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Are you looking into why you should invest time in using a planner and organizing your day? Sounds like a drag doesn’t it? You purchase a planner, spend time writing in all of your goals, and then what? The days go by and you quickly lose the motivation to continue writing in your planner. You may be wondering, is using a planner actually worth it?
In this blog post, we will be discussing the reasons why you should be using a planner and how to effectively use it in order to achieve your goals. Buckle up, it’s time to get organized!
Reasons Why You Should Use A Planner
Well a planner is not the key to all your productivity gaps but it can certainly become a very useful tool for time management. When we think about planning out our day, the first thing that comes to mind is a bland notebook where you write a to-do list and use all your might to glance at it throughout the week. Using a planner can be so much more than that. Aside from improving your productivity, it can become a memory log, it can help you stay on top of your goals and much more, the benefits are endless.
I truly believe that we are living in the golden age of personal planning, where there are so many different options out there for every individual need. Whether you prefer to plan in your physical planner, your tablet, an app or just a calendar on the wall. There are weekly planners, daily planners, bullet journals, planning pads and so much more. The important thing is to be constant, track your progress, and don’t put too much on your plate. (Just, don’t let that shiny new planner collect dust in a corner…)
1. A planner helps with time management.
If you are a person that likes to bite off more than they can chew and wants to do more than they can handle but ends up doing nothing, yeah you are not alone… So many people have the best intention but end up feeling like they achieved nothing or feeling like they haven’t done enough.
By creating a map of what you want to do in your day, week, or month, you can achieve so much more! These are a few things I do in my planner to help me block time and cover more ground:
- At the beginning of the week, I write a list of a few goals that I want to accomplish during the week. They can be simple things like “Schedule your doctor’s appointment” or just something that you really want to finish up, like reading a book. Don’t overload your goals, maybe choose up to 5 things you want to do that week.
- When planning out my week, I like to highlight important tasks that need to be done on a specific day during the week. This way, when I take a look at my planner, I know that is something I have to do and allot time towards that one thing. For example, if I have a bill that is due, I make sure to mark it to make sure that I get it paid.
- I schedule fun activities and self care! By doing this, you can ensure that you are giving yourself time to be happy and it is not all work and tasks. Try allotting some time to take a hot relaxing bath. You deserve it! If you schedule it, you are most likely to do it and feel accomplished after giving yourself some time.
2. Planning can help you reach your goals.
We all have that one thing we want to accomplish, that book we want to write, that language we want to learn, or that new skill we want to perfect. It is easy to lose sight of what you want to achieve when it is not visible in your daily life. Writing down your goal and coming back to it can help you finally achieve what you are aiming for.
Something that helps is writing down your yearly goals in your planner and reference them every month. Keep on jotting them down. Writing is a great memorization tool and when you memorize your goals, they are more present in your mind and in turn, you are more likely to do them.
3. It can become a creative outlet for you.
Seriously, planning doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many elements you can incorporate in your planner that add a quick, creative flair. These are just a few things that you can add to your planning routine:
- Use cute stickers! You can go to your local hobby store and purchase planning sticker books or you can buy stickers online through Etsy. This is a complete list of my favorite sticker shops, what they offer, and a review of their sticker style.
- Washi tape is a simple way to add color to your weekly spreads. Use it to brighten up your pages.
- Sticker paper or shipping labels are great to have on hand so you can print out pictures, make your own planner stickers or print out to-do lists.
- Use color pens and highlighters to not only color code-your tasks but to add cheerful comments throughout your planner.
Personally, my planner helps me unwind at the end of the day. I come home from work, take a look and see if I am missing anything or just to decorate it and write a quick note about how my day went. (You don’t only need to plan ahead, leave some space in your spreads to write a grateful thought or a quick note about how you felt that day).
4. It makes a great memory keeping log.
If you use your planner regularly, mark important events, birthdays, jot down what you did that day, you are organically creating a memory keeping log. You don’t even have to make a conscious effort to make it a memory tracker (although you absolutely can if you want to).
At the end of the year or as the months go by, you may come back to your planner entries and be reminded of lovely things that happened on a particular day. That is the beauty of tracking your tasks and events. Don’t make the mistake of throwing out your planners at the end of the year, coming back to them will fill you with warm thoughts.
5. A planner can help you track your progress.
You may have a goal that you are working towards but you really won’t know if you are on your way to accomplish it unless you are tracking your progress towards meeting said goal. Tracking your progress also helps you stay motivated. Habit trackers are excellent tools to incorporate in your daily planning. You can read more about Great Ways to Use Habit Trackers. Write down a habit that you need to focus on for the week and check off each day that you did it. For example, if you are wanting to learn a new language, maybe a habit that you want to focus on is to study that language for 20 minutes each day.
I personally love these Habit Tracker Stickers by LexieKyleeDesigns on Etsy!
6. A planner helps you stay on top of your appointments.
Honestly, nowadays it is almost impossible to forget an appointment. Your doctor sends you confirmation emails, text messages, the office gives you a call. When you have an appointment with any other service provider, you will most likely get a confirmation email and a reminder call. However, it is so important to keep track of your appointments whether it be a calendar notification or a note in your planner. Some of these appointments get booked so far in advance that you may not even remember until a few days prior and you need to move your whole schedule around. Jot it down and keep it visible so you are not caught off guard.
7. It can help provide stress and anxiety relief.
Just simply taking some time at the end of the week or the beginning of the week to lay out everything you need to do and knowing what is coming up can really provide a sense of relief. Life can get really chaotic. There are so many things to do in a day, from doctors’ appointments, work events, going to the gym, to menial tasks like doing laundry, etc. Make a list, do one thing at a time, breathe, and be happy. Everybody has different ways to deal with stress, but just knowing what is coming up, having a plan to get it done, and checking it off your list can provide some much needed structure.
How To Get Started
Read this Complete Weekly Planning Starter Guide to learn the ins and outs of weekly planning.
The best time to get organized and to get your life on track is now! There are so many options out there but here is a list of my go-to planning essentials:
My favorite planner is the Erin Condren Life Planner. You can personalize it, it comes with stickers, it has very high quality paper, you can choose your planner cover design. What more can I say? It is perfect! Use my referral link to get $10 OFF your first purchase!: https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/saravillanueva0209/1
Take a look at 20 Planner Note Page Ideas for a Productive and Organized Year to download free notes pages for your planner and get more planning tracker ideas.
- There is no need to use boring old highlighters to color code your tasks and events. Use the Zebra Mildliners. These puppies will last you years and years without running out of ink and they have the smoothest, softest colors (or bright colors if that is your vibe) but they are not in your face bright. I can’t plan without them.
- My favorite black pens to use are the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel Pens. They are smooth, they are fairly inexpensive compared to other gel pens and they are simply a planning staple.
- If you are wanting to incorporate stickers in your planning, try the Happy Planner Sticker Books from Michael’s. They are packed with functional and decorative stickers that can help you get organized and make your planner pop with color.
Start getting organized today! Download your free planning printable below.
