8 Steps To Creating An Insanely Effective Planner System

After you have purchased your planner, the first thing you need to do figure out an effective planner system that’s going to work best for you, specifically. Here is a quick guide to doing this efficiently, while also keeping it a simplified process, without the overwhelm.

When it comes to achieving things in life, the thought of the goal itself can be incredibly overwhelming if you happen to suffer from mental health issues.

As a disabled lady who has a lot of experience with intense feelings of anxiety, I’ve figured out the best way to get myself organised whilst still staying calm and actually looking forward to the process.

8 Steps To Creating An Insanely Effective Planner System

Using an effective planner system on a daily basis provides an excellent way to organize your life, relieve stress, and complete goals.

The very first step is to choose the type of planner that will work best for you. So, here are a few rather genius ideas to start with.

For An Effective Planner System; Consider the Size

This is one of the most important factors, not only because you need to consider where you will be using the planner, but also what printable pages to include.

There are small, medium, and large sizes to choose from.

The larger ones are great for a desktop, so if you want to keep it on your desk, it’s a good option. Otherwise, one of the smaller ones is ideal to keep in your purse, car, or anywhere on the go.

For An Effective Planner System; Look at the Layouts

While you will probably fill this planner with more pages as you think of additional things to track, look at the layouts of pages it comes with.

This is when you think about what you will be tracking, and how many pages you need for writing or adding your own custom information.

For An Effective Planner System; What Pages do You Want?

As you are looking at layouts of the pages, look at the different types of pages as well.

Some planners keep it very basic where it is primarily the monthly and weekly calendar pages, while others fit in a lot of extras, such as blank pages for journaling, to-do lists, task lists, and a lot more.

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For An Effective Planner System; What Is Your Planner Being Used for?

Still not sure what planner you want? 

Take a moment to consider what the purpose of your planner is going to be. For me, I like to use a daily planner as a checklist for my tasks so I have monthly, weekly and daily inserts included. I also like to plan, track and monitor my self care and compassion rituals.

Think About Room for Extras

It is always good to choose a binder-style planner with extra room to add additional pages.

Many people offer some amazing printables so that you can customize any planner to your own needs. All you need is a printer, paper, and 3-hole punch, or a 6-hole punch if you use an organizer. 

For An Effective Planner System; Gather Your Tools and Supplies

The first step to setting up your planner is to gather everything you need. Aside from your planner and any printable pages you are adding to it, you will need something to write with.If you are color coding, using some colored pens are a great tool to have, but this isn’t necessary.

Some other tools you may need include:

• Ruler (for custom pages)
• Hole Punch (for printed pages)
• Stickers
• Rub ons
• Stamps
• Embellishments
• Highlighters (for colour coding)

There may be some other accessories you need, but these are the basics to grab for now. When you start working on different pages, you will decide then if more needs to be used.

For An Effective Planner System; Decide What to Track and Where

Next is to decide what you are tracking in your planner, if you haven’t made this decision already. This is often something you will think on before you even buy your planner, but it is good to make notes of the main areas of the planner you want to use.

Perhaps you just want to use the monthly and weekly calendar pages for now, or you might want to use it for home or work projects, or setting goals, so you would like pages for listing to-do lists and task lists.

For An Effective Planner System; Use the Monthly Calendar First

Now that you are ready to write in the planner and start setting it up, always start with the monthly calendar for the current month. It is good to start with birthdays and anniversaries, since those are pretty straightforward.

You can then start adding in other events or appointments you already know about.

You may add more to the monthly calendar later, but the basics is all you need for now. Fill out as many of the monthly calendars as you want, or you can just stick to this month to keep it simple.

Make a List of Goals and Tasks

Before working on the weekly schedule pages, it is good to make a list of any goals or tasks that need to be done this month. This can be added to the monthly calendar, followed by more details added to the weekly schedule.

For example, if you have a goal to finish school shopping for your kids by the end of September, then you will probably have tasks like setting a budget, finding sales, hitting certain stores, things like that.

This makes it easier and less overwhelming for you.Now it is time to set up the weekly section of the planner. Use your monthly calendar to plan out what needs to be done each week, and on which day.

The weekly pages usually have larger sections for each day of the week so that you have enough room to write down details like to-do lists for completing certain tasks, or things you need before an appointment or event.

By now, you have completed the main part of the planner. You can decide to stop there, or continue with other details. You might want to do some color-coding, or add additional pages for other productivity requirements you have.

Using Your Planner for Tracking

Want to start a planner, but still a little confused about what should be included? A good place to start is by looking at the typical things people like to track, then go from there. This list might give you some ideas.

Schedules and Appointments

The first thing to track is all important dates, but think about more than just birthdays and events. Try to think of your schedule on a weekly and monthly basis, and about all those things that tend to come up.

Maybe you want to plan on spring cleaning in March, or you want to get a head start on a work project for the fall. 

Really take the time to go month by month, write down important dates, then backtrack and have more detailed to-do lists leading up to the event so you are always prepared.

Some things that might go in your calendar or schedule include:

• Birthdays 
• Anniversaries 
• Holidays 
• Work events 
• Kids’ sports events 
• Date nights 
• Vacation or days off 
• Doctor and dentist appointments

Goals and Tasks Lists

Another great thing to track in your planner is any goals you have. Choose both short-term and long-term goals related to work and your personal life. 

After you select the main goals, start fleshing them out to where you have tasks that need to be completed for those goals, then schedule in each of these tasks. 

This allows you to complete your goals by the deadline, and stay on track without becoming overwhelmed.

I use the Nadalie Bardo, Slay Your Goals planner to reach my goals but you can use the monthly printables provided in the club!

Daily Affirmations or Journal Entries

Many planners or planner pages also allow for writing down anything you want. This might be blank sections with enough room for a few sentences, or full blank pages. Take advantage of these for gratitude, journaling, and taking notes. 

Maybe you want to write down an affirmation every day to keep you in a positive mindset, or you have areas for daily or weekly journal entries. 

Additional Page Ideas

There are so many different things you can track based on the type of planner you want to get, and what it is being used for!

• Fitness Planner
• Chronic Illness Trackers
• Medication Trackers
• Meditation Trackers
• Morning routine
• Night time routine
• Goals planner
• Notes page
• Journal page
• Post it notes page
• TV shows tracker and ratings page
• Doodles page
• Blank savings tracker
• 52 Weeks savings challenge
• Blank 52 weeks savings challenge ( set your own goals)
• Workout schedule planner
• Daily water intake tracker
• Book Tracker
• Mood tracker
• Ideas light bulb page
• Birthday balloons tracker
• Yearly habit trackers

Using a planner is the surest way to stay on track of your healthy habits. I want to point out that it’s very important you don’t become obsessively organized. Staying on track is one thing but obsessing over your behaviour is another.

Please, as always, treat yourself with love and kindness and if you think something about yourself that you wouldn’t say to a friend (and mean it), then never say it to yourself.

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