Thursday 3 May 2012

Goal 26. Planning retreat each week

Two very exciting things have happened in my life recently! I got a new job at a much larger general hospital in Edmonton, rather than a long-term care centre and have started courses to complete my degree! So needless to say I have been rather busy lately, and I have decided that my blog is going to be updated bi-weekly for the time being. I am very excited... but my first course is Stats! Scary!


While getting organized for school I realized I needed a better planner to organize my time and keep track of assignments. So I put together a quick Summer planner for myself which I am sharing with you here


I have already been enjoying using my new planner and like seeing my whole week laid out for me. By spending time planning my week I am much more ready for the things that come up, and can easily recall the tasks I need to complete, as well as breaking larger projects into small tasks. I just spend a few minutes thinking forward about the week and writing a few reminders and there you go! I just did all my weekly planning. I decided that since this is my first time doing this that I would only do a summer one, instead of printing stuff for a whole year. This makes it a great place to test ideas and if I do a Fall one it can be new and improved!

There are many many more structured planners than this all over pinterest and the internet. However, I find that these structured planners are too rigid for me. There are a lot of reasons that no two days in my life are the same, so I don't complete the same tasks every day. My style of planning is a lot of random bits of lists, so the major point of my planner is to remind me of what things I should think through for the week and just a place to house all the lists. I laid out my planner in a two-page weekly spread that includes a lot of non-structured space as well as areas to write time and day specific tasks.

I read Getting Things Done by David Allen this winter and really, really liked a lot of the principles. The main one that I adapted is the perpetual list, rather than a daily to-do list. This means that I don't have to constantly re-write my tasks. In this planner I have a small area for contextual lists that are just updated weekly. So I do have some carry-over, but I like to have a pretty looking planner. :)

I have left a lot of blank space, but I have also included a few lists and organizers, such as a great "Clean House" page. This page helps me keep on track and get the most bang for my buck when I start cleaning. If I just finish the first box my house could trick Martha Stewart. I also included a quarterly balance sheet that can help you keep on track with larger goals.
Click the image to enlarge, or the pdf is included in the Summer Planner link above!
David Allen also suggests using a calendar specifically for time-sensitive items, such as appointments and deadlines (such as library due dates! My library can email me these!!). I didn't include a monthly
calendar because these can be printed from ical, Microsoft outlook, or google calendar. I suggest keeping this calendar pretty empty and only include holidays (work or bank) and birthdays. You can add the other stuff as you need it. 

The best part about printing your own planner is that you can customize and add as many extra pages as you want! You can print it entirely on graph paper, or lined paper or light blue paper. You can also adjust the size and get it bound at an office store like Staples, or put it in a duotang like I did.  Hope you enjoy!




Have you ever made your own planner? Do you use a planner that you love? Please comment below!

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