How I effectively use a planning

[sjoti]

Hey guys, 

 

Like many of you, I have dealt with gaming addiction and procrastination.  I am now over 2 months in my detox and I have been working on myself actively for about a year. One of the things that took me long to figure out is a method of planning that fit me. I'm hoping that I can share some of the experiences I've had with you guys so you can figure out how to do it yourselves, especially now that most of you guys have a lot of time on your hands and you need to know how to spend it. 

 

Why I use this planning:

A planning is crucial for me because I need structure to keep myself under control. Next to that I can let others know what they can expect from me. I can let people know what my schedule is most likely going to look like However, it does need to be dynamic. Sometimes the weather influences outdoor activities I planned, sometimes studying takes longer than expected and screws up a part of the planning while on some other days cleaning the house takes much shorter and I know have free time available that I can spend in a way that leaves me with more free time later. Also, sometimes life can just happen. A planning can only be effective if it can change when an exception is needed. If it doesn't change your whole planning will fall apart.

I dealt with this by making myself a physical planning that takes a super hands-on and visual approach. I tried writing it down in an agenda but I am not able to move stuff around there so that failed for me. Next to that I found that an agenda was easy to ignore. I had no idea how far I was by taking a direct look at it. 

So I made my own system. I looked at some ideas of how people follow their progress and figured it out on my own. I took a big whiteboard and a TON of post-its. This is the result of my planning that I've been using for the past 4 months. 

The planning and how it works:

Usually, it is a bit more full, I just filled it for the day to make sure it's a bit more clear and not too overwhelming. 

Let's start at the top:

The different colors on top with the text below it just show me what every color means. Then from left to right are the days of the week and from left top to bottom are the hours of a day (I use blocks of 2 hours, I can change that around a bit by using folded or cut post-its). 

The yellow cards are different than the others, but I'll get to that in a bit.

If I finish doing something on a card I take it off. When I look at the board and I notice that it's quite empty I know I am doing well. If I don't finish something then that means a yellow note or an empty spot needs to go, so I am reminded that not doing something takes in free time. 

The yellow notes are more or less my free time; what I write on it is more or less a suggestion to myself. Works really well If I'm a little bit out of ideas. 

At the end of the week, I rebuild my board. If I fucked up and have a ton of post-its left then I know what I have to do; I have to move them to next week. If I then look at the board I notice that there is barely any left on the board I know it's going to be a tough week. 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2016 by sjoti

[usernameforworldpeace!]

It looks amazing @sjoti.  Thanks for sharing, it's sure to inspire people (like me!)

 

[sjoti]

It looks amazing @sjoti.  Thanks for sharing, it's sure to inspire people (like me!)

 

Glad to hear it! 

If I inspired someone somehow please let me now! 

[Hitaru]

That looks awesome. You took two of the most useful items ever created and combined them in one glorious time managing machine.

Awesome! 

[Gtx1990]

Your plan is amazing.i have a different plan from yours,whereby mine is reminders and daily task to get by the days and weeks.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Gtx1990
Show my reminders