How to Make the Most Out of Your Academic Planner
An academic planner supercharges your entire year while keeping the overwhelm at bay. Instead of storing everything in multiple planners and digital downloads, a central academic planner keeps your entire life organized. Studies also show that writing things down leads to better productivity, clarity, and focus.
Grab your planner and get ready to organize your life. Not sure where to start? Here's how to make the most out of your academic planner.
Make it a Habit
Filling in a brand new academic planner is a thrilling prospect for some people and overwhelming for others. Rest assured, there is no right or wrong way to how you feel about the task of getting started with your planner.
However you feel about using your new academic planner, the first steps are the same. Take action and make it a habit. Set aside ten minutes every day to work exclusively in your academic planner. You can always keep going and put in more time if you're feeling inspired. And if you need a break, you've put in your ten minutes, and your planner homework for the day is done.
Prioritize Your Schedule
The beauty of an academic planner is how much you can store and organize in it. But it's wise to start with the basics. Map out your schedule and most important tasks first. You'll end up with more clarity about the most urgent tasks at hand and how to proceed.
Think About Your Stressors
It's never fun thinking about your key stressors in life, but writing them down and coming up with a system to deal with them is empowering. If meal planning puts you into a tailspin, make room for the task in your planner and face those stressors.
Chart out a few basic meals and then lean to take-out or your usual standbys for the rest of the week. As you get more comfortable with those stressors, you'll be able to integrate them into your academic planner on a regular basis.
Chart Out Your Goals
An academic planner is a powerful tool to practice organization but can also be used to chart out your goals. Our goals take more meaning and clarity when we write them down and see how to approach them. Whether you're trying to get fit or hit a financial plan, you can use your planner to keep track of your progress and the steps involved.
Consider Pet Projects
No rule says your academic planner must be used for daily responsibilities and tasks. You can also use your favorite planner to track your pet projects. Volunteer work, book clubs, a home renovation, or exploration of a new hobby are all fun ways to use your planner to blend work and play.
Personalize Your Academic Planner
Academic planners should inspire you to stay organized and take action. You can make it as straightforward or as fun as you want. Use different colored pens for various tasks or weeks to give your eyes more visual clues and context.
Keep It Realistic
Your academic planner is a tool that should leave you feeling empowered. If your schedule and goals are so unrealistic you can't possibly meet them; you'll abandon your planner and go back to unorganized chaos. Make your planner an honest reflection of your life that keeps you focused and motivated.
Live Out Your Routine
Making the most of your academic planner by taking action and living out your routine. Charting out your routine only goes so far without acting on it. Be brave! Take your planner and use it as a way to stay on task. Put one foot in front of the other until your day and week are done.
Forget Perfection
Has this ever happened to you? You zealously fill in your academic planner but then realize it's not accurate or realistic and just want to throw it out and start over?
Remember, there's no such thing as perfection. Our lives aren't perfect, and neither are our planners. Embrace all the tools and resources you have available to organize and bring more calm into your life and let go of the idea of perfection.
Next Steps
Ready to take control of your life and make the most of your academic planner? Shop Paper & Co.'s selection of products here and feel empowered again.