Planner Rules And How To Break Them

To make my planner work for me, I follow some guidelines. Guidelines are like rules, but we get to break them without guilt - or so I tell my OCD. I don't break them too often, though, or they wouldn't work (and my OCD would revolt).

Here are my top planner rules guidelines and the many ways that I break them.

*Write everything down.

I do write everything down. Mostly. I write down trash day and my plans for Christmas shopping. I write down appointments as soon as they are even tentatively made (with a question mark after them until they are confirmed). I write down my chore schedule and my daily task list.

But I don't write down things that I never forget. I never forget to take my meds (as they are in a little pill case next to my alarm clock and Nook in my bedroom, so I see them when I grab a book for nightly reading). So I don't write that down.

I don't write down things that can be done immediately. I just do them, right away. The lazy incentive to avoid digging out my planner and writing it down is enough to ensure that things get done.

*Use only one planner.

I use only one planner for almost everything. The advantage of this system is that I never lose anything. If I take notes at a meeting, they go in my planner (until they are irrelevant and discarded or put in my permanent files at home). If I need to jot a note to myself, it goes in my planner. Christmas and party planning? All of it is kept in my main planner.

However, I use a different planner for special things that would bulk up the main planner. In my case, it's my coupon planner. I put grocery lists in my planner all week, but when the time comes to plan for grocery shopping each week, I use a separate planner because the coupons that I use, kept together in binder clips, would bulk up my main planner too much. I keep this planner with my reusable grocery bags.

*Keep your planner with you.

I keep my planner with me all the time. I only buy purses big enough for my planner.

The one exception? I don't bring planners to black tie affairs. Instead, I leave it in the car and send my husband to get it, should the need arise. (He grumbles a lot about these situations. I don't know what his problem is with the bonus exercise. {grins innocently})

These three simple rules will help you to get the most positive results from your planner, as long as you are willing to break them.

Etcetera.