A reader recently emailed me asking if I know of a large weekly planner where the days are divided into separate spaces for schedule and tasks. Kind of like this Sarah Pinto one, only larger.
It seems like I have seen something like this, but can't think of where in my endless online browsing I saw it. In an academic planner maybe? Has anyone seen a planner like this?
Meanwhile I suggested they could always get a large horizontal weekly planner (like this Blue Sky one) and divide the days themselves. Alternatively, if they wanted a daily version, the Franklin Covey daily planners have separate columns for schedule and tasks every day.
If anyone can think of a large (larger than 5 x 7 inches) weekly planner with the days divided into schedule and tasks, please leave a comment! Thanks everyone!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Free For All Friday No. 18: One week into 2014, how's your planner working for you?
Now that we are more than a week into 2014 and at the end of the first full workweek, you have an idea of how well your planner is working for you. What's the verdict? Is it working well? Does it need some tweaking? Or have you realized it's not working well at all and needs replacing?
And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss/ ask anything planner related!
And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss/ ask anything planner related!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
How I use the Monthly Goals pages in my Plannerisms planner
On several of the reviews of the Plannerisms planners, people have commented on the two pages between each month asking, surely nobody expects me to have this many goals each month?
And no, you're right, the purpose of those pages is not to fill them with goals. It's to track your goals, and do your mid-month and monthly reviews (if you do them).
Tracking and evaluating your goals are the most important, and most frequently neglected, steps in reaching your goals. Without tracking the data and evaluating your progress, how will you know if you are reaching your goals or not? The monthly Goals pages give you space to do this, so you can track your progress all year. I give some specific usage tips and ideas in my post on how to use the Goals pages in the Plannerisms planner.
This doesn't have to be as hard-core or disciplined as it sounds. To give you some examples, here is how I use the monthly Goals pages in my Plannerisms planner:
One of my goals last year was to get on a cleaning schedule at home. So on the right page of my monthly Goals pages I made a kind of chart of what needed to be done each week, every two weeks, and every month.
Then I designated a week (shown by a circle) when I needed to do each task. Every-two-weeks and monthly tasks had a circle on the week when I needed to do them, to avoid piling up too many of these tasks on any particular week. Or if I had an especially busy week that month, I made sure not to schedule extra tasks during that week. This served three purposes: I saw when each task needed to be done; I had a record of when I actually did each task; and I could easily see when I procrastinated tasks (shown by arrowing-over to another week). You can see I procrastinated a fair amount, and failed to record often. Work in progress.
Another ongoing goal I have is to save money. Part of that is tracking finances. I keep a list of regular monthly expenses in the booklet in the back pocket of my Plannerisms. But extra or unexpected expenses get written in the bottom left quadrant of my monthly Goals pages. This includes payments for my kids' dance and music lessons (which only occur every three months, and on different schedules), when we fill our heating oil tank, electrician or plumber bills, etc.
Another purpose of these monthly Goals pages can be to schedule household maintenance tasks like replacing furnace or air conditioner filters, checking/ replacing CO2 and smoke alarm batteries, and other regular household tasks that need to be done annually or on an otherwise irregular schedule. This will keep you on top of these without too much time passing (with potentially dangerous consequences). It will also give you a record of when you last changed the batteries or whatever so you know when they need done again.
Other potential goals tracking for these pages: blood pressure/ sugar levels, miles run, weight/ body measurements, credit card/ debts payments, and anything else you need to keep track of. It's a handy landing place and great way to reference your progress.
So in a way, the monthly goals pages are mislabeled. It should say Goals Tracking, but that would look cluttery on the page so I left it at Goals.
I hope that helps answer questions about the purpose of the monthly goals pages!
And no, you're right, the purpose of those pages is not to fill them with goals. It's to track your goals, and do your mid-month and monthly reviews (if you do them).
Tracking and evaluating your goals are the most important, and most frequently neglected, steps in reaching your goals. Without tracking the data and evaluating your progress, how will you know if you are reaching your goals or not? The monthly Goals pages give you space to do this, so you can track your progress all year. I give some specific usage tips and ideas in my post on how to use the Goals pages in the Plannerisms planner.
This doesn't have to be as hard-core or disciplined as it sounds. To give you some examples, here is how I use the monthly Goals pages in my Plannerisms planner:
One of my goals last year was to get on a cleaning schedule at home. So on the right page of my monthly Goals pages I made a kind of chart of what needed to be done each week, every two weeks, and every month.
Then I designated a week (shown by a circle) when I needed to do each task. Every-two-weeks and monthly tasks had a circle on the week when I needed to do them, to avoid piling up too many of these tasks on any particular week. Or if I had an especially busy week that month, I made sure not to schedule extra tasks during that week. This served three purposes: I saw when each task needed to be done; I had a record of when I actually did each task; and I could easily see when I procrastinated tasks (shown by arrowing-over to another week). You can see I procrastinated a fair amount, and failed to record often. Work in progress.
Another ongoing goal I have is to save money. Part of that is tracking finances. I keep a list of regular monthly expenses in the booklet in the back pocket of my Plannerisms. But extra or unexpected expenses get written in the bottom left quadrant of my monthly Goals pages. This includes payments for my kids' dance and music lessons (which only occur every three months, and on different schedules), when we fill our heating oil tank, electrician or plumber bills, etc.
Another purpose of these monthly Goals pages can be to schedule household maintenance tasks like replacing furnace or air conditioner filters, checking/ replacing CO2 and smoke alarm batteries, and other regular household tasks that need to be done annually or on an otherwise irregular schedule. This will keep you on top of these without too much time passing (with potentially dangerous consequences). It will also give you a record of when you last changed the batteries or whatever so you know when they need done again.
Other potential goals tracking for these pages: blood pressure/ sugar levels, miles run, weight/ body measurements, credit card/ debts payments, and anything else you need to keep track of. It's a handy landing place and great way to reference your progress.
So in a way, the monthly goals pages are mislabeled. It should say Goals Tracking, but that would look cluttery on the page so I left it at Goals.
I hope that helps answer questions about the purpose of the monthly goals pages!
Monday, January 6, 2014
2013 Planner tally
As usual I used a lot of planners in 2013! I stuck with my weekly Plannerisms planner all year, but switched around my day per page planners in search of the perfect combination of page size and portability.
Here is my chronological What I'm Currently Using from 2013:
January 1, 2013: I'm starting 2013 using my wonderful 2013 Plannerisms planner, which is a weekly + monthly. I designed this planner as My Ideal Planner after using however many hundreds of different planners over the years. I'm absolutely thrilled it's been published! I'm using the purple cover one, because purple is my favorite color.
I use my Plannerisms planner for all scheduling, appointments, task lists, and goals (annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily).
As I've done for the past two years, I'm also using a day per page planner to record each day. I've used a lot of day per page books over the years and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so I created it in a Paperblanks Midi size journal, which you can click here to read all about.
January 12, 2013
I went back to using my Franklin Covey two pages per day inserts in my
binder, because I needed tabbed sections and more space for lists. You can read all the details in my post about it here!
And of course I'm still using my weekly + monthly Plannerisms planner for all planning and goal-setting. I love it!!
February 18, 2013-March 25 2013: I think I may have solved my Day-Per-Page dilemma! I'm now using an approximately A5 size (6 by 8 1/4 inch) Time Traveler day per page planner/ diary.
It gives me the same page space per day as the Franklin Covey 2PPD in a slimmer, lighter, bound book.
Here is my post on the Time Traveler day per page planner with lots of photos of the excellent features.
March 26 2013: The Time Traveler was too big and heavy to carry everywhere, as always seems to happen when I try to carry a large day per page book. I went through several planners I have lying around to see if I could find a solution, you can see my video about that here.
I settled on the Quo Vadis ABP1, which last year I predicted would be the daily planner I would use this year. It has the largest page size in the lightest weight book, and I really like the daily layout.
April 9 2013: After just a few days with the ABP1 I went back to the red Time Traveler day per page planner. The two books are so similar in size and weight, even though the ABP1 is a little lighter the difference wasn't enough to make it worth starting over in a different book.
If I was going to use a different book, it would have to be smaller. I tried using my Textagenda for a few days but couldn't cope with the format. I even downsized into my 2013 pocket daily Moleskine despite abandoning it last year for being too small. I like the portability but again the pages were just too small for me. I also realized if I moved to a smaller daily book, I would have to journal in a separate book which would require me to start over with journaling in a new book.
I decided to stay with my A5 Time Traveler after all! It's the one I keep coming back to and I have all of this year so far in it. I downsized my wallet and other things to lighten my bag so I wouldn't mind carrying it. I've been journaling in it more this year than I've been journaling for the past few years so I like that. And I love the book--the white paper, the soft cover, the maps and info pages. I love the layout of the daily pages and having plenty of room each day for anything I want to write. So I'll stay with my Time Traveler as my daily planner, logbook and journal all in one!
For a couple of weeks in June I tried using a non-dated pocket notebook to record my days for better portability, but it just didn't work for me. I have to have a big, designated page each day to encourage me to fill it, and so I can back-fill later. I think a large daily book is just my thing! I happily went back to my Time Traveler and I'm already looking forward to getting another one for 2014!
And of course I'm still using my weekly Plannerisms planner!
July 1, 2013: My Plannerisms planner and my Time Traveler daily diary are my mid-year planner winners! You can see my post about it here.
Click here for details on how I use my weekly planner and day per page planner together.
August 23, 2013-September 2013: I switched to using an A5 size notebook for recording each day, lists and notes. The how and why is a bit of a long story, I explain it all in this post here. The notebook I'm using is the Daycraft Signature Inspiro that I reviewed here.
And I'm still using my Plannerisms planner for monthly and weekly planning, and goals.
The two of these together allow me to plan, set goals, record, make lists and take notes in completely portable books.
October 1, 2013:
I know, I know, the back-and-forthing is ridiculous!! My notebook was
working fine, I just missed my Time Traveler day per page diary too much
so I went back to it. The reasons why are in this post.
In my Journal Evaluation 2013 post I give my verdict on my day per page diary.
December 4, 2013: I had intended to finish my day per page diary for 2013 and start a new notebook system January 1st, but I have so much going on right now I couldn't wait. I started my large Moleskine blank notebook with my 3 part indexing system (which you can read the details of here). I use it to record each day, write my lists, brainstorm and keep information.
I did a video detailing the pros and cons of using a day per page diary vs an notebook vs a Filofax, you can click here to see it.
And of course I'm still using my Plannerisms planner, and am using it for my Annual Review where I look back through 2013, evaluate which goals I achieved, which ones need continued work, and which goals can be eliminated.
I already have my 2014 Plannerisms planner ready for next year! I'm filling in dates and events, and thinking about my goals for 2014.
Whew! So I went from trying lots of different day per page diaries to settling on an undated notebook. I'm enjoying the freedom of undated pages, but I wonder if I'll have the discipline to stick with writing every day like I did with the dated day per page diary.
Will I stay with the undated notebook? Will I go back to a dated day per page? Keep your eye on my What I'm Currently Using page to find out! On that page you can also find links to my planner usage all the way back to the beginning of 2009, to see the chronicle of my planner journey. What a trip it's been!
Here is my chronological What I'm Currently Using from 2013:
January 1, 2013: I'm starting 2013 using my wonderful 2013 Plannerisms planner, which is a weekly + monthly. I designed this planner as My Ideal Planner after using however many hundreds of different planners over the years. I'm absolutely thrilled it's been published! I'm using the purple cover one, because purple is my favorite color.
As I've done for the past two years, I'm also using a day per page planner to record each day. I've used a lot of day per page books over the years and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so I created it in a Paperblanks Midi size journal, which you can click here to read all about.
February 18, 2013-March 25 2013: I think I may have solved my Day-Per-Page dilemma! I'm now using an approximately A5 size (6 by 8 1/4 inch) Time Traveler day per page planner/ diary.
It gives me the same page space per day as the Franklin Covey 2PPD in a slimmer, lighter, bound book.
Here is my post on the Time Traveler day per page planner with lots of photos of the excellent features.
March 26 2013: The Time Traveler was too big and heavy to carry everywhere, as always seems to happen when I try to carry a large day per page book. I went through several planners I have lying around to see if I could find a solution, you can see my video about that here.
I settled on the Quo Vadis ABP1, which last year I predicted would be the daily planner I would use this year. It has the largest page size in the lightest weight book, and I really like the daily layout.
April 9 2013: After just a few days with the ABP1 I went back to the red Time Traveler day per page planner. The two books are so similar in size and weight, even though the ABP1 is a little lighter the difference wasn't enough to make it worth starting over in a different book.
If I was going to use a different book, it would have to be smaller. I tried using my Textagenda for a few days but couldn't cope with the format. I even downsized into my 2013 pocket daily Moleskine despite abandoning it last year for being too small. I like the portability but again the pages were just too small for me. I also realized if I moved to a smaller daily book, I would have to journal in a separate book which would require me to start over with journaling in a new book.
I decided to stay with my A5 Time Traveler after all! It's the one I keep coming back to and I have all of this year so far in it. I downsized my wallet and other things to lighten my bag so I wouldn't mind carrying it. I've been journaling in it more this year than I've been journaling for the past few years so I like that. And I love the book--the white paper, the soft cover, the maps and info pages. I love the layout of the daily pages and having plenty of room each day for anything I want to write. So I'll stay with my Time Traveler as my daily planner, logbook and journal all in one!
For a couple of weeks in June I tried using a non-dated pocket notebook to record my days for better portability, but it just didn't work for me. I have to have a big, designated page each day to encourage me to fill it, and so I can back-fill later. I think a large daily book is just my thing! I happily went back to my Time Traveler and I'm already looking forward to getting another one for 2014!
And of course I'm still using my weekly Plannerisms planner!
July 1, 2013: My Plannerisms planner and my Time Traveler daily diary are my mid-year planner winners! You can see my post about it here.
 |
| Purple Plannerisms weekly and red Time Traveler daily planners |
Click here for details on how I use my weekly planner and day per page planner together.
August 23, 2013-September 2013: I switched to using an A5 size notebook for recording each day, lists and notes. The how and why is a bit of a long story, I explain it all in this post here. The notebook I'm using is the Daycraft Signature Inspiro that I reviewed here.
And I'm still using my Plannerisms planner for monthly and weekly planning, and goals.
In my Journal Evaluation 2013 post I give my verdict on my day per page diary.
December 4, 2013: I had intended to finish my day per page diary for 2013 and start a new notebook system January 1st, but I have so much going on right now I couldn't wait. I started my large Moleskine blank notebook with my 3 part indexing system (which you can read the details of here). I use it to record each day, write my lists, brainstorm and keep information.
I did a video detailing the pros and cons of using a day per page diary vs an notebook vs a Filofax, you can click here to see it.
And of course I'm still using my Plannerisms planner, and am using it for my Annual Review where I look back through 2013, evaluate which goals I achieved, which ones need continued work, and which goals can be eliminated.
I already have my 2014 Plannerisms planner ready for next year! I'm filling in dates and events, and thinking about my goals for 2014.
Whew! So I went from trying lots of different day per page diaries to settling on an undated notebook. I'm enjoying the freedom of undated pages, but I wonder if I'll have the discipline to stick with writing every day like I did with the dated day per page diary.
Will I stay with the undated notebook? Will I go back to a dated day per page? Keep your eye on my What I'm Currently Using page to find out! On that page you can also find links to my planner usage all the way back to the beginning of 2009, to see the chronicle of my planner journey. What a trip it's been!
Friday, January 3, 2014
bRead notebooks giveaway WINNERS!
The winners of the Daycraft bRead notebooks giveaway are:
Melitsa and Cissy the Contemplative Belle!
Congratulations to you both! Please email me at Laurie at Plannerisms dot com with your mailing address and I will get your new notebook out to you asap!
Please note if either of the winners does not email me by Friday January 10th I will choose a new winner. So don't forget!
Melitsa and Cissy the Contemplative Belle!
Congratulations to you both! Please email me at Laurie at Plannerisms dot com with your mailing address and I will get your new notebook out to you asap!
Please note if either of the winners does not email me by Friday January 10th I will choose a new winner. So don't forget!
Free For All Friday No. 17: Planner excess?
Happy New Year everyone!
I am feeling pretty peaceful right now with my planner setup: my 2014 Plannerisms planner and an accompanying notebook. This setup is working remarkably well for me.
Buuuuutttt that doesn't keep me from buying more planners! I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of a purple pocket size day per page Moleskine diary (like the ones I used successfully for a couple of years), and a whole slew of books from Time Traveler USA including journals in their medium and small sizes, an Executive size weekly planner with my initials embossed and a day per page diary exactly like the one I used and loved last year.
What will I use them for? Except for the journals, I have no idea. I enjoyed using the pocket and large daily planners in the past so I wanted to have them around just in case I decided to go back to them. I've been burned in previous years when I decided later I wanted a particular planner and they were sold out. So now I tend to stock up early!
Do you buy planners "just in case" you decide to use them later in the year? Or do you buy them only when you need them?
As always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything planner related!
Wishing you all the best this year!
I am feeling pretty peaceful right now with my planner setup: my 2014 Plannerisms planner and an accompanying notebook. This setup is working remarkably well for me.
Buuuuutttt that doesn't keep me from buying more planners! I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of a purple pocket size day per page Moleskine diary (like the ones I used successfully for a couple of years), and a whole slew of books from Time Traveler USA including journals in their medium and small sizes, an Executive size weekly planner with my initials embossed and a day per page diary exactly like the one I used and loved last year.
What will I use them for? Except for the journals, I have no idea. I enjoyed using the pocket and large daily planners in the past so I wanted to have them around just in case I decided to go back to them. I've been burned in previous years when I decided later I wanted a particular planner and they were sold out. So now I tend to stock up early!
Do you buy planners "just in case" you decide to use them later in the year? Or do you buy them only when you need them?
As always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything planner related!
Wishing you all the best this year!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2014 Goals and Resolutions!
Happy New Year! Are you ready for your best year yet? Not sure how to make it happen?
Now's the time of year when we see and read a lot about goals and resolutions. There's a lot of information floating around out there, so I have distilled the main points down for you.
In my Goal Setting Tips page I have links to several posts that will help you, including:
What's the difference between Goals, Resolutions, Projects and Tasks? This post will help you focus on what you need to reach your goals.
This time last year I wrote a post on Fitting Your Goals Into Your (already-busy) Schedule. Whenever you add something new to your day, you have to take something else out. This post will help you prioritize your tasks, figure out your most-focused times of the day, and schedule your time accordingly.
Using The Plannerisms Planner As A Goals Workbook has lots of info on how to set and track your goals. Tracking your progress is the most important, and often-overlooked, step in goal setting. Monitoring your progress gives you feedback on how close you are to achieving your goals, and what work you still need to do.
To get started, look back through your 2013 planner and see what you accomplished, what became irrelevant and what still needs to be done. Then think about what you want to do in 2014. Read the posts linked above to get you started on the path to an awesome new year!
Wishing you all the best in 2014!
Now's the time of year when we see and read a lot about goals and resolutions. There's a lot of information floating around out there, so I have distilled the main points down for you.
In my Goal Setting Tips page I have links to several posts that will help you, including:
What's the difference between Goals, Resolutions, Projects and Tasks? This post will help you focus on what you need to reach your goals.
This time last year I wrote a post on Fitting Your Goals Into Your (already-busy) Schedule. Whenever you add something new to your day, you have to take something else out. This post will help you prioritize your tasks, figure out your most-focused times of the day, and schedule your time accordingly.
Using The Plannerisms Planner As A Goals Workbook has lots of info on how to set and track your goals. Tracking your progress is the most important, and often-overlooked, step in goal setting. Monitoring your progress gives you feedback on how close you are to achieving your goals, and what work you still need to do.
To get started, look back through your 2013 planner and see what you accomplished, what became irrelevant and what still needs to be done. Then think about what you want to do in 2014. Read the posts linked above to get you started on the path to an awesome new year!
Wishing you all the best in 2014!
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