When I was in elementary and grade school I absolutely loved taking the trip to get school supplies in the fall and picking out my planner for the year. I loved having a pretty planner to put all my school assignments in. It kept me organized and on track. I kept up with my planner obsession in college, but after graduation I didn't get a planner again...until now!
Truthfully, prior to this year I hadn't felt the need to have a planner anymore. But right now with juggling familiar obligations, work, my blog, the summer theater festival I co-produce, the organization I am on the board of, my social life, and other extracurricular activities, a planner is highly necessary.
For Christmas Hubs bought me a Living Well Planner. Even having only been using it for a short time I'm already seeing the positive impact of being back in the planner life. Here's how using a planner again has helped my life:
Remember that it is not necessarily the paperwork and data that is causing so much stress; rather, it is our inability to process it all. Simplify the process, and you just might find you've solved the problem.
Seeing my life at a glance. While I love my Google Calendar, it doesn't allow me to see EVERYTHING all at once - work events, gym classes, blog post schedule, meal plan, etc. My planner is allowing me to really see how all my responsibilities relate, from when I have a deadline to what I'm cooking for dinner. This is helping me make better planning decisions.
Blog planning. Having the calendar in front of me I now schedule out posts to have at least one new blog post a week. Prior to this I didn't really think about my publishing schedule with the month in mind. I'd write as ideas came to me and post right away. So I could have a week with five posts, and then nothing else for weeks. With the planner I am now spacing out posts, functioning with a real editorial calendar.
Anxiety Relief. Now that I am using my planner when something comes to mind that needs to be done I can look at my schedule as a whole, at a glance, and write down when I plan to tackle the task. I've had much less anxiety and stress being able to plan to work on things, rather than just having all my to-dos floating around in my head and feeling like I had to do everything right away.
If you're in the market for a planner Amazon has some great ones HERE* at all price ranges.
Do you use a planner? How does it help your life?
*affiliate link
