How to build your perfect planner system? Week 17: Weekly calendars/planner pages

Last week I wrote about the monthly calendars. You had to decide, if you need that and which format. This week's post is about the weeklies.

Do I need a weekly calendar?

You might have only a few appointments - in this case for you can be enough only a monthly calendar. What if you have a lot tasks to do? You can have monthly calendar with appointments, deadlines plus daily planner pages. But if you have more time sensitive stuff to remember, as appointments, deadlines, time-related stuff, or you want to write about a thing more details in your calendar, you will need the weekly calendar too. 

How it works together with the monthly calendar?

Keep a whole year of monthly calendars in your planner (nowadays you can already thinking on buy/print one for the next year, and you might take out some months from the beginning of the year), and only couple of weeks from the weeklies. Depending on, how much place you have in your planner, and how much you plan for the future. I recommend to write to the monthly planner very shortly, without any details, you can keep those informations somewhere else. When the time is near, copy the appointments to the weekly, and write there (or to daily page, if you will use one) the details. Where, with whom, telefon number, what you have to bring with you, etc. If you have a monthly planner for an overview, never, never ever organize an appointment direct to a weekly. You might miss that info from the monthly and get trouble. Even if it is the current week, write that appointment into the monthly.

Weekly calendar layouts

There are so many!

Vertical layouts: Timeline or not?

Having a timeline gives you the opportunity to have a visual reference how you spend your time. (I wrote about by daily planning about time schedule here.) Even if you don't write the tasks to the weekly calendar, you can block out your time for "project 1", "client B", "work by computer" etc. 

1. Let's start with the classic Filofax vertical wo2p. This format can be very helpful, if you work busy, and your work is time sensitive. Appointments, meetings, etc. You can schedule your whole day here. But where to write tasks? Hard this way. You might need to add a daily page or a todo list. as you can see, you have 5 columns for working days, and 2 for Saturday-Sunday, lot of people don't like it, but maybe you don't want to plan anything for the weekend, then why not? This way you have more place horizontally as in the next example.

Original Filofax wo2p insert

2. Vertical wo2p with timeline and tasks. Here you have the same place for each day, plus an extra column for - tasks, thoughts, notes, trackers, etc. But you have less space for a day.  If you have not too much tasks per day, you might prefer something like this instead of using a daily planner.

Source: http://philofaxy.com with permission

You can find this here.

3. Vertical wo2p. I chose here an other format without time, here you have sections for the day. You can find from this format in very very different variations! But. This is not really a calendar! Here you don't have place for appointments! But you can use such format as an addition to the monthly calendar as a weekly planning page. Yes-yes, calendar and planner pages starting to mixing with each other. No problem, you only have to keep in your mind: what is what.

This insert is a free download from MsWenduhh. 

Horizontal layouts

There can be some with more or less structure.

4. The simplest is if you have only the days here, like here:

wo2p horizontal from Filofax

This layout don't give you too much clue where to write what. By this inserts can you also find where you have the same place for all days, or less space for the weekends.

5. Horizontal wo2p with some structure. You might write your appointments to one column, and the tasks to the other.

Weekly calendar/planner from Plannerfun

You can download this insert from Plannerfun for free. 

6. I really like this insert from Filofax Clipbook. Here you have all the days in one side, and 3 columns on the right, where you can add sections, what you want. I used this before for menu planning, social media planning and for misc tasks.

7. If you don't have too much to write (I can't imagine this! :)), you might need only one page per week, like this:

This is a free insert from Xoxojinny.

Unusual formats

8. Here you have boxes for the days:

Free download from Scatteredsquirell.

9. 5 days on one side, weekend on the other side (this is my own insert, not available yet). I like this format, because I can keep my daily insert always on the right side, and I can see all of my working days at the same time.

10. I have seen a wo4p insert in vertical format, with 5 days plus a task list on two page, and on the next page was the weekend, plus maybe notes, unfortunately I don't find it. It was maybe on Facebook or Instagram?

I would be happy to read in my Facebook group, what you chose and why?

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What to do, if you didn't planned correctly and your plan is crashed?

Nothing serious: no accident, no new stuff, only not enough thinking, that happened with me yesterday. Very carefully written plan, which was wrong. Why? I planned a task for next Monday. But this task was a precondition for a task I planned for yesterday, what have a deadline for tomorrow. How silly. And? What can I do? Reschedule! Put off everything else and make the task planned for Monday, and what a task? A big one, of course.

This is how my yesterday turned out, a lot of tasks unfinished.

This was my original plan for today:

I took two post it notes to write a new list with the tasks I thought this morning I want to finish today. I don't care about the other things written originally here. If I'm done with the post its, I can move on to this.

I have no idea, what I will finish today, so I didn't wanted to schedule the unfinished tasks from yesterday (but I wanted to clean up that page), so I wrote everything only on an other post it. When I make my daily review tomorrow morning, I will decide, what I want to do. I will move that post it until I have on that any task.

Let's go back to my list on the two little post its! :)

How to build your perfect planner system? Week 16: Which calendar to use and which monthly format?

As we finished with the basics, we can move on, and adapt your system to your needs. First: calendar. If you have not too much appointments, monthly calendar can be enough. If you need more, use weekly also. Or only weekly. If you want more together, you might want a yearly insert for wider perspective (for holidays, travels), or even more, there is also 5 year overview! Let's see first the opportunities for the monthly calendar.

Monthly calendar

Monthly calendar has small space for the days, so if you have tons of appointments it can be small for you (another question, what size of planner you use...). But I never met before someone who would have so much. Why is a monthly calendar worthy? You can see at a glance your month. How much things you have in days next to each other? What deadlines? Holidays, etc. I use the monthly calendar for organizing my appointments, I write everything here what I know about the future, school stuff, doctor appointments, holiday, etc. In weekly layout come only copies from this. Because you have not too much space you might use shortcuts, as stickers, letters. You don't have to write here everything, find a place where you keep the connected informations, and mark those appointments somehow (I use a +), where are additional informations (like where, what to bring, what's the name of the doctor). If you use color coded stickers, or drawings for repeating things, you don't have to write anything. Like: paydays, swim course, cleaning...

I keep maybe a year of the monthlies in my planner.

Format:

1. mostly used the mo2p, this is what I also like (see mine above).
2. Filofax has this format, also month on two pages, what I do not prefer, because the visual clue is not too strong when weekend is.

3. Mo1p - you can find a lot on the internet, but you have less space to write. This one from Philofaxy:

Source: http://philofaxy.com with permission

4. Horizontal version from Filofax, here you have place also for planning, or note taking:

5. Horizontal mo1p is a good choice, if the rings disturb you. - example from Scattered Squirrel

Week start?

Not too much to talk about: decide, what works for you, Sunday or Monday.

Homework for next week

Think about if you need a monthly calendar or not? What format would be best for you? Maybe download some free versions for the internet in different formats and use it for the next couple of month to see, which one you like.

(You can download a lot different format from Philofaxy Blog.)

Next week I will write about weekly calendars.

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What "planner peace" means to me? And why talking about it so much?

Planner is a planner, what an idiot question is what is planner peace? Why is not enough to have a planner? Whatever planner? Or calendar. No No No! It matters, what you have!

Last time I read some posts about planner peace.
In Philofaxy Blog by Anita and Helen
By Weekendwife 
Giftie Etcetera about the inserts
Homemakersdaily is also searching the best solution.

Planner peace is for me:

- finding the right size, what works for me
- finding the right inserts, what works for me
- finding the right binding - I thing, this one is done: ring binders are the best for me
- finding the right binder - what works for me.
- deciding what to keep in the planner.

Do you see? "what works for me". I write again. What works for me. Not what I like. Functionality is the first on the row!

Why I don't know what I want? 

Good question - maybe because there are conflicting needs. I have already written about my preferences here.
Size: A5 is too big, personal is too small - I have make a decision, what is more important: portability or enough writing space? Both is functionality question. In this moment is A5 winning.
Inserts: What weekly format is working the best? How I can achieve to see together what I want see at the same time?If I see more at the same time, than I have smaller space (for a day or something else). If I want more space, I won't see something I wanted. I need a 100 dimension planner, hihi :D Here again: find the best compromise!
Binding: Stitched or glued need less space. But it is not customizable. This is very important for me, so: ring binder.
Binder: Ok, it has to be nice, but this aspect can be never the first. If it has pocket gives the binder bulkier. But to having place for storing stickers, etc.
What to keep in the binder and how to organize? This is again: I want to keep here everything, but it is not possible. If I have too much in the planner, I might not find what I search, I might don't want to bring with me, because it is too heavy. How to organize? Keeping the monthlies/weeklies/dailies separate? Or somehow together? How? (Back to inserts question). Keeping planning and calendar pages together or separate? How to organize all the other stuff? What sections to have? They are hard questions!
I hope you can understand now, why I don't find my planner peace so easily!

How to build your perfect planner system? Week 15: Summary

As I promised: before we move on to second level, a little repetition is coming. I want to summarize the previews posts.

Summary of the first 14 weeks

1. What you need?

First week I wrote, you will need a planner and calendar inserts for writing appointments, I recommended for start the week on two pages version. To take notes, notepaper. You started writing appointments to your calendar, to dos and notes to notepaper. I recommended to have your planner always with you.

2. New sections

On the second week you created dividers for Calendar, To Dos and Lists. (I will mark the dividers with green color.)

3. Inbox

On the third week you added an Inbox folder and notepapers as a landing place. You collected here everything you have to deal with.

4. Organizing stuff

On the fourth week you started to organize the collected stuff from your inbox. You added Informations section for infos, Someday/Maybe for to dos you might want to make one day. You left time related stuff in inbox, until the last week, when you made the 17 folder section or you putted your stuff somewhere else. You might added Notes section.

5. Planning

We started talking about real planning only on the fifth week, you added a Planning section with weekly and daily inserts. I asked you to use day on one page for daily planning, until we are talking about other options.

6. Weekly, daily reviews

You could read on the 6th week about why is a review important, and what you have do.

7. Values, 9. Roles, 10. Goals

For seeing, what is important for you, what you really want and must do, you made some exersizes (values, roles, goals).

8. Monthly planning

On the 8th week you added a monthly planner insert to your planning section, and planned your first month.

11. Decorating

On week 11 you got some time to rest, I wrote about decorating the planner.

12. Projects

On the 12th week I wrote about how organizing tasks into projects helps the planning and achieving your goals. In that post I forgot to write to add a Projects divider. Please do it now! :)

13. Monthly review

On the 13th week you made your first monthly review.1

14. Place for time related stuff

Last week I recommended some options to keep time related stuff.

So what?

If you made everything as I written, you have tons of dividers. If you take a closer look on it, it's really 3 different things. Calendar, planning and informations. Calendar tells you when what you can/must do. Informations are in projects, lists, to dos, they are telling you what you can/must plan in your planning sections. This is how the all stuff works together. Now the question is, what sections you need and how you want to organize your planner. This comes in the next weeks.

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10 tips for ADHD people using a planner

1. Write everything down. 

I mean it! You might forget!

2. Find the way to find the place for every little piece of information in your system. 

Not enough to writing down. You have to find it later!

3. Such few distractions as possible. 

It's better to keepyour planner simple and not full of stickers, washis, etc.

4. Separate the informations

In time and topics. In time: don't have to do's on your daily page only you MUST do it on that day (not too much to dos) - if you have more time, pick more tasks from other lists. In topics: have more, than one todo list. For cleaning, work projects, family things etc. What makes you sense. more in time: use the 43 folder system or my 17 dividers system, and move in those projects/todos/infos, what are time sensitive. This way they are out of picture, until they come back, if you will need it. 

5. Use time blocking

In daily planning: use blocks for different activities. Make all phone calls at the same time. make work at the computer same time. housework, or anything make you sense. Write this categories clear separated on the daily page. 

6. Use color coding 

to make visual separation more clear. But only if it menas not visual clutter for you!

7. Use routines 

Create daily/weekly/monthly routines. Write them down! 

8. Have checklist for any recurring activities  

If you have do that thing take out your checklist and you have the steps, you don't need to thinking about it. 

9. Mark the task what you started

If you will be distracted, you will be know, where you have to go back. Mark it with a point, highlighter, arrow page marker...

10. Track your items

Started but not finished tasks, delegated tasks, orders, etc has to be tracked.  Write somewhere in your planner - you can make a tracking section, or take a postit, and write it on. What are you waiting for? When it is started? When should you check it? Place to that date in your calendar or your daily page, if you have already for that day, or in the 17 dividers system. Write, what the other part promised, asked, what you answered...

How to build your perfect planner system? Week 14: Place for time related stuff

As I promised before on week 4, now we will add a section for time related stuff. The idea comes from the 43 folder system, where you have a foder for 12 months and for 31 days. The actual month and day is always the first. All todo-s, projects, info pages is going to this system, to the day/month when it will be important. Concert ticket on the day, project files, when you have to start work with, etc. But we have our planners, where we plan our days, weeks, months... In a planner would be 43 dividers or folders too much.

17 dividers

I simplified this system for months and weeks. If you like the idea, create 12 monthly dividers, first comes September, the actual month. Plus 5 weekly dividers - you can choose what first week means. It can be from the first day of the month to Sunday (Saturday?), or decide where the mixed weeks are going (I use this mostly, 28-3 is the last week of the month for me).

Put all time related stuff, like information for events, or to do-s here.

Some example:

Letter from school - there is more thing, I will move it forward

Camp packing list for tis weekend

Next year camp reminder by May

A call for submission - I don't know if I want to do this, or not, but I will see, when the time comes

You can keep here reminders for recurring tasks must do always on the same month or week. Events happens yearly, like birthdays.

You can collect ideas for the future, maybe for birthday presents.

Some Christmas marketing ideas by November

I have an envelop also for 2017 with a note about ID-s will expired.

Future section

If you don't want the 17 dividers system, or you maybe have only a few of such things, you can use the future section for saving this files too. Or (what a scandallum!) keep this stuff outside your planner. Create a folder for it, or a papertray, what makes you sense.

Homework for the next week

Find your way to store the time related stuff, and install it. Place here your stuff you already collected. Don't forget from now  to review this weekly!

I think, we have built the basics of a planner. Before we go further - with more ideas, variations of calendars, files, sections, more planners, next week we will make a little repetition with a summery of the first 14 weeks. Stay tuned :)

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The greatest menu planner you have ever seen in Filofax - includes recipes

As every family, we have also usual meals. But sometimes we forget them. We also have recipe book - what is hard to use. 

When I wanted to try out a personal size planner, I bought a cheap used Filofax Domino, then I moved out to another planner, and this one stand on the shelf. Why couldn't be this one my recipe book combined with menu planner?

Purple Filofax Domino, personal size

Recipe book

I placed a-z dividers to the planner and I place recipes in this order. 

No categories, only first letter. I think this way is simpler to find the right one.

Menu planner

This is more interesting! I have here month on two pages "calendar". 

Page marker of course kitchen themed :)

And some laminated craft paper, with the names of the dishes. Here I use categories: the color of the flags means: meal, sweet, soup, vegetarian, etc. The dashboards are: quick dishes, complicated dishes, desserts, etc. 

Quick dishes for workdays

Time consuming recipes for the weekends

And we have also a wishlist dashboard, all family member can move here a flag he/she want to eat. It makes me also simpler to choose, first I go here! At Friday I plan for the whole next week and write a shopping list. I have some rules, what also helps, like we eat noodle on Wednesday, we eat chicken at Thursday... I leave the flags on their place for a month or longer for we eat variously enough.

How to build your perfect planner system? Week 13: First monthly review

One month is gone after you wrote your first monthly plan. The question is now, what happened? Did you finished everything what you wanted? Did life changed? Had you have to changed something? Could you predicted what you can finish in a month?

What is a monthly review?

It will take 1-2 hours, please schedule time for it! You have to revise everything: your yearly plan, your goals, projects, last month, changes in your life.

Steps of monthly review

1. Clean up your inbox

Hopefully there is not too much things here :) As a reminder, here is how to do it.

2. Make a frame for your upcoming month

Take a look into your monthly calendar: what will be happening in the near future? How much appointments do you have already scheduled? Are you planning vacation? How much responsibility do you have? Start to write to your monthly plan tasks/projects you must/want finish - related the calendar items. Deadline: it connects surely to a project. Birthday: Do you have to buy present? Do you have to organize something? 

3. Revise your goals

Are your goals still actual? If not, rewrite them! Write tasks to the monthly planner connected to your goals.

4. Revise your yearly plan

You could have adjust it, if you should make changes in your goals, if you hadn't predicted what you can do in a month and you didn't finished something or something came up. Write the tasks for this month from the yearly plan to the monthly.

5. Review your projects

Actualize your projects list, you might finished some in the last month, or created some new one. Go through the project pages: check if you marked all finished tasks, steps, if not, do it no. Actualize your task lists. Decide on which project you will work in the next month.

5. Last month

Review the last monthly plan: have you finished everything? What not, is still actual? If yes, plan it for the next month.

6. Write in your recurring tasks

It worth to create a list for things happens/has to do every month. I have to pay bills every last week of the month. I make the same promotion on the first week of the month. Presumably you have also similar things.

7. Make the plan!

I highly recommend to portion out them to the weeks, as I showed in the monthly plan post. But of course, you can make a simple list also. Or thematic. 

Homework for the next week

Make your first monthly review. Please share with us your plan in the From Chaos to Order Facebook group!

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