When times get crazy

There are times when you can look at your schedule, and you think you are never going to get everything done. I know that I have those times, and what I have done is figured out a way to make it a little easier to manage the list of things that seems to be overwhelming.

I am one of those individuals that must have a planner available so that I can write done the things that I need to do, especially those things that have a deadline. Not only that, but I do manage my planner a little differently than a lot of people and that is because besides having the things that I need or want to do on a specific day, I also note down what I accomplished that day.

I started noting down the things that I accomplished in a day when I found I would look at the planner and think that I hadn’t got anything done. Now, when I look through my planner at the end of the week, I can see what got done and what didn’t get done. I do mark off each of the items as they are accomplished, if they were originally on the planner. I just black pen for the tasks to get done, and then I use blue to mark off the tasks and add the other things that I accomplished. This helps me see if I got everything done that was originally planned and also what else got completed or what prevented me from getting a planned task done.

Being able to manage the various tasks is very important for everyone, and having a method that works is good. There are also times when I will put a list of things to accomplish down on a different piece of paper if I don’t have my planner close by at that time and that is another way, I manage things when times get crazy for me.

Knowing what works best for you in assisting you in getting things done is what is important. You may not need to have things in a planner, or a list made, but making sure you know what needs to be done, and you get it all done, that is the main thing. So, when life starts to get crazy, step back for a few minutes and think about how you are going to remember everything that you need to accomplish.

 

Having the right planner for you

Over the last few years, I have been trying to find a planner that works for me and the way that I think and like doing things. It has taken quite a while for me to figure out just want I liked about planners and what I didn’t like. I know that I have written quite a few blogs about my planner or my journal and how I have liked the one that I was using.

Last year, I decided that instead of purchasing a planner because I couldn’t find one that I liked, I would use a dot journal book and lay out my own planner so that I could lay it out for what I wanted to use my planner for. Yes, that is a great ideal when you first think about doing it, until you realize how much time it takes to set up your planner. The planner I had set up would last me four months, and then I would have to set up another planner for another four months, which isn’t something I was enjoying doing. So, part way through the first four months I realized that I could change the planner up, and it would last me 6 months so that was better, except that I still had to sit and layout each page of the planner which does take time. I did end up setting the second planner for last year and got through part of that planner until I found an academic planner that I liked.

The academic planner did work through the end of the year, but then I realized that I really didn’t like a planner that went from July – June because for me a year is January – December, so I needed another planner, so the hunt was on again to find something that I liked.

Things that I didn’t want.

1. The appointment layout, as I don’t operate on a time schedule, I work on a get things done schedule.
2. Something that won’t stay open on my desk because I like seeing the calendar, so I see what I have to do.
   

What I did want.

1. Space where I could add notes each day easily.
2. Ability to add little notes after I had completed the tasks and added everything else for the day.

As you can see, I had some specific things that I both wanted and didn’t want, and it was becoming a challenge to find a planner that was going to make me happy. After looking at a lot of calendar and planner, I finally found one that seems to be working for me, and it is the Happy Planner – Classic Lined Vertical Layout. This planner gives me the space to add the items I want to complete each day and with it being a ring system I can add pages to it if I want.

My planner is very important to me because it is used for both work and personal tasks, so having it available on my desk all the time is important. I have been using this planner since the beginning of the year and so far, it seems to be working for me. I hope that I can continue to find this type of planner in the coming years because not having to set up my own planner is so much nicer and I have enjoyed it so far.

 

Planners and getting things done

 

I think a lot of us have a planner or calendar that we use to record that various appointments and meetings that we need to attend. Being able to figure out what works best for you is very important, and it can change over time. You may use a variety of methods of recording the various things that you need to accomplish each day, or just one thing that catches everything.

For us, I know that we have a calendar where we both record the various appointments and deadlines that effective either both of us or either of us, but we want the other person aware of the event. This is the place where we also put the various vacations that may impact us, either clients on vacations or family members, and of course our own vacations. This is the spot that we check when we are trying to schedule work meetings and even a lot of our social events because it lets us know what could impact the event.

Besides having our joint calendar, I have a planner that I use to document the things that I would like to get done daily. It is also the place where I put the appointments, deadlines, and meetings as well so that I can see at the beginning of the day when is ahead of us. Yes, it means that a lot of the things are documented twice, but at least I can see them quickly and my planner is beside me on my desk throughout the day.

My planner is also where I document what I have accomplished each day so that at the end of the day I can see what I got done versus what was planned to get done. There are days when I can get lots of things done that weren’t even on the to-do for the day, and then other days maybe only one thing that was on the list can get achieved before it was a larger project than I originally thought. Being able to manage things in a couple of ways make it so much easier because it at least lets us see what is going on.

I use my planner for a lot of the little things that I need to do and things that I would like to do each day but not they have to do that given day. Normally in the planner I am writing when bills need to be paid, different notes that we want to have available but don’t need to be on our calendar that may interfere with planning of other things.

Yes, having multiple planners and calendars can be a challenge, but you need to make sure that you have a method of getting things done. One calendar may work for a lot of people, but we have found that having a shared calendar for a lot of the stuff and then me having a separate planner for other things works great. See what works for you, and then you may end up changing things around, but at least give the idea a chance and see how it goes.