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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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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There are days what would be better not happened...

I planed for this week to post about time blocking. But life wanted others. A boring post, without any pictures...

You can have plans, when kids are sick and you don't sleep a minute the whole night. What can you do in this case? Take a look on your plan, and decide, what is essential? What is not possible to leave out? Do those, and rest.

What did I today? 
- Slept from 9 to 11 pm.
- Worked a little bit - I started a test yesterday, there was a lot of questions. I answered the simple ones and collected all others, where I have to think, and answered: I will answer tomorrow.
- I scrolled through my emails, if there is any very important to answer. No one.
- I called my physiotherapist to cancel my appointment with him for today.
- I went to doctor to get the results for my allergy test.
- I went shopping some very important thing (like bread, apple, etc).
- Loaded washer twice to clean the bed clothes.
I didn't done my daily routine, and any other tasks I planned for today. I just browsed on internet, and other very useful stuff :D

What do you do in such extreme situations?

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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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Preparing myself for 2016

I don’t write too much, because we are were visiting friends, family, I’m were never alone! It’s amazing and horrible in the same time :) I got my Agendio planner in PDF in email (as a reward for sharing it), and I want to try it out. Even if I decided before to go with monthly and daily pages only. The advantage of having my weekly/monthly routines printed out is huge. 

Having both monthlies and weeklies is not a good option, as I found (too much copying), I needed to remove the monthlies, and making place for my weeklies. I took a deep breath, and removed the a-z dividers also (lot of width), and left only the most important-always have to be with me- type infos in the planner. I will place the rest (they are also very important :P) in an other planner, which will be stay at home. Now I have a Barbie-thin planner :D

I can’t wait to get home and print my weeklies! (Ok, done.) What is left?

The new 2016 main planner setup

1. Landing section

Flyleaf with sticky notes, Inbox, and note papers after the inbox.

2. Tasks 

Lot of master to do lists of creative, declutter, home, etc stuff. (I should do them one day.)

3. Ideas

I use the divider as a container, I removed all of the paper after this, because I will store my ideas in an other planner, I need the space here. That's why are they on sticky notes, I can remove them. 

4. Projects

First the index of the projects, than the project pages with page flags.

5. Calendar

As mentioned, I removed the monthlies, I have here my weeks, not on 2 pages but on 4 pages. I keep a daily insert between the two half of the week (as usual, double punched). This way I don't have to copy my schedule to my daily insert.

I designed a new (100. version…) weekly planner, what I can print on the back of the Agendio pages. (See, Agendio, one more argument for selling the planners in digital form!) At the front: weekly planning, but here I will concentrate first on goals and projects, only after than the tasks. I hope, this way won’t be so overwhelming the lot of tasks. (I've forgot to take a pic in use, so a printscreen here :D)

On the last page I have the weekly review, with my usual checklist, and an opportunity for myself to write done, what I did for my goals, that I can concentrate better on my successes instead on not finished tasks.

6. Infos, notes, etc

That's left:

I miss a little bit my monthly pages, I hope I will be happy without them. I filmed also more about this setup, I will publish it in couple of days.

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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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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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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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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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