Organizing Tools: Your Calendar/Planner
There is nothing more important for organizing our time than a great calendar/planner. You can use this tool to incorporate planning as well. The strategy of not only recording dates can be the key to making your life more organized and less stressful.
- Choose a calendar/planner that works for you. It’s a calendar/planner that makes it easy to record dates at any time. It also helps you view time the way you think about time, at a month at a time, throughout a week, or just in a long string. Your calendar can be as simple as a yellow pad, very exact like Franklin Covey planners, or with technology on your smart phone.
- Create a habit of recording dates as soon as possible. There are always lots of dates swirling n your head for you and your family. By entering these on your calendar/planner asap, you won’t have to remember them, there will be fewer conflicts of dates and activities, and you will start to grasp a greater sense of due dates and upcoming events.
- Refer to your calendar/planner diligently. How often? At least in the morning and evening, but also throughout the day to keep you on track with appointments and projects.
- Use your calendar as planner for big and little tasks. Breaking down big projects with your own time line, creating accountability dates to complete a project, and adding in baby steps makes your planner a strategy to get things done.
- Post a family calendar for your kids and partner to add dates. Keeping everyone in the loop and keeping everyone communicating keeps your family organized.
- Have a weekly review to get ahead of the game. Once a week, make a date with your calendar to look ahead, see what is coming, prioritize and get in gear.
Using a calendar/planner eliminates the mental clutter of remembering dates and times and helps you focus on completion of a project. The more you use your calendar/planner, the more indispensible it will be!
Image courtesy of The Container Store www.containerstore.com
This is such an awesome idea! I love this!
Thanks!