Organization is a big part of my life. If I do not plan out my day, week, or month, I have a difficult time achieving my goals. But isn’t that normal for at least most of us? That is why I absolutely love using weekly planners. They help me to organize my thoughts, goals, and plans for the week, allowing me to stay focused on my priorities. If not, I will be all over the place and stressed out. In this post, we will talk about some of the ways you can use a weekly planner to help you stay focused. Be sure to scroll down for your FREE printable weekly planner.
Reasons why you should be using a weekly planner
As I mentioned above, using a weekly planner is essential to my time management and organization. However, there are many reasons why using a weekly planner can be beneficial. Below we will discuss some of the top reasons.
They help you focus.
Managing many tasks at once can be difficult, especially when you rely only on your good old brainpower. Without prioritizing, it can make it harder to not only achieve your goals but also makes your overall performance much more difficult.
I find when I use a weekly planner I am able to focus on the things I need to get done in an order that is easier for me to achieve and it helps keep me on track with a schedule. When working on projects, I have a tendency to jump from one idea to another without some type of organization.
They relieve stress.
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that there is one thing I do not like to let control my life-stress. As someone who was diagnosed with two health issues that feed off of stress, I try to make sure I do as much as I can to alleviate stress in my life.
That is one of the reasons I love using weekly planners. When I consistently use my weekly planner, I notice it is a lot harder for me to get stressed about my week.
That is because everything I need to do is neatly organized and planned ahead, allowing me to focus on what I need to get done, and thus giving me more control of my time. Now we all know that lack of control is a big stress causer.
You can increase productivity.
One of the first things I noticed when I first started using a planner was that I was able to get more stuff done. By writing down everything that I needed to work on for the week, I was able to prioritize my workload, allowing me to focus on important tasks.
I also found that I was able to fly through my projects because I wasn’t trying to figure out what to do and I could just focus on finishing them. This was a big time saver for me.
You will feel accomplished.
Did you know that studies have shown that those who see their goals in writing are more likely to accomplish them? This works the same as a weekly planner.
When you have all your projects, plans, and goals written down for the week, you are not only able to accomplish them, but as you tick off each one of your tasks, you will feel a sense of accomplishment.
How to use a weekly planner effectively?
There are no specific rules for using a weekly planner, but there are some tips I like to use to help make sure that using my planner is as stress-free as possible.
- Pick a specific time to write down everything in your planner. I prefer to write down everything before I go to bed, because this is when, for some reason, my brain is overloaded with thoughts.
- Be consistent. If you aren’t consistent in anything, you are much more likely to have a harder time developing a routine.
- Be patient with yourself. Just like it is important to be consistent, it is just as important to be patient with yourself. Developing any new habits takes time, and this, like any known thing, will take time for you to get into the groove.
What can I write in my weekly planner?
You can use your weekly planner for many different things, from planning to track. These are some of the things I like to keep a note of in my weekly planner.
- to-do lists
- unfinished tasks
- new ideas
- family activities
- important dates
- appointments
- meetings
- phone calls you need to make
- things you need to cancel
- morning routines
- habits to track – self-care, medications, water intake, etc.
- meals to track
- exercise tracking
- water tracking
- grocery list
- brain dumping – write anything that comes to mind.
Free Weekly Planner Printable
Here is your FREE weekly planner. Click on the image below to download it. For more FREEBIES, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.
Do you already use a weekly planner? I would love to hear your tips or tricks in the comments below!
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