Finding the Right Tool – To Plan or Not to Plan

It's hard to say when my interest in planning and planners really started. Maybe it was in middle school where I was introduced to school year agendas (I always struggled to use). We were required to write down important due dates, so we'd get into the habit of writing notes and documenting important dates.

For years I tried to make myself use a physical planner to get organized, but all I got was hefty collection of abandoned planners and Journals. I couldn’t understand why I was struggling so much with something that seemed so simple.

I’d often think:

• What’s wrong with me?

• Why can’t I stick with it or remember to use it?

I love and still to this day have a hefty collection of office supplies, arts and craft supplies, colored paper and endless supply of colorful pens and markers.

What I learned recently was how to use them in a way that works for me.

There are so many styles of organizing, planning and tracking important dates, tasks, appointments and errands and endless tools at our disposal that it can be overwhelming. I’ve learned some important things that have helped me simplify and find just the right system:

1. Not all planning tools are created equal.

   It's not to say that they don’t have value or usefulness...But on this journey learning about myself and how my mind functions I learned why I could never make the habit stick.

   No matter how hard or long I tried.

2. Sometimes you need an arsenal of tools, all with their own unique purpose.

   I kept trying new things that were a perfect solution for some things but made others 10x harder than before.

   I was so overwhelmed I got stuck in the error loop of trying out method after method and discarding them just as easily as soon as I found out that it didn’t work for everything.

Re-inventing the wheel every time...

I finally figured out that a single tool wasn’t going to fix all, so I took the bits of each method I'd found useful and created my own custom system. Determining what my priority was at each stage of life was key to figure out which ones I needed.

The priority at this stage in my life is building my business and establishing my brand and will require most of my cognitive bandwidth for creative thinking, problem solving and planning. That means, I would benefit from taking some things off my plate.

This is when I came up with the idea for an Excel Template. I created a monthly planner with the purpose of simplifying tracking and completing repeat tasks like grocery shopping, cleaning and errands. Although the Monthly Planner is just one part of a much bigger system, I have found it to be an intricate part of why the system works for me.

The Monthly Planner Template consists of 3 categories:

            1. Due Date

            2. Weekly Tasks

            3. Monthly Tasks

My need for structure and flexibility is satisfied by this workbook because it allows me to shuffle my schedule around 1 week at a time without getting overwhelmed or stuck trying to figure out and recall all the important tasks I need to complete. I set up the task list 1 time and adjust as needed - I'm good to go.

It took me years of stress, tears and $$ to figure out that I was misusing the tools I had available, so I thought I'd share what I've come up with so maybe it can save someone some time and pain on their journey.

If you're interested or have questions about how it works, I am more than happy to connect.

Comeback tomorrow for another gem.

Happy Growing!