5 Things You Can Plan Right Now
When it comes to digital planning, many think you need a 365-day planner with monthly, weekly, and daily pages, stickers, and all the current technology. But that’s not true at all! Digital planning is a versatile and adaptable hobby. Anything you write down to keep for the future is considered planning.
If you’re looking into starting your digital planning journey and want a cost-effective and sustainable approach, here are 5 things you can plan right now!
To-Do Lists
Appointments/Important Events
Meal Planning/Grocery Lists
Routines
Assignment/Homework
To-Do Lists
To-do lists offer a short-term feeling of accomplishment. It’s a reward system in a sense. You check off your tasks and at the end of the day, you feel good knowing you completed what needed to be done!
It’s temporary, but it offers a boost in productivity to get those boxes checked as quickly as possible! Not only does it promote getting things done, but it’s also a great practice to get into the habit of digital planning!
The process is there; take a few minutes to create the list and over the day, repeatedly check in with it. That’s how simple digital planning is and the beauty of to-do lists is you can add anything!
Whether it’s work, school, or home—think homework assignments, project tasks, chores, etc. The possibilities are completely personalizable. If you can’t think of anything, think of what you’re already going to do for the day. Our lives are made up of tasks we complete throughout the day, so why not jot it down?
When ordering your to-do list, it’s helpful to order from high priority to low priority. That way you check off the most important first and low priority can be moved to the next day if not completed.
Another way to order your to-do list is by order of completion. Similar to a routine. For example;
Make bed
Pack lunches
Pay bill
Complete assignment
Get gas
Make dinner
It’s easy to check off as you go and it serves as a small time log/day planner.
Appointments/Important Events
Events are important to remember. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, vacations, and appointments only come every so often, so jot it down to remember it!
Adding these dates to your calendar can add anticipation, allowing you to look forward to the date! It’s also a great way to prepare if anything needs to be done ahead of time (like getting your loved one a birthday present).
To add important dates, open your calendar app and create a new event. Toggle on the reminder to get notified before the event approaches so you remember. And if this is an annual event, set it to repeat annually.
Meal Planning/Grocery Lists
Two common questions are:
What is there to eat?
What do I need from the grocery store?
When going through the pantry at home or navigating through the aisles of the grocery store, it can get overwhelming when you don’t have a plan.
Thankfully, there’s such a thing as planning!
Go through your pantry and fridge, and list what is running low, what you need, and what you want (stay within your budget of course). That simple process is what creating a grocery list is. Easy, right?
Now when you head to the store, you’ll have your list to remember what you need! The better part? Keep your list digital and stored on your phone so you don’t forget it!
With grocery lists made, another way to plan is your meals—which is another list essentially.
You can plan all three meals for each day of the week or choose which ones specifically. Simply add the dish you’d like to have for that meal on that day. Knowing what you’re going to eat ahead of time reduces the stress of not knowing. On top of that, creating a meal plan makes it easier to add ingredients to your grocery list, so you won’t worry about missing anything!
Both forms are handy and you can have one without the other. Either way, you’re planning, and prepping for the future to make your life easier.
Routines
Everyone has a routine. Even if you’re not aware of it, you have one. It’s repetitive, natural, an unconscious way you live life. It’s the steps you take in the day to set you up and that can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Create a timesheet and write down what you do at every hour. It’s a great way to visualize how you use your time, a way to notice your patterns and your habits, and a way to incorporate changes.
A key thing to planning your routine is to leave the stuff that can’t be moved, like work and school, alone. But variable things like the time you wake up and bedtime can be changed. This is where you can allow yourself to change the things that need improvement.
For example, if you want to wake up earlier, use your routine to add/shift things at night to ensure you have enough rest.
Planning a routine is like creating a puzzle.
Each piece is what you do during the day at a designated time. As you move about, another piece is locked in until the end of the day when the puzzle is completed. At the end of the day, if there’s a piece missing, look around to find it. Or if there’s an extra piece, decide if it needs to be part of the puzzle. (The puzzle is your routine).
Planning alone is a routine, so if you’re starting, make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to add it to your day routine. The best way to figure that out is by looking when you have 5-15 minutes available in your day. Adapt planning to your routine, not your routine to planning.
Assignment/Homework
For those who are in school, remembering assignments, exams, and projects is stressful! The one way to reduce that stress is to make sure you know when something is due.
Writing down your assignments for each class, marking when it’s exam day, and setting your due dates for projects is a great ways to get into the habit of planning!
Once you know when something is due, you can plan accordingly and arrange your schedule to fit getting those assignments done and incorporating study time! You’ll be organized, feel accomplished, and feel more confident once those grades start increasing!
Creating a table with all your classes listed in one column is helpful. Then, add a column for “Assignments”, “Exam Dates”, and “Project Deadlines”. Or customize it to work for you. Either way, planning will be a tool to make you successful.
If you think you’re ready to start your digital planning journey, try out these tips! But if you’re ready to dive into using a planner, check out our shop!
