How to Use a Planner (if you’re not a planner person)
There’s something inherently refreshing about the start of a new year. I’m well aware that our calendar, and our methods of tracking the passage of time in general, are arbitrary constructs in the grand scheme of things; even so, there’s a certain magic crinkling like static in the air on January 1st. I’ve been many different iterations of myself over the past 32 years, and as far back as I can remember, I’ve never been more optimistic and self-affirming as I am in those first cold, wet hours of a newborn year.
BUT.
That’s not always a good thing. There’s such a thing as too much optimism. I have a tendency to make too many aspirational resolutions in the spirit of “new year, new me.” One of my most repeated failures in past years has been my desire to become a planner person.
You know the type. They carry their meticulously kept, Instagram-worthy planners on them at all times. They’re never caught off guard by a doctor’s appointment scheduled six months ago. They never double book themselves. They never spend that chaotic period of time between Halloween and New Year’s Eve in a blind panic, searching email archives and Facebook events to remind themselves which party is when. All that, and their planners are covered in seasonally appropriate, aesthetically pleasing stickers and inspirational quotes and art journal entries.
I desperately want to be a planner person. I’ve tried (and failed) more times than I can count. Last year, I spent an embarrassing amount of money on a beautiful Happy Planner with corresponding sticker collections and expansion packs for budgeting and meal planning and household administration. I convinced myself that the monetary investment would push me to succeed, that I’d be more likely to follow through if I had enough skin in the game.
I stopped using that planner the third week in January.
This year, I have a more grounded approach to my resolutions. I learned a lot about strategic goal-setting last year through work, and I was able to meet most of my personal resolutions as a result.
#1: Make peace with who you are.
One of the most important steps in the process of therapy has been learning to accept my limitations and admit my shortcomings.
As a high achiever and top performer type, this is not . . . how shall I say this? . . . my spiritual gift. But with almost two years’ worth of visits to my therapist’s sofa, I’m at peace enough with who I am to admit two inconvenient, contradictory truths:
#1: I am NOT a “planner person.”
#2: I am a person who needs to use a planner.
In the past, a planner would have been nice, but I clearly survived without one. There’s no getting around it this year, though: I (we) need a planner.
Why, you ask? Well, here’s just a few reasons:
My oldest daughter, now 5 years old, is venturing into the world of extracurricular activities.
I’m pursuing a second bachelor’s degree, in addition to working full-time.
My husband’s work schedule changes every week.
Out of our four person household, two of us have regular weekly or biweekly appointments.
We’re becoming more actively involved in our faith community.
I could go on, but do I need to?
#2: Keep it simple.
Remember: we are not “planner people.” As much as we’d like for our planners to be as photogenic and extra as everyone on planner Instagram and TikTok, they’re just not going to be. At least not this year.
I had to really restrain myself from going down the Happy Planner rabbit hole again this year. Instead, I’m using a simple spiral notebook-style planner that my office Secret Santa got me for Christmas last year. It’s no muss, no fuss, no stickers and expansion packs to lose my attention in - in other words, perfect for what I need while I build this habit.
I’ve also decided that instead of trying to track on the larger form “week view” pages, I mainly just use the monthly view page. This may change once my classes start next week and I start having deadlines, but for now, since I’m just tracking my husband’s work schedule and our family appointments/plans, the month view works just fine.
#3: Make it work for you.
One of the best uses of the planner I made is utilizing that address book portion in the front that I usually just ignore. While I don’t really need to put personal contact information stuff down in it, I realized I usually end up searching the internet for the contact information for our various healthcare providers, insurance companies, and other businesses throughout the year and that really eats into a lot of time. So, in that section, I jotted down all of that information. I even included our health and dental insurance policy and group numbers and the cell numbers of my coworkers. You never know when cell service or data plans will leave you hanging out to dry!
This particular example may not work for your planner, but the point is to figure out the best way to make the planner work for you. If it’s not making your life easier, it’s not helping.
The same goes for building a habit of updating it. Outside of setting new appointments or making plans, I’ve found the natural time to update the planner for the upcoming month is to do it as soon as my husband receives his work schedule. He always sends it to me when he gets it, so it’s become a built-in cue (that I don’t have to remember or initiate!) to refresh the calendar.
If I end up using the planner successfully through the end of 2023, maybe I’ll reward myself with a fancy new planner with stickers and extensive features. Or maybe I will no longer feel the temptation to do so. Either way, I’m excited to spend this year building a habit that will only help reduce my stress during a busy year.
