Calendar & Planner Tips

Calendar, Planner, Appointment Book, Journal, Diary - no matter which one, here are tips to help you make the most of your planning and organizing tool:

Keep your book with you. Have your book close by so you can make notes and appointments as they happen.

Write down everything! use words and write down all the info. Don't assume you will remember. This serves as a record if you need to look back or piece together bits of what occurred.  If you are handed an appointment card, tape it into your book.

Keep you book in the same place when not with you. Keep your book in the same place on your home desk or at the office. Prominently display your book on top of the to-do pile. Keep your book where you can see it, so it is a visual reminder of what you need to be accomplishing.

Regularly review and update your book. Maybe once a day? twice or more? Intentionally, set a time each day to look through your book and be certain you have al your upcoming appointments and tasks straight in your head. Maybe look at your book before bed to clarify the next day's plans? First thing in the morning to get your day started?

Set one day per week as a tidy-up day. Once a week, go through and give attention to your book. Extraneous papers and receipts need removing? All upcoming events recorded? Miss anything last week? (oops!) Over scheduling any day in the future? Tasks too ambitious and need to be spread out? Any to-do notes that you have not gotten to yet?

Have a simple system of ordering your plans and thoughts. If colors and stickers work for you and make different items pop out, then brighten your pages! If doodles make you smile, then doodle the margins! If minimalism is you, then just the facts. 

Start simple and inexpensive. There are so many record keeping books available. Just get one and try it! Don't jump into an expensive and comprehensive system until you know that it is for you! Start with simple pages with lower initial costs. See what works for you and what doesn't. Then, scale up. No harm in starting a book in the middle of the year! 

Planners, Calendars, Appointment Books, etc are a type of tool. Tools are to make our lives easier and more productive. If your tool is not working for you, toss it and get a better one! If your tool is too colorfully bold for you, toss it! If your tool is unexcitingly bland for you, toss it! Life is too short to use a planner that doesn't work for you! Appointments and tasks are too valuable to be missed only because your tool failed you.

The type of planner you need will change as your life changes. The planner that worked expertly for you two years ago may not serve you well today. No problemo! Get a planner that fits your life! Life is to be lived and enjoyed! Don't force your life into the planner or planning system that is (seemingly!) all the rage! Take care of you and where you need to be and what you need to do!