My love-hate relationship with my planner

Yesterday evening I couldn't fall asleep. I took out two days from my planner. I didn't took any look in it. This not means I didn't done anything. I made the laundry, and I worked a lot on a pattern. I love to work like this. Only one (or two things), for a long time, and not care anything else. But unfortunately my life can't work like this. I need my planner to keep me on track.

I'm obsessed with all planner stuff, planning and time management methods. I'm spending lot of time to read blogs, watching planner videos, making inserts, stickers, dividers for myself.
And on the other hand: I hate everything what is MUST. I feel like my planner want to be my boss and telling me, what I must do. I rebell! I don't want from anyone to tell me, what to do. I want to do what I want to do in the moment. I love to live in the moment. Than I regret it. Because I forget things. Important things for me. Not only I-don't-want-to-do-this like stuff.
Now I have a helper, who comes to me speaking about things how I could do it more better for me (some kind of coaching). She asked me last week, when I talked about my goals: they are really what you must do every day? Yes, exercising is important. But I have maybe 8 goals for this year, work, kids, household, appointments. Stressing myself to do every day something for my goals makes no sense. Sometime I have to concentrate on my work, and leave the morning exercise. Or deciding to playing or go out with the kids, and leaving something from my to do list. It make sense, just... confuse me. I get it, not going to shopping today, I can do it tomorrow. But leaving my daily exercise today: I can't do it tomorrow. I have the daily exercise already for tomorrow. I leave it today. Then tomorrow, then I didn't done it any day.

Using my planner is lot fun. I love paper, pens, washis, stickers. And also a big task to keep everything in hand. With my ADHD planning needs extreme high attention (what I don't have), my perfectionism want me to do things too complicated, so I'm searching always the right way to simplify (what gives me more tasks, haha, but tasks I like to do). You won't believe me, but the weekly review takes me maybe two hours! And I don't decorate!

So let's keep fighting with myself!

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Do you miss me?

I did it for very long time, writing every weeks once here. I would like to go on with this! Only I have to decide, what to do and what to leave. I'm working home. My childrens are 7, 11 and 13. There is morning school from 8-12 and afternoon school from 13:40 to 15(16):20. The smallest one have afternoon school twice a week, on other afternoons she is at home. On one afternoon I bring here ho "Hungarian school" to learn to read and write on her mother language. The are eating home 3 times a week (we eat warm for lunch not for dinner). Let's see, how much time is left: 5 mornings and two afternoons for work and other stuff what need concentration. Not too much! I have my own business, what have to do or not functioning - like last year, when I keep everything very light.
With my goal settings I decided to give a last chance for my business: I do what I need to do to run it this year (enough patterns, marketing, finishing stuff in time) and if not gose, I finish with it.
Writing a blog post, with pictures takes 2 hours from my time. From my very limited time. When I have to decide, if I work, or write a blog post - I choose work. Now it's Saturday morning, I write a quick post, that is what you got from me :) Without any pictures!

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Rethinking my life

It's the last month of the year. I started preparing my planning system for the next year:
- printing?
- buying?
- planner inserts?
- planners?

My planned planning system for the next year looks like

1. my main planner will stay my purple A5 Filofax Malden, with monthly pages. I'm not sure in weeklies. I want them, but weekly and monthly is too much. Because a whole year weekly has no place in my planner, I need the monthlies for future planning. I have to figure it out. Plus in this planner: ideas, tasks (they are also ideas, like what I can do if I don't have too much energy), projects and informations.
2. I ordered a month daily planner booklet, I love it so far, and don't disturbs me, that it is separate. Why I ordered this? Because I don't want to use my time for printing and I didn't found any daily insert I would like to have. I also ordered a year day planner spiral notebook, what I got last week and it is only four month. Hahh, you should read first :D I think I will go with the one month dailies after I ran out from the 4 months, it fits into the back pocket of my Filofax. If I start to hate, that it is not an insert, I can cut it out and punch.
3. Business planner: A5 Filofax Malden. Monthly and weekly. Monthlies are not for appointments (because I don't have business appointments :)), but deadlines, planning working times, projects. Statistics, infos, etc in this planner.
4. Your best year 2016 Creative Business Planner. I started to read and fill out this planner for goal setting in my business. I placed the pages into my Filofax Clipbook, without it's monthly and weekly planning pages, I printed out my own monthlies. I can move the actual month always to the Malden.
5. My mental health is important, I will order the Powersheets, whatever it costs to me...
6. Daily Greatness Business Planner

Decisions

Last times I'm lost, what I should do, how my time should be organized. I'm a lot angry with my kids, I'm impatient. I decided, I work in December as few as possible, and spend more time with the kids and finding out what I want and at the end of course, I plan my next year. One question is if I want to write this blog and filming youtube further? On which level? As I see, I can't and want to be a "professional" planner. Too much planning in blogging is not for me, I'm more emotional. If I want write, I write, sometimes to find/make a nice picture for a blog post would be a setback in the way, so I have decide: will be a not so perfect blogpost, or there will be no? I say yes for the notsoperfect :) I hope you too!
I leave at the end, why I started to write this post at all. I got a comment here on the blog, where someone says thanks for me, and I got also a comment on YouTube on a video of mine. You might laugh: two comments can make you happy? And yes, from comments I know, writing this blog makes sense!

I'm say Hello for you. Do you hear me? Do you want me to continue?

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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/

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

Find here the whole series.

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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!  

Find here the whole series.

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 7: Values - most important things in your life

I think planning is going well already in daily basis, isn't it? What are your experiences with the reviews? I hope you don't forget them!
It's time to make a step back and take a look on a larger picture. What is your purpose in life? Why are you doing what you are doing? Are those tasks really those what you should do? Or here would be something else? Hard questions, I know. But if you want to plan your life, you have to answer (for yourself only of course :)).

Do some brain dump

1. Take a piece of paper (large enough) or the Values Worksheet, and try to write values come to your mind, which are important for you. Like these:

• Health
• Family relationships
• Work
• Personal development
• Independence
• etc

Don't  care about the order for now!

The most importants

Choose maximum 10 from above, which are the most important. To all of them write 3-5 things you can do get closer to your goal. Every little thing is count! This is braindump, don't take care about silly ideas also! Write it down!

Mind map

Now try to make a sketch as a map - what belongs to each other?

In a few days I will send out my next Newsletter including a worksheet doing this exercise!

Homework for next week:

Make this exercise, we will use it later! Make the next weekly review too. The monthly is also not far away.

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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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).

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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.

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