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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Your Time to Plan

Do you have a certain time of day when you sit down with your planner and go over the day's and week's upcoming events?

A certain Philofaxy reader whom we all know and love said she sits down every morning with a cup of tea and her Filofax. She reviews her day, and flips through the next several days, to know what she needs to do and when.

I tend to just look at my planner on the fly, several times throughout the day. But recently I had the thought that I might feel (and perhaps even actually *be*) more organized if I look at my planner first thing in the morning and again in the evening specifically to review upcoming events and prepare for them.

Do you have designated planner-time sessions, or like me do you glance at it on the go?

9 comments:

  1. Mine is at the end of the (working) day. I review the tasks that got completed and transfer what needs to be done the next day. Add some tasks from the Master-ToDo-list. Then I comes the time schedule: first I mark the fixed appointments, like getting kids to school, fetching kids, driving them to sports/music/clubs. In between I assign the time for my tasks, I always bulk them. During "email" time, I complete all my E-tasks, during "phone" I do all phone calls on my list. When the scheduled time is used up, I stop even when not ALL items got ticked off (unless there's still a "life-and-death" task on it, rarely the case, since I start with those). Needing more time than I originally scheduled means I have to better schedule next time. No need to have it ruin the rest of my day planning though ;-)

    I have my filofax open on my desk and check off any task right after it's completed, while checking what 's next on my list.

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  2. I review both first thing in the a.m. and at the end of the day. This is because when I hit 40 my short term memory went the way of the Dodo.

    (Alas, not the pad...the bird )

    Like Jotje, I also have my Filo open on my desk during my work day so I can check off my To-do items and reference any pertinent lists.

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  3. I do my planning first thing in the AM when I arrive in my office. I use a Franklin Covey Compass planner (wire bound). I go over yesterday's task list and bring-forward any unfinished or pending projects. Then I check the monthly calendar and plug in other events/appointments.

    Mine also stays open on my desk all day so I can check-off tasks and take notes, etc.

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  4. Every Sunday I update the upcoming week (and anything for the next three months) - I mark those penciled items (unconfirmed) to pen (confirmed) if the situation calls for it. I also put my appointments into my Google Calendar for access on the go with my iPod Touch.

    Each night before bed, I move any incomplete items to tomorrow's page, update my to-do list, etc. I too keep my planner on my desk at work, though I don't necessarily keep it open since I don't use it for work items. Plus, I feel that if someone were to see the guts of planner, well, it's like they're looking into my underwear drawer - at work anyway. I don't mind showing my planner's guts to those who understand and appreciate it. Each morning at work though I do check my day and see if something needs to be done at a specific point in time or if there's something that I can cross off my list.

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  5. I update every evening, and during the day I have it open on my desk or open on the passenger seat next to me while driving. Once I get up in the morning, we are off! No time for planning!

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  6. Kanalt: "It's like they're looking into my underwear drawer" LMAO!!!! I heart you...

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  7. Lol! Aww, that's so nice! I heart you too and all of my Filo buddies! You guys are the best!

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  8. I love reading how everybody uses their planners! Thank you for your comments!!

    Jotje, I really like your idea of bulking your tasks together and completing them at a designated time, then when that time is up you move on. I could use discipline like this--I tend to spend about twice as long on computer tasks as I expected to take!

    LOL kanalt! Underwear drawer! I definitely agree.

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  9. I usually review my planner first thing in the morning, mentally deciding which things need to be done first and in which order. I continue to review my to-do lists throughout the day to ensure that I am not forgetting anything. Whenever I think of anything else to add, I try to do so immediately before I forget. Once a week (usually on Sunday evening), I have a longer session with my planner, setting goals for the week and planning everything that I want to accomplish until the next Sunday (not that I ever actually accomplish everything on the list, but oh well :).

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