From Sunrise GIFs
I've noticed lately that my appointments have fallen off of Google calendar, and I've also become inured to the beeping reminders I set for myself. Did you know you can just press "Stop" and it goes away forever? I've decided that I need to go old-school. The written word. Pen to paper. To be more specific: a big old agenda planner.
I've used planners before and generally write stuff down for a week and then forget all about them. But, when I was in college, I used my planner religiously- writing own every detail of my day, all my to-do lists, and important notes. I also got a lot done. I finished projects, had a job, and earned 3 degrees in 5 years. So, maybe I was onto something with the agenda planner.
Now that I decided to use a paper planner, the questions was: what kind? I've had adorable, purse sized planners and large, vision-board-ing planners that have both fallen to the wayside. This time, I knew what I needed:
- Large format. I used to use smaller planners, and had an adorable, only mildly OCD, habit of methodically folding down each sheet as I completed that part of the week, until I had a little open triangle where all the precisely dog-eared pages folded away from the center. I tried using smaller planners recently and I realized that they're just not as comfortable for me to write in anymore.
- Time Blocks. Ideally, I wanted 15 minute blocks, but half hours would do. I ended up with a half-hour blocked planner because it also had . . .
- Organizational features. My new planner has a bungee cord to keep it closed in my bag and a plastic page with two pockets so I can keep important documents close at hand.
- Monthly and weekly layout. I like to have an overview of the month before I get into weeks. Tabbed monthly calendars are even more helpful.
- A full day block for Sunday. I work Sunday-Thursday, but most planners have Sat/Sun half block. Forget that. I need a full block to plan for it just like any weekday.
I didn't want any bloat- no "dream planners," goal-setting sheets, probing questions, or address pages. I settled on this beauty:
It's the At-A-Glance Plan. Write. Remember. academic year planner. I really like how I can plan out my day by the half hour rather just list stuff out and constantly underestimate how much time I need to complete everything. It also has a spot for notes at the bottom of each day and along one side so I can have general to-dos and other notes right there. The only thing it doesn't have that would be nice is a placeholder/bookmark. It has tabbed calendars, so I can flip to right month, but a little clip-in book mark would just be *chef’s kiss* fantastic.
I only just got this a couple days ago, so I'll update you when I've used it longer. I'm very hopeful that this will be a big help.
