Think back to when you were a little kid, just starting out in school. Remember how you used to receive cute smiley face stickers when you’d do well on a test or get a gold star once you completed all of your daily chores? Something so simple as a little sticker can be used to brighten up your day! Sure, getting stickers was a bit childish, but something about it would always just make me happy.
Before I started school this semester, I bought a new planner as I usually do. Only this time, when I bought my planner, the website suggested that I buy stickers to go along with it and I did. I fell in love with using them almost immediately and found that they were beneficial for me. Here’s how these stickers ultimately helped me become more productive:
1. Help Me Remember Important Things Easily
Unlike the stickers you received in grade school, these stickers mostly have a purpose. I immediately purchased stickers to track my anxiety, to track my water intake, and to mark when I have papers and assignments due. Of course, if you want, you can buy stickers that are purely decorative. These stickers become a visual reminder of the things that I need to get done, and it’s much harder to simply gloss over the information and forget it. In the case of my water trackers, I now remember to drink water more frequently so I’m able to cross off all of the bubbles by the end of the day.
2. Less Time-Consuming Than Bullet Journaling
Now, I hope this doesn’t upset anyone who’s passionate about bullet journaling, but keeping a “bujo” is a lot of work and takes up a lot of my time. I found that when I did try keeping a bullet journal, I was more focused on making it look pretty and organized, and less time actually focusing on the tasks that I needed to complete. Now, if a situation comes up where I need to remember an appointment, I just pop a sticker in my planner, jot down the time and location, and I’m onto the next task. I don’t have to worry about maintaining a certain format, since my planner already has one built in, but I still can make it fit my aesthetic by using stickers.
3. Make Planning and Completing Tasks More Fun
I used to absolutely hate sitting down and budgeting out my time. Unfortunately, this often led to procrastination and rushing to get things done last minute. Now that I have cute stickers, it’s a lot more fun to plan in advance because I get to decide where I want to place stickers and create patterns and designs with them, all while planning my week in advance. Also, just as you felt a little rush of joy once you got a sticker on a test in middle school, I feel happy whenever I check my planner and see a cute sticker. I also feel more motivated to do things so I have an excuse to use some of my stickers.
Overall, I have noticed an uptick in my productivity since using planner stickers. Adulting can be hard, so sometimes using a “childish” means to reach a goal can make it a lot easier and more fun. Sometimes all we need is something simple to brighten up our day!
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