Throughout my school career, I’ve been a huge fan of using planners to stay organized. Mine helps me keep track of my classes, appointments, meetings, etc., and has become even more useful since I started college. During this chaotic time when we’re worrying about our safety and well-being on top of our regular workloads, it’s especially important for us to stay on top of things and take care of ourselves. So, for this quarantine season and after, here are a few helpful tips on how a planner can help you stay sane:
1. Keeping track of assignments, meetings, etc.
Whether it’s for work, school, or play, we all have things to do and Zoom calls to join. With classes and group meetings turning to online formats, our routines have been changed drastically, but you don’t have to suffer for it. By using a planner, you can keep track of homework assignments, projects, tests, work tasks, meetings, etc. all in one place. Even if it’s just a reminder to pick something up from the store, whatever you need to remember has a place in your planner.
2. Habit Trackers
One of my favorite features to see in a planner is a habit tracker. With these, you can keep track of everything, from whether or not you took your medications, how much water you drink every day, exercise routines, etc. While the world might seem to be thrown off it’s course right now, you can keep track of what you can control and keep doing and see it laid out for you in a very satisfying chart, list, etc. While not every planner has this built in, you could easily make your own and add it in.
3. Daily Gratitude/Positivity
Another feature that I love is daily gratitude. No matter what’s going on in the world, it’s important that we all remember the good things in our lives and what keeps us motivated. Some planners have spaces for you to write these things down every day/week so that you always have that reminder. When you have that space and make it part of your routine, it stays fresh on your mind even during the most uncertain times.
4. Weekly/Monthly Reviews
There are few things more satisfying than being able to look back at a period of time and see that we reached all of our goals. Sometimes, it can be difficult to realize how much progress we’ve made, but with a weekly or monthly review, you can take a moment and think back on all of the things you’ve done right or where you can improve. In this way, you can use a planner to not only keep track of your life, but to improve yourself as a student, employee, and person.
In conclusion, especially during rough times, we all need to find our ways to cope and hold it together. Planners are one very effective method of doing so. If you don’t have one already, I highly suggest picking one up on your next run to the store or creating your own in a notebook at home. By keeping yourself organized, you can make it through quarantine one task at a time. Stay safe, and stay positive!