My life is a planner and when I don’t have my planner – which is a rare situation – it’s sticky notes.
People who constantly write everything in their planner will understand this.
I simply can’t remember anything anymore unless it’s in my planner – it’s my way of life.
Before Gannon, I was never the type to write anything down, especially not in high school considering it wasn’t demanding at all.
Before I adopted the use of planners, I’m not even sure how I managed to get anything done. But then again I’m sure my weekly schedule wasn’t as tedious.
I think I inherited making lists from my mother.
There’s a story I always tell people about my mother and it goes like this; every time my mother and I have errands to run, she makes a list understandably. When she does something off her list, she’ll make me write it down just to cross it off.
Being able to cross items off a list makes me feel amazing and accomplished. Unless it’s a grocery list; then I feel depressed because I’m spending money.
I also found that although it may be overwhelming sometimes to see the long list of things you have to do each day, overall it eliminates some of my stress. I don’t have to worry about figuring out what I have to do that day because it is already written down – for the most part.
Also, I get to wake up each morning with a purpose and if you don’t wake up every morning with one, you’re probably not going to have a good day. But that’s just my opinion.
The only thing that could possibly mess up my planner and daily schedule is urgency because that generally calls for instant action and I’m not too good with that. Urgent tasks could completely mess up my whole day. I could possibly even have to push a task to a different day. That just makes me anxious thinking about it.
To me, planning is the most important part of my day. Each Sunday I will review my planner and make sure I finished everything I had to do for the weekend and start planning for next week. Planning is a critical factor in success.
With my lack of motivation at times – which could also possibly be considered laziness – and numerous distractions, it’s hard to constantly stay focused. But with my planner keeping me in check, I rarely don’t progress in my work.
I highly recommend getting a planner. It’s crazy to see how much you will be able to accomplish. The key is to not overwhelm yourself with daily tasks, but do just enough to feel accomplished.
So to anyone I have either canceled on, double booked or simply just forgot to meet, don’t take offense. I probably just forgot to put you in my planner.
COLLEEN LANGHAM
