“Don’t look in it, don’t touch it and absolutely do NOT write in it.”
My exact thoughts when it comes to defending my planner.
You know you’re a college student when a simple, ordinary notebook with empty lines and spaces for notes and calendars inside equates to the sacred book that contains your mental and emotional sanity. With a busy schedule; balancing clubs/organizations, school and still maintaining a social life — my brain cannot seem to remember half of the stuff it should. So, I write it down… every single little thing. With that being said, here’s a little peak into my daily life, how I use my planner to my full advantage and how you can take these tips to happily plan your busy days.
Plan ahead. Planning ahead for the week or better yet, the month, if you can, is so helpful. Take some time out of the day before a new month arrives to fill in any dates you already know with events that are upcoming. That way whenever you open your planner you won’t draw blanks for what is meant for specific days. Add as you go to save your brain the hassle of forgetting.
Colors. I’m a genuinely happy person but always stressed about something. If we’re being honest, although my planner plans my life down to the millisecond it can still be stressful when I open and see black ink scribbled everywhere. So in order to make it a little more presentable and happier to look at, I use different color highlighters (pens work too) to color code everything. I have certain subjects linked to certain subjects and then non-school related things simply written in black ink. The colors add a little pop and make everything easier to decipher.
Size Matters. The size of the planner, I mean. This past year, when it was time for the fall semester to start I had to, of course, purchase a brand new planner. This time I decided to get a full notebook size one. Although it can take up some extra bag space, It helps because you’ll NEVER forget it. It’s too big to go unnoticed, and it allows for more writing space. With more space, the less clutter the calendar blocks will look and it’ll be easy to fit it all in and look as clean as possible.
Writing Utensil of Choice. I know, sounds stupid but using my favorite pen to write down all of my to-do’s seems to always make this process that much more satisfying. My utensil of choice: a simple black G-2 gel pen. (If you don’t have a favorite pen to write with, you’re lying).
Those four things alone allow my planning to be that much more satisfying. Finding the most relieving way will not only let yourself de-stress by realizing what needs to be done in the day, week or month even but, it can also be a small moment of mental clarity to get organized and feel put together.