Mini Planner Con

I’m a Planner Nerd!

Yes, there I said it.

This time last year I went to Sherlocked and this weekend a friend of mine is at StorybrookeUK. I went hopped over the county line into Cambridgeshire for Cambs Mini Planner Con. I guess it technically started on Friday with the pre-Con Dinner. Some of the ladies who were travelling from further afield were staying in a local hotel overnight so there was a gathering organised – as it wasn’t too far from my house I decided to go along for the dinner. Our Sidekick was on babysitting duty as Chris was also out Friday evening. After dropping Chris off rather than coming home again to kill time I headed to the pub where we were all meeting. I grabbed a diet cola and sat with my crochet and my planner – figured that would identify me as someone friendly! I sat there writing in my planner and playing on my phone when Anna and Jon (Mrs Brimbles and her lovely husband) arrived. I waved at them – realised a bit later that it was probably more of a fangirl wave than a “Hello nice to meet you” kind of wave. It’s really funny – Kelly also said about how it felt like were all being a bit fangirl and Anna thinks we are all completely bananas for being like lol.

I snapped this picture while I was at church. There was a table top sale there and we stopped by to drop off some cakes that I had baked for the sale and to check in Vicky who was organising the whole event.

After running a couple of errands with Chris and Jaxon, I dropped them both off at the church ready for the prep stuff Chris needed to do for the concert in the evening – he was using his skills to do the lighting for the concert.

The drive was nice and straight forward – out of Bedford to Black Cat and up the A1 – Simples!

I arrived at the venue and it was easy enough to find a parking space and get to the venue. I’d expected that I might have had to park further away and then walk to the venue but as it happened it was easy to find a space. I found my way into the building and first person I met was Anna – well that was good – I knew I was then in the right place. I sort of abandoned my stuff and tried to figure out what to do next. I knew that Becca was due to arrive at any moment so I tried to figure where we could sit together and make sure there was space for her sister too so she wasn’t on her own.

I handed in my washi samples and started handing out letters that I had written to people who were attending. My intention had been to write a little note to every person but I ran out of time and so could only do about a quarter. I did actually end up coming home with some of the letters as I wasn’t able to identify everyone. I think I’ll have to go on the FB group and see if I can track them down.

I was hovering near the door and Becca arrived. I did squeal a little as she came through the door – something along the lines of “BECCA IS HERE!!!”. Anna was stood right near me so turned round and said “I guess you two know each other!”. Yup well just a bit, I actually know that our first Twitter conversation was November 18, 2009 when I went to 140Conf (Post One, Post Two). That’s how long we’ve known each other! Crazy times!

After a bit of socialising, Anna called order and got everyone to settle down. She did a quick introduction to what the plan was for the day and emergency information like in the event of a fire where we needed to go and things like that.

We started with a meditation exercise of sorts. We were all so excited and nervous, Anna kicked off with the exercise to calm us all down. It was a good idea and certainly made me feel calm – instead of pinging off the walls in excitement!

Geraldine (From GeraldineJayne) spoke first about creative journaling and how it had helped her to achieve goals but also her dreams. In fact speaking in public like at the conference was one her dreams and here she was achieving it with us! YAY! It got me all excited about getting home and getting out my paints and felt pens and getting on with being creative and journalling. She also talked about making sure that you make time for yourself. She recommended The Miracle Morning book. The idea of trying to get up before Jaxon seems a little crazy but I’m willing to give it a go – I just have to get myself organised and into bed earlier. I am so rubbish about going to bed early.

Geraldine talked about taking more risks and ditching perfectionism. Sometimes we see these beautiful journals and planners on IG or FB and can get bogged down in never being perfect enough. But sometimes it’s about allowing yourself to make errors, not striving for perfectionism.

Next, up we were back to Anna who was speaking about SMART goals. (S – Specific, M – Measurable, A – Achievable/Attainable, R – Relevant, T – Timely). So breaking that down:

S – be specific with your target. Goals and aspirations are different things. An aspiration would be “To lose weight” whereas a goal would be “to lose 10lbs”.

M – Measurable – how are you going to measure your goals? Make sure they are quantifiable – Lose 10lbs, run a 8 minute mile etc.

A – Achievable/Attainable – How achievable is your goal – do you need more time or a smaller goal?

R – Relevant/Realistic – if it’s not relevant – why are you doing it? If you have a goal or an aspiration that is no longer relevant due to your circumstances – can you remove from your list even though it’s not complete.

T – Trackable/Tangible – What’s the main goal?

Life can get in the way of your goals but make sure you’re not continually postponing what needs to be done. Sometimes doing the jobs that you don’t want to do first then you can spend more tie on the things you enjoy. I’m hoping to apply this a bit more. I’ve been breaking down my crochet projects into the individual squares so that I can see what I need to do and cross them off as I go – some days it can be a little overwhelming given how many are there but it means that I can get my head round it. I’m also hoping to apply it to work goals because some days I feel like a duck – I’m calm above the water but my legs are going like crazy under the water.

I’m hoping to apply this a bit more. With Jaxon running around now and not taking naps (unless he dozes off on the bus), planning out my day is even more important. What can I achieve when he’s awake vs What do I have to do when he’s asleep or looked after by someone else. I’ve started by applying this to my crochet projects into the individual squares so that I can see what I need to do and cross them off as I go – some days it can be a little overwhelming given how many are there but it means that I can get my head round it. I’m also hoping to apply it to work goals because some days I feel like a duck – I’m calm above the water but my legs are going like crazy under the water.

Lunch was a buffet which was great. There was a good choice and they’d been able to organise Vegan food for the vegans and vegetarians. These were the lovely ladies I was sat with. There’s (clockwise round the table from the empty seat) Gemma (YouTube/IG), Debbie, Loretta, Kate, Susan, Ashley-Janne (She popped over for a chat during the workshop bit – Etsy/IG/Facebook), Sam and Becca. This was a lovely table and I felt so welcomed. During the workshop I got onto decorating my week view – I got a few bits done but I am thinking about keeping my A5 as a desk diary of sorts and then using my personal in the changing bag when we’re out and about. It does mean that currently I’m keeping two paper diaries along with the digital diary on my phone. I’m starting this way but going to tweak the system and see what works. Following the workshop, Becca, Sam and I went for a trip to the Cath Kidston Outlet Store. It was funny because we arrived and another car of Planner Con People arrived and as we were leaving a second car arrived. We went round the corner to the local Costa to grab a drink and have a proper catch-up. Becca stood in the queue for us so I was able to chat to Sam for a little bit which was lovely – I talk to Becca at least once a week whereas I last chatted to Sam when I last saw Becca. All in all I had a lovely day and really enjoyed myself, I really hope that Anna goes ahead and organises another one (I’ll volunteer if she needs a team next time).