Technique and paper - hand in hand

I struggled always how and where to write my routines. 
- When I kept them on a list somewhere in my planner, and wrote on my daily page "morning routine", I had to flip there, and I coudn't mark off the tasks, and I forgot to go back to the daily.
- I tried laminated page (where I can mark off and clean for the next time), but I had have a whiteboard marker and something to clean the page - I never had.
- I kept the list on my day marker (marker problem again).
- On sticky notes. (Cannot mark it off.)
- I wrote all tasks every day (huge work, big, overwhelming list),
- I made stickers, I made daily pages printed with the tasks - this items looked different as what I added with my hand - so I "didn't saw" them. Really. I know.

Using an app

I tried uncountable app already, but I always failed. I can't tell the reason. And I can't tell, why I now succeed? I use the Todoist app. I use it mostly on my computer, but it is also available on my phone. I can "throw" everything with a move into my inbox without leaving the program what I use on my computer. This is a huge advantage for me, because I won't forget what I made. And I don't have to find the place in my planner to write - in this time I can forget what I wanted to note! That is really annoying. I can add aoutomaticly tasks into my list with IFTTT (my favourite app ever!) - like "if I posted on Instagram, create me a task for today: write tags for the post in comment", or "if I got a text message on my phone create a task to answer". With IFTTT I also can create a list in an other app (I use Google Drive) what I've done. I can share projects with others, the most important I share with my husband is the shopping list. I write the list, he checks the items off, when he puts in the shopping basket. Great, isn't it?

And you will laugh: I use an other task manager app (TickTick), for the routines. That way in Todoist I have the task "morning routine", and in TickTick I have the items for it. This way I can keep my Todoist task list shorter. 

And then you don't need your planner any more???

Yes, I do! I plan in my planner. The app keeps the tasks neet and safe and can remind me. I have my calendar, and organize appointments here. I plan out my week on my weekly pages. I make my weekly review in my planner (with the help of my checklist in the app :)). This combination solved the "I  have to make this task one time, maybe not today, but soon" problem - not a perfect way yet, but more better as in written form ever. I snooze these task for tomorrow, or maybe for next week. They are there, in my today's list, but when I go trough my day on the morning I can decide, if I leave the here or snooze farther, without making a mess on my todo list. Sometimes I write some MIT in my planner, to know on what I have to concentrate, and I check the little ones in the app. The app can remind me if I have a task I want to make in a specific time (to post on Instagram at 14:00 :)) 

So my loved planners stays with me, and didn't changed too much, only I write in them not so much tasks. I will also slowly remove the project tasks list from my planners - but project pages with informations and notes might will stay on paper! 

For now I'm very pleased with this hybrid solution.

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Using stickers for planning, not for decorating

I love to spend lot of time with my planner, but what is too much, is too much. I'm always searching for solutions to automate things, or making it simpler.

Where and for what do I use stickers in my planner?

1. Monthly spread - recurring events
I have lot of thing what don't need to write, but it is good to remind me. I know, that I bring my smallest daughter to Hungarian School every Wednesday. I know, when to leave, when it is. But I have the sticker here, because when I make an appointment with someone, I might forget it.

2. Monthly spread - events, color coded, with icons
I just started to make my own stickers with my new Silhouette Portrait. I've chosen for all family member a color.

This way the sticker tells me without writing: who and where, and I have to write only the when. It spares me a lot of time and space.

3. Monthly spread - events, without icons
I don't have icon for any possible events, so I made a lot circle stickers too.

4. Recurring tasks not to forget
Like give pocket money to kids every first day of the month's.

5. Daily schedule - event sticker without icons
I love how the circle sticker pops out! More and more than only writing in, even if it is written with color.

6. Daily schedule - color coded with icons
There are events, what not influence my schedule, but I have to know, like one of my bigger daughter has an appointment. I place the sticker reminders on the right side of my schedule. Didn't found now one quick, but you can see above, how I placed such an event on my schedule.

7. Index page - type of the event

I try to write every important stuff, what I might have to remember later, when that happened. Here I have a different logic with the color coding. I have for all family members a separate sheet, and color codes mean different segment of life (like green is health, yellow is fun, etc.) This way is quick to find: when was my daughter last time by dentist? I don't need to read for that, only search the teeth icon.

This post is part of the planner experience link up party:

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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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The "Next Week" flyleaf

I have this flyleaf already for months ago in planner. It helps me in weekly planning. This is a laminated piece of paper, where I wrote with pen - Frixion users, attention: never write on a piece of paper you want laminate!!! I didn't wanted to spend too much time to designing an insert for this.

What all function the next week flyleaf has?

1. Keeping the weekly review checklist
Everything I have to do on my weekly review is listed here. I can use whiteboard marker to check the points off.

2. A list about our weekly routine

I didn't wrote this on the paper, because it can be change. It's on a post it note. As you can see some stuff is already added to it. Having the family routine by hand by weekly planning is very useful, I don't have think too much, what everything we have, only write them in. The are also recurring appointments and also tasks I have to do on a specific day on the week. 

3. Place for next week's tasks

Sometimes come something into my mind, and I don't want to add to my actual weekly tasks, because I have enough. I also don't want to write to my next week planning page, because I might use a different format (as before I tried so much options, or I just don't want to make it disorganized. I just jot it done here, and I can add to week, when I make the weekly planning. Sometimes works this post it as a master to do list, when I don't write next week something to my tasks, I just leave it here for later. While I have a page marker on the top, I can reach this place very quickly.

4. Pending items

On the back I keep waiting on stuff on post it's. I review them weekly, if it's finished, or have I something to do with that thing. I have also a don't forget post it here just in case :)

What do you think about this useful tool? Would you use something similar? If yes, what elements would you take?

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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Highly customizable planners: Agendio

For couple of days shared people in Facebook planner groups the Agendio website. I checked it immediately, and was amazed. From 28 November will be available as planner refill.

You can 

- choose from different layouts (monthly, weekly vertical, weekly horizontal)

- give your labels for sections

- customize the sections: checkboxes, lines, etc

- divide your sections into more

- in the vertical weekly layout you can choose if you want a schedule, and if, what time span, add section(s) for tasks

- week start

- choose from different looks of the dates, fonts, colors

This is not bad, but what bought me:

I can add tasks and events, what happens always on a day of the week, or a day of a month, etc. It would spare me a lot of time to writing them in my planner again and again. 

(See here all of the features.)

I already started to working on my version. I need a vertical weekly, I'm living without it for a long time, but I'm missing it! (I just placed couple of original Filofax inserts today to my planner...)

I will go with something like this:

Let's go and try the builder! If you would like also a planner, don't forget to check the promotions here. If you don't find what you want, you can also write to the team!

All images copyright Agendio. 

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 22: Good luck!

I think, I told everything I planned to tell in this series. This last post is about say goodbye :)
It is hard to close a so big and long lasting work, what should I say? The main part I already summarised.

Some miscellaneous thoughts:

- Don't be afraid to start planning, just do it.
- You don't have to have from the first day a perfect system, it will evolve. A wrong system is better than having any.
- You will never have a perfect system, maybe something near. Your needs change, your system has to be adapt.
- I give you advices but my system isn't "ready" yet. I'm working on (OK, I'm an extreme example :)) that constantly.
- Have a calendar and place to take notes. Have a todo list. These are the most important things in your planner.
- Have your planner always with you.
- Write down everything.
- Ask if you need inspiration, how to organize anything. From Chaos to Order Facebook group.

From now on I can go back to most personal things - I wanted also besides this series, but I have energy only for one blogpost in a week. I'm happy if I can write about things also other people are interested, so please write me in comment if you would like to read about something.
I say goodbye from this series with a picture about my actual planners.

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 21: Make your life simpler: routines and checklists

There are in our life so much things what is always the same. Happens on the same time of the week/month/year. Has to do the same thing. If you write them down, you don't have to think about so much. This makes things automatic.

Daily routines

I have a daily routine list since I tried out the FlyLady system. I don't do it any more, but having routines is a great idea!
- You can have a list for all routines somewhere in your planner (I have it by the R divider.) If you can be think on that, you can go every day there, and check, what you have to do. You might need to write to your plan: daily routine.
- Or keep a little card with the tasks by the dailies.
- Or have a sticky note to your day marker, and stick that to your daily, and move it to the next day, if you finished.

- You can have also a weekly chart for the whole week on your weekly spread
- or on your day marker.

Some of mine:

http://srplanner.blogspot.ch/2015/05/page-marker-with-daily-routine.html

I made a new today marker with daily routines, and... ( see next pic) #planner #diy #filofax #routine

Zsuzsa Kiss (@muzsika19) által közzétett fénykép, 2015. Febr 18., 06:13 PST

- or on a separate insert:

http://choretell.com/kids-5-12/patterned-weekly-to-do-chore-checklists/

So much options!

Weekly routines / repeatedly appointments

- You can have a list by your routines list again. You can go to check it there if you not forget it.
- You can write a reminder to your weekly review checklist: write weekly routine tasks/appointments to the days. (This is, what I do - more writing, but I can't check things on different places :))
- You can write a list with this things on your day marker.
- You can write the repeatedly things on replaceable flags. Move this every week to the next week's pages.

Monthly routines /repeatedly appointments

Same options as by weeklies.

Seasonal/Yearly things

- List again.
- Copy from the list to the place.
- Have an insert/post it for every month: write on this every birthdays/appointments, to do-s you have for this month (like making book keeping, changing clothes for seasons etc.). You can stick the post it to the months, or you can use your insert as a divider.

http://srplanner.blogspot.ch/2015/01/the-17-divider.html

Checklists

They are genial helper! If a bigger task need always the same steps, and you need to do that task more times, you can make a checklist for it.
- The most simplest way: Have in your planner (or in a notebook) a place for checklists, and list all the subtasks what you need to the bigger task. When you have to do it again, go there, and make it.
- Make laminated checklists. Then you can mark the finished subtasks with white board marker, and use the checklist next time again. Disadvantage for this: laminated pages make your planner bulky. But why should you keep all of them in your planner? You can find a place for your checklists outside of it. Place only the actual to your day (week).

Zsuzsa Kiss (@muzsika19) által közzétett fénykép, 2015. Febr 20., 06:13 PST

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 20: Use more planners!

In the last post I summarised what everything you can have your planner and how you can organize it. I mentioned also, you might have use more planner (as I do). Why should you want to use more planner? The best way is to keep everything on the same place... I will try so much possible scenario to collect as I can.

You are a lot away from home and you don't want a big and heavy planner with you

Maybe you are using public transport, and you need your schedule with you. You can have to planner, one which you carry with you and one what stays at home. What size should you use? For "Home" planner you should have an A5 and for "On the go" planner a personal. Or pocket size. But if you fit to a personal size, both can the same size. I tried to use personal size, but it is too small for me. So I take my A5 planner with me! It's up to you. Keeping all planners in the same size have a very strong benefit: if you change your mind and want to move something from one planner to the other, you can do it easily! But it is not a must. What to keep in which planner? It needs a brain dump, what should you need on to go? Calendar for sure. Some informations, but not all. Phone numbers, if your phone is going dead. If you are going to work, work projects. But you might have also a work planner, what you leave on the workplace. Lot of people use Filofaxes as a wallet. You can have here all your cards, receipts, finance stuff, and calendar. Of course note paper and post its are must :) You can leave home most of your informations, home projects, yearly plan, etc.

Work and Personal planner

You might divide your stuff for work and personal. Here I have a very important advice: even if you have two planners, you should have only one calendar! If you have two, it will be cause a chaos one day. Keeping everything synchronized is an impossible mission. Ok, not 100 percent sure. There are some things, what you don't have to know on the other situation. If you have a blog planner why not to have an editorial calendar on it? You don't need that information what blog post you want to write, when you make a doctor appointment. But if the assistant offers you an appointment for working hours, you have to know, if you have that time a meeting, or it is possible to go later to work. If you have this informations in two planner, it makes a chaos. Also you can have work deadlines only in your work planner, because it should not influence if you can go out with your friend on Friday evening. 

Something is too big or important in your life

Do you have a hobby? You might have a separate planner for it. To keep track you make, have, want, idea, brainstorming.... Do you write a blog? You can have a blog planner. Do you go to university? Have a study planner! Fitness planner.

You don't have enough space

If you like write and keel by hand so much stuff as I, you should have take out some sections from your "Main" planner. Have a separate Projects, Informations, 17 dividers ... planner. Why not?

What do you think: do you need more planner? What would you keep separate? Why? Share your thoughts on Facebook or here in comment!

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 19: What to keep in your planner and how to organize?

Have you noticed, I left a week out! We were in Paris :) I'm back again, and ready to continue!

What do you have now? 

If you have going with me, you have calendars, to dos, list, informations, someday/maybe section, or 17 dividers, notes, planning section, goals, projects. OMG, what a chaos! Do you need all? Where? What is important? From what you have a lot, and what is only a piece of paper? You might not need notes sections, because you don't make too much, or you use daily pages, and it's enough. You might not need to keep any information in your planner. Think about that, when you move on and plan, what to keep in your planner and how to organize all that stuff.

Stay by the logic we followed until now

But you don't have to have too much sections. What was the logic? Stuff comes in: Inbox. Time related stuff goes to: Calendar. Tasks are going to: Projects and Planning. No task, no time related is: Information. Notes are also Informations, isn't they? Goals belong also to planning. Lists are interesting things. They can be informations, like a wish list, or they can be also tasks! If you use only the bold sections, it will be only 5, not too much. 

Keep it simple

The simplest way is if you have a landing zone with an inbox and notepapers, than your calendar(s) and planning pages - together or separated? Is up to you. Until now we kept the two thing in separate sections. I'm now in trieing keeping it together, and I'm very satisfied! I think, this subject deserves a separate post! Than have an A-Z section, where you keep everything else. Yes. No dividers. Contacts are going to C, Informations to the letter what is it about (colors to my homepage are by me by C, routines by R, etc), Projects to P...

Lift out 

You have a lot pages from something? Half of your planner is by P, because you have a lot projects? Make for this a separate section. Keep all other stuff in the A-Z tabs. 

I started here to lift out some stuff, I'm not sure yet, what I want, that's why I didn't created dividers yet.

And my A-Z dividers

Thematize

Lot of people like to keep sections in their planner like: Family, Work, Home, Finances, etc. Are you one of them?

More levels

It can be also overwhelming, but it is also simpler than a 100 divider system :) Some example:

- Calendar: Monthly/Weekly/Daily section

- Work: Calendar/Informations/Finances/Projects

- Projects: Work/Home/Personal

- Blog: Editorial calendar/Statistic/Weekly planner/Ideas

My example: I started to set up a separate "business planner" for me. For now, I have these main categories:

In all sections will be sub-sections

Blog - sub-sections

OMG! Subsections in subsection!

I added to Blog Planner also monthly tabs.

Combine

Or combine any of the above mentioned ideas together!

If you have any other organizing idea/logic, please do not hesitate to share in comments below or on the Facebook!

Housework for next week

Make a brain dump: what logic is your way? What is heavy in your planner? Use page flags to make your system, and use your planner with it for couple of week. Re-organize if it was not the best solution! If you are happy with it for a while, make your dividers!

What am I doing here? Using more planners? O, yes, I have a lot! Next time I will be write about why you would want to use more planner, and how to organize them.

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How to build your perfect planner system? Week 18: Calendar combinations and more about the dailies

Last two weeks I wrote about monthly and weekly calendars, today we arrived to the daily insert. Until now I was asking you to use daily pages, but from now on you can decide if you need it or not. It depends on, what other calendars you use.

I can imagine some combinations...

- Do you have only a few appointments and time related tasks? Use monthly calendar to write your appointments and one or more running tasks list.
- Do you have a lot of appointments and not too much time related tasks? Use only weekly calendar and write here all appointments and your time related tasks. Have some tasks list for not time related tasks.
- Do you have only a few appointments but you need detailed daily task list? You might need monthly calendar for appointments and daily dockets for daily planning.
- You might like to see the big picture in the monthly calendar, more details in your weekly and also need more place for daily planning. Use them all!

How to organize those calendars?

There are two options here: 

1. Have a section for all type: monthlies, weeklies, dailies. This is the common way. Most of calendar you buy in print contains the months, weeks after each other's back.

2. In time. You might find some monthly calendar, which is printed on 4 pages, something on the first and last side, and in the middle is the calendar itself. In this case you can place your weekly, daily inserts between two monthly insert. I like this way much better, this is how I organize my planner. If you don't buy inserts you can also make yourself that's way.
Where to put the dailies? By 2/4 pages per week, I have no better idea, only between the two half of the week. But if you have your all week on one page, and the other is for notes, you can place it after that page.
What if you don't need a daily insert every day, but sometimes it would be good? You can stick a post it to your weekly calendar, and plan there your day. Or a notepaper. Or take an undated daily insert. Keep some from them in your planner, just be by your hand if you need one. 

I think, I already wrote this, but here I want mention again: keep couple month monthlies before and after the current month (I like to keep a whole year for the future, but I didn't printed yet for the next year... I should, shouldn't I? :)) Keep couple of weeklies (3-4 is enough I think), and only 1, maximum 2 week dailies in your planner. It makes no sense to make it too heavy. I remove Sundays always the whole week.

You can take a look into my current system:

Daily inserts

Ok, let's say, you need them. If not, you can wait to the next week's post! do1p or do2p? If you have lot to write, or you have a smaller planner, you might need two pages per day. You might use one side for concrete planning: schedule, tasks lists. And the other side for note taking, doodle, decorating, tasks has to tracked, writing journal, shopping list, keeping post it notes for running to do list, etc. I recommend if you are right handed, keep the planning side on the right and the notes on the left, and if you are left handed, than mirrored. If you have a bigger planner, or you don't want to write too much, you can take a do1p insert. A little trick: if you want to write on this always on the right (left) side, punch the other side too, and flip it over for the next day!
What you need to write on the daily page? I showed you a lot different options before.

Homework

What calendars do you need? How you want to organize them? Reorganize your planner this way! Think about it: do you need a daily page? What do you need on that page? Find/make yourself the perfect daily planner page!

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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?

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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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! :)

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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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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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