filling but not quite the chicken caesar wrap that I normally have!  Even the beverages are changing from coffee to herbal tea and although I'm not really that keen on herbal teas I have found that I quite like the Three Tulsi Tea and it's supposed to be pretty good for you.

I wonder if I have changed too much too quick, only time will tell I guess but for now I am coping pretty well.  I gave up smoking nearly three years ago and I don't drink alcohol at all - I don't like it, I wish I could say the same for chocolate!!  Hmmmm chocolate!

This year is seeing changes.  I have booked a holiday for a whole week!!  I normally don't do this and just take odd days here and there making up long week-ends but I don't think I am getting the benefit of a rest so after a very short discussion with hubby I have booked for a week in Cyprus!  My parents live there so we will be staying with them.  I cannot wait!!  It has also had an impact on the fitness, I really want to look and feel great by the time we go - even hubby has joined in for this!  The last few times I have been I hate all the photographs...I want to have a good pic this time!!

I have now set up my VDS Senior for the new year, I haven't had the chance to do it until now and my eldest was also home from Uni camping out in my little study so I didn't really have the space either.  He went back yesterday and within an hour my little study was back to normal and so I got started organising and planning, I am very happy with the result :)  It is feeling quite chunky now that I have a full year of calendar inserts in there!  I love it!!

Last week, not too much going on

Next week's fitness planning - all classes are booked!

All I have left to do today is prepare the lunches for next week and have a long hot bubble bath to celebrate my accomplishments this week and think about what I'd like to achieve next week :)  Baby steps, just one week at a time - a new thing I am trying rather than overwhelm myself with a zillion and one things that need to be done!

I decided last week to come off the medication I was taking, anti-depressants, and that in itself is taking its toll on me.  They never tell you at the beginning that in order to get off these you will feel worse than you did when you started taking them!  I wish I had done the research back then...the withdrawal symptoms are awful - the dizzy spells and feelings of depersonalisation are hard to handle. I am trying to keep it real, keep it achievable and take it easy on myself for the next few weeks until it has subsided, I have read that it can take up to 3 months but I'm hoping it wont take that long as I was on such a low dose anyway but still....we shall see.  I will be tracking it all - the good and the bad - in my planner and hopefully I will start to see more good than bad soon.

Until next time, take care xxx

2015 Preparations

Has anyone tried Leonie Dawson's yearly workbooks? I am on my second one although I didn't complete much of 2014 to be honest but I liked the style and illustrations in it and it does make you think about what your goals and aspirations are for the year ahead. I bought the one for 2015 and I am loving it!

There are parts of it that I wouldn't use, a bit too spiritual-esque for me but overall it is a great bit of kit and I have enjoyed filling it in bit by bit, I find that I keep going back to it and adding a bit more each time, which I guess is the whole idea of it. 

I think my set up for my VDS A5 Manager is evolving quite nicely and 2015 hasn't even started yet but my calendar that I got from Paperchase started on Christmas Day so I have jumped straight in!  I wasn't sure what I was going to use the calendar for as I use my Senior for appointments and the like and to date all my other A5 calendars never got used but with making this planner my 'me' planner I have already started using it to make a quick note of what I did at the gym and how that made me feel and what I am grateful for, it seems to be working - although I appreciate it is only two days in as I write this but still, it is something I think I can work with and continue to do.  I am not writing too much, just a few lines as I do have a seperate journal for innermost thoughts and feelings so this is more of a health log of how I am progressing.

Working on that alongside Leonie's workbook seems a good way to wind down at the end of the day and leaves my mind thinking of the good stuff before I go to sleep rather than everything else and that can only be a good thing!

I am looking forward to the new year and what it will bring, I am determined to get my goals especially in respect of my exams and my weight loss/body image. My friend came out with a fab saying that I love, she said "By this time next year I want to be a Christmas cracker not a Christmas pudding!" And I can so resonate with that!!

I have a few more days off work and I am spending that time researching good healthy lunchbox ideas and gathering all the necessary things I'll need such as Tupperware containers etc. my plan is to spend lunchtimes at work studying and eating a healthy lunch rather than wandering around the shops and buying pre-packed full of salt lunches...sounds like a plan don't you think?  I can go out on the lunchtime of payday to reward my efforts with a new funkier piece of gym kit, hopefully in a smaller size!

I have my first exam in April and I have to submit 6 more assignments before 20 March so I have a lot of work to do, I've already submitted the first one and got an A, which made me feel so proud of myself but has now set a precedent for my future assignments....I have to get a B at the minimum for them to count towards my overall grade. I am going to be so busy!!  That is one reason why I have set myself the task of using my lunch hour, that and it will stop me spending as I still feel a bit guilty about the gym membership!  Although I am currently spending over £15 a week on those pre-packed lunches so I will save a bit of money there too by making my own. Win win I think! 

I will be using my VDS to track my studying too and I need to work out the timetable again for when I need to have the assignments in by as I have slacked off a bit over Christmas but I really need to get back into it at the start of the year. The next exam will be in October and if I pass these two I will be halfway to fully qualified.  I want them to be over so much as that is the end of the line for me and I won't have to study any more, I feel like I've been doing it forever as it is!  The step after that is to get a better job hopefully with the company I am with already as I really like it there but if not it'll be time to move on...but I'm jumping the gun a bit, I need to concentrate on the here and now and not worry about the future yet.

At the moment I am feeling bright and positive and that's the way I want it to stay!

Until next time, take care xxx

Training Record in VDS

Inspired by recent thoughts and Carie Harling's post on "What are your why not's?" I made a list, a few of them I knew would appear but a couple of them surprised me as I got into the groove of this inspiring way of thinking.

It's almost along the lines of if you knew you couldn't fail what would you do? Because in reality, why would you fail? What do you need to do to help you achieve your goal in life? Anything is possible...unless you want to be able to fly or become invisible of course...but being realistic if someone else is able to do it, or learn how to do it then there is no reason why you can't too!

It's been a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I am very lucky to have such a wonderful supportive family around me.  I am very grateful and appreciative of this on a daily basis.  I love them with all my heart and soul and I know they know it too.

Today was the first step on a long journey towards my goal of losing weight and getting fit.  I went to the gym and had a workout, and I went for a swim and then rewarded myself with a session in the steam room and jacuzzi and I feel fantastic!!  I've already laundered my stuff in readiness for the next session.  I am feeling so determined.  I have booked in for the yoga class the day after tomorrow which will mark the start of my meditation process.

I have decided to use coloured dots in my planner for the activities that I have done:

Red is for the gym
Blue is for swimming
Green is for yoga

I will have to use this for the next week as I haven't got December in the monthly!

From January I will be using this so I can see an overview

I am looking forward to seeing all the dots!!

I am planning on rewarding myself with an item of training gear at the end of each month, at the end of January it will be a pair of running trainers.

I was going to use a dedicated filo to track my progression but I have decided to use my senior and my A5. My senior is my every day carry and I will be pleased with myself to see how much I do and to use it for motivation purposes, the A5 is to log it as this is my 'me' binder and it has things only to do with me, no appointments or to do lists etc as that is was my senior is for.

I am feeling very proud of myself.

Until next time, take care xxx

VDS Senior as a Planner Wallet Combo

I have decided to try and use my VDS Senior Touch Me as my wallet and binder combo and I think it is going to work very well - obviously I will do an update in a week or so to let you know how it is working out but I think it will be fine.

Here is some photo's of my set up...

Senior & Manager together

Front left - zipper pocket, secretarial pocket and little pocket

Glittery divider marks the start

She marks the start of my musings

Marks the start of my notes section

This is from a desk jot pad, just punched and inserted

 

Bank cards are behind the glitter! 

Coupons and notes

Change in the gussetted zip pocket 

Another slip pocket 

I think this will work very well and it saves having to have a seperate wallet so I will try this out and see how it goes, I hope it works!!  The only reason that it might not is that this binder is VERY floppy and that will either work for or against me, but we shall see!!

Coming up next is my overview of the A5 Manager in Touch Me which is now almost fully set up.

Until then, take care xxx

Can I justify another A5 VDS Touch Me??

This week end I attended a two day workshop run by The Coaching Academy for a Personal Coaching Event and it was really interesting!

For those who have been following my blog you will know that I have a few things simmering along at the moment, my Insurance Qualifications, a Diploma in CBT and I am at college doing a Life Coach Course which is due to finish this week :(

All this is to try and work out what it is I want from my career and how to go about finding that out as I have nothing really specific in mind, just something to do with my insurance background in claims and old buildings, although to be honest, I think it will be too long and too expensive to go down the degree in Building Surveying route now and I may just have to keep the old building thing as a hobby, would probably tie in very well with the photography course I want to take next year.

But back to this week end.  I met some very interesting people and found out a few more interesting things about myself.  What I am finding very intriguing about talking about myself and my career choice/want with complete strangers is that out of the dozen or so people I had to do role play/exercises with they all came up with the same kind of job role for me and gave me similar strengths that they thought I had - which is funny because I never thought I possessed any strengths really...certainly not the ones that they suggested I had!!

Apparently my strengths came across as:  Confident, Tenacious, Committed, Personable, Organised and generally passionate about my work - WOW!!!  How on earth could they all come up with pretty much the same thing after only a few minutes talking to me??  This made me feel fantastic I have to admit!! 

This has driven me on this morning to speak to someone higher at work and ask about any future opportunities that may come that I could be considered for as I cannot see my current role as being enough for me once I get a grip of my studies...but for now I have to work out what it is exactly that I am aiming for to ensure that I am studying the correct subject.  It is all looking positive and I am feeling quite pleased with myself.

Can I just say that it has also boosted me that I got my first assignment back today too and I have been graded an 'A' so I am floating somewhere around cloud 9 at the moment. :)

I need to set up my A5 Manager Touch Me from Van Der Spek now as my motivational and inspirational planner that keeps me going on this path of wonder.  Has anyone else seen these planners?  They are so divine and so beautiful and so BIG!!!  (If not, see my previous post!)

I am crossing my fingers and toes that they come out with a red leather version of this as I am most definitely having one if they do...I love this range so much...I may have to get a black version of the A5 for my studies as although I don't currently use a filo for this I think I could absolutely make an exception for a Van Der Spek!!

Black & Brown VDS Touch Me's having cream tea

The black ones are just as delectable as the brown ones but a red one would be magnificent!!

I will do an update once I have set up my A5 Touch Me and also my Study Planner.

Until then, take care xxx

Van Der Spek Planner Heaven :)

Guess what arrived this morning!!  After the disappointment of the couriers leaving it behind in their depot yesterday when it should have been delivered and the equally unhelpful customer services who told me that they do not deliver on Saturday so I would have to wait until Tuesday...they delivered it this morning!!

Oooh, I wonder what this could be...

Yay!!  At last!!

The uber-softness cannot be pictured!

And my very own Philofaxy card!

Gorgeous, just gorgeous!

Look at that MASSIVE pocket!!

And those MASSIVE rings!!

That's going to take a LOT of stuff :)

Togetherness x

Perfect combination - Senior & Manager size

Wow, I am in awe of this planner, the feel, the smell, the craftsmanship, the everything!  I would like to thank Petra Van Der Spek for being so patient with my queries and the lightning fast delivery as I only ordered it on Tuesday evening and it should have been here on Friday so that is amazing all the way from the Netherlands!!

I am in planner heaven - if you haven't looked at Van Der Spek planners before then you should go straight away to here and have a look at the delights they have to offer - you can even get your own planner custom made with your choice of colour and texture of leather both inside and out, stitching, ring size and colour and additional items - all made with love and excellent skills!!

Mine are both from the Touch Me range which are not customised (other than the ring sizes) as I love the big back pocket and the internal layout so much.  Currently they only come in brown or black but there is talk of another colour being offered in the future...you need to keep a check out for that, and if its red then I'm definitely having another set!!

Right, I am off to play/set up my planner so I will be back with an update!

Until then, take care xxx

Deciding on which planners to use!!

I have printed, cut and punched the free 2015 Monthly Planner from Lime Tree Fruits and they are amazing! They are available here and if you haven't come across her work yet then you should really go check her out as she has some awesome things available for your planner.

They have the most wonderful illustrations and 'feel good' quotes, I love these and normally print a few copies in various sizes so I have them in all my planners but this year I am not doing that, this year I am going to try and dedicate a planner for specific things rather than have things all over the place between the different ones as that has really not worked - surprised?!

So, as my gorgeous VDS A5 Manager Touch Me has not turned up (see previous post for a rant on why!) I am now wondering which planner to put them in...then it dawned on me that I was going to end up repeating what didn't work and we all know "if we keep on doing the same thing we are always going to get the same thing" and I need to sort it now before I get carried away doing exactly that!

I have a few things on the go at the moment and I have enough planners to be able to designate each one to a specific purpose so all I need to do is figure out which one I can use for what...easier said than done when you want to use ALL of them for everything!  But it doesn't work!!!!!

My projects at the moment are:

1. Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
2. Diploma in Insurance - two courses, Liability and Law
3. Life Coach Course
4. Neuro Linguistic Programming Workbook
5. My life stuff in general - goals, musings, etc
6. Everyday stuff - calendar, lists, etc (this one is easy as it is all in my VDS Senior that stays with me so this one didn't really need to be on the list but for completeness of thought...)

With that in mind, the planners that I have available for these purposes - all in A5 - are:

1. VDS A5 Manager - when it turns up!
2. Grey Malden
3. Grey Holborn
4. Domino Bronze Snake
5. Original Nude
6. Cuban Zip in Chestnut
7. Black Aston

To summarise what will be in each and to try and figure out which one would be best for the job, I think as follows:

No 1 - Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - there are going to be lots of notes and research for this one so I am thinking maybe the Black Aston for that...looks professional for when I attend workshops and is one of my favourite planners.  Although I do have a lever arch folder for this subject too as there rather a lot of text book that I printed out so maybe my notes would be best done in this one?

No 2 - Diploma in Insurance - Liability and Law - this is currently being done in an A4 notebook along with the text book that I need...so I guess I should just keep it there too, it seems to be working at the moment so why change what isn't broken?

No 3 - Life Coach Course - this is currently residing in my Domino Bronze Snake.  I was using my Original but I was too worried about scuffing as it goes to college with me so I'll keep this one in there.  The elasticated closure makes it easy to stuff additional handouts in so I can keep them safe until I get home to hole punch them in properly, so that one is working well.

No 4 - Neuro Linguistic Programming - this is a workbook that I got to learn the basics of this course to see if it is something that I would want to do at college later on.  The workbook has space for you to write as you work through it but I hate writing in text books!!  I think the Original Nude would work well for this as I wont be taking it out anywhere and it will stay in my study,

No 5 - My life in general - this one is screaming for the VDS Manager!  I ordered it from Van Der Spek with 35mm rings and so this is going to be a beast of a binder!  I am very excited to receive it (when UPS stop messing about) and there is already some things that I have got ready pending its arrival - like the Lime Tree Fruits monthly planner above and a full set of dividers and inserts from Paperchase for just £6:

I want to put the Leonie Dawson's "Your Amazing Year 2015" in this one too.  I want to find something that I can use for goals and projects and how to break them down into do-able chunks so this will include my study timetable as they are part of my goals (although I will have duplicate ones in the respective place too).  It is going to be a reflective place - but not my journal which I have a separate bound book for that (I've tried moving out of it but always come back to it so again, it's working as it is) - but somewhere that I can just doodle and muse, maybe mind map my ideas and try and figure out what is going on in my head!  I'm definitely going to need the massive rings for that!

No 6 - Everyday life, that lives in my VDS Senior that accompanies me everywhere.  I love this planner sooooo much!  

With all the above in mind it looks as though the Holborn, Cuban and Malden are going to sit unused again, and maybe even the Aston!  Oh no!!

I guess I don't like to study using A5 - seems that I end up always going back to A4 so I suppose I'd better leave it that way...

It is time to admit defeat I think - I just cannot use all of my planners.  I need to simplify my life (there's enough going on as it is as you can see!) and this is just not helping.  The additional stress I am giving myself because I feel guilty that I have beautiful planners going unused is ridiculous!!  The question is, what do I do with them?  Do I just put them on a shelf to admire and feel happy that I've got them even though they aren't used or do I sell them on to someone who would love and use them? Would I end up with seller's remorse?  Do I have time to feel that??? 

Dilemmas, dilemmas...until next time, take care xxx

Tomorrow is VDS Delivery Day - NOT!!

Oh my, I am getting very excited about this!  It has been confirmed by UPS that my beautiful A5 Brown Touch Me will be delivered by the end of the day tomorrow - ok they didn't actually say that but that's what they meant by your parcel will be delivered...obviously.

I haven't ordered any inserts as I like to sort my own out and today I am off to Paperchase to get the 2015 Week per View full set up - which comes with dividers, notes, addresses, etc, all for the amazing price of £8 - and it's better quality than Filofax paper too!  The dividers themselves are quite 'meh' but I don't like dividers anyway so they'll be discarded.  I love the simplicity of the Paperchase inserts though and I quite like how the single refill papers have the multi coloured edge, adds just a little pop of colour.  

I haven't quite decided what I am going to end up using my A5 for, although with the massive 35mm rings I can probably use it for everything!!  Lol.  My dilemma is do I use it for 'me' stuff or do I use it for 'life stuff' - and by that I meant the courses I am doing.

UPDATE:  After telling me this morning that my planner was 'Out for Delivery' my status changed to 'Delayed' - because they'd left my parcel at the Depot!!!  UPS you are rubbish!!!  Now because it is a Friday I may have to wait until possibly Monday or Tuesday for it to be rescheduled for delivery...I am not a happy bunny any more :(

I did go and get my inserts from Paperchase yesterday too :(  I know another couple of days isn't the end of the world but I WANTED IT/NEEDED IT NOW!!!  Grrrrrrr

Oh well, I suppose I can still 'set it up' without it actually being here.  Or I could just study like I'm supposed to be doing!  I have an assignment due in tonight...and I am nowhere near done with that, so I guess it might be a blessing in disguise - bah!