Upscale Planning: Rising Above A Mere Calendar With Projects And Notes

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Buckle up, Plannerds! This is an unusually long blog entry, but I promise it will be worth it.

UPDATE: Since posting this post, I've also done a video about Project Planning in a Planner. Watch it here.

Today, I bought a new purse. (See, I told you! You are already smiling.) 

I have a very nice, neutral cognac-colored handbag and a bright, fun purple purse. 

What I needed to round out my wardrobe was an inexpensive, but classy, mid-sized gray purse. It needed to be big enough for my planner, inhaler, keys, wallet, and phone, but small enough to tuck under my legs at a restaurant. 

So I purchased this gray beauty (no longer available):

Having three purses might seem like too many for One Purse People. 

(One Purse People are strange sorts, and I cannot suggest that you hang out with them. Surely, they are unstable. What's next? One shoe?) 

And having ONLY three purses might seem like too much to build a wardrobe around for most ladies.

({Jedi mind trick hand swipe} - Look away. Ignore the hamper of other purses in my closet. Those do not exist.)

But the reality is that, for most of us, we do need a few bags for different reasons. 

It rounds out our closets and makes us look professional, put together, and a little more upscale. On the other hand, a purse for every single outfit is an organizational nightmare. So three active purses is my compromise.

Using a planner to its maximum potential can also upscale our lives.

A planner is not merely a calendar. 

It is a personal assistant, who works for and with you, to make your life easier. A good planner leaves you looking successful and polished. A fabulous planner goes beyond the calendar and the task list and becomes a tool that pulls your life together.

So, without further ado, how to upscale your planner in two easy steps:

1. Add a Projects section.
2. Add a Notes/File section.

Ta da! Upscale and classy.

Oh, right. You probably want to see how I create these sections so that they are easy to use and actually useful, right? 

Okay, here goes. It SOUNDS intense. It's not. I solemnly swear that creating these sections is a simple, quick process that will free you up to actually get your stuff done.

Step 1: Consider which sections you can consolidate in your planner. 

I personally have only a few sections.

*My dashboard, which is the first page and only blank, lined paper:

*Projects (which we will explore today):

*Monthly and Weekly (the meat of the planner, including all appointments, task lists, and future planning page for dates falling beyond this year's calendar inserts)

*Notes/Files (which we will also explore today)

*Supplies

Step 2: Gather supplies - blank paper, small post-it flags, and an ink pen or two. 

Notice that I take the post-it flags out of their packages, so they take up very little space to store in my planner.

UPDATE: I now use bigger post-it labels for my Projects and Notes sections. Consider getting these Post-It tabs, as they work really well and look nicer.

Step 3: Pull out anything in your planner that does not belong in the calendar part and decide if it is a Project (ongoing) or a Note/Files (you need to have it with you, but only as a reference). 

I interchange the terms Note and Files, as both sort of make sense to me. 

UPDATE: I now only use the term "Notes." Files refer to my at-home file cabinet instead.

Fortunately, I had already started a list of Projects and Files, though in a very messy way. 

Almost everything either belongs in the main part of your planner, is a project (several steps, currently active, and ongoing), or something to be filed away (either in your planner or elsewhere).

TIP: If something is not either a Project or something you might need to reference away from home, perhaps it needs to be discarded or filed in your files at home. 

Today, for me, that meant filing away the records of a medical insurance claim (now that the bills have been paid and the claim accepted by our insurance) and tossing my notes of food intake (now that I am tracking calories on-line instead).

Step 4: Write the letters A-Z along the right outside edge of a blank sheet of planner paper. 

(I added pink. You don't have to.)

Step 5: Make indexes for Projects and Notes/Files, respectively. 

I make a very simple list, in no particular order. I just add things as I think of them, and cross them out (and remove and file or toss the accompanying papers) when they become irrelevant.

TIP: I number projects just so that I can make sure that I don't have too many at one time. I don't number files.

TIP: If you deal with several vendors or clients, those might be some of your "projects" (active) or "notes/files" (inactive). If you have enough clients, add a section to your planner for clients, but use this indexing system.

A sneak peek at the ultimate goal (including my personal favorite "projects" - Nanowrimo, tracking my current medical conditions that are in flux right now, tracking my kids' allowance, Christmas planning, and home room mom planning):

Step 6: Make a label on a post-it flag for each item and match up the label to the ABC order area on the notepaper itself. Then, put the projects in the same order as the index list (which means your latest project always gets added to the end of the Projects section.

Note that it's important that you not just list your files in ABC order, or the labels will hide each other. 

By literally putting the project or file name on the index AS IT OCCURS to you and putting the newest labeled section last in the Projects section, you keep the labels mixed up (though still in ABC order) and easier to access.

The final result makes it really easy to find whatever Project you are working on or important information in your Notes/Files:

Some Notes that I have that you might consider carrying with you include:

*a list of current medications, 

*your weekly review routine (and any other routine that you just need to refer to), 

*a list of service providers (A/C repair, babysitters, etc.), 

*a locations page (tells where the swimsuits hide during the winter and where the turkey tray is stored come November),

*packing lists (just use old ones to make new ones),

*birthday party planning lists (again, use old ones to make new ones), and

*insurance information (in case of wrecks, disasters, or hospitalizations).

Having a working Projects section and a good handle on your notes and files will work miracles in your life. 

Try upscaling your planner and let me know what works for you!

For more insight into my project planning process, make sure to watch my You Tube video on project planning.

Etcetera.