Do you struggle with keeping track of everyday tasks and engagements? Do you want to consistently build on your yearly resolutions or life goals? Do you wish to be more efficient and thoughtful with how you spend your time?
It may be time to get yourself a planner!
There are many different types of planners. Some apps on our phones may also help us plan our schedules. Today I want to focus on physical planners with the following criteria:
- A monthly calendar section where you are able to see each day of the month together at once like so:
- Some sort of blank notes section (a goals section like the one I have here will suffice too)
- A weekly section where you can write a significant amount in each day
PLANNING FOR EACH MONTH (ABC GOALS):
A great way that planners help people is to remind them of the recurring monthly tasks or engagements that happen over and over again throughout the year. I classify these types of goals as ‘ABC goals’ because they are each represented in my planner by a letter. I designate a letter for each monthly goal and write it somewhere on the page that has the calendar spread like I mentioned before. Make a list of all of the things that you need to do and *want * to do each month. This can look like whatever you want it to.
My list of monthly goals has changed over the years, but this is what I currently follow:
A. Deep clean apartment session
B. Go over budget and pay monthly bills
C. Explore somewhere outside of my neighborhood
D. Spa / Personal maintenance day
E. Read 1 book
F. Tech clean up day
G. Arts and crafts day
Notice how my list contains things that are necessary for life functioning as well as recreational or “mental health” activities. In my opinion it is best to include for fun activities AND ‘chore’ activities rather than just one list of daunting checkmarks of things you might not be as excited about such as paying your bills. When you track these monthly goals on the calendar page, it will help remind you each day as you move through the month which goals you still need to account for with your time. When I complete one of these goals, I color in one of my letters.
OTHER GOALS:
Write down any goals you have for the upcoming month on that blank notes page. Is it time for spring cleaning? Do you have an upcoming business trip to prepare for? Do have any important finals or projects coming up for school that you are worried about? This is your chance to preemptively make space in your schedule as much as you can by writing each upcoming event down. Your planner might have a designated page with upcoming dates and reminders that you can fill in; this will fulfill this function as well.
Again, like before, these events can be whatever you want – YOU are the one who determines their importance. I have yearly goals that I break down into monthly plans: for example, January had a lot of cleaning related goals so I could give my apartment and surrounding a fresh start. In March I plan on starting my apartment garden and so I have been researching the best methods for growing indoors. At times I find myself describing this process as ‘goals that you want to accomplish this year but put off due to either pushing it off or forgetting for long stretches entirely. Each month of the year is quite different in terms of holidays, weather, school and work commitments, so it will be up to you to decide how best to prioritize your monthly goals.
WEEKLY TIME:
It is important to have designated space for each day to write in when choosing your perfect planner. I know that some of the smaller sized planners do a great job of condensing weeks into those tiny rows of squares to save you space, but by investing in a larger planner with more writing space, you are giving yourself the freedom to record as much information as you need. If you are someone who may struggle with balancing new goals along with your existing daily tasks, this is especially important for you.
A planner is meant to break down your future engagements in a visual way that will help you, not overwhelm you, so don’t crowd your weekly section with more things than necessary.
When planning my week, I will come up with some simple steps I can check off related to the ABC goals or monthly sections and write them on the Monday section. I don’t expect to do them all on Monday, but it’s nice to see them and consider them each time I check in to my planner throughout the week. I am someone who struggles to remember basic chores as well, so I will write any additional tasks I have been neglecting on Monday’s list.
You can also check in your list as many times as you want throughout the week! I usually make two halfway lists: what I want to accomplish during the week, and then another one that I make Thursday or Friday for all the things I want to get done over the weekend.
WHY I AM F#(^ING OBSESSED WITH PLANNERS
Some of us wake up each day knowing exactly how they will move through each part of their day automatically in their brains without writing a single thing down. If that is you, I am very happy (and jealous) for you.
I think there is a misconception about people who are labeled forgetful or ‘ditzy’ and that they are too dumb or don’t care about their life and its engagements. After receiving this label myself a couple times, I felt very shameful and worried. I care a lot about my life and I don’t aim to let my loved ones down! I think about my future every single day of my life. Before I had a planner, those thoughts were filled with nothing apprehension for the unknown failures I knew I would find myself in. How can I work on my goals when I can hardly show up for regular life? I spent many years thinking about skills and tools that I could use to bridge this gap between old me and the future me that I dreamed of. The planner is one of the strongest tools that I use to channel future me.
By recording your goals and day to day improvements you are engaging in self actualization. This is a powerful and necessary piece to the human experience. I think that channeling your future idealized self must involve translating that person into bite sized pieces that you can work on today!
When you keep a planner, it allows you to reflect on the past as well. Even seeing which goals you failed and what steps didn’t work for you can be just as useful as watching yourself improve.
I wanted my first article on this blog to be something that I feel passionately about. Our society is not built for neurodivergent people, but we can help each other. And if someone like me has made it this far, I know that you can do it, too! Good luck and happy planning!
Your Friend,
Taylor
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