Sarah Pearson asked to have a little more detail re my daily planner that i have been using and developing to ensure i get everything done and still have fun.
I hope that its of some use to some of you.
Daily planner
There are a number of general overall rules:
Tight (but realistic) time frames must be applied to keep you working with focus.
Colours keep it clear what’s coming next and prevent the overload of one continuous list of stuff to do.
These colours as well as the categories also allow me to monitor easily where I’m spending my time.
Ensure that clear rewards and down time are unfailingly adhering to, helps keep motivation high throughout extended periods of work.
First job of the day must be the one you want to do least/the hardest job.
Keep job descriptions short, precise and in capital letters. This forces you to be crystal clear on the task, does not give any room for ambiguity/confusion and keeps it from looking scary.
No more than two important tasks must be taken on in any one day.
The current system:
I have broken my activities into 5 categories (purely as this is the number of highlighters I have, 6 would for me be better): BAPP, Fun, Wedding Planning, Property, Other/General daily activities.
Each page of my diary is split into half hour time slots from 6am – 11pm.
The day (normally the evening) before the day in question I pencil in all the bits and pieces for the day allocating an appropriate length of time for each activity. Colour the activities by category.
Then on Sunday I go through that week and add up all the half hour time slots spent in each of the 5 categories and record the number of hours at the bottom of Sunday’s page.
I have begun writing any deviations and additions to the day on the right hand side so I can see how the day went in comparison to how it was planned.
Currently, I lightly pencil onto the bottom of each page notes of things that need to be done on that day as I think of them throughout the week. Then when I get to planning that day I rub them out as I allocate time slots to them.
I have experimented with attempting to keep similar activities with each other to keep in that same head space, hat on, as well as breaking them up to allow a fresh set of eyes and renewed energy.
This does not work with BAPP work, I need to do this in one or no more than two blocks of time.
Room for improvement
At the moment there is a lack of flexibility in the system.
When things go according to plan then its great, having to rub out the notes is not ideal but I have no space (if I’m writing amendments to the schedule on the right hand side) to just leave them.
Writing the notes in pencil and then having to re write them in pen when I firm up the plans is frustrating. At what point do the number of categories become more of a hindrance than a help.
What category do I put eating/showering, work/panto into as well as just sitting chatting watching TV. Is it important to classify these. Should every half hour I’m awake be classified or should I just classify the important ones.
These are a few of the current limitations or areas that could do with tweaking. As I continue to use it, it will develop further I would hope.
I am very open to ideas/suggestions on how to improve this or other ways I can try, as well as totally different ways that you have found work for you.
I hope in a while to see a pattern developing in the times I am most productive, and things I am still avoiding etc.
Weekly Goals & preventing overwhelm
In addition to the above I also keep a word document split into 5 categories onto which I record EVERY thought, idea in its appropriate section. On Sunday I go through the items on each individual page and draw out the 3-4 most important from each and put them into my weekly goals (also broken up into 5 categories). This page (weekly goals page) is the only one I look at throughout the week. If any other ideas, jobs come up they get instantly placed into its category. This helps prevent overwhelm by knowing that all jobs are recorded so will not be forgotten but not constantly under your nose so as to fill your head with all that is to be done. All items are given a number from 1-4 depending on its relevance to your ultimate plan and the time frame in which it needs to be completed.
1 – not important & not urgent, 2 – not important & urgent, 3 – important & not urgent, 4 – important & urgent. The idea is to spend as much time completing the 3 and 4 region activities and avoid as much as possible region 2 and definitely region 1 activities.
This scale is the deciding factor as to the order in which the items make it onto your weekly goals page. This helps you get used to seeing the real importance and urgency of jobs, so less important jobs that appear important due to their need to be done quickly are not mistakenly given priority over one with a less pressing time frame but of much more overall value to your bigger plan.
Please do let me know if you use it, how you get on and any changes you make to it as they could really help improve it.
Also please, as ever, do leave your critical views, i love opportunities to improve or see things from a different angle.
Stay safe - Phil
Hey Phil,
ReplyDeletethanx for you in debt description of your daily planner. One thought that crossed my mind...is it exclusively a digital one (like smth you carry around on your phone and then sync every time you get to your computer) or do you also have a little paper-planner, like Alicia...and probably many others ((O; ???
I´m constantly working on my time-management skills...I use a little planner, to keep up to date with my work hours and appointments (I also like it, because I can doodle in it and have stuck some pictures on it´s pages, too). Since BAPP I´ve started using iCal, which I print out once a week and update every night, or whenever I can. I added a blog about that..I think in October with a document-link to one of the first weeks I did.
I´m also a frequent note keeper...I have little sticky notes all over my flat and I also use and print "mind nodes", that I keep on my desk to remind me, what else I need not forget. Sounds a bit confusing, but I´m continuously working on bettering the system, rethinking the tools I use and the necessity of each and every one.
All the best to you <(")
Thank you so much for explaining this Phil. I found it very interesting and so valuable! I could really benefit from following a similar programme because I get very easily stressed. I find that writing out lists helps me a lot but what I really liked, that you do, is the idea of giving each task an importance value. You have brought to my attention that the reason I probably get so stressed is because I put off the most important task. For example, I really want to put my Christmas tree up, now that I have moved in to my new apartment, but really this should have an importance value of 1 or 2! Getting on with my BAPP work is a 4, and should definitely come before the Christmas tree! However, something else that you do, and I tend to avoid, is planning time for fun. To me, putting up the tree is fun, and you have helped me realise that this can be 'time-tabled' into the schedule. You seem to have worked out the work/rest balance really well.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about questioning whether or not your entire day should be planned. My only concern with this, would be that it would take longer to plan out an entire day's plan, which could then waste time! I also think it is fairly important that you have some time during your day that is spontaneous and not planned. What would happen if something unexpected cropped up and ruined your plan? Personally I would feel irritated that my plan had been spoilt. So my advice would be not to schedule things like TV, unless they are your 'fun' moments (like me with my tree!)
I'm really interested to see how your daily planner evolves over time. I think it's a brilliant idea, and might be borrowing bits of it!
Sarah
Dear Phil,
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed by your organising and planning skills. My study plan, from my Blog back in September, seems very basic in comparison! I think that sometimes when I plan too much, my day changes the course of the plan so I have to leave room for a lot of flexibility.
I've learned by doing the course that I work better when Ihave large chunks of time, ie. the weekends when i can really get stuck into my workk, otherwise it becomes 'bitty' and not very thorough. I do however, blog in my short breaks or comment on other peoples blogs when I get windows of time.
As Fione said, i am a 'jotter' and like to carry my yearly planner with me, I feel quite lost without it. Your methodical plan is probably just a much more organised version. I also try to keep my reflective journal on hand at all times, especially when I'm on the tram, this can add up to 40 minutes per day of reflective writing!
Keep up your great plans, :) Alicia.
Hey Fiona - At the moment I use a paper yearly pocket sized planner, like Alicia and many others I'm a traditionalist (or maybe I'm nervous of being too dependent on batteries lasting, motherboard melt downs, dropping my life down the toilet as I have with two previous phones). It could be something of great benefit but not yet explored it. You sound very organised yourself with you iCal print outs. I too used to have sticky notes everywhere when ever I had a thought of something I needed to do/remember but it started boggling my brain. Hence why now I write them all down on that file in its appropriate section so as not to overload my very simple brain. I do still have notes written hear and there on bits of paper, as I think sometimes it's much more satisfying to actually write it down rather than type it, also old habits die hard, but no where near as many.
ReplyDeleteYo Sarah - I too found the application of a scale to tasks very enlightening when I discovered it, and I agree that fun time (Christmas tree decoration - there is nothing more fun than this) is vital to your sanity AND to the system. Without using the system to force you to stop working and have to take 2-3 hours off to have fun, do what ever you fancy, you begin to rebel against the slave labour that it is forcing you to take part in and you end up blowing it out of the water. I caught myself the other day avoiding even looking at my diary because I had not put enough down time in there, and I had been ignoring the down time I had given myself. Now I see my off time as more important than that I spend working, as this begins to change your view of your daily planner from a hard task master to a friend that prevents you from working TOO hard. (people really are weird creatures some times). I think after reading your comment I have realised that I need to just mark off time for fun and not decide ahead of time (writing it in that time slot) what that fun should be. That way I can be spontaneous and go with how I'm feeling when fun time arrives.
Sup Alicia – You are absolutely on the money darling. The system does fall down in it’s current flexibility. I enjoy the focus and keenness that this highly structured approach provides and find that I am much more productive as a result but yes sometimes things crop up and blow the plan out of the water. I have not yet figured out how to incorporate this element into it’s working yet but with everyone’s help and advice (along with some critical reflection of course) I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
As ever, any suggestions/thoughts are always greatly appreciated.
Stay safe - Phil
Hi Phil. I too use a day planner. I find that I don't pencil everything all the time (which makes me forget what I am due to do). You've given me a boost to encourage me to keep one. I find that buying a diary that has a page for each day is better (then you have more room to write things down). There is no need to classify your every waking moment. Classify the things that are important for you and you alone. Whether it is Cake Tasting for you Nuptials, Getting your Stag Do sorted, Completing 3C & 3D, etc.. It's your personal Daily Diary, nothing or no-one should contradict it.
ReplyDeleteHope all is well.
:D