Tag: calendars

In my role as time management coach, people occasionally ask what my planner looks like. Since we’ve been looking at various planner options lately, today we’ll look at mine once again. Please keep in mind that what works for me may not be the best tool for you. So take a peek and use what you can.

My planner is paper. This was a change a few years ago when my days became more mobile. A binder, that is small enough to hold easily, can come with me from place to place and be where I need it. In addition to the calendar, it also holds coupons and shopping lists. I’m not a huge fan of paper in general, so having every bit of paper I need in one place is helpful. I buy a new insert each fall for the next year, but everything else stays in the pockets and binder.

• Note: Because I’m not a paper-keeper, I do throw away each page after I go through that week. The only pages in my binder are the ones I need for planning forward.

The calendar is a week per spread. This is the right balance for my days — enough room to write various appointments and details but still small enough to see the whole week at once. A monthly option isn’t quite enough room, and a page per day leaves too much empty space unfilled.

The days contain appointments and tasks. One side of the sheet is marked hourly, so I can put appointments and commitments at the right times. The other side is for a to-do list, so I can keep track of tasks for each day and the week. Having them side-by-side is important for my success. Both parts work together to map out the day.

The pages are plain. Color-coding can be useful, but I don’t get enough benefit from it. I use whatever pen is handy (one on my desk or the one I keep in the planner loop) to write what is needed. It just needs to be legible until it’s past or crossed off.

It’s simple, but it works.

Today’s blog has a guest author — Adam Waddle. As someone who works in front of a computer most of the day, he is here to add his perspective to our conversation about planners and the variety available.

Let’s get this straight right from the start. You need to plan for tomorrow. The first and most important step in daily planning is admitting that you need it. Tools, steps, and tips are secondary to the humility needed to recognize that you cannot successfully manage your day without prior planning and the diligence to put in the work. Now that I have gotten your attention, here is how I do it.

My job keeps me tethered to my office computer. With a company computer and software, I do not have permission to add fancy daily planning software. But I can adapt.

• First, I check my calendar to review meetings. Meetings where I am host or presenter are color-coded. These require pre-meeting work. Hosting a meeting means preparing an agenda. A meeting without an agenda is a mess. Imagine going to the grocery store without a list. It never works well.

• Secondly, I review my To-Do list. I use an unsent draft email to generate an action item list throughout the day. I add to it as I answer phone calls, sit through meetings, read over emails. This is an electronic version of post-it notes or scratch paper. It can be a bit disorderly, but at the end of day I review my notes and organize them for the next day. I even prioritize the notes so that I will be sure to see the most important notes in the morning when I review them.

• Lastly, I use my Inbox as the safety net to catch my unfinished business. I read my emails each day, delete the useless ones, and store the important and finished ones. But if an email contains some action that I need to follow up upon, then I leave it in the Inbox. My goal is to keep my Inbox at the lowest count possible. I can tell that my week is getting away from me by a quick glance at the Inbox. Too many emails in the Inbox means that I have let something linger too long. Time to stop and review again.