How to build your perfect planner system? Week 12: Start to thinking in projects!

Until now, we written only tasks to our lists - in fortunet case. But tasks aren't separate things. They are connected with each other. Sometimes is hard to finish something, because you don't know, what to do. "Organize the vacation" - what the hack is that? Such "task" can sit in your planner for a long time, because it is not doable. What is it then if it is not a task? I would call it a Project.

Why to thinking in projects?

If you think on something like a project, it is easier to organize. A project can have a deadline. It has tasks. It needs material. There is also informations connected to this. Organizing a trip is a project. I will explain the whole thing with this fictive project (not really fictive - we are organizing a trip to Paris in October...)

Paris trip project page

How to organize a project?

1. What steps or parts has this project?

Decide: when and where.
How we get there? Buy tickets if necessary.
Where to sleep?  Book hotel.
What to do? Only relax? Sightseeing? What to visit?
What to bring with you?

2. Deadline(s)

Deadlines can be artificial too. Define a deadline for all parts of your project, if you don't have one from outside.

3. Informations

Collect all necessary informations on the same place. Catalogs about hotels, interesting places. Your notes about these. Booking numbers, etc.

Notes about the train - we didn't chosen this

Hotels in Paris. A very messy note page :)

4. "Things"

I didn't found a better word on this. Things you need. For a skiing you need ski. If you flight first time somewhere you might need to buy suitcases. You might need a valid passport.

5. Tasks

The trickiest part. We tend to think on things like tasks, also if they aren't tasks. You cannot only buy flight tickets. Yes, it is a task. But what have you do first time? (David Allen calls it next action.) You have to discuss with your family, when will be the trip. You have to decide you will flight. That can you go and search flight tickets, that can you buy that ticket. You have to analyze your project: ask yourself "what can I do next to achieve this part of my project?" Don't be afraid, you don't have to write all tasks for the whole project at the same time. You can do it step by step.

How it comes together with other planning things we talked before?

Handling 10 projects in monthly/weekly planning is more simpler, as handling 100 tasks. Have a list of your running projects and take a look on it every week.

My current Projects List

Plan projects, or part of the projects in your monthly/weekly planning. Than take out your tasks in the daily planning.

On my monthly planning page:

On my weekly planning page is a little chaotic: sometimes I wrote tasks (buy Disneyland tickets), sometimes stuff (finish bookkeeping).

On my current weekly planner page

Homework for the next week

Take a look on your goals, your tasks from the last week, and try to find out, on what projects are you working on? Write a list!
Take for all a piece of paper and start to organize the projects as written above. As you practise to thinking on things like projects, you will be better in finishing and track things. Let me share a project. My daughter has to go to dentist. It is an appointment. I write it to my planner. Then the doctor tells me, when to come back, how to clean her dent etc, and then I think on it: cannot be "going to dentist with D" a project? It might be an extreme example... If I have for it a project page, I can keep dentist contact, next visit date, gotten informations etc at the same place. Next time I have that all by hand.

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 11: Add some fun!

After the hard work we are going to give some fun to our planners (if you like it).

You planner don't must be boring!

You don't like the pure planner pages? Everything black and white, only to do-s, responsibilities.

Lot of pages looks like this in my planner

 For me is functionality is on the first place, I think, who reads this series, also. Decorating is only an extra. But, decorating can be also functional, let's see some ideas.

I used here: stamps, stamped stickers, stickers, washi tapes for cover not used space, washi to mark holiday, sticky notes, colored pens...

Color coding

Color coding is funny, nice and practical. What to color code? People in the family. Different types of activities (like work, household, relax). Projects - use colors for the tasklist corresponding to the projects. Key areas in your life. Add a color to all values you stated and write your goals, tasks with that color. It makes keeping balance simpler, only take a look if some colors are missing or dominating.

Color coding for appointments: green - I have to go, pink - work, blue - personal, black - I have to know, but I don't have to do anything (my daughter goes to dentist, alone)

Some people don't use color coding, but uses different color pens only to make the planner more colorful.

Stickers

Lot of people uses stickers to make their planner cute - it is not my strength, I cannot show you pictures concentrated about this topic. Just go to Instagram if you want to see something beautiful. But there are also stickers with functions:

Colored dots

I used these before for color coding, when I used only black pen.

Stickers with icons or words, like to do, important, or a car, cloth, etc. 

See in use on the second picture

DIY stickers

My favourites! Combined with stamps - colorful and useful. I should make a tutorial for them... Here can you also use color coding! My out-of-house color is green. I try to stamp such activities on green colored stickers.

See in use at the second picture

Stamps

On the border of functionality. More fun. It takes lot of time to use the clear stamps, I know. But once a week, if I have time for it - I do it. Last week I made my daily layout with stamps.

If you create stamped stickers as I wrote before, you can spare time, and "you can have your stamps with you" - in form of stickers. Bring stamps, acrylic blocks stamp sets with you would be crazy idea.

Washi tape

I love them, but I don't use them too much, because it's complicated to take out, I need a scissor too, I want to write quick and go. But it is so nice to use some washi in different places...
At the bottom of a page.
Highlighting a title:

Orders

Separate a part of the paper (like a border).

Mark more-day-events. - See on the next picture.

Cover not used space:

Dashboards, dividers

I'm obsessed with beautiful papers. I have lot of them, I only should know, why... I try to find some clever way to use them. Like a laminated dashboard. It not only nice, but protects the pages too, and...

I use the back to keep post its on it.

When I use dividers, I make it myself. It could be more sophisticated, some people use more papers, washis, project life cards and other stuff to creating their dividers, I only cut to size and laminate them.

Sticky notes

I mostly use the Super Sticky Post it Notes (see on my dashboard), because they are really long lasting. But I love also these colorful too:

Stickies from Happy Planner

Wow, I didn't thought, that I use so much decoration! 

Housework for the next week

Make fun or not. Do what you want :)

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How to build your perfect planner system? - Week 10: Goals (With free printable)

This time I will be short, I give your more work! :)
You wrote together, what is important for you, and what roles you have. I hope, you could decide what roles you keep, and where you want to change! Now you should build on these goals.

Braindump

Even if you don't want to work on something from your lot important things, write all ideas on a paper, what you could do to achieve your goal. It will make easier to set your steps later.

Yearly goals

Take the two above mentioned worksheets, and start to figure out what you want to achieve, connected to your important things. Would you like to live a house (long term goal) instead of an apartment, because for you is important to be near to nature (value)? Create a goal to start looking for houses in the next year ("sub goal"). Living healthy is important for you? Set up a goal to live healthier from the next year. Etc.

Quarterly goals

Think about it, what can you do in the next 3 month?

Monthly goals

And what can you do in the next month? Think small, don't wait too much for yourself! Be concrete! Back to living healthier: write such goals, as: learning about healthy meals - for one month. Leave sugar from our meals - another month. Start exercising - another month.

Be aware to want change your life totally! It is the right way to failure! Change only a few things. If you wrote 10 different important thing in your life, you cannot do for all something in the same month! Pick up one, or two!
Every month, when you do your monthly planning, take a look on this sheet, and see, what you thought to make as a step to get nearer to your goals, and if you want to change it. Plan the steps to your monthly (weekly, daily) plan.

Free download: goals in personal size (print on A4)

Something to read:
http://www.giftieetcetera.com/2013/12/habits-happen-when-you-least-expect.html
http://zenhabits.net/

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My ideal planner would be...

I think it doesn't exist.
Lets see what I want, and what planner gives me that.

1. Monthly calendar

It has to be big enough. I'm visual, I love to use my stickers to see what's going on. I got this feature perfectly in the Happy Planner. I think A5 Filo would be also enough, I never tried. In personal, too small, hate it.

2. Weekly calendar

I prefer now the vertical layout, but I'm not sure in that, maybe what horisontal I used hasn't enough structure, and that's why I made it chaotic. In A5 Filofax was too much lines on horizontal, and for me was not enough wide by a day to write in. Happy Planner give me the size. Personal size: too small.

3. Monthly planning

It's ok by any planner I used before, I can add my planner pages in any size. I want to see the big rocks, and having place to distribute them to the weeks. It's ok to having it separate from the other stuff, I take a look on it once a week.

4. Weekly planning

I want to see it somehow together but separated from the weekly calendar. I want it together but separated from the daily planning. In Happy Planner it's not perfect. Projects listed on the left column, but I don't have enough space for all todo-s I want to listing. So I added a list paper in the middle, what is disturbing, I would like to see the whole week at a glance. It is the same thing with the page marker. How could I have the page marker and the todo list make at the same time visible and invisible? :D I don't want to flip to my todo list. I want to keep it at the week - see? It seems to be impossible. But I write here, who knows, you can give me a good idea! In personal I had enough place, and made a fold out, what was not bad, but also not good. Somehow I didn't checked the list, I don't know why. It wasn't simple to write on it.

5. Daily planning

I want to keep it together with my weekly planning and calendar. Mission impossible (or I didn't found the way). When I have do2p in personal I felt it so separate, I have seen only that day. But what I do today is influenced what I will have tomorrow...
What I need here: place for time schedule, visual! To do list, notes. But I don't want to copy events always from the weekly calendar, it is wasting time. I don't want to write tasks to the schedule, but I hate leave unused space on the schedule it is paper wasting. I need different amount of space every day for notes. When I had do2p in personal size, I often left the whole note page clear. Wasting paper and place in my planner. I need something more flexible. No idea.
Size: personal was for daily's perfect, A5 was too much, also do1p, in Happy Planner: no way a whole page for a day, would be crazy. I'm experimenting now, how to use the weekly layout for daily planning too. I would be happy for pictures in my Facebook group how everyone use a system similar to Happy Planner. Not nice decorated ones, they distracts my attention. Functional ones. I'm hesitating to create Chronodex stickers for the schedule, they would be left me enough space for planning, but it might be too small. Notes aren't solved in Happy Planner. Maybe Post its. But where to keep them?

6. Notes, infos, tracking

Is not a big deal, I can solve it in any planner.

7. Size

I want to keep all stuff together. What exactly? Minimum my calendar to bring with me, giving the opportunity to make appointments. Have place to take notes, and some very important informations always with me (as insurance numbers). I used for a while for this reason my Filofax Pennybridge as a wallet plus monthly, weekly calendars and note papers. But I didn't liked to have that separate my "planner planner" :D So adding to the minimum: weekly, monthly planning and more infos, tracking items. I make lot of notes and I love to keep lot of informations with me. What makes my planner bulky. That's why I bought the Kikki K medium, which has 30mm rings. Too bulky. Why have all planners soooo bulky covers??? Paper is already enough bulky. Plus point to the Happy Planner: no cover only that laminated paper. If I could solve everything in the personal size - or pocket... hmmmm, I would be so happy! The Happy Planner is too big always to bring with me! Also the A5 Filofax - it seems to be bigger because of the cover. I might try again the Domino... It has no pockets.

8. Bound

I love much more the rings as the disks! I'm thinking sometimes about the Traveller's Notebook, but that I can't give anywhere an extra sheet held me back. Plus it is also small, isn't it? And laying flat is a must. I keep my planner always open next to me.

Conclusion

I think, I covered all things here.
My ideal planner would be a Filofax Finsbury Pocket,
which can keep a lot of paper without turning too bulky
with a Happy Planner size monthly planner
with some magic a big weekly and daily view together.

OK. If you see somewhere my ideal planner do not hesitate to share with me! :D

How to build your perfect planner system? Week 9: What roles you have?

After the monthly plan we are back on the topic: what are we doing and why? We do things, but really are those things what are supposed to be? This week I will ask to answer the next questions: what roles you have? What are you doing? Do you like it? Is it important? We tend to want too much, what leads to overwhelming, feeling guilt, being tired, and not doing what is really important for us - like playing with our kids or spend enough time with our husband. 

For all people is meaningful to thinking about this question, but an ADD person, like me it's extra, because... I WANT IT ALL AND I WANT IT NOW!

I think this step will be the hardest in the series. Be honest with yourself, and take your time to make this exercise! (If you don't want to go so deep in your soul, skip this week, and let's see you next week again!)

Step 1: What are your roles?

Take a piece of paper, big enough, preferable with grids. Start to thinking about, what roles you have in your life? List them, keeping place between it. I think now bigger things, like: mother, working women, friend, evolving personality... Don't forget the not profitable but pleasurable things too (like the phone player, the knitter).
When you finished the big categories, comes the funny part, to find good working word to the subroles. As a mother I'm chauffeur, cook, listener, organizer, teacher, etc. Give a label for all activities you make. Looking into your archive and to do lists might help!

Step 2: Analyze your roles

Now comes the harder part, the decision.
Write somewhere with numbers the next questions:
1. Meets this with my values?
2. Do I like to do this?
3. Am I good in this?
4. Delegetable?
Write 1-4 as a header of a table to the roles. Think about all subroles. Like: cook: I'm good on it, I'm not happy to do it, delegatable, and absolutely meets my values: healthy food is important for us.
Where 1-2-3 got a check mark, you have to keep them. Mark them somehow, maybe with highlighter. Let's take a look on the others.
1. Don't meet with your values - then why are you doing this? Delete.
2. You don't like it. Two options here: have you opportunity outsource it? Hire a cleaning lady? Make cleaning together with the family? Order lunch? Make a "business" with someone: I do it for you, you do that for me? Try to find a solution to delegate this "role". Or a part of it. Not only other persons can help. You can buy a vacuum robot also if you hate vacuum. Be creative! Unfortunately there are some things what you can do and nobody else. You don't like it? C'est la vie. Life is hard :D Learn to live with them.
3. Your are not good in this. Try to delegate also if it is possible. As knitwear designer I have so much roles, where I'm not good... Keep track of things, marketing, administration. I was searching until now someone to delegate these things. It looks like, I found someone! I will have more time to make creative work - what my strength is.
You can share things with others, even if you like it, to spare time. My little daughter and her best friend are going to a gym. One week brings her mother both kids, on the other week I bring them.

Homework for next week

Do this exercise. Find enough time without any distractions. See what roles are good for you, meeting with your values, makes you pleasure, or inevitable. Keep them and try a solution all the other ones.
I plan to make this first alone, then discussing with my husband. I'm so excited! Keep for the next week by hand, when we will working on our goals.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in comment! Share your experiments in our Facebook group, and get more help!  

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