Find the Perfect Planner System for Your Busy Life
As we start the new year, it can be easy to get influenced by the number of flashy, overfilled, aesthetically pleasing planners on the market right now. Trust me, I’ve been fooled into buying my fair share of planners – I’m lucky if some of them make it past March. But planners are essential, whether you’re a business owner, a student, or just someone looking to get a better grasp on their time management. It's easy for us to get lost in our busy schedules and lose track of the things we need to do. Staying organized is important in keeping up with everything that's going on in our lives, but a systematic approach can help ensure you don’t fall off the wagon too soon. Not only will the right one keep you organized, but they can minimize stress and boost productivity.
With so many options available, it can be a challenge to find the right planner for you. Give yourself the freedom to assemble different pieces together into a Frankenstein-esque planning system that works the way you need it to. By finding a system that aligns with your personality and work style, you can streamline tasks and reduce stress. In this blog post, I will help you narrow down the planning features you’re looking for that fits your lifestyle and personality.
Know Your Goals and Priorities
Before choosing a planner, it's important to identify specific goals and priorities. What tasks do you need to accomplish regularly? What are your long-term goals? Are there important deadlines that you need to meet? Knowing your goals and priorities will help you identify the features that your planner system should have. For instance, if you need to prioritize tasks every day, a planner system with a daily task list feature would be beneficial, while a weekly layout would be helpful if your working on bigger projects. Think about the parts of your planners that worked well in the past. A few key traits to keep in mind:
Do you want to see daily, weekly, and/or monthly layouts?
Do you need the novelty of changing it around when you get bored? Or would you rather have a full year of the same, effective style?
Is digital or analog more your speed?
Do you need to track any habits or routines?
Will this be for work, your personal life, or both?
Consider Your Workload and Schedule
Are you a student juggling assignments, tests, and social events, or a busy entrepreneur managing appointments, meetings, and projects? Knowing your workload and schedule is important in finding the perfect planner system. If your schedule is jam-packed, you might want a planner that offers customizable time slots to fit your daily schedule. If you need to manage multiple projects and tasks, a planner that has a project management feature would be useful.
This is also a good place to think about whether you want to have a digital or analog planner and schedule. If you’re like me, a mix of both might be helpful! I have a physical, pen and paper planner for organizing my projects and overall goals, including deadlines and milestones, but I use Notion as a digital task manager because I enjoy the movability. The free version of any task manager on the market right now is great if you’re looking for more freedom to move tasks around. On my task database, I used the ‘select’ property to set priorities to each task, as well as the working status on things. Having this as a digital system, rather than analog, provides the flexibility to move things around every day with little effort, so things don’t fall through the cracks as easily as they can on a forgotten page of a journal.
Explore the Different Types of Planner Systems
There are various types of planner systems you can choose from, including paper planners, digital planners, and hybrid planners. Paper planners are great for those who prefer writing things down (which science shows us does help with memory!), while digital planners work well for people who prefer everything at their fingertips. Hybrid planners, like the one I laid out above, combine the best of both worlds, offering the convenience of technology with the memorability of pen to paper. Sit with yourself and get honest about which system will suit your needs and preferences most effectively.
Personally, I found that when I tracked my tasks on paper, things got lost, and when I had all of my projects tracked digitally, they couldn’t account for the mind-mapping I like to do throughout the process. More recently, I have also started time-blocking my workdays. I spent the last few months of 2024 trying it in my digital calendar and on paper and through trial and error realized that I’m more reasonable with my expectations if I have to write it down instead of type it out. The same could be said for anything I’ve taken to the analog sphere over the last few months.
Take Note of Planner Features
Once you've determined your goals, priorities, workload, and preferred type of planner system, it's time to take note of the different features available. Some planners have inspirational quotes and prompts that help promote positivity and mindfulness. Others have goal-setting tools and brainstorming pages that facilitate creativity and motivation. Any of these features can be found digitally or in physical paper planners nowadays. A number of companies offer digital PDF versions of their planners, and you can easily search ‘notion planner template’ or some other variation for an app or website you might prefer. My favorite part about finding Notion templates is that the people who make them often add in similar productivity check-ins and mindfulness questions that are often found in paper planners today. At the end of the day, focus on finding a planner or system that offers the features you need to stay on track and motivated throughout the year.
Find a Style That Suits Your Personality
This is where we get to look at aesthetics - my favorite part! Finding a planner that suits your personality is so important if you want to make it past the first quarter with a planner. Are you a minimalist who prefers simplicity, or do you enjoy colorful and creative designs? Do you like having personalized planner covers or stickers to decorate your pages? Choosing a planner that resonates with your personality encourages you to actually use the planner everyday/week/month, which will help you stay organized and productive in the long run. If you don’t like the look of the planner or the feel of it, there’s no incentive to return to it at the end of the day when you’re ready to be done with work.
Finding the perfect planner system can be full of trial and error, but understanding your goals, workload, and personality can go a long way in helping you choose the right one. So if you need the reminder: its totally okay to through out a planner if it isn’t working as well as you hoped. Take the time to explore different types of planners, systems, and features, and don't be afraid to mix and match until you find the ones that work for you. A planner that fits your lifestyle and personality can not only keep you organized, but also help you achieve your goals and live a happier, more productive life.