A planner is a great tool to help you stay organized, but do you know how to use a planner?
A great planner can be used to set your priorities and plan out how you want to spend your time each day. With many different types of planners, it’s hard to know which one is best for you. In this blog post, we’ll cover what a planner actually is, the benefits of using one for your business, and tips on how to use it effectively so that you’re more productive!
Table of Contents
What is a planner, and what can it do for me?
A planner is a tool that can help you stay organized. Planners come in different sizes and layouts. You can get printed or digital planners. Finding the right one depends on what you want to use it for and what you are most comfortable using.
Learning how to use a planner is about creating and maintaining habits, but they also provide useful information for how you spend your time each day.
What are the benefits of using a planner?
The biggest benefit and reason you need to learn how to use a planner is that it will ultimately help you set priorities.
Figuring out what tasks are actually priorities will help you manage your time most effectively. Let’s get your actual business and life priorities figured out so that you can use your planner to stay on track.
A common benefit of having an agenda or planner in place is that it helps set how much time you spend on some tasks. When new tasks come up, you know which ones need more attention and which ones you can move to another day. It’s important to be realistic about how quickly we can complete certain activities or jobs, rather than overestimating or underestimating how long something will take us. If you run out of time or are not allocating enough, you will be less likely to continue using your planner.
You can use different time management techniques with a planner, such as time blocking, rock pebbles, sand, and using an Einstein matrix to help determine what tasks to use.
READ MORE: Ultimate Guide to Time Management
Different types of planners you can buy
There are many different types of planners.
It’s important to decide how you want to use the planner and how much time you will need it for. For example, are you using the planner for school so need it to cover an entire school year? How to use a planner may also be tied to the primary purpose of the planner. Such as if you are using it just for budgeting or financial reasons.
If you’re someone who needs more room or space for information, such as meetings scheduled throughout the day and goals at work that involves writing down how often they have completed them, then something with lots of space would be better. But if you hate carrying a planner then finding a digital option will be important.
One way to organize planners is by type. These planners are often categorized like this:
- Work Planner
- Bullet Journal
- Personal Planners
- Financial Planners
- Academic Agendas
- Blank Planners
Another way to organize a planner for business is by purpose. Those planners will be referred to as Tactical, Operational, or Strategic.
How to use a planner efficiently – Tips to stay organized
So now that we have the basics down, let’s cover some more advanced tips for how to use a planner snd see how this might actually work in day-to-day life.
First up is how important it is not only to create an outline but stick with it for a period of time! This might seem tedious at first, but you can’t really judge if something is working if you give up on it too soon.
Make sure to stay on top of deadlines. Create a monthly to-do list and prioritize it by importance. Use your deadlines and goals as your guide to planning your year, month, week, and then day.
Use symbols or colors to provide you extra data. Some people like to use symbols such as asterisks (*), exclamation points (!), stars (), etc., so you know what to prioritize and work on first. You can also use symbols or different colors to designate something you didn’t get done or why something had to move.
Set aside time every evening or first thing every morning to determine your goals for the day. What are you working on? What are wishful tasks? These are things you likely won’t get to, but if everything goes well, you might be able to fit in a few of them.
How to Use a Planner Conclusion
So in this post, we covered how to use a planner, types of planners, and if you’re looking for a way to stay organized and on top of your schedule, this post has some great tips.
There are many types of planners available on the market today, such as an electronic or digital one that syncs with your phone’s calendar app or laptop. You may also want to try out a paper-based planner that you write in by hand with pen and ink (or pencil). These days there are so many options for what type of planner you might need depending on whether you want something simple like just big blocks.
It’s time to get your life in order! So whether it is an inexpensive notebook or one with more features like daily agenda views, we have got something here for you. And if you want all the benefits without breaking the bank – check out our list below of affordable planners. Ready? Let’s go shopping!
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