Time Management
 

I like having a physical calendar. I use Google calendar because I like getting reminders, but maybe it's my age showing... I like being able to see it on paper.

I don't want to start using a fancy planner, because I want to end up decorating it like I've seen people do. :D

What do you use to plan out your day? Do you plan each hour? Do you keep a checklist? Do you just wing it?

I'd love to hear what everyone does!!

I have an extra-large paper calendar on my desk at work, a large paper planner (undecorated - ha!) that I take back & forth from home to work, and a Google calendar associated with my work email but that I add personal activities to as well.

Physically writing things down helps me to remember them 10x more than the Google calendar but I add them there as I can send text reminders to my phone if I need to (for one-off things like hair appointments).

I don't purposely plan my day by the hour. It works out that way naturally once you figure out where everyone has to be and when and how to fit that in between school and work. I don't do checklists as my brain does that naturally internally.

My biggest help has been making sure I immediately add things to my calendars (which usually happens at work) as soon as I find out about them AND color-coding every activity by person so I can tell at a glance what's happening on any given day and for whom. The four people in my family have four different highlighter colors, and I also have a highlighter color for my work activities and responsibilities.

I don't spend a lot of time on the individual day pages in my planner unless there's a random idea, scrapbook idea, conversation I want to record for posterity. It's mostly the month-at-a-glance that I flip to when I need to know what's going on that week. I've thought about using the individual day pages as a place to reflect on new things/activities/meals we've tried so I can go back later to see how it went and if we want to do it again but I haven't actually implemented that yet.

I don't plan my time at home. Weekdays are for getting through to get to the next day, and weekends (and Mondays) are for chores & errands.

Can you tell I'm an office manager?! :)

Nothing, I have no time management!

Seriously I have a large calendar that I put all appointments and important things on. I know my Monday is laundry day but I don’t need to include that on the calendar.

Basically the night before I look at the calendar and figure out what I’m doing the next day. If it’s a busy day (like today), we have a large dry/erase board that I write reminders on. Then I just plan my day around what is going on. If I have time to scrap, great. If not, can I clean a bathroom quickly?

At night, when I’m lying in bed I think of all the things I didn’t get done for the day and try to plan my next day.

I just use the Google Calendar and have different colours for different things.

I need a paper calendar. In paper I can easily see the whole week at once and know what's coming up. When I've tried using apps on my phone it requires a deliberate checking to see what's coming up, I have to click on things to see notes about them, etc. I end up getting unpleasantly surprised by things in a way I don't with a paper planner. If I need a reminder about something, I just set one on my phone.

I like using a pretty planner but don't want to spend time decorating it. My solution was to digiscrap myself undated weekly pages. I did a different seasonal design for each month, then each year I just reprint 4-5 copies of each design, bind it, and write in the dates.

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I started this year with a digital planner. I decorate it slightly with scrapbooks kits. I mark birthdays and anniversaries on the main calendar spread and then have to-do’s and dinner planner on the weekly. Also leaves enough room for some small journaling and/or pics to tell about the day.


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LOL! I can definitely tell you're an office manager! I think I managed my time much better when I worked outside the home. I think I need to get a big desk calendar again. I haven't done that in years, but it's a great way to have space for everything!

LOL!!
We had a dry erase board at one point, but I ended up not using it, and 6-months later, it still had the same stuff written on it :D

I do that, too, Jacinda, but I feel more organized when I can see it on paper.

That sounds like a good compromise.

Had you previously used a paper planner, Jen?

At work, I have a paper calendar with reminders on it for work deadlines like 1099's and sales tax. For blog posts and social media stuff, I have Google calendar reminders and a big excel spreadsheet. For personal stuff, it's the Google calendar reminder option. And some days, I'm THRILLED I at least tried to remind myself...

We have a big paper calendar in the cupboard in the kitchen. It is life. If it's not on that calendar- it doesn't happen. The kids can look at it in the morning to see what's going on after school, if they wanted hot lunch, etc. Between the kids' activities & hubby & I's work schedules, we're crazy busy it seems!

I also have everything on my phone google calendar- but that's mostly just for me. I have kept a paper one in the past, but it just seemed redundant to write everything twice. With my phone calendar- I can schedule stuff while out & about as well as get reminders if I want to.

On my days off- I usually have a few things on my to-do list (which I write out every morning- because it's fun to check it off!!! ;) )

I bullet journal!! I love it so much. I include the sections that work for me and leave everything else out. Plus, because it's done in a regular old journal, I get to decorate it with my washi tape and doodles :)

go to bulletjournal.com to see the intro video, then you can go to pinterest and/or IG and search for #bujo #minimalbujo #bulletjournal and see SO MANY ideas on how to customize.

I’ve actually gone back & forth with to-do lists, meal plans, etc but now I like keeping it all in one place! The planner I purchased also has empty tabs where you can track additional things... I’ve created ones for (1) Birthday/Christmas ideas (2) scrapbooking projects - current & future ideas and (3) the new SSD challenge [emoji4]



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Appointments are in my phone calendar. When all the boys still lived at home we had a white board calendar for the week and all their activities went on it so anyone could see where anyone was at any given time. But since I'm not managing their days so much anymore I don't need that. I do have a to-do list on my phone and make occasional paper lists if there's something big I need lists for, like Thanksgiving dinner plans or the like.

As someone else said, I review the week ahead on my calendar, then the day ahead and plan what else I can fit in between the things I "have" to do at a certain time. Paper calendars don't seem to work for me because I never have them with me when I'm at appointments and so the phone seems to work best for me since I always have it with me.

hahahahahahahahaha

:D i'm awful at all of it

I use blank planners that I found at Walmart for $1.99 so that I can plug in my own dates. They open to show one week at a time. My year runs from summer when band camp starts until the end of school. I leave it on the counter by my purse, and the whole family knows to check that thing before planning stuff on their own.

LOL!! The reminder function on Google calendar is my favorite part! :D

When my kids were young, I tried to get hubby to use a physical calendar so I could keep track of everything... that totally bombed! LOL! :D

I do love checking things off of a list (actually, I love crossing it out...vigorously!)

Beckie, I'm afraid to start bullet journaling!! I've seen it here and there for years, and it looks so cool, but honestly, I can't start another hobby! :blink:

Keeping everything in one place is a good plan. I've thought about just using a binder... LOL! Trying to keep this simple!

I'm finding it to be the case where I don't have to schedule for the kids anymore, so I kind of don't really schedule anything (well, other than doctor appointments).

LOL!! I am, too, Kristin!! I'm trying to get better at it again!! :D

Hmmm...I'll have to check these out next time I'm at Walmart, Lynn!

Is this an app?? I'd love to try that out?

Well I don't need time mgmt down to the minute or hour. I know pretty much what I need to do each day. I do use Google Calendar for appts.

Yes. The planner is downloaded from a shop online and then managed in Good Notes and a little in Procreate.



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I have multiple Google calendars, some synced with husband. I also have a Commit30 planner this year (I’ve also used the Passion Planner and the Desire Map Planner). I also have wall calendars, and separate meal planning and business calendars. I love planning things, but despite this, I am terrible at time management and actually getting things done.

That's an awful lot of planners, Karli-Marie! I think I'd be overwhelmed with all of those :)

I use cozi for all my son's appointments... hubby will put in things that affect me or our son... it's nice that you can "assign" people who it affects and get notifications when things are added. I used a cheap paper planner to put all our homeschooling stuff during the day... and I used to-do lists on post its to remember to do the rest of stuff...

I have used a few different ones--
-Erin Condren (I liked because it's pretty, but it's also pretty bulky. I did like having the day divided into 3 sections & used this differently from year to year (or even week-to-week!) Sometimes I used the sections as "morning" "afternoon" "evening", sometimes "appointments" "home" "errands" or "kids", "home", "work" etc.)
-Planner Pad (I liked the "funnel" system, but the lines were really small--I don't mind writing small, but I felt like there wasn't space for misc. stuff, would be great just for a to-do list, but I like to have a place to jot recipes, knitting patterns, etc.),
-Passion Planner (I liked that this one has extra "doodle" space, but most of my days don't need to be scheduled by hour).
-For the past year or two, I've used the Uncalendar (switched from the full size to the mini on my most recent one). I feel like it's a good balance for me-- you can put in hourly things, or just jot a general to-do list on any particular day. Each week has a side with various boxes for notes, you can create a "system" for using the boxes (i.e. meal plan in bottom left box) or just use them randomly like I do ;) ;)

ETA- I also did a year or so with a moleskine notebook as a bullet journal. I still love these for general note-taking & list-making and liked a LOT about that system (mine was not decorative at all) but I stopped wanting to carve out the time to draw my lines & boxes etc.

I put everything on my Google calendar with reminders, but I also like to keep a wall calendar in the kitchen. I bought a really cheap, simple calendar at Target PLUS a set of 10 highlighters, and I color code everybody's stuff on my physical calendar just like I do on the Google calendar. It's so helpful to see at a glance who's doing what each week; it helps me plan our meals and know when I need to make sure I have a book in my bag for long waits.

Yesterday, I downloaded ColorNote to keep track of my to-do list because I am ALWAYS getting somewhere, feeling overwhelmed and forgetting what I came for. I've consulted my electronic to-do list a dozen times already and it really helps me stay on task. (Plus also my to-do list is hanging on a clipboard at my desk. I figure the more reminding I get, the more likely I am to follow through.)

My greatest trick for time management, though, is to put my computer up where I'm not constantly tempted to sit down for "just a sec" and then lose the rest of my day!

I'm paper all the way. Currently on my second year of Emily Ley's Simplified Planner. I have the daily edition and love that one side of the page is lines by hour and the other side is a check-off style to do list. :thumbup:

I also have a big wall calendar for the hubby. Yeah...he's not great about checking it. :glare:

I am a paper & pen girl all the way... I tried putting things on my phone calendar, but I don't really like it. So I only use phone calendar for birthdays & big events :)

Thanks:)

I believe I tried Cozi when it came out. It's a great system... if you use it. LOL! :D

These are all ones you've tried, but didn't work for you?

I couldn't agree more!! Lots of reminders really help!

I don't want to continuously turn my desktop off & on... maybe I need to set a timer? LOL!

LOL!! :D Mine never checked the wall calendar either!

I think after years of trying to only use Google calendar, I've realized that this is me, too, Sherly! It may look (and sound) old fashioned, but I feel more secure seeing it on the wall.

I'm right there with you! I prefer a paper calendar, but sometimes it is convenient to have a digital one as well. I have a small notebook that I use, bullet journal style (but very messy and not cute like some I've seen)! I also use Google calendar, mainly to add appointments when I'm at the doctor's or something. I try to keep everything matching, but realistically, I fail lol. I'd love to have a cutesy perfect planner, but I feel like it would just take up all my free time and then when would I be able to scrap? :D

They all did work for me...for different reasons and in different seasons! I guess I just need to shake things up every now & then or get too bored to keep/check the calendar! ;)

That makes sense!

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In addition to the paper planner that I use for myself, we have a wall calendar for the kids. It has their activities, project due dates (for any long term projects they've brought me into the loop on), and anything of mine or DH's that directly affects them. All of it is in my planner, too, but this way the kids (and maybe DH) know what's coming up. I also have a cheap Target Dollar Spot calendar hanging on the fridge that I use for meal planning.

It amazes me that even with me always having a calendar up, and telling the kids to put things on the calendar, etc, my kids don't like to use calendars! Not even Google calendar! :huh: :blink: It took my daughter starting her photography business to start using a calendar regularly! :D

This is exactly why I won't let myself get into the planner craze of decorating it and making it cute, etc!! :D

I've been using my A5 Filofax planner for years now. I have a nice leather cover that I love.. and I order my pages from Agendio. They're great because I can totally customize everything. I keep a month at a glance section, then a weekly section. I designed that to have two sections per day... one for personal stuff and one for design stuff. It gives me great sastisfaction to write things down and check them off! LOL I've also made sections for other stuff like store info, kit planning, and general notes. Seriously, I'd be lost without my planner! (I'm actually at work as I write this and forgot to bring it tonight. I feel like I left an arm at home! lol)

I do keep appointments in my phone as well as my work schedule so I can check on that stuff. I don't generally carry my planner around with me for errands and such. And my hubby and I use google calendar for sharing shift info and his stuff. It's pretty redundant, but at least I don't have to worry about remembering to tell him about my shifts later.

That sounds like a good system. You can customize it for what you need.

PS...I LOVE your siggy!!! :wub: