Planner Sections and How To Use Them

Whenever I get new information, I face the dilemma of where to put that information in my planner.

I can get paralyzed by the decision of where to write something down. If it goes in the wrong section of my planner, I'll never find it again or it'll crowd out more important information.

For someone with a touch of OCD (my therapist says I'm "on the spectrum"), the anxiety is just too much. I need a system to deal.

My most popular post ever has been 5 Essential Sections That Every Planner Needs. If you haven't done so, read it first.

You might use different sections, obviously, but I suggest you at least consider the ones in that post. 

(Some people clearly have a need for at least one other section. For bloggers, maybe that's your blog planning. For some people, a travel section or a journal section might be in order. That's fine. Just stick to the most important ones for your life!)

Deciding which section of your planner to use for certain information is critical to successful, stress-free planning.

Appointments are easy. They go on my monthly calendar.

Tasks? They go on my to do lists (mostly in my weekly pages).

But what about larger amounts of information, like Christmas shopping lists, a medical log, or the notes from that traffic accident last month? Where does that information go?

To understand where to put larger amounts of information, the distinction between Projects and Notes is important. 

(Check out my indexing system for putting projects in your planner on YouTube.)

Projects are pages for ACTIVE items.

Christmas lists? A project, since you are currently making idea lists, shopping, wrapping, and delivering gifts.

A medical log? Well, it depends. 

If you are currently using the log for your doctor to note when your headaches are happening, it's an active item, and therefore a project.

If you are making a log of past surgeries and medications (say, just for if you end up in a new doctor's office or the ER), that's no longer active and it goes in your notes pages.

Notes are pages for INACTIVE items that need to leave the house with you.

If you have already made the claim on your traffic accident, and just need to keep the notes on file for a year or if the insurance calls again, that is fairly inactive and should go in your Notes section.

A list of locations of things you use only occasionally, like your turkey pan, your Elf on the Shelf, or your mittens, goes in Notes.

TIP: If you don't need to bring it out of the house, it belongs in your household files and NOT in your planner. In fact, I use the term "Notes" for the planner section and "Files" for my household files just so the distinction is clear in my mind.

Don't forget that dates, appointments, and tasks that are time-sensitive still go OUTSIDE of your Projects or Notes section.

What's your most unusual current project? Let me know in the comments!

Etcetera.

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