So, you want to use a planner and enjoy all the benefits that come with it.
But then, you are stuck because you don’t know where to start!
The huge range of planners available, the so many features it offers, the need for spending time on it every day, etc., can be really overwhelming.
So, here’s a beginner’s guide that will help you navigate the planner world with a lot more confidence and clarity than I had when I started (and you have right now).
How to choose the right planner
1. Decide on your “WHY.”
Before you decide to even look at the planner options available, you must define your ‘why’.
Why do you want a planner?
What is the most important thing that you want to achieve with it?
Is it for your personal life or career planning?
Having a clear idea of why you want a planner will ensure you find the right planner easily. Otherwise, you will find yourself being pulled by all the beautiful designs and the crazy number of features available in each planner. And during that time, your mind will go, ‘yea, I can use this feature’ or ‘that design is too pretty’, losing sight of the important bits.
Believe me! I have been down that rabbit hole!
2. Choosing the right planner
Once you have the reason sorted, you can start searching for planners with the features that support your reason.
For example, if creating a routine and being consistent with your health goals is your priority, you should start looking for planners with habit trackers, health charts, and routine planners.
Types of Planners
Let’s talk a little about the different types of planners available.
Yearly planners: These are planners that will help you set goals, plan, and manage your entire year in one place. Typically it will have annual goal-setting pages and then monthly and weekly pages.
Monthly/Weekly/Daily planners: The name makes the purpose obvious, i.e. if it’s a daily planner, it focuses on planning your daily activities over other things.
Planners with a specific purpose: The above planners usually cover basic elements of our everyday life. But if you have a specific goal, say fitness, you can find planners designed just for that and nothing else.
Planners for a specific group of people: Some planners are made for a certain group of people like pregnant women, working moms, entrepreneurs, etc. These will have the features that this group will require.
Apart from these, you can also use bullet journals or digital planners. But I would recommend starting with a physical planner with defined pages to make it easy for you.
Now, to choose the right planner, you need to see which type aligns with your “WHY”.
And the final tip in choosing the right planner is to stop looking for the perfect planner.
Get a one that reasonably fits your “WHY”.
Recommended reading: 6 Reasons Why You Should Start Using a Planner
3. Fix a routine
Phew! Choosing the right planner itself is quite the task! But once you have done that, then what?
The challenge of consistency awaits you.
And the easiest way to overcome this challenge is by establishing a routine around using the planner. When getting started with a planner, Have a fixed time every day where you take time to plan out the day and review the day before.
For me, it is the end of my workday. You might like doing it in the morning more. But make sure you have a fixed time (like 8 am) or a fixed cue (like the end of the workday) to pick up and use the planner.
This routine will keep you consistent and get the best out of the planner.
4. Keep it simple
The first time I tried this, I chose to convert my notebook into a planner (I thought I was saving money). But since I had to start with a blank page every day, I got tired of it within a week.
The next time I invested in a good planner. Then I tried to use all of its features to the fullest, like loading my habit tracker with ten habits. You can guess how that would have gone.
The third time was the charm. I got a simple planner and used only what was needed for me and ignored all its other features. That’s when I became consistent.
Moral of this boring story? Keep it simple.
The planners these days have too many features. When getting started with a planner, remember you don’t have to use everything from day 1 (or on day 365). We are getting planners to make our life simpler, not more complicated!
Tips to get the best out of a planner
1. Keep it somewhere visible.
If you work at a desk, keep it on top of it (avoid the drawer by all means). Or anywhere else that’s visible and accessible to you. Because getting started with a planner, “out of sight is out of mind!”
2. Start with the to-do list.
Don’t break your head among the hundred features. The best place to start is the everyday to-do list. You can slowly grow into using the other parts of the planner (only if you need it).
I don’t track how many glasses of water I drink every day, even after five years of using planners with them!
3. Make it fun.
Try to make using the planner fun for you. Some people like to use funky planners for that. Some get creative with using stationery like colour pens, stickers, washi tapes, etc. Others love to be visually organised by colour coding things or using highlighters.
Again, see what works for you. For me, it’s just colours and stickers on a minimal planner.
4. Be forgiving.
Didn’t touch your planner for a few days? It’s okay, just make sure you get back on it.
Didn’t complete all the things on the to-do list? It’s okay, just see how you can do it better tomorrow.
Being too hard on yourself isn’t going to make you use the planner regularly or make things happen. Treat yourself with the same empathy that you would give to others. It’s natural to slip, especially when you are just starting.
5. Set reasonable expectations.
This one is for people like me. Don’t get too excited and set unrealistic goals for yourself. You are bound to fail or burn out. So, set reasonable goals.
In fact, I will even suggest starting with a small and easily achievable goal to get confidence and momentum. And in the long run too, the best practice is to set 2-5 priorities for the day instead of just a list of 15 tasks.
Okay, now that you have your basics strong, go get yourself a nice planner and get started!
