Sometimes, organizing the things that are currently going on in your life can be a bit much. To help with this, you can choose to develop your own or to subscribe to a planning system. There are different kinds available and that’s what we’ll be breaking down for you.
Define your needs
Before we get too in-depth into anything else, it’s important to figure out what you need and what this planning system is for. This will determine what features add value to the flow you want to achieve. Are you looking for something more specific like a system that will help you track and monitor content development? Or more of a system that will help you track your developments in terms of health and fitness? Maybe you are looking for something that is more focused on finance and stability. Or maybe you’re looking for a bit of everything or something that isn’t as focused and as rigid? These are just some of the questions that you would need to find answers to. It might seem like a hassle but once you have your system set up, it would definitely pay off.
Planner vs. Bullet Journal
Let’s start with planners! Planners are organizational tools that already provide the framework for being organized. Pre-printed layouts are common in planners. This saves you time because everything is ready to use when you receive it. Most planners are directly focused on helping you manage your time and activities. The drawback of having a ready-to-use planning tool is that customization is limited. Even the amount of room available for taking notes is limited. This means you might need a separate notebook for anything that isn’t a task or an appointment.
Bullet journals, on the other hand, is a system developed by designer Ryder Carroll. According to him, it is an “analog system designed to track the past, organize the present, and plan the future”. The goal of the bullet journal is to have a flexible planning system for all of the things that are important to you and not have multiple planners for all of the things that you want to focus on. However, the downside of developing one is the amount of time it takes to develop your own system. It can be overwhelming because there are a lot of different ways on how to use one properly. It’s important to anchor yourself to what the bullet journal is for.
Conclusion
Because it’s a planning system, this is something that you should commit to. But remember that even if it’s a planner, multiple planners, or a single bullet journal, these are tools that should help you. They’re not supposed to add additional unnecessary work and stress of keeping up with maintaining them. You don’t have to stick to a system that doesn’t work for you and you can always start over. Try different planner samples and journaling methods for a week or a month straight. Then, reassess if it is adding value to your life before fully committing to it.
