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Monday, September 15, 2014

Color-coding: Planned vs Done

Recently I started using specific colors of ink for planning ahead vs recording what I actually did. I write all my plans ahead of time in black pen. Then on the day, the only pen I have in my hand is blue. I check off what I accomplished, and write in emergent tasks (items that weren't planned but come up during the day). It's very interesting at the end of the day to see what I originally intended to do that day (black) and what I ended up actually doing (blue).

Have you done a similar experiment? If you're having trouble getting certain tasks done and aren't sure what you spent your day doing, this is a very valuable exercise. It creates an easy visual of intentions vs actions.

10 comments:

  1. Similar in that I write everything in pencil, when I complete it I write over it in pen. I agree with the intention vs action ie. it helps you to see a pattern of what the superman side thinks your capable of getting done and the realistic world!

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    1. Exactly!

      Great idea using pencil for the planning ahead, so it can be erased if plans change.

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  2. I just made a note this morning about this, except I chose work plans in blue, personal plans in red and review in black.

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  3. Oooooh, this is a very interesting concept! I don't think I could implement it in my personal life since I already have a color coding system, but depending on my next work situation I could DEFINITELY see this working!

    Thanks, as always, for another great idea!

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  4. I write my plans sometimes in frixion sometimes not. Have tried highlighting what I've done, as paradoxically it makes the non-highlighted tasks stand out on the page, and it makes the page look very bright! But I just add things I've done that were not on the list in the same whatever pen is at hand & highlight them. With my new life situation (husband a generation older and just recently diagnosed as "mildly cognitively impaired") I've learned not to schedule a lot of personal stuff every day.

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  5. This must be in your daily record book, not Plannerisms planner? So it is what you plan to do for the day? I am trying to figure out physically where you put things on the page. Help me, Obi Wan.

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    1. Yes this is my daily record book. I plan ahead in my weekly planner, then the day before I start a new two-page spread (I use a two-page spread per day) for the next day and write in my schedule and things I MUST do that day. Then as the day goes on I fill things in. I wrote a post awhile back with details of what I write on my daily pages, bullet symbols etc: http://www.plannerisms.com/2014/03/how-i-use-my-planner-bullet-journal.html

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  6. I have a weekly to do list at work. I have a particular highlighter designated for each day of the week. At the end of the day, I put a dot in the corresponding color what I want to get done the next day. When they actually get done, I highlight them with the color of the day it was completed.

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  7. Great idea. I rarely write in anything unplanned, but when I do, I scribble it so quickly that it is obvious what was added because it's the only messy part. :/

    http://giftieetcetera.blogspot.com

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