Finding Balance with the Perfect Planner
Organization is essential to finding balance. The cornerstone of organization is the planner. But with so many options to choose from, finding the perfect planner can be a daunting task. Where do you start?
Start with determining your needs. My organizational needs at work, at home, and in volunteer positions are different, so it makes sense that I need a different style of planner for each of those roles. But for the longest time that concept escaped me. Even after I came to terms with needing multiple planners, the thought of buying more than one planner each year made me cringe. There are so many other places I could spend that money! But the small expense has paid big dividends.
In the clinic I wanted a planner that showed me one week at a time, with the weekdays divided in to time slots. I could keep track of my appointments, with room for small notes.
For my volunteer work I need a planner that shows me one month at a time. The monthly view provides a compact planner with ample room to make the notes I need to coordinate the twice monthly activities.
Those were both quite easy to find. But my home planner took a lot of trial and error. I wanted a monthly view, but I also wanted to be able to see one week at a time. My home life is as busy on the weekends as it is during the week, so I needed my weekends to have equal space. Most of my lengthy "to do" list can be done any day of the week, so I wanted a large "to do" area for each week that was separate from the daily blocks, but equally visible.
After a few years of looking for a planner that would fit my needs, I finally found a gem! I was so thrilled! Not only does it have everything I knew I needed, it has many extras:
built-in menu planning and grocery lists for each week;
special reminder stickers (birthdays, anniversaries, doctor's appointments); and even a
babysitting page with permanent information (parent's cell #, address, bedtimes, allergies, etc.), as well as an area to leave a sticky note with specific details of where I'll be for that occasion.
Finally, this 18 month calendar can span the calendar year or the school year, running from July 2006-December 2007. For my home life, I prefer my planner to run by the school year. I'd never thought of doing it this way, but now I love it.
My favorite planner is Amy Knapp's Family Organizer. You can learn more about it at http://www.thefamilyorganizer.com/.
Your needs are not going to be the same as mine. But hopefully this got you thinking about your organizational priorities and what components you need in your perfect planner. Will you take a moment to share your favorite planner and why it works for you?
Here's to getting organized and finding balance!
Janey