For a number of reasons, I've realised that I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and like things are slightly out of control. I booked a couple of days off work and the plan was to review my binders and also do a thorough clean of our flat. However, when the time came I realised that instead I just needed a bit of a rest after doing lots of training and I'm still recovering from a bug I had the previous week. I might not have done a review of my system like I had planned, but I've had a good look at them and realise that I'm happy, even if they're not quite up to date and a bit scruffy. I recently made a promise to myself to be more consistent in how I use them and it is now making a big difference in my sanity levels! It's not rocket science, but these two things are really helping me at the moment:
- Write it down only in my Filofaxes - if it has to go on a separate piece of paper or a post-it, I make sure it gets transferred in as soon as I can (my plastic pencil case is perfect for holding items like this)
- Keep one sheet of A5 for work done on a current project - for example, I am studying an online course and keep my Ascot open to make notes and to record my progress.
Do you have any current binder 'commandments' like this?
And as it is Friday, please feel free to discuss anything ring bound planner related.
Have a great weekend.
Maybe not 'commandments' but certainly habits, such as always writing stuff in as it comes to me rather than waiting for a ''convenient moment' and forgetting, or making my weekly review, no matter what. Habit is the foundation of success.....
ReplyDeleteI second that. Post-its get planted right on the page so they are not floating elsewhere. Loose papers are clipped to page right away or hole punched and inserted. This means that my planner has to be with me all the time--no exceptions. When things do not get written down or the note is somewhere else my stress level goes through the roof, one life=one book.
DeleteI couldn't agree more.....that binder has to be with me all the time, and everywhere, which means I'm (finally!) committed to Personal, but that's fine with me
DeleteMy commandment is to review my planning tools every six months and then, and only then, can I change it if I need to. No more switching from system to system if I feel I'm experiencing planner fail, or purchasing or downloading the latest set of inserts because everyone else has them. When I reviewed my system this past June, I found, because I had given myself time to work out the bugs, my planners worked just fine and I didn't need, nor did I want to change, even though I had the option to at that point.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same--I found that I really wasn't giving any of them a fair chance to become truly useful. It became apparent that I wasn't in it for its intended purpose, but more as a collection of what I was seeing advertised in a blog review, or planner catalog.
DeleteWhen I reached 36 Filofaxes, I knew I had a problem.
Now, I have culled my collection down to just the few I will actually use--and I feel like they are new. :-) thanks for a great comment - and a spot on post.
I like my Franklin Covey pocket binder. It is the height that I prefer and has slightly larger rings than my Filofax compact Luxe. My pocket binder is smaller than the Luxe but holds more. I punched three holes on my 2015 week on two pages insert with lines and no times and trimmed a little off the bottom of the pages. The insert is printed on thicker smooth paper and does not have any of the features that I don't prefer. I have the last four months of this year and six months of 2015 week and month pages in it. I added my laminated months tabs to the month calendars. I removed them from the 2014 pages and adhered them to the 2015 pages with clear address labels. I can use the same tabs each year. I have FC pocket address tabs but everything else is personal size that I punched.
ReplyDeleteI was in a big old planning funk for a long time - I just wasnt looking at it. Big things were getting done (I turned up for work on time) but smaller tasks were being left behind.
ReplyDeleteI use a 4-colour Coleto pen and have started coding in a way that is probably familiar to many: Pink for shifts/appointments, green for reminders and orange for 'to-dos' and when the to-do is to-done (!) I go over it in blue. Its really encouraging to see each day start as a flurry of orange to become a sea of blue. My productivity has gone through the roof!
Those who recall my 'Felix the Filoflex' will know I have a big postcard of a bear on the front - I've started to stick sticky-notes to the front, drawing speech bubbles around the notes as if the bear is ordering me to do something soon. Silly but it works!
I plan the night before all the stuff that's needed to get done or is confirmed the next day are immortalized the night before. However throughout the day I utilize post-its so I can write there and then. I am the kind that I won't write it straight up to my Filo at that moment as it might change. But when I get home that's when I sit down and put the info. to it's designated area in my Filofax. I do this to save me time bec if I do it right there and then I can be assured that my pages would look like it' been hit by a tornado. Post it is a really useful tool for me when it comes to my day to day life.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if there is anyway you can buy DIYfish inserts already printed? Thanks x
ReplyDeleteI always have to have my four colour pen with my binder so at a glance I know what dates are mine and what are my partners.
ReplyDelete