Once again, I have revamped my planning method! I think it’s important to keep evaluating your planning method, since the whole purpose of it is to keep you organised. And you can’t stay organised if your planning method is inefficient! Therefore, I’ve switched up my organisational methods, and so far I’ve been more productive than ever!
- Annual planning – Google Sheets
- Monthly + weekly planning – Notion
- Day-to-day planning – Google Calendar
- Task manager – Todoist
Annual planning – Google Sheets
Here’s an example of how I use Google Sheets in order to make long term plans. First, I divide my goals into multiple categories – this is so that it’s easier to visualise everything. Then, I spread out those goals over the months, depending on how long they’ll take! Note – the example I’ve given here isn’t my actual spreadsheet, I’ve kept that private because internet people are scary.
The reason I use Google Sheets to do this is because it makes it so easy to visualise your goals, and to make sure that you’re on track. If you feel like this might take a long while to set up, you can use this template to get you started 🙂
Monthly + weekly planning – Notion
I haven’t been Notion for my day-to-day planning as much recently, but it still comes in handy for my monthly planning. Right before the start of every month, I review my goals for the month with my annual planner. Then, I input those goals into my Notion page, that looks a little like this. This might seem unnecessary, but it helps me break down the goal and consider what I need to accomplish that month.
I use the same method for my weekly planning – I find that this is really helpful when I want to break down my goals into concrete steps that I have to take now.
Day-to-day planning – Google Calendar
I love Google Calendar so much! I’ve already written a post about the method I use to plan my day-to-day schedule (timeblocking). It’s one of my most popular posts, and for good reason – it works so well! Essentially, you just schedule out chunks of time to do stuff in your calendar. It’s got many, many benefits, and you should really check it out! Google Calendar is (at least in my opinion) the best calendar for this, since it’s so customisable, and Google Keep is very useful as well!
Task manager – Todoist
Now, I’ve had a pretty rocky relationship with to-do lists in the past. However much I try, I just can’t seem to use them consistently. And you know what? That’s fine! I like using Todoist since, as it’s a Chrome extension, it’s so easily accessible! As well as this, it’s very intuitive while also offering many, many features that other apps would make you pay for. I still don’t use it everyday, since I don’t always have enough tasks to warrant a list.
And, that’s pretty much it! My planning method is 100% digital, and I’ve adapted it to fit my needs closely as possible. If you have any questions about organisation, productivity, studying, or you just want to talk, then my Instagram DMs, Tumblr asks, and comments are always open!
