I have been creating lists to help me keep track of everything from my life’s goals to my daily to-do's for most of my life. When I was younger, my lists were basically a long list of things I needed to do. As I gained more responsibility in my career, I needed more than a simple to-do list to organize my ever-growing work load.
Over the course of my twenty-year career, I was fortunate to learn (and try out!) many frameworks for organizing and managing my workload and the workload of my teams. A few years ago, I discovered and began routinely using a bullet journal. In the words of the creator, Ryder Carrol, a bullet journal is meant “to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.”
I loved that starting a bullet journal was as easy as picking up a notebook and a pen and that everything (to dos, meal planning, journaling, brainstorming, note taking, etc.) was in one place. That was a major simplifier!
As a visual/tactile person, I found that writing the headers of "gratitude" and "to do" triggered my brain into action. It was also therapeutic. As a new disciple of the bullet journal movement, I shared my enthusiasm with my co-workers, my team and my closest friends.
Some people loved the idea and jumped on board, while others either started and stopped or didn't start at all.
After digging in and asking questions, I learned that some people preferred prompts so they could just "fill out a sheet" rather than start out with a blank sheet while others preferred everything electronic. With that knowledge, I created templates for my team and … they were a hit!
Fast-forward to today. The Neat Little Planner is a set of printables that are personal adaptations of different frameworks I've loved over the years as well as a few new ideas designed to help you organize your time. Highlights of how the Neat Little Planner is laid out are shown below. You can purchase an instant download in the shop section here. Enjoy.
It starts with VISION
The first exercise in the Neat Little Planner is to assess and write your goals for a Level 10 Life. This exercise helps you envision and put the widest view of your life down on paper. A study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams simply by writing them down on a regular basis.
Then, CHUNK it down.
With your vision in hand, drill down and create your action plans. The Monthly Success Planner provides a framework for you to start drilling down by planning out a month. It has space for you to write a vision statement along with a solid framework for writing down what's important, what's urgent, and what can wait. Additionally, the Monthly Planner Spread gives you a sneak peak at what's coming up and space to reflect on your accomplishments.
And CHUNK it down again.
With your monthly focus clear, it is easier to divide work into the tasks you need to accomplish in a week. The Weekly Success Planner provides you with a framework to help you focus on what you'd like to accomplish in one week's time. There is space for you to plan out your work, brainstorm meals, track habits, take notes and write down an inspirational message to help motivate you for the week!
And then plan each day with confidence.
The Daily Success Planner helps you focus on two important areas each day - gratitude and to-do's. Gratitude is included in the daily planner as studies have shown the benefits of a daily gratitude practice including an overall feeling of happiness and less depression. Isn't that what we're all looking for?
There is also space for you to write down the lists of tasks you need to accomplish and space for an inspirational message to start the day and space to write your thoughts on how the day went at the end.
In the coming weeks, I will be doing deeper dive blog posts into each of these elements to help you get started and make the most of the pages for you.
To shop the collection, you can find it here.