A productivity planner is more than just a simple notebook.
A productivity planner is a multi-purpose tool to help you manage your work and personal life. It’s a place to set your priorities, organize your schedule, and stay on top of your deadlines and tasks. It’s also a place where you can capture your biggest goals and map out the tiny steps you need to take in order to achieve them. It’s like having a personal assistant, career coach, and your wisest friend all by your side.
A productivity planner makes your life more focused and ensures that the trains are always running on time. In short, it makes your life so much easier.
How a great planner can make you more productive
Here are just some of the ways that a great planner can boost your productivity.
You’ll learn to be specific. It’s Monday morning and you want to get things done. But you also have no idea what exactly it is that you need to do. It’s hard to be productive when you only have a vague sense of what you should be doing. You need to be specific. In other words, transfer the loose ideas in your head and record them in your planner. You can’t work on something that is living in your head. But you can take action on things that are specific and written down on paper.
You’ll have better time management. Do you feel like you never have enough time? Are you cramming your day with too many events and obligations? A productivity planner can help you manage your time more wisely. By taking the time to plan out your schedule, you’ll save much more time in the long run. You’ll also start to have a better sense of how long things take, and how much of a buffer you need in between meetings and tasks. A planner can help you be more savvy about time management, which will result in greater productivity and efficiency.
You’ll have a game plan for the short and long-term. What makes a planner so essential to your productivity is that it captures the big picture and granular view of your life. You can map out big, long-term goals and then create a game plan for each month, week, and day. You’ll never be at a loss of what to do because you’ve already taken the time to identify the most important targets and accompanying action steps.
Essential features of the best productivity planners
The best planners all possess the same essential traits. These features will help you stay productive and motivated all year long.
Space to write down your goals. Writing down your goals is transformative. You’re taking an ambiguous idea and turning it into something actionable. You’ll start to get ideas and strategies on how to go about reaching your goal. And seeing your goals on a daily basis will help you stay committed to them.
Yearly timeline or calendar. A planner should capture the long-term view. You’ll want a yearly timeline or calendar for mapping out your big projects, goals, and targets, along with recording the big events, holidays, and vacation days that are coming up. By looking at your entire year, you’ll have an idea of when your busy seasons are, which will let you plan much more effectively. You’ll also be able to monitor your goals throughout the year and make sure you’re reaching your targets as planned.
Monthly calendar. A monthly calendar or layout is a must-have feature in a planner. You’re going to take your long-term goal and start parceling them out for each month. You also want to plan for work deadlines, doctor’s appointments, family trips, and other tasks that you need to get done that month. By having a dedicated monthly layout, you’re keeping your eye on your biggest priorities while also taking action on them everyday.
Weekly calendar. A weekly layout gets down to the granular details of your day. Here’s where you schedule in your everyday chores, errands, meetings, work assignments, social events, and more. You’ll refer to your yearly and monthly goals and priorities to help you determine what you need to focus on each day. At the end of the week, you can conduct a weekly review to check-in with your goals. With your weekly layout right there in front of you, it’s easy to assess your work. Are you staying on track? Or do you need to adjust?
Space for notes. Another essential feature of a great planner is blank space for note-taking. Here’s where you can jot down reminders, inspirational quotes, or notes from meetings and phone calls. And you can easily refer to your notes whenever you need.
Space to record your accomplishments. The end of the year always feels like a blur. We wonder where all our time went and if we accomplished anything of note. So don’t wait for the end of the year to start listing your accomplishments. You’ll want to recognize your wins as soon as you achieve them. Writing down your accomplishments will motivate you to keep going. And reflecting on how you went about achieving it will help you remember for next time.
Lots of white space. Planner fans love to personalize their planner pages. It’s a chance to express yourself and unleash your creativity. You can break out the colorful pens and markers to decorate your planner pages. Use washi tape to cordon off busy days, track your habits, or celebrate milestones. Use highlighters to remember important dates and deadlines. Adding color and whimsy to your planners will make the planning and organizing part so much more fun.
A pretty cover. And last, but certainly not least, the best planners always have a stunning cover. A planner that is nice to look at will make you want to use it all the time. It’s a visual cue to open up its pages and take action on your dreams and goals.
Written by JiJi Lee
