Simple March Reset: Setting Up My Erin Condren Monthly Calendar & Dashboard

If you’ve been following along with my latest videos, you know I recently switched back to the Erin Condren Monthly Planner as my everyday catch-all. I am currently using the special edition Monaco blue planner with the beautiful Hexagon interior from my Planning Made Simple bundle.

I need to reduce my mental load this year, so I am completely letting go of the pressure to have a “perfect” planner. Instead, I am customizing these pages so they actually serve my family’s everyday routines. In my newest video, I sit down to tackle the March monthly spread and the dashboard pages—and I am sharing a few simple tricks to make this planner work harder for you.

The extra Notes pages Hack

Since we are starting this planner a couple of months into the year, the January and February sections had already passed. Instead of letting them sit there unused, I decided to do something a little drastic: I completely tore out the January and February tabs and calendar pages.

By safely ripping those out, I instantly gained 20 blank lined notes pages right at the very front of my planner. Having a massive notes section right at the front is incredibly functional. It gives you a dedicated space to build master to-do lists, map out home projects, or track reading logs without cluttering up your actual monthly calendars.

Converting to a Monday Start

The standard Erin Condren monthly calendars have a Sunday start, but my brain just does not work that way. If you are like me and prefer to have your weekends grouped visually together at the end of the week, you don’t have to settle for a layout you don’t love!

I show you exactly how I use functional days-of-the-week strips and date dots from Planner Kate to completely re-date the March calendar to a Monday start. It takes just a few minutes, covers up the original dates perfectly, and makes visualizing the week so much easier.

Building a Hardworking Dashboard

The dashboard page is one of the most helpful tools in this planner, and I like to divide it up into highly specific categories. Here is how I am utilizing the dashboard for March:

• The Mopping Tracker: For my monthly cleaning checklist sticky note, I specifically separate “sweeping” from “mopping”. It is way too easy for me to just grab the Swiffer and call it a day, so having a dedicated checkbox ensures I actually get the real spin-mop out at least once a month!
• The Bank Fee Tracker: I use my bill tracker sticky note right on my dashboard to tally my debit card purchases. My checking account requires 10 debit transactions a month to waive the bank fees, so this simple visual tracker ensures I hit that number without having to constantly log into my banking app.
• Family & Fun: I also carved out dedicated spots to jot down school notes for my son, as well as our family’s Formula 1 watch schedule.

Planning should be a tool that helps you feel calm and in control, not a rigid rulebook. Click the video below to watch the full March setup, and let me know in the comments how you are customizing your own planner this month!

(P.S. If you want to grab any of the functional stickers I used in this video, you can always use my code KK20 for 20% off at Planner Kate!)