Planners and using a hand written planner is one of those or don’t thing. Some people prefer to use electronic ones which is great but has challenges for a few reasons. My preference every time is to have a hand written planner. This biggest difficulty for me is deciding which one to buy each year. I know last year I actually wrote a post on my top pics which you can read here. It has not really changed too much since I haven’t really discovered any new ones. The biggest question I am asked is how I use mine, To answer this, I’ve put 4 tips together in this post.
Tackle In Manageable Chunks
The reason why planners are so large is because they divide things into manageable chunks. This is pretty much how you should approach things rather than trying to achieve your goals all at once. Have a look at tackling by month then break it down to each week and finally each day. You may find once you get into this habit that you may even want it broken down further into hours. Luckily there are tonnes of different planners which can accommodate all your needs.
Establish Routine
The great thing is you can use a planner in order to establish a routine. This is something that will also prevent you from pushing yourself too hard and maintain a good balance. Not to mention that when you need a little extra motivation having a routine is perfect to keep you going.
Tech-Free Morning
This for me is one of the biggest reasons I like keeping my schedule in a book. In the mornings the first thing I love to do is check my schedule. Even if I think I know it, I’ll double check to be sure. If I do this on my phone then I will be scrolling through Instagram before you know it. Before even realising it would be the afternoon and I have been unproductive. The best way for me to avoid this is by having a tech-free morning. Not necessarily the entire morning however enough that I have set myself up for the day without my phone.
Double Up With Your Phone
Although having daily electronic free time is important to me during the day my face in in front of a screen. Phone reminders are very handy when I am so it’s helpful to mirror your schedule in them. They can be especially handy when you have a day full of meetings as they politely remind everyone you need to leave. Google calendar is my go-to as it is then on all of my devices and makes it super easy for me to never miss a thing.
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Great post, have literally just got my first planner so will take on board your tips. (@thisleoloves)