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Originally Published: December 12th, 2022
Updated: July 2nd, 2023
This Article is all about using a planner in an effective way.
![using a planner](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/using-a-planner.jpg)
The highly underrated essential to organize your day and keep your stress at bay is …PLANNER!
Yes, a planner a.k.a an agenda. Digital or physical, both provide you the benefits of just using a planner.
It is so easy to go through the week accumulating information without discerning the important from the useless.
This can lead to brain overload which can result in the following side effects:
- Unwelcome headaches
- Frustration, due to lack of organization
- Missing important events
- Low productivity
Time is one of your most valuable assets and it is essential to learn how to manage it.
You do not need to break your day down hour by hour if that is not beneficial to you.
Benefits of using a planner
1. A planner is not only good for documenting the events that you have in the future, but it is a great way to keep a record of the things that you have already done.
If you ever feel like life is just passing you by and you can’t remember anything that you’ve done in the last week, you might consider getting a planner.
I once heard someone say that the days go by slowly but the years go by in the blink of an eye.
Time is precious and you want to be intentional about the way you choose to spend it.
2. They are easily accessible and inexpensive
These days planners may cost you nothing all the way to $100 depending on what you would like.
The price of the planner has no impact on its effectiveness and you can create your own planner if you want to spend nothing at all.
Notion is a great and free resource for the individual plan to use if you want to create your own planner.
![planner example](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/planner-example-1024x409.png)
3. You can customize your process
There are no rules to what you track or how you choose to plan your days. You can do what is best for you.
You can do as little as documenting a few things that you will get done each day.
Planning your day in 1-hour intervals is also great if that is what you desire.
The goal is for us to become better stewards of our time and dedicate our time to things that bring us fulfillment and move us forward.
4. The ultimate goal is to USE it!
Think of all of the empty planners that you’ve thrown away because the dates are no longer valid.
What to Look for in a Good Planner
In my opinion, I should be able to have a place to dump everything that is in my head into a planner.
This planner should have some sort of section where it is appropriate to include everything that I want to release from my brain. I mean, that is the whole purpose of using a planner right, to free up mental space.
The absolute best planner that you can buy is one that will be used. It is too easy to buy a planner because of its pretty cover and then let it collect dust as you do everything and nothing at the same time.
If you purchase a planner, use it. This is the only way to see the benefits of using a planner.
These things are time-sensitive unless you purchase one with the option to add the dates yourself.
Yearly Calendar
This part is pretty standard in planners but for good reason.
The yearly calendar is useful for positioning and it helps you to visualize the year and to see the days.
The yearly calendar helps solidify the number of days in a way. You can physically see how long 3 months would be and plan accordingly.
![creating a digital planner in canva](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/creating-a-digital-planner-in-canva-1024x683.jpg)
Monthly Calendar
The monthly calendar is a zoom-in from the yearly one.
It allows you to see the events that are occurring sooner,
The monthly calendar is essential because you can see how your weekly plans will interact with each other on the monthly calendar.
The month is also a common timeframe that people use to set their goals.
30-31 days is a sizable amount of time where you can take tangible steps that lead you to your bigger goals.
2-page Weekly Calendar Spread
These spreads are probably the bread and butter of a planner.
Yes, I am placing emphasis on the 2-page requirement of a weekly spread.
Some planners make the mistake of squishing it all on one page making it difficult to add everything that is necessary. These spreads are great because they allow you to be the most specific in regard to the plans that you want to document.
The week also has seven days in it, so there is usually an 8th space available to sneak in another feature of the planner.
The weekly spreads help people to see and adjust what they want their weeks to look like. It is easy to let the weeks fly by if you don’t account for this time.
Goals Section
A goals section is important because this part of using a planner is where you design what your future weeks will look like.
Productivity during every minute of every day is not necessary to be successful; however, it is important to note the times that you must work and the times when you must rest.
I heard from Grace Beverly that some people fall into the trap of being half in and half out, so they do not receive the benefits of working or resting.
These people end up beating themselves up for it in the end because they did not accomplish what they intended to.
A goals section is also important because it solidifies what you actually want to accomplish.
Documenting your goals makes them more real than if they were just in your head. You hold yourself to some sort of accountability if you write down your goals.
Goals should not bind you for life, but they can at least get you moving in a more favorable direction.
Using a planner can help you prioritize and achieve your goals.
Gratitude Section
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
![Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Melody-Beattie-1024x1024.png)
This gratitude section can also be used as a place for you to recognize your successes. These are easy to push off as people don’t really stop to see hope far they have come.
They only focus on the road ahead.
It is also important to be grateful.
People are receptive to those who are filled with gratitude.
Some people believe that grateful people attract good things to them. It is always good to practice gratitude because it can put things into perspective and encourage you to continue despite the obstacles that you may face.
Reflection section
What worked and what didn’t?
A very important part of goal setting is reflection.
Your goals and strategies for achieving them should be constantly re-evaluated. It is hard to see if you are moving the needle at all if you never take the time to reflect on the past.
You could analyze your mistakes and inefficiencies and work to make them better. Reflection may also inspire you to try new things if what you tried in the past was not beneficial to you and your lifestyle.
Everyone has to find what works for them and inspires them to keep going and work to better themselves.
If you liked this post, you’ll love these:
- 7 Tips That Will Make You Want to Be Consistent
- Fool Proof Guide to the Improvement Mindset
- How to Start Getting Things Done Today
For more content like this, you can check out my Pinterest here.
![daily planner examples](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-planner-examples-683x1024.png)
![using a planner](https://thrivingindependently.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/using-a-planner-683x1024.png)