12.15.2015

A very different approach of procrastination: Review of the book "The Now Habit"

I have no clue how I came to this book, but I'm very happy about.
Yes I know what is procrastination, yes, mostly I know when I procrastinate. Yes, I tried 100 different time management method to overcome procrastination. And I failed. Even if I have a super system, even if I can plan on master grade, the tasks don't do themself. I am who can do them.


Why time management is not enough to overcome procrastination?

All this methods are saying: fight against you, this or those way. You don't like fight with yourself, are you?

What is the difference in The Now Habit?

I agree with so much sayings in this book, it makes sense. I can't write a whole summary of the book (especially I didn't finished yet :)), but I can recite some very important statement.
- We procrastinate because of fear. It can be very different from everyone, some example: fear of success, fear of starting/finishing, not to be perfect, others judge, etc. 
- When I tell myself: "I have to" means: "I have to but I don't want to". This is a loose-loose situation: If I do it, I did against my will, if not, come the negative consequences. We procrastinate against an authority, which are ourselves. 


- When I tell myself: "I should" means: there is an ideal state, when I did the task, but I didn't yet, so this state where I am now is sux, and I'm wrong. 
- Instead of have to and should to we can talk to ourselves like this: "I choose to do this" because I have that goal what I want. Or I choose not to do and count with the consequences.
- Instead of saying: life is hard, work hard, and suffer, it says: you have to live, you have to enjoy your life, so schedule play, leisure time before you schedule work. You even don't schedule work. You need guilt free playtime for great and motivated work.
- A part of the method is to use the "Uncalendar" (I have no idea why it is called, uncalendar :)). So funny, this is exactly what I do - from myself. Time blocking appointments, sport, eating, sleeping, family time, etc. 


And all other part of the daily schedule leave open. You will see that way, what time is left for you to work. Work in work or work in any projects is important for you. What I don't do (yet): fill up the space left by tracking on what projects you worked on. It tells, only 30 minutes concentrated work count, but it might be ok for "real work" called work, but what about a housewife? On some day I don't do anything 30 minutes long. I load the washing machine, I read some emails, I just change my activities more often than 30 minutes. 

Now comes the hard part

Changing my mind to say me: I will instead of I should. I hope I will get some ideas from the book how to do that. 

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12.08.2015

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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12.03.2015

Planning or not planning? This is the question!

This is not really a question. I have to answer with yes. But why I ask it then?
I started planning when I realised I have ADD for 1.5 years ago. Things aren't going very well then. I forgot to go to doctor. I didn't found school related informations. I had no idea, what will happen in the school and when. It was shameful, but it was not so bad. I didn't cared too much about it. It hurted when it happened, but it happened not every day. I'm forgetful, what can I do? I lived like this.
Than I started to use a Filofax, and the life changed. I have a place for my information, I knew where to write stuff happened somewhen in the far future. I started to thinking with conscious and not just swimming with the tide. And after so long time I realized it hurts me. It hurts, because I know a lot about planning, about time management. I just can't to make it right. I procrastinate. I make the same mistakes again and again. I feel guilt. I spend a lot of time preparing me to doing something. What I do or maybe not at the end.



I'm now in a state, that I feel myself worst as before planning time. I changed, I know, I can't go back to that time, when I can just don't care about. Letting planning is not an option. I have to find a way to be more forgiving to myself. Thinking on the fact when I plan, that I have ADD, so I'm not like others. I can't correspond myself to others. This is hard.

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12.02.2015

How to Stay on Track with Your Goals?

I catch myself again and again, that I live like a robot, doing tasks without prioritizing, only what get my attention. Even if I write them down, make a plan. I know, knowing my roles and goals are a key for doing what matters, and I even wrote then done, but tracking is somewhere lost.

What is missing?

Evaluate the progress, reflection back to the last week/month/quarter/year. To see, what I accomplished, how I'm coming nearer to my goal. Adjusting the goals if needed. Because these questions isn't built in my planning system, I don't answer them. I don't know, how much time I'm spend with these, for me important tasks - they are mostly the important but not urgent tasks, the always hardest part of the planning.
I like to see YouTube videos, and I found last week this one. That made me exciting, this is, what I need!

Powersheets from Lara Casey

Powersheets is a workbook and not a planner, don't contains calendar. But it can be with you for the whole year, and makes you to think about what you are doing.

Source: http://laracaseyshop.com/collections/powersheets/products/make-it-happen-powersheets-one-year-workbook


Plus:
- no calendar,  I have one, I'm looking for something addition to it
- nice, clear design
Minus:
- Spiral bound, I can't integrate to my planner. (It's not a big stuff dough.)
- Shipping cost to Europa is extremely high.
- No digital version available.
Result: I won't have this one.

Daily Greatness Journal

This journal is also great. I just don't need another planner. (But I ordered the Business Planner version). This contains also daily pages. What waste of paper for me! Features: daily planner, goal settings, worksheets, etc.

Source: http://dailygreatness.co/collections/all/products/dailygreatness-journal


Plus:
- if you don't use another planner yet, a great option
- nice design
Minus:
- I have a planner
- no digital version
Conclusion: I won't have this.

Create your Shining Year by Leonie Dawson

It is probably a very interesting and good planner, lot of people say, but it's too much. Color, and chaos. I just feel dizzy if I take a look on that. I also can't read the description, so no opinion, you can read everything for yourself here :)

Source: https://shiningacademy.com/2016-workbooks/


Plus:
- you might read it.
- Digital version available
Minus
- design.
Conclusion: I won't have this.

The Highlights Life Planner

This is also a planner with calendar pages. The design is also a little bit too much for me, but I can handle it. It's a digital download, so I can choose, which pages I print out.

Source: http://www.ninayay.com/2015/09/the-highlights-life-planner_28.html


Plus:
- digital
- for a while it's free!
Minus
- design
Conclusion: I will give a try, print out some pages, and place it to my Filofax.

Dream Big Life Planner

This is an actual Kickstarter Project now. Also a planner with daily pages, etc, spiral bound.

Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/croixsather/dream-big-life-planner


Plus:
- if you share, you got a download version
- undated
- very clear design, no colors!
Minus:
- maybe that it contains calendar, but because digitally also available, I can leave, what I don't need.
Conclusion: Shared and waiting for my digital download to see the pages nearer.

Which one would you choose? Can you recommend me something?

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11.25.2015

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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11.17.2015

How to organize a Christmas Trip?

Yes, yes, a trip. We are living far away from our birth country. This year Christmas days are in the middle of the school holiday and we decided to travel home at the beginning of the holiday and spending Christmas with the bigger family.

1. Create a project page

As so often I was lazy to print out a "real" project planner insert, I just took a notepaper. To write things done.

2. Brainstorming, and decision making

The first step was before the decision, here you can see our brainstorming. We have family meetings every weekend, when we can discuss all family related stuff. We listed here every ideas, what we can do (like: we don't travel home, we celebrate Christmas here, then we travel, etc.), what is the positiv and negativ side of this, then we voted.

3. What we have to organize here?

- Who we want to meet?
- What we want to make?
- When where with/by whom?
- Christmas gifts

4. Than come the tasks

- Create a list about who you want to buy a gift
- Ideas about gifts
- Buy the gifts


- Create a list, what things we have to take with us to others? 


I started this already in summer, I have a notepaper by all month where I can make misc notes. When I was by my friend I promised here that I will give all of my homeopathic meds, because I don't use them, I wrote that to December.
- Find someone who cares about our rats. (done)
- Write everyone, when we come, and when they have time for us.
- Ask appointment to dentist.
- Create a timeline - when-where. For this I just drawn out the whole school holiday time. I don't think it would be worth to plan this in the "normal" monthly calendar. I will copy the outcome to there. Important note: leave time to pack in and out (and recover :D)! Driving a whole day and going to work next day is not a good choice. 


- Book hotel 
- Packing list - ok it is not so urgent, I can do this on the last week.


As you can see, I didn't written so much tasks here, I just know most of it. And I have the task in my planner: review "Christmas Project", when it is coming, I go to the project page, and find out what else I have to do, and write to the weekly page. 
Most of the gifts are bought, other has to, they are listed to my weekly todo list, and some are not found yet, they will be under thinking at the next review :D

This is, how I organize our trip in December. If you have any question or tip, what else I could do, write me a comment (or you know: write me a comment, only because I want to know, someone is reading! :D)

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11.10.2015

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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11.03.2015

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



Zsuzsa Kiss (@muzsika19) által közzétett fénykép,



- 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).


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10.27.2015

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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10.20.2015

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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