How to Stay Organized with a Daily Planner

While everyone is busy in their own worlds and balancing out work at home and day to day activities, keeping a check comes in very handy to deal with day to day problems.While some plan weekly, some monthly and some yearly, there is another way to go through it and that is planning daily. Hence introducing the daily planner, while this allows you to stay organized, productive and energetic, this also paves way for day to day creativity, this is for you if you are a student, juggling assignments, if you are a professional managing tasks, or just a person who wants to keep check of your day to day activities.

Why  use a daily planner?

This is your one stop go-to tool for your to do lists, time management, goal tracking and stress reduction and that is why using a planner is a game changer.

It helps with:

1. Improved productivity: You take note of all the tasks you do and this keeps your priorities clear and you achieve your goals in no time.
2. Time management: You can easily schedule all your important tasks.
3. Reduces stress: This organized approach helps you to be worry free and it has been clinically proven that staying organized reduces substantial amount of stress
4. Boosting Creativity and Motivation: WHile for some a daily planner is tool, for others it is a way to boost your creativity on a day to day basis
5. Routine: Planners and specially to do planners are a great way to adhere to your day to day routine

Here  is an easy guide to structuring your daily planner for maximum efficiency.This will help you keep on track without feeling cluttered and here are a few quick tips as for how to organize your daily planner for day to day organization:

1. A clear layout: This is a must for better planning, choose a planner which meets your needs:this can be a to do list, a monthly planner, or a weekly one , the structure provides a sense of organization and helps you feel organized.Here are a few things that you can do: You can start by specifying the date and the day, you can then set you top priorities which you can get done in a while, these can be your major 2 to 3 tasks of the day. You can also list other not so important tasks and make these your next steps for the day. Also you can have a notes section for your particular reminders and doodling.And at the end you can end with a review, this simply means you can tick off if your goals are completed or any other form of review that you prefer.
2. Sectioning time slots: You can use this trick to better organize and for better productivity, and this is done by assigning particular time slots, now suppose you are a student, you can divide your time into Mornings, midday, afternoon and evening and assign requires tasks like WOrk or studies, brainstorming, creative projects and self care respectively.
3. Colour coding: This is one of the techniques followed again in order to align your planning needs and creative sides, for example you can assign codes of blue for work related tasks, green for health and wellness goals, yellow for your personal growth needs, red for urgent tasks and deadlines.
4. Goals: These are your major to-dos, as tracking making journaling worthwhile, you can focus on your weekly goals which you can plan on your weekdays or weekends and revise accordingly, monthly check ins, this can include your overall progress throughout the month, and this can also mean you can track your monthly bills and other activities,also you can include a habit tracker, as this will allow you to keep track of your day to day goals, and this adds up to wellness throughout,all of this will provide a base for structure and consistency.
5. Creative Aspect: Journaling does not have to be boring, you can really make your notebook/planner look lovely by using different stationery items, for example you can use stickers, washi tapes for motivation, reminders and sectioning tasks, you can also try to doodle if this is your thing. An aesthetic planner will help you to keep the process fun while staying on your productivity game.

How to stay consistent?

While planning is fun, it is sure to bore you along the way, and hence, A need to stay consistent when you plan and here are a few tips for this:

1. Plan Before: Plan in advance, and this can mean you can plan at night before the day or a day before
2. Accessibility and visibility: You can keep the planner on your desk which marks as a subtle reminder to plan
3. Digital reminders: You can sync your day to day activities using a digital calendar, which will be helpful
4. A ritual, not a chore:Enjoy the process, maybe light a candle, play soft music, sip your coffee and take out 10 minutes from your routine daily and this will work wonders.

On a final note, it is given that planning is a tool more than a notebook; rather it is a lifestyle tool to keep a person organized, productive, structured and inspired. By a small act of incorporating aesthetic planning, structured layouts and consistent habits, one can truly transform their lifestyle, finding a right planner makes all the difference