How To Plan Like A Boss
Hey Planning Mashers!
Do you want to learn how to bring your planning skills to the next level?
Here are 10 simple tips that can help you to get the most out of your daily planning.
So, you got your Bullet Journal (or any other planner), and now you’re ready to start scheduling and controlling your life! Yipee!
Well, first of all – welcome to the community! Believe me; it’ll be great and take you far. But whether you plan your day or try to organize your working schedule, it’s important to do it the right way.
Ok, maybe the right way is kind of too strong of a word. What I mean is, there are certain guidelines you gotta follow to make sure you plan better and in a more productive way. Check 10 of these here below to get you started on your planning journey.
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Set Your Planning Goals
Before you even get a journal, think about why. Why do you want to start planning, what are your goals?
Do you want to start planning to achieve some fitness goals? To organize your life? To finally start your Spanish classes?
It’s important to have it all cleared out. You have to want it and be interested in it yourself.
If you’re just joining on the trend, this definitely will not stick and might not be that effective.
Planning Structure
You don’t have to spend hours decorating your planner or anything like that. But two things you do have to do – first, write down your goals.
Once written down, they become a part of the plan, and even on a subconscious level, you will be working on achieving them.
Second – you have to always check your monthly/yearly goals. In my journal, I have yearly goals, quarterly goals, and monthly goals.
You have to make sure you don’t just write your to-do list, but do it mindfully and with purpose.
Formulate Your Tasks In An Easy Way
Make sure you write down your tasks as easily as possible. And most of all – write it in actionable steps.
For example, don’t write “study for the exam”, say “read and make notes on chapters 2-3 from that and that book”.
When you look at your to-do list you have to know exactly what to do, not just a vague suggestion. That’s how procrastination starts people!
This brings me to…
Monitor Results
Now that you have your goals set and the tasks written down, it’s important to remember to write down the results of your efforts.
Checking monthly or quarterly achievements will help you to see where you are on the way to your goal and keep you motivated to move further. You can check up on yourself as often as you want.
I used to do it weekly, but due to lack of time, I had to switch to a monthly basis. Without these checks, your planning will have no result!
Systematic Approach
Planning has to be a part of your life. Did you miss a day or a week? Just get back to it as soon as you can.
It doesn’t matter if you have to plan it in 5 minutes on a post-it, because it’s always better to have a hastily written plan than not at all.
You have to develop a habit of systematic planning. The more time you procrastinate your planning, the less you’ll be planning in the future, and well, the results will be minimal.
Prioritize Your Tasks
The day just has 24 hours in it, so we need to plan it in the best possible way.
Make sure you have your priorities straight!
Yes, we know there are many little things you HAVE to do: cooking, cleaning, groceries, and such. But these you’ll do anyway.
What’s important is to make sure you include daily something for you to get closer to your goal!
That way the daily routine won’t suck out all your productivity, and you’ll keep moving towards your goal, slowly, yes, but steadily.
Learn To Forgive Yourself
As I mentioned before, it’s important to keep planning and try not to miss a day. But the plan is an instruction, and life happens. So sometimes things will not happen according to plan. Or you won’t have time to plan.
It’s important to keep up with your planning habit and try to make it all happen, but the other important thing is to forgive yourself when it doesn’t happen. You missed a day – ok it happens; just try to do better tomorrow!
Give Your Head A Break
Your planner is a place to write down not only your to-do’s, but also your thoughts and ideas.
So don’t forget to do this as well.
When you put your ideas on paper, you let your brain flow further and come up with something new. Moreover, it’s really good exercise to lower your stress levels.
You should definitely try creating a brain dump.
Plan Rest Time
Yes, most of us start planning to be more productive. A lot of people (me included) take it as “plan as much as you can and do it all in one day!”
This, as I’ve learned pretty fast, leads you to burnout. Your goals won’t be achieved, and you’ll need to lay back for a while and recover.
So make sure you don’t overdo your production planning.
Plan some time to relax, recover, and get back the energy to fight another day.
Maybe get some ideas from my post Self Care Bullet Journal Page Ideas.
Give A Try To Different Systems
There are many ways to plan your days, so don’t be afraid to try them out and find the perfect one for you! Some people prefer Bullet Journal; for others, a pre-made Moleskine works the best.
Or maybe you are a digital person, and you can just be happy planning in Excel or maybe Trello. Try out and find what helps you to be more organized.
Free Bullet Journal Printables
I hope by now you’re convinced how effective planning can be and looking forward to getting ready to start planning.
Of course, I’ll recommend starting a Bullet Journal, so check out my Ultimate Guide To Bullet Journaling For Beginners.
Meanwhile, be sure to check the Resources Vault which has tons of pre-made pages that will help you crush it with planning.
The Resources Vault has tons of free printables, including the weekly spreads from the image above.
If you don’t have your access yet, be sure to sign up in the form below.
So here are my ten tricks to plan like a boss! What have you learned from your planning experience? What are some tips you could share? Looking for your comments below!
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And remember! Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t be a Blob!
