Discussion Organize your life! What planners (physical/digital) and strategies do you use? Show us your tips, tricks and advice in planning and organizing!

[7threst]

It's no secret I like planners and notebooks, I simply ADORE them! Together with my love for fountain pens and stationary they fill up my free time by me using them lol.

Still, I feel I could use my planners way more effectively with a good strategy so I'm curious how Fami use them. Currently I'm rocking a Hobonichi Techo for my daily planning for work (sorry, no pics since I'm not allowed from my emloyer) and a Hobonichi notebook for added notes.

The I rock a Hobonichi day free A6 for journalling and a Hobonichi day free A6 for jottinh down ideas.

Next year I'm going to use a Jibun Techo for planning of both work and private life. I'm going to use my Hobonichi Techo for daily journalling.

Still, I want to get ideas to plan my days even more efficiënt and, if possible, make planning fun at the same time! So Fami, do you guys have tips and tricks for efficiënt planning? Tips for physical planner? Tips for good planning apps? How do you manage time in a workday? etc.

Love to hear from you!

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

As someone with ADHD, I've found traditional planners pretty tough to stick with. The strict structure sounds appealing but I always drop off from them. But I've been doing bullet journaling lately and it's worked out really well. I'll attach a video talking about it that explains how to do it better than I could...

...but to explain it loosely, it's an extremely free form kind of planner. You set up the symbol rubric, leave room for a table of contents, and then go from there. You build it as you go and number the pages rather than have the set structure. Want these pages dedicated to a monthly planner? Sure! The next page is a list of purchases you gotta make? No problem! How about the next page being part of your daily to do list, the next being some ideas you don't want to forget about, the next being back to your to dos? No worries! You make a table of contents as you go with the page numbers you set, so nothing is ever lost.

I've been using a bullet journal for the past year and a couple of months, and it's helped me keep track of my daily tasks and long term goals. Even if you don't have ADHD, it may still help you out!

 

[xghost777]

I have a normal calendar for appointments/events, make use of the normal notes app on my phone (I like being able to add/subtract events and details as needed), and my own word doc lists I manage for all the games/anime/manga/etc. I’m interested in buying/when I ordered them. Everything else I just keep memorized. I’m usually the group planner in my group of family and friends, so I usually have a good sense of my immediate schedule, I don’t double book, and I give myself enough time to do things without feeling stressed and always give myself enough time to get 8 hours of sleep.

I guess I’d say make notes for yourself where you can access/edit them easily, plan ahead, and make sure to take care of yourself. Things go smoothly enough then

 

[7threst]

As someone with ADHD, I've found traditional planners pretty tough to stick with. The strict structure sounds appealing but I always drop off from them. But I've been doing bullet journaling lately and it's worked out really well. I'll attach a video talking about it that explains how to do it better than I could...

...but to explain it loosely, it's an extremely free form kind of planner. You set up the symbol rubric, leave room for a table of contents, and then go from there. You build it as you go and number the pages rather than have the set structure. Want these pages dedicated to a monthly planner? Sure! The next page is a list of purchases you gotta make? No problem! How about the next page being part of your daily to do list, the next being some ideas you don't want to forget about, the next being back to your to dos? No worries! You make a table of contents as you go with the page numbers you set, so nothing is ever lost.

I've been using a bullet journal for the past year and a couple of months, and it's helped me keep track of my daily tasks and long term goals. Even if you don't have ADHD, it may still help you out!

Lmao, she makes it catually kind of cool to try bullet journalling, something I really REALLY refuse because it kind of sounds annoying to do, I don't even know why since I use old school planners which are way more constrained in possibilities lol. Maybe I should try it for a few months or so.

I guess I’d say make notes for yourself where you can access/edit them easily, plan ahead, and make sure to take care of yourself. Things go smoothly enough then

This is actually huge for me. I need a notebook on me ALWAYS at every time. Just to make notes an scribbles. The weird thing is, I rarely go back to these notes, but not making them makes me worry I forget tasks.

 

[Marizza Pia Spiritto]

The sticky notes on Windows actually help when I remember to open them. It works because I have to use a computer all day long.

 

[chrkrhc]

Have a place, on paper, digital, whatever you like, to store ideas, thoughts, concerns, requests, and so forth as they arise. (For me: it's Apple's "Reminders" app, with a bunch of input methods.) This is the easy part.

Next, have a method by which you check in on and deal with these things, and make that a real ingrained habit. (For me: once in the morning, and again mid-afternoon on weekdays.) This is the harder part.

Do this long enough and you can get some of what David Allen & the GTD crowd call the "trusted system." When you put something into the system, your brain trusts that it can stop working so hard to remember it. A lightness and ease follows, which I appreciate since it makes me a better listener and gives a little more wiggle room to think.

 

[Deleted member 1587]

I just use Apple Reminders. My life is simple — single living alone, one job that has its own tracking system.

I add stuff to Reminders and then once a week decide if I'm taking care of a todo this week or later, then if applicable assign to a day. For example, I had to ship a package today, so that came up on my "Today" list widget.

Reminders also makes for a good grocery shopping list app.

 

[Mercury_Sagit]

I just use the To Do app from MS. Minimal but adequate for my needs, as it has differemt categories for to do items (grocery, paperwork, shopping etc.)

Each to do item also has (optional) properties like deadline, reminder time (with default or custom choices), check list, description and attachment. If sth reaches deadline or reminder time, I can also delay it with just a button.

It's also synchronized across devices (with a MS account) so it turns out to be quite convenient for me.