How I Prep and Organize My Planner
Hello all!
Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week so far as we make our way through January.
It may look pretty, but it’s not fun to navigate in!
One of my favorite things about January is the idea of a clean slate and fresh start. This can come in the mental form of new year’s resolutions or goals or the physical sense of a new planner.
Today, I’m sharing all about how I prep my planner for the new year.
I have shared my system before, but I have made some changes on how I organize myself for the year with my planner and calendar.
I have tried different products and tools through the years, but recently have found a system that really works well for me and my needs. Here’s what I use and how I prep my planner for the year.
Purchase a planner- You have to find a planner and system that works well for you. I have used different planners for different seasons of life, but as an adult I have found the Simplified Weekly Planner works best for me and my needs. I always look forward to their Cover Reveals and Launch Days. This is my planner for this year. I also started to use The Lazy Genius Playbooks as a companion to my Simplified Planner.
Transcribe information from one planner to another and fill out your planner- This can take me a few hours to complete, but I always enjoy the process. I like to take my time to fill in my new planner and move any important dates or information from one planner to the other. This can be anything from birthdays, to vacations, or doctor’s appointments. I also like to add stickers and color code to my planner too. This makes it easy for me to use my planner every day and see what’s important. Some years, I like to use different pen colors for different tasks. This year, I decided to use one pen and use different highlighter colors for different tasks and events. I use the calendar app on my phone and matched the colors on my digital calendar to my physical planner.
Fill out my Lazy Genius Playbooks-The playbooks are broken up by season, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. There’s different prompts for you to fill out your playbook for every season, month, and week. I will take the time to fill out my playbook for the current season when I’m organizing my planner.
Use your planner- This is the most important thing. Make sure you use your planner. I use my planner every day and refer to it multiple times a day. I check it in the morning, through the day, and at night when I see what I want to accomplish the next day. Each month, I will update my planner and playbook with my monthly goals, tasks, and to-dos. I will also update my planner weekly (typically on Saturdays) with my weekly tasks, goals, and to-dos. I will consult with my calendar on my phone and playbooks to make sure I have everything up to date in my physical planner.
This may seem like a lot, but I promise it’s not as daunting as it sounds. It does take me a few hours to set up my planner for the year, but I enjoy doing it. My monthly planner and playbook set-up takes my 20-30 minutes and then every week my planner prep takes 10-15 minutes. It’s fast and efficient and I feel ready for whatever the week throws my way.
That’s a look at how I get ready for the new year. I rely heavily on the bootcamps and workshops that Team Simplified and The Lazy Genius provides, but what it comes down to is doing what works best for you. Not all these systems work for everyone, what matters is that you find a routine that allows you to use your planner the best way possible.
These are my planner tips and tricks. Let me know if you would be interested in my organization's advice! I love chatting about these kinds of topics. Happy Friday Friends! I will see you back here on Friday!
