Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Trying a Traditional Day on Two Pages Approach to Planning

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There is a reason that traditional planner producers, like Franklin Covey, produce certain planner page layouts.


planner, day on two pages, franklin covey



Traditional planner page layouts work.


If you read Giftie Etcetera often, you know that I am quite comfortable using any layout in a new, different, and more personal way.

But this week, I'm using my day-on-two-pages Franklin Covey layouts (note that mine are compact but I can only find classic-sized now) in a very traditional way as daily planning pages. My week is very busy and daily plans just make sense.

planner, planner page, monthly calendar



Notice that I am still using the planner pages in new ways.


*Task List - (upper left)

1. I use circles instead of squares because they are quicker to draw.

TIP: Use squares under a task that has two or more distinctive steps. For example:

O Gift for Sean
[] Buy gift

[] Wrap gift
[] Bring gift to party

2. Instead of priority order (since all tasks in this list are priority tasks), use context codes.


3. Underline due dates.

4. Circle a task that needs to be recopied to another day once completed.


planner pages, weekly pages in a planner


*Schedule

1. Add only the minute portion of time, like :30.

2. Plan travel time.

3. Write time-sensitive but unscheduled appointments (like getting blood work done sometime in the morning) on a diagonal, to show that you should do it then, but don't have a specific appointment.


*Create Overflow Tasks -

I don't know about you, but I need to see the other tasks that need to be done this week. The yellow hot list on the page marker helps me move these from daily page to daily page.



Whatever layout you use, customize it FOR YOU. 


Making planner pages your own is what makes a planner successful and give you peace, no matter that the original intent of the layout was to fit a business system.

Etcetera.


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7 comments:

  1. I've had to go to 2 page per day myself this year. It's a relief to finally have room to write everything down.

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  2. Well, it's hard to keep to my week on one page w/ notes pocket setup when I see something like this - :) There are days I crave the room, but my arm and shoulder appreciate the reduction of weight my full, compact planner added to my bag. I do carry a pocket notebook for overflow items such as long term lists, tasks, projects and tracking that doesn't need to be a permanent part of my pocket planner, so that helps when I need more room. Still, there are days having everything in one place

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  3. You can order the day on 2 pages for the compact on the FC website and request a catalog, they will send them once a year.

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  4. Elena, this is not a permanent situation. I'm just really busy this week!

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  5. : that's a great idea, thank you for sharing. ^_^

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  6. I totally read "Plan travel time" as plan time travel. I thought - well that's just cheating!

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