Planning
I often get asked about planning and my system and since my blog is mainly inspired by questions people ask me, I thought I would try to get my system down on paper. I should probably have broken this description into multiple blog posts, but I just wanted to give it all in context, so grab something to drink, and find somewhere comfortable to sit.
A couple of years ago, I discovered bullet journaling. I’ve tried a variety of different systems previously, and none seemed to really work for me. I’ve kept up bullet journaling for a few years now, although I’ve certainly changed my layouts as I further refine my systems, and learn what works for me. What I love most about bullet journaling is the flexibility to do it however I want. If I don’t like a layout, I just change it the next time I create it. It can be as simple as I want, but yet, still afford me the option to jazz it up. For a great overview and introduction, check out Ryder Carrol’s site. You can search Pinterest and there are thousands of pins with different ideas. Some people’s pages are pieces of art. I lean more towards function with some colour thrown in.
It starts with annual planning. In this blog post, I talked about setting my goals for the year. Once I’ve set goals, I start to plan how I’m going to achieve them and start blocking smaller chunks into different months. For other goals, I track them elsewhere (like my goal of 100 completed scrapbook layouts has a dedicated layout on which I track my progress).
My yearly spread is broken down by quarters. I colour code them, so I can visually separate them easily and because it looks pretty. You can decide where you want to sit on the looks vs function continuum. I tend to use a ruler for these as I only set them up once, so I don’t mind spending more time on them.
One of the first sections you are supposed to have in your bullet journal is a future log. There are lots of different ways of doing this (give yourself some time if you are going down the Pinterest rabbit hole on this one). I use a fairly simple one. I have one quarter on each page (so my whole year is laid out over 4 pages). Each month has a block with a calendar (which isn’t really necessary as I never refer to it, but I bought the stamp set, so why not) and a list of everything I need to do in that month. I create this by looking back to my future log from last year, by looking at my goals for the year and creating targets for portions of them, and by looking at my monthly goals from the past year to see if I had any that I hadn’t added to last year’s future log. I try to say cognizant of requirements vs commitments when I break down annual goals. For this year, I am in this English course until early March, so I tried to keep those months lighter when I was assigning my mini goal items. If I’m going to be away for a couple of weeks one month, I try to take that into account too. I don’t want to create a ton of stress or set myself up to fail. I colour code mine, but it isn’t necessary at all. Done is better than elaborate. By dumping all the goals and tasks I have for the future onto paper, in a logical, referenceable way, I can stop worrying about getting them done which is why it is essential to include this aspect of planning.
I saw this layout on Pinterest and liked it so I’ve used it for the past couple of years. I’ve also done 12 boxes with the dates listed which is much simpler.
After my future log, I have a Birthday List. I copy this from my previous year’s list, as well as looking through my past monthly layouts to make sure I didn’t add anyone else and forget to add them to my master list. I like being able to send cards and message people for their birthdays. If this isn’t important to you, you can omit it.
I tend to work a bit harder to make my monthly layouts look better since I only need to do 12. So I use colour, a bit of washi tape and a ruler for these. I wrote this post near the end of January so there are still several outstanding tasks not yet completed. By the end of the month, I did actually get them done.
At this point, I’m ready to start my first monthly layout and then set up my weekly layouts. I will explain the process for January, but it’s the same for each subsequent month too. My monthly layout has 3 components:
Calendar – this gives me an overview of the month. I can record birthdays on it, as well as, due dates for tasks and if I’m tracking monthly goals, I can do it on this calendar. When I’m looking back at my January layout, I see that I had some monthly goals that I’ve forgotten to track for the past couple of weeks (oops – I’ve been tracking them elsewhere and forgot to come back and track them here). I also make note of birthdays on the calendar (I indicate it’s a birthday with a little cake icon).
Tasks – these are all of the items I need to do this month. I pull these from the future log (as well as any tasks from the previous month that I didn’t finish). I number these and then decide their due and I write the corresponding number on my calendar. For example, number 9 is “Death Binder Table of Contents” and I’ve chosen January 22nd as a due date, so I wrote “9” on the 22nd. As I complete these, I put an “X” across the number under “Tasks” and I circle it on the calendar. That way I can see at a glance what I have done and what still needs to be finished.
Goals – I will pick some goals for the month; things I want to work on. Some of them are just an overall mindset like the “control/plan” my calendar and some are ones I can actively track (like read daily or 15 minutes of exercise). If I decide to track these on my calendar, I will put a sticker beside the goal and then the same sticker on the calendar if I’ve met that goal for the day. Since I changed and refined my weekly layouts to start tracking these there, I’ve started skipping them on my monthly layouts which is another example of how to make the system work for you and how flexible it truly is.
Since I need to make lots of weeklies, I aim for faster and more functional. I gave up my ruler awhile ago and so I can draw them faster. I’m OK with the not straight lines as these are more about function for me. I tend to add a sticker or two for decorative inspiration and when I’m done for the week, I will fill some of the white space with more (the red Dreaming sticker was added after the week was done and I knew how much space I had left - otherwise, that’s a lot of space to give up upfront.
Next is my weekly layout. I’ve changed this format several times, but I seem to like my current version so far. It’s nice though, as if I want to change something, I just do it on the next week. I tend to create a monthly and then all the weeklies for that month at one time. I used to do the next weekly every Sunday (except when I couldn’t, and then it would be Monday or later, which didn’t help me control my week).
My weekly layout consists of the following areas:
A list down the left side with each day and a block. I use this to record tasks that need to be done on a specific date, rather than just anytime this week. For example, I might have – “make income tax payment” on the day that I know I am going to be near the bank. I also record birthdays in these boxes. I will look back to my monthly layout and see if I have any tasks assigned for this week and record these in this part of the layout too. When I complete all tasks assigned to a specific date, then I put a little sticker on it so I know that I don’t need to read that box anymore; everything has been completed.
Goals: I used to have space for 5 goals, but then decided that was too many. I try to stick with no more than 3. I use these for behaviours I want to change, or on which I want to focus. I have been working on blocking time and accomplishing targets this month so I keep adding that goal each week until I feel like it is a habit. I also have read before bed (no phone). If I felt like I’ve done well on those, then I’ll put a sticker beside the goal when I am doing my reflection at the end of the week.
Dailies – these are behaviours that I may struggle with, and so want to track on a daily basis. There are a ton I could track (I used to do a habit tracker with a ton of habits, but it got to be too overwhelming, and so I stopped). I try to focus on just a few so I can achieve them (too many and it’s overwhelming). I am often aiming to make these habits. This month, I’ve been working emptying my email inbox one time per day (instead of getting overwhelmed and then totally ignoring them) and 15 minutes of exercise. Sometimes these stay consistent week to week and other times, I will change them. I like these on my weeklies, rather then on my monthlies, as sometimes they are not as achievable and then I can omit one for a week without feeling like a failure (eg. when I know I am busy all day and evening, I tend to reduce the number of daily expectations I have on myself. I want to feel like whatever goals I set are achievable in a realistic fashion). By setting it up in a chart like this, I can easily notice where I had success and where I struggled and make plans to mitigate the challenges next week.
Priority – these are my priorities for the week. They are generally large and not accomplishable in one week, but I am looking for making progress on them. This week, they included my English course (which will be a priority for the 8 weeks of its duration) as well as, some other projects.
Targets – these generally come out of my priorities and are a milestone towards accomplishing my priority. For example, one of my priorities this week is my English Course. The targets are that I’ve done my readings and completed my assignment. Another priority is my Leadership and Life website and the target is a rough draft of the next blog post (writing it right now) and 2 Facebook and 2 Twitter posts. These are measurable and specific. If I accomplish these, then I check off the corresponding Target too since I made the progress I envisioned. These are about operationalizing the big picture priorities, so that I make progress.
To Do List – this is the left part on the right page. I just start writing down the different things I need to do. Sometimes, I’ll prioritize items on this list and start numbering them in pencil (where they won’t interfere with looking at the items). I do this when I have a bunch of smaller things I need to do and am not feeling the motivation, or if there is a larger task I’m procrastinating so that I just start working through them. Sometimes I will block an hour to tasks and then I will number the top three I want to do and if I finish those, I’ll choose the next 2-3 and I see how many I can accomplish in that hour. It’s kind of like a game where I challenge myself and the bonus is that I get stuff done (I have a tendency to ignore a lot of the small stuff and regard it as unimportant, but sometimes you still just need to get it done).
When I am done my week, I will use what I did or didn’t accomplish to help organize the following week. I’ll add stickers to the goals I feel I achieved, and I’ll look closely at my targets to see how I did accomplishing them.
My old system involved a giant To Do list but then the important things were mixed in with the not important ones and often didn’t get done which is why I really like the Priority and Tasks sections I’ve added now. I still struggle sometimes with finishing everything, but at least now I know my focus is on the important items and it’s the smaller ones which go unaccomplished.
How I plan and set up my system might not be meaningful to you at all, and that’s OK. What’s truly important is that you know what works for you and if you don’t, then just start experimenting, and trying different things. Don’t panic, and feel overwhelmed; especially if you start looking on Pinterest. Just start with something and change what you don’t like. You will figure it out!