New daily planner insert and free post it template download

I didn't found the perfect time management system for myself, I'm always working on it. On my goals list is one goal: more balance between family and work, now I'm trying to thinking in time blocks. Working from home is not simple, if you (and your family) cannot separate the two things. So I created a new insert for myself, where I can better blocking the different activities.

This is for today:

How it works:

 As you can see it is not perfect yet, I have 7 tasks for top 5, I have to correct it. And I got the idea too, that I will add glasses but not horizontally as usual but near to the hours.

Free printable: post it template

I share with you the post it template, what I'm using now on my daily page.

Click on the picture to download it. Please write me, if you have problem with download, this is my very first Dropbox upload!

And please share me, how do you use it! I'm also happy for sharing your pictures here in the blog (send me to: zsuzsa@softrainbow.ch).

The important informations find you

I'm wondering how weird is the life. I suffered the last time from the chaos of my life. No wonder, that I started this blog! I'm learning about planning, time management, work efficacy since little more than one year and I practise to use planner. It is more better, but I'm not satisfied with my life.

I started to thinking

What is not good in my life?
What I'm realized:

• It is too much stuff in our flat.
• Our place is extremely unorganized.
• I have a lot of not finished tasks.
• I'm stressed.
• I have problems with my back, and I have often headache.
• I have no patience for my family.
• I have to change my life now. 

What should I do? I decided to start a "declutter" project and bringing more balance into my life.

• My work is more a hobby as a financial source, so I will pay less attention for it until I didn't brought my life back to normal shape. I will concentrate to make my life healthier. I will work too, if I have time and will for it.
• Make a list about what is important in my life. 
• Set up a goal list for this year.
• Step by step sort out everything in our flat.
• Make a todo list for home and work with every unfinished projects.
• I'm trying not to start new projects. 
• Learn more about decluttering, time management.
• More exercises: swimming, walking, yoga, pilates, every day.

The life pulls back

I started the life-changing project, but it is going very hard, because I fell into a situation, when I have to make a big project very quick. So little steps and very few planning, not like I wanted. But I see the end already! I have to knit a lot for this project, and I came to the idea: I could learn from audio books in this time!

And the funny thing: you find what you need

I started to check my Amazon book wish list, what is available also as an audiobook? At the same time someone mentioned in the Giftie Etcetera Facebook group the book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever". I started to read it. It is about how to declutter your home. Exactly what I wanted to do.
Than as I browsed on the Audible, I found the "Happiness project", what I can read with my ears... It is about that the writer is not unhappy, but even she is not happy but want to be, so she starts this happiness project. Some elements are the same, what I plan: make your life clutter free, and get better relationship with your family. I'm in chapter 4 maybe and I sometimes no mood to hearing it, it gives me too much to thinking about.
So yesterday I went back to my "Watch later" Youtube list, full with planner videos. I love to look them, even if they are sometimes boring, because I heard the same things 1000 times before, but I always learn something new or get a new idea. And on a list was a video about the 7 minutes life daily planner. It looked very interesting, a little bit other as usual, so I searched what it is? I found the homepage and started to read about the system. Downloaded every free material, read it through, and I'm watching the related videos on Youtube. (I'm created a list with them.) This is a time management system. What is all about? Find out what is important in your life. Create goals (for 90 days). Make doable actions from them. Plan it, do it.
3 so different things. Tidying. Happiness. Time management. But for me, now is this the same thing. Take a look on my list, what I planned for the rest of the year. And take a look what the books are saying I have find. I knew the solutions before! These books strengthen me only on that, that I'm on the right way.

5 tips for using color coding in your planner

Why should you use color coding? You can tell me "don't make my life complicated, I don't want to have lot of color pens..."

It is difficult! 

I was looking for a daily page, where I used color coding for different tasks, but I didn't found any. It is, because, I use that page the whole day, in different places in my flat, and away from home also. I am a very unorganized person, and I'm tending to create lot of categories, and I'm happy, if I have only one pen with me, not all colors I should need! So, I write here with the pen, what I find. But today, I found the solution!

Tip 1: use color coding after listing!

As usual, write the tasks (or anything) only with that color, that you have by hand, and if you are on the right place at your desk, with all of your staff, make the color coding! I have done it with my Frixion colors markers. I am using purple for work, blue for myself, orange for family.

Tip 2: use marker dots!

As I don't want bring all my pens with me, when I left home, I have in my compact size on-the-go Filofax only one black pen, and marker dots (like these), I write in black, and add colored dots to different things. Because it is only calendar, I mark: who is involved, if it is home or not, and info is only an opportunity - if we should go somewhere. Red dot's means that someone, including me has to go away from home. I write the first letter of the person on the dot. Yellow is, if I have to know about kids things - they are going somewhere, but without me. It can be a school thing, when I have to check, what they have to bring with them, but I'm free at this time. Blue is info - tomorrow will be flea market in the city, what we love, I have all occasion in my planner. Green is, when something happens at home.

Tip 3: classic color coding with color pens

Calendar is filled out mostly by my desk, so I had no problem to use my colored pens, as you can see here. And not everyone is like me, and you should work always at your desk, and have any pens with you. Think about it, what categories make sense for you.

Tip 4: use colored markers for blocking out your time 

For me this is the most important, I'm a very visual person, if I schedule my day this way, it is very simple to see, how much time I have for different things. It can help also keep your life in balance too! My colors for here: green for away from home, scheduled also travelling time, pink and purple for work, blue for myself, orange for family and house work.

Tip 5: color coding for project categories

Lot of people has different sections for projects of different areas of their life, as family, house, kids, work, etc. I want see all my projects together, so I'm using flags in different colors to mark them.

and project planning with flags

Big part of my work designing knitting patterns. The whole process is always the same: knitting, writing, testing, releasing. The colors are designated for this steps. I write the name of the pattern on these four colors, and use them to schedule my work on this.

Good luck to find the best way for you (also it is not using any color coding :)). I would be appreciate any feedback, even better wit a picture, if you make some change inspired by this post!

Do not hesitate to ask, if you have a question for me, or a suggestion, what you want from me to write next time!

How helps a planner to make your 100 dimensional life (semi)linear?

Warning! As I read the book "ADD friendly ways to organize your life" in the night, I couldn't sleep after that, because my mind started to thinking about what I read - so much thought, and they are still here and swirling around me. The post might a little bit academic and chaotic.

A dream about a linear world, and the reality

I dream sometimes about a world, which is simple linear. A task comes in, I finish it, next task comes... But the world is more complicated. Hundreds of tasks bombard us in every minute. You have to decide if it really a task? Is that you who has to solve it? The biggest thing to remember all of it. Because the time is linear, you can accomplish only one thing in one time. With a little cheat, you can start something, and leave it to happen: start the soup, and leave it, you can do it something else until it will be cooking, but it can be an issue to find a way back (in time). But doing things like this: parallel to each other takes a lot of energy - switching between tasks is exhaustive.

Solution Level 1: Have a list

If you have a list with tasks makes for you possible, thinking linear. You work on something, and you don't have to think on other things, because they are on the list. Until you don't finish, you have only this one particular task. The list has to contain doable tasks! "My daughter's birthday" is not a task. A task is to find out what gift I will buy, buying the gift, writing invites, baking a cake...
You are making something, input comes (post, email, a thought): I have to do something with this. Write on your list on. Finish your task, then go to the list - and? What? Your list might have 100 of items. Pick the next one? Or spending a lot of time to choosing the right task for now? Better as don't have any list, but not the best. How could you finish a long term goal? It is not possible not eat, speaking with your friend, cleaning, etc until you didn't wrote that book. Switching between this long term things and everyday life little tasks, and back is very difficult. And not linear! And another question: where do you have your list? On a piece of paper? Will you always find it?

Solution Level 2: Use a calendar

If your list is in your planner, it will be always there. But how to organize your list? You should not only know WHAT you have to do but also WHEN.
Using a planner can be on more levels. You might use it as a calendar, writing appointments in and some time sensitive things, like "bring library books back", "mom's birthday". It is simple, but the problem can be, if I see today in my calendar, that my mom has birthday today, it is too late. I have to plan todos related to this thing before. So comes planning in: write one week later to the calendar a task "buy gift" to a day, where it is appropriate (have time, and opportunity).

Solution Level 3: Project planning

Project planning for work and for personal life too! What is a project? A project is anything that contains more than one doable tasks. Organizing the time is more simple, if you have more that one list. Start writing thematic lists! 

Use a planner, where you have place for a calendar for time sensitive appointments and tasks, and place also planning, not time sensitive tasks. You need also place for the project tasks lists too. You might have a "projects" session in your planner, with an index page in order from A to Z.

How to make your plan: decide on what you will work on. Choosing from 10 projects is more simple that choosing from 100 tasks. After choosing the project you are working on you can choose the task from the tasks. This helps also to finishing long term projects. 

Let's see, you are writing a book. You don't have to plan all tasks before. You can plan "working 2 hours" every day on this project, and when you are working on you are going on that project tasks list. Or you can plan "writing chapter one" in May. 

Solution Level 4: Organizing the projects in time

If you have lot of projects and you have them organized from A to Z, it is hard to decide on what you have to working on now. Place the project tasks lists in your planner in order of you will working on them! Have dividers for months, and day as in 43 folders system, or have dividers for months and weeks, how I make it. Place the lists to the time you have to working on! When you getting there, you have to choose only from a few tasks. Some sample: I have to pay tax for our house every 3 month. I have all infos on a notepaper (where how much and the tax numbers, and a list, where I write in when I payed). I have that after the monthly divider when I have to pay. When I payed it is going 3 month later. If I would have this "project" in an alphabetical order, I might never pay it! I have an idea, what I want to buy for my husband's birthday. I should make also a birthdays list, and also a gift ideas list too. But then I should always check them. I write birthdays to my calendar, and ideas to the month when I have to buy the gift! An idea is only an idea, not a project, so I have a notepaper by the monthly dividers. I prearranged with someone to make together a promotion. I don't need a project page yet, but to the month I will have to start working it, I have a note about it. I can start my list than. But if I get an idea, I start a project page before it and write it down!

I know, that was long... If you have any question or comment, do not hesitate to write me!