A great variety of planners are available today, both digital and paper. People since ancient times have used time management tools to meet their needs. In the XVIII century, the first personal planners appeared. People used them mostly to track their daily events and appointments. Once Robert Barclay published his article “The Universal English Short-Hand,” promoting note-taking, people found planners that helped them organize their time better. In 1850, John Letts presented diaries with spaces for each day, and here, the history of a modern planner starts.
Many psychologists and related specialists work on organizing planners, telling why each of their versions is the best, but every person is an individual, and there is hardly a planner that can suit every individual’s needs.
Students often use planners because they have tens of duties daily, and at times, it is tough to bear everything in their heads. For some students, it could even be very important to plan when to place a “write my paper for me” request with an academic writing service so that you receive your order on time. Or, if one has a list of advanced essay writers he/she trusts, it could be helpful to have such a list in front of him/her so that he/she can contact the needed specialist when needed.
In this article, we will take a look at some tips that can help you organize your personal planner to help you meet your goals, manage time, and stay focused.
Table of Contents
Why to use planners?
Much research was completed to prove that planning has a good impact on our lives, motivation, and success. Here are some of the reasons to start planning your duties right now.
- Prioritization. When planning your tasks, you can see what should be done first so that you have enough time to handle the problem.
- Deadlines. Planners usually require you to mention a due date in order to remind you that this particular point still needs your attention.
- Tracking progress. Unfortunately, when you have a lot of tasks, you may feel upset that the entire progress does not move ahead because the tasks you complete are pretty small, but remember that these are still steps that get you to your main goal. When you see the completed steps in front of you, this helps you morally feel the progress.
- Clarity. When all your tasks are well-structured in one place, you clearly see what you have to do. This helps omit hassles.
- Balance. Sometimes, many duties may overwhelm you, but quality time off is still essential. Having your duties planned, you can organize your tasks and balance them with some rest.
- Reducing stress. When all your tasks are well-organized, there is no fear that you can miss something important.
How to create your personal planner?
Now, let’s see how to compose your personal planner that will help you effectively meet your goals and provide you with all the benefits discussed above.
Step 1: Define your needs
Define what matters most to your needs, issues you face when planning your tasks, etc. Answering these questions will help you compose a planner that meets your personal needs and helps you omit the frequently faced issues with your time management.
Then, define the time frame you need to have in front of you that will help you effectively plan your tasks. Most planners offer daily planning, but such an approach does not suit everyone, especially when you have long-term tasks. Some people need weekly spreads only, and some require monthly ones; choose your personal variant.
Step 2: Important materials
Now, when all your needs are prioritized, pay attention to the tech and physical supplies. If you are working on an online planner, choose a comfortable platform that will allow you to get the maximum out of your planner. The same goes for paper planners: think about what can help you highlight critical information, what can help you easily navigate your duties, etc.
Step 3: Structure and design
Of course, you will want to create a lovely planner that appeals to you both from the outside and the inside. Thus, create a personalized cover page and move to the inner papers. Don’t forget to create an “about the owner” page on the off chance you lose your planner, so that a person who finds it can contact you.
Also, pay attention to particular sections like notes, goals, etc. These will help you organize your thoughts, ideas, and workflow to effectively meet your primary needs.
Finally, customized fonts, colors, etc., will also impact the entire feeling of personalization of the planner.
5 Tips to create a practical planner
We have already mentioned all the essential steps to help you complete a personalized planner, but here are some tips that can also be useful when working on your personal time management helper.
- Stay precise. Write as little text as possible to keep your planner organized and clear. Mind that if you have too much information on one page, it will be quite challenging to concentrate on a single point and navigate your thoughts.
- Bold or highlight the critical material. Whether you use a paper planner or a digital one, use highlighters to emphasize the necessary information so that it strikes your eyes when you open a page.
- Create an online version. With modern technologies, it is quite easy to access your online planners wherever you are. Of course, some people do not like planning on tablets or smartphones, but we highly recommend making an online version of your planner. You do not have to always work in your digital planner, but you can input the important information once a week so that if you lose your paper helper, you can easily access your documents.
- Use templates. If you do not feel comfortable with creating a catchy design for your planner, you can use templates available online that will provide you with some ideas. Of course, you can modify them and create something personally for yourself. Do not neglect such an opportunity to save some time.
- Use helping links or tables. If you use a digital planner, add hyperlinks to important information that can help you solve your issues. For example, if you have an online schedule at college and you need it every day in front of you, make sure you can access it in a few clicks. Also, if you work with a paper planner, don’t be lazy to print your timetable and paste it into your planner.
We hope these tips were helpful and that you will create your personal planner with ease.
