Let’s talk planning.
I’ve always wanted to be somebody who could plan things well. It’s not that I can’t plan, per say. It’s that I don’t do well with planners and organizers.
That’s not for a lack of trying.
Over the years, I’ve tried many things ranging from traditional pen and paper to electronic ways. Nothing seems to work, and I end up failing. I keep trying and trying.
Over the past year-plus, I’ve been slowly working to make it better. Last year, I tried too much and I failed. This year, while I have a similar setup as last year, it’s better in several ways.
The main reason is I have one planner – my Hobonichi Weeks – that I am trying to use as my EDC and have it be for all aspects of my life. The main issue, however, is that I can’t get into a good flow with it.
If you are a planner of any sorts, my guess is you’ve seen videos and such about it on YouTube or other social media. The people doing these spreads definitely set aside time to do it every week and they look amazing.
Problem! I don’t have the time or skill they all have to create these planners.
I feel I’ve found a decent setup for my planner, but it’s utilizing it more. I know the things I need to do in that regard, so I’m getting there. I have so many things I want to focus on – Harper, videos, blog posts, baseball games and other entertainment, bills/finances, health-related items, work-related items etc. As you can see, it’s a lot to jam into one planner.
I’m trying to color coordinate things as well, so a quick look helps. That’s slowly coming along.
The thing with the Weeks is 200 or so blank pages in the back. I like this as it gives me a place to go more in-depth, but there’s also the reality that I need to be able to find these items, so I’m trying like hell to create myself a system so things don’t get lost, and so I also don’t waste a lot of those pages.
The reason I am trying to figure this flow out is because I’d kind of like to set up this whole planner now so when I have things to add, I can do it and not worry about not having things set up etc. I tend not to write in the planner pages that aren’t set up as maybe I’ll change it etc. But if I settle in on how I like things, I can add appointments and other things to the planner as they come up. That makes this Weeks way more valuable to me and more likely I’ll start carrying it to most places I go.
It’s a lot to work on, but it’s somewhat coming together. Eventually, being I’m switching almost fully to Apple products, I really want to also start utilizing the Apple Reminders and Notes apps to help with all of this.
How about any of you? Are you planners? If so, what do you use and how do you stay focused in doing it?
One final note when it comes to planning – the 20 Days of Chill. You can mark this down that the 2023 version starts on January 2!
This post is part of the 2022 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the links (intro I themes) if you’d like to see the setup and themes! You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want to! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants!
Link up:
I just realized I didn’t post the kind of planner I use. It’s the Passion Planner, large size. I like the fact that the weeks are already laid out. Over the 5+ years I’ve been using their annual planner, I’ve come up with a couple of modifications I draw in for myself, one month at a time. And one of my favourite features are the 20 or so blank and 20 or so dot grid pages at the back, so I can track my workouts, household chores that need to be done, etc.
I also use a digital calendar so that reminders pop up for appointments, tax stuff, etc.
You make a good point…you can set the best planning intentions, but it’s easy to let it become an end in itself, so that you spend as much or more time planning as you do actually doing. Or to give up in frustration because your planning doesn’t look as good as the Instagram spreads. That’s why I find a reflection piece to my daily/weekly/monthly planning process so helpful…it prompts me to think about what’s going well and what could better serve me if I change things up.
Mrs GeoK / Denise recently posted..20 Days of Chill: Plan It!
I’ve been following you for a couple of years now, and I know you’ve been trying different approaches like this bullet point thing (I still don’t get it). I hope “Reminders” and a simple online calendar works for you. It does for me.
I *have* to plan my days as they include day job, hockey schedule and “the rest”. As much as I like a nice paper planner with folders, stickers, colors and whatnot, I feel like this “scrap booking” takes too much time to plan you time, know what I mean? Online it is for me.
Thank you for hosting another fun 20 Days of Chill!