Learning How to Master the Power of Your Planner
Living in this century as a mother had been challenging indeed. Aside from the usual responsibilities of taking care (feeding, bathing, putting to sleep, changing diapers) of your children, there’s also keeping track of appointments, deadlines, and other commitments that go with everyone in your family. Add to that chores, businesses, side hustles, corporate jobs, etc that you try to fit into your 24-hour day. And oh! I almost forgot, you also need to take care of yourself🤯
Did you feel overwhelmed by just reading all those?! Well, I can tell you my fingers felt like “it’s out of breath” after me typing all those as quickly as I can so I don’t miss anything my mind is processing to put out! Haha
Anyways, that’s where the magic of using a planner or calendar comes in. We’ll explore the benefits of utilizing a planner or calendar, discuss how it can help us stay organized, and provide tips for making the most of this invaluable tool.
Benefits of Using a Planner or Calendar:
- Organization and Time Management: A planner or calendar acts as your personal assistant, helping you stay organized and manage your time efficiently. By having a centralized space for all your appointments, deadlines, and commitments, you can avoid double bookings, reduce stress, and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
- Prioritization and Goal Setting: A planner or calendar allows you to prioritize your tasks and set goals effectively. By visually mapping out your schedule, you can identify time blocks for essential activities and allocate dedicated time to work towards your goals. This helps you maintain focus and make progress toward what truly matters.
- Improved Productivity: With a planner or calendar, you can plan your days and weeks in advance, optimizing your productivity. By breaking down tasks into manageable chunks and assigning specific time slots to them, you can create a realistic schedule that maximizes your efficiency and minimizes procrastination.
Tips for Effective Planner or Calendar Use:
- Choose the Right Tool: Find a planner or digital calendar that suits your preferences and needs. Whether it’s a physical planner, a digital app, or a combination of both, select a format that you find easy to use and aligns with your lifestyle.
- Consistency is Key: Make it a habit to regularly update your planner or calendar. Set aside a specific time each day or week to review, add, and modify your schedule. This consistency ensures that you stay on top of your commitments and avoid any surprises.
- Color Coding and Categorization: Use color coding or categorization techniques to visually organize your tasks and appointments. Assign specific colors to different categories or types of activities, such as work, personal, family, or self-care. This makes it easier to quickly identify and differentiate between various commitments.
- Set Reminders and Alarms: Take advantage of reminder features in your planner or calendar. Set alarms or notifications to alert you of upcoming appointments or deadlines, ensuring that you never miss an important event or task.
To not use this game-changer to keep you organized in your life as a mom is a big mistake. From being able to stay on top of your appointments, deadlines, and commitments, to allowing you to manage your time effectively and reduce stress, what more can you ask for?! Incorporating this simple yet powerful tool into your routine can help you prioritize your tasks, set goals, and achieve a greater sense of control and balance in your daily life.
Embrace the power of planning and start experiencing the benefits of a well-organized schedule today.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
I am sure along with many of them, I have had plans for the planner. but failed, or rather to say i did not find the correct one that would suit my requirement.
I completely get the struggle of trying to balance motherhood with everything else life throws our way. Your advice about using a planner or calendar is spot on. Seriously, it’s a game-changer for staying organized and cutting down on stress. I’m totally with you—I can’t function properly without my trusty planner. Not planning my day and week stresses me out big time. Thanks for sharing these super helpful insights!
I am extremely thankful to my planner for keeping my sanity intact. I also add reminders and alerts on phone so that I don’t miss any bill payments and meetings
I am not good with planners. For people who need it, this post shares many useful tips to begin with.
Wow! I agree that having a planner and organizing it in the right way makes you more efficient and at the top of things. If I weren’t a SAHM I sure would’v followed your tips to the T Jeannine as they are great but as of now, I use my phone more for more or less everything.
Agendas/planners/journals are my favourite things to keep my life on track. While I would love to do colour coding and all, it is not feasible for me because I am usually in a rush. I can’t imagine surviving working from home without my planner!
Great post, Jeannine! I can totally relate to the challenges of juggling motherhood and everything else life throws at us. Your tips on using a planner or calendar are spot on. It really does act as a lifesaver in keeping things organized and reducing stress. I can’t work properly without a planner; it always gives me stress if I don’t plan my day and week. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights!
Planners are very useful. Have been using them but your detailed guide to how to efficiently use them is wonderful.
My awareness of the opportunities in my digital planner has been awakened by your post. I’ve used planners my entire life, but after reading your post, I believe the planner app on my phone will serve me the most effectively because the events are automatically erased once the date has passed and I can prioritise by colour coding. I also have a whiteboard.
Always a worthy read. Nice tips on how to use a planner effectively and also become a great time manager and work promptly.
Planners are good as it makes your disciplined and alerts you to be on time for every activity that you do. I try to make my hubby follow a planner… but no way he fits into planner plan 🙁 It reminds me if anything I forget or miss and I find it really helpful. I am always in favour of using planner. As you said things are really in control when I am using a planner. Thanks for such an informative post.
I prefer using a digital planner since I can sync it across devices. Choosing the right tool is definitely the key. I use a different planner for work than the one I use for blogging, given the working styles. And helps avoid overlapping.
Thanks for sharing the tips. I prefer noting down what I need to do on paper. I am old school like that. These days there are a lot of planners for everything. They can get confusing.
Ur right planners are very important being organized they also never let u forget any task.
Your post did awaken me to the possibilities that are waiting to be explored in my digital planner. I have always used planners but after reading your post I think the planner app on my phone is going to serve me most efficiently as the events get automatically deleted once the date expires, and I can prioritize by color coding too,
Your insights into the challenges of modern motherhood and the practical benefits of using a planner are spot on! Your friendly and relatable tone makes the overwhelming responsibilities of moms feel manageable and highlights the importance of this valuable tool. Great advice!
I have always wanted to try using planner. Slowly I am getting into the habit. Your post helped me in this
I have always thought that I could manage without any planners. But I was wrong. The power of using a planner is unmatched
I am afraid i am not much of a planner. I do plan menus ingredients but no way as you have shared Amazing ideas for planning
To be organised and to complete each task you have to have a plan. Planner helps a lot. But from last two year I am using white board. I try to write at least 5 to 6 task for one day. It is infront of my eyes and possibility of completing the task more.
It is a good way to be organised. I have been planning to get a blackboard and make a daily planner, that way I can manage my time better also.
In the midst of life’s increasing demands, I came to appreciate the value of mastering time management. Embracing a planner became my lifeline for juggling work commitments, personal endeavors, and moments of relaxation.
I have always loved using a planner. Of course, it is a saviour when it comes to office. But it is such a useful tool at home too. You have very clearly outlined the best way to harness the power of calendars/planners. Their efficacy is immeasurable.