Tis the season to start thinking about productivity in the coming year!
At the end of the calendar year we begin to think about resolutions and planning.
This can be a hopeful time, allowing for space to consider goals and to build clarity surrounding interests and commitments. But how do you capture all those good intentions and remember them months later?
People need a way to coordinate calendars and track events and appointments to be effective and there are countless options from which to choose.
So. Many. Options.
There are planners designed to keep your house organized, keep you focused on your business goals, or to schedule your days in 15-minute increments.
There are planners that you can put on a wall, that are essentially blank notebooks, or that claim they'll make your dreams come true.
There are planners with floral patterns, plain blue or gray ones, ones with spiral binding, those that lay flat, and those that fit in a pocket.
Then there are electronic options. Scheduling needs can be very complicated.
There are phone apps you can share with family members.
There are apps that will tie to your work schedule.
There's Google Calendar, iCal, Outlook, Cozi, myriad task trackers, and To Do list apps galore.
You could be juggling work calendars, multiple family member calendars, school district calendars, professional or networking group calendars: the list feels endless.
And then there is a whole paper planner industry designed to entice you into purchasing the perfect planner for you.
Further, you can spend a fortune on planners, but if you don't actually use it, it won't help you achieve your resolutions.
They don’t always work. Not necessarily because there is anything wrong with them but because the variable here is you.
Which date planner or calendar app will work for you?
I could list my favorites brands and discuss their relative merits, but if you simply Google “best date planners for 20XX” or "calendar apps for iPhone" you’ll get hundreds of Top Ten list suggestions for potential products.
I honestly suggest you shop around. Visit the local big box office supply store or bookstore.
Shop online and check out various YouTube videos that discuss planners for next year.
5 question framework to consider as you shop.
1. Does anyone else need to see your calendar?
I would prefer to write down my appointments on paper.
If I lived alone and had no immediate family, that might work. But I have a husband and two active kids that all have cell phones and schedules of their own.
So we share a family electronic calendar and we each work to keep it updated.
For my business, I do not need anyone else to see my schedule because I work alone.
But clients and professional contacts need to contact me electronically and block appointments using my scheduler.
I track my schedule electronically as well, separate from my personal one. (The two are shared to each other to avoid double-booking.)
I satisfy my need to write by keeping notebooks, and then transfer To Do’s to blocks of time on my electronic calendar.
Choose something that works for you.
2. What do you need your planner to actually do?
Do you need it to simply track appointments and blocks of time?
Do you need it to set, plan, and track goals for the year?
Do you need it to track your contacts and important dates?
Contacts; national holidays; weights and measures; birthdays; time zones; goal tracking; Scripture; menu planning.
There is a planner that contains any element you need to track. Choose the elements you need.
Many people keep addresses and birthdays electronically now, but some people still want to write them out long-hand. I also know people who are completely paperless who keep everything electronically all the time.
A cool new trend is the “bullet journal” that is essentially a book of free form blank grids that you can fill in with whatever your creative mind wants. You can use colorful markers to create lists and charts and schedules of your choosing.
Choose something that works for you.
3. How much do you want to spend?
Depending on what you need, prices can vary widely.
If you go to the local drugstore, you can get a small datebook for a few dollars, or you could spend hundreds of dollars on a leather-bound volume.
You can spend as much or as little as you want.
Apps can be single purchase or monthly/annual subscriptions. Employers may pay for these for you, or if you need to pay for these yourself, price can become prohibitive.
Choose something that works for you.
4. Choose a layout that works for you.
Do you need to plan daily, weekly, or a month at a time? Some people benefit from a yearly wall-hanging with dry erase markers nearby to keep a bird’s eye view of the year.
Or does it need to be extremely granular and block out 15-minute increments?
Weekly planners work great if you need an overall view of your schedule, but if you keep detailed notes of multiple appointments you can end up overflowing into considerable notes space.
Choose something that works for you.
5. Allow yourself to change your mind.
This piece of advice applies to just about anything.
You may do all the research, discuss with friends and family, consider all the angles, make a choice . . . and never use it.
Barring the financial cost, that is okay. You're allowed to make mistakes.
Over the past 5 years I have personally completely changed how I track appointments and honestly, it may always be a work-in-progress as new options develop and technology evolves.
If the pandemic taught us anything it is that we need to be able to change our minds.
So set a budget, shop around, and simply choose one. It will be okay.
Choose something that works for you.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
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