Being a student, we have tons of responsibilities every day and sometimes not enough time to keep it all organized. Let’s be honest, how many times have you bought a new planner before New Year’s Eve and promised to use it for next year? And how many times did you forget about that planner after the first week of January? Did it also become like one of those resolutions that we never successfully complete? We often make lots of promises at once and overwhelmingly try all of those for the first few days after. We end up draining all our energy and give up on it all together.
I am someone who has at least 5-6 brand new journals and planners that I bought every year, used first 6-7 pages and never touched it again. However, in 2021, I found myself struggling with work, school, social life, and personal time. It was very hectic, and Google Calendar was just not the solution anymore. Everyday we get hundreds of notifications on our phones and computers. Our own reminders and to-do lists get lost in that crowd and we end up missing small things of our daily lives. This is when I decided to give planners another shot. I didn’t put any pressure on myself and bought a simple looking planner book. I didn’t even use it every day. I started writing down notes and to-do lists whenever I felt frustrated. Slowly, I started adding more colors. I wrote with one color and checked off with another. Without event realizing, it became a habit of mine to use planner every day.
First step is not committing to a planner. Even though it sounds ironic, it is the best way to get yourself into using a planner. When you try to commit to a planner, you see it as more of an “assignment” rather than leisure. Remember, you are using the planner to lower your stress, not add more burden. During the era of using technology and typing all day, handwritten lists hold a better spot in our minds. Start using the by writing on it once a month. Only add the major events of that month and at the end of the month, check off those activities. Then move on to once a week or once every two weeks. As you keep getting consistent, you will slowly start to be more motivated to use the planner often. Even if not every day, you will at least end up using it every other day in no time.
The second step is to add your own touch to it. Don’t like your old planner? Buy or even make a new planner. Be creative. It will motivate you everyday just by looking at the planner. Add some stickers on the covers. Do some silly doodles on the back cover. Do whatever makes YOU happy! Don’t try to do it all at once. Add small details to it whenever you get a chance of feel crafty. You can even add pages in between each month and make it a design/artwork/scrapbooking page. This way it will draw you back to the planner every time you lose touch.
Lastly, decorate your lists. Now this part is the last step for a reason. Don’t start by decorating your everyday list because you will get tired easily. Or you might even feel bothered when you are in a rush but don’t want to ruin the consistent decoration patterns while writing down lists and reminders. This is the very last and advanced part of the planner because you should do it once you’ve gotten into the habit of using planner every day. If you are always using it as a daily routine maybe in the morning or at night before bed, then it wouldn’t feel like a burden to you. Then you can slowly start making the lists decorative as well and continue adding to it every day.
All these steps are only suggestions that work better for most people, but everyone is different! Figure out what works best for you and try out different ideas. Who knows, you mind find a better way!