Master Time for Artist: The Use of a Traditional Planner
In my article, Master Time for Artists: Tools and Techniques for Artists to Boost Productivity, we cover several options to help you plan your day more effectively and maximize your productivity.
One of those options was a Traditional Planner.
This is my go-to method for planning out everything I have to get done during each week. I custom-designed my planner in 2014 and have been tweaking it every time I print out a new quarter, making me more organized and productive.
When looking for a planner, consider your needs. Will an academic planner work for your purposes with seven daily sections on a two-page spread with lined boxes? Do you need a separate sheet for each day? Are you going to need a more specialized planner with a section where you can write your big three or five for each day? Do you want the dates already written in, or would you like to start at any time?
Each of these options has good flexibility, but they may not have everything you need.
A weekly planner with boxes for each day is good if you only have one or two things planned for each day.
A single-day spread has more space, and some have an appointment section where you can add your appointments along with your to-do list.
A more specialty planner with a daily spread for your top three or five things you have to get done for the day is great. I’ve used many of these planners and highly recommend trying one out if you’ve never used one before.
Two planners that I have enjoyed using with this design are Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner and the Panda Planner. I first started with the Panda Planner and moved to the Focus Planner. I found a lot of value in the work-up pages in the Focus Planner and the review pages. Both of these planners are a great size for a backpack or purse, keeping your tasks at your fingertips.
A couple of things I find very valuable in a planner are the ability to write down all my tasks and appointments, and a place for notes.
Getting everything you need to do for the week down on paper is how you make sure you get it all done.
Once you’ve found the right planner for you, this may take some time. Don’t feel bad if you get a planner and realize it doesn’t fit your needs. There are a billion and one planners on the market because one size does NOT fit all. Go through the planner. Read all the intro pages if they have them. Write the dates you plan to use the planner if it is undated. Get out your colored pens and start color-coding if that is your thing. Try it out.
Next, write down all your appointments at this time. Write in all the birthdays, holidays, special events, and any other scheduled things you know of, so you can plan accordingly when it comes time to put in your tasks.
When I start planning a new week, I review the last one. I have one sheet of to-dos for my home life and one for my business. I go through each day and see what I got done and what tasks I have to push to the new week.
After I’ve recorded any tasks from the previous week, I look at the new things I need to get done for the coming week. I add any new appointments that have come up and see how much time I have each day to get my tasks done.
Some of my tasks recur each week. I have to pick out meals and grocery shop each week. I have my normal days for doing this, but if an appointment interferes, if my husband has the day off, or if something else comes up, I have to put it on a new day. This is always on my to-do list, but the day I complete it keeps fluctuating. You may have to-dos that fall into this category as well, and that is okay.
Given the time I have each day and the tasks I need to complete, I start organizing my to-dos in my planner. If there is something extremely important I have to get done, I try to do that task on Monday, no later than Tuesday, so I don’t push the tasks, and they never get done.
When my planning session is all done, all my tasks have been assigned a place during the week, and I know what I will be working on each morning before I even get started.
These simple planning sessions save me a lot of time by helping me figure out what I’ll do each day. It also helps me know that everything I need to get done in a week has an assigned day. Thus, it prevents me from worrying about whether everything will get done.
Now it is your turn. Drop by your local stationery store and pick up a planner, buy a Full Focus or Panda Planner, or even download a blank of my planner page I used to make my custom planner by clicking here.
Once in hand, get your dates and appointments written in and start data-dumping all the tasks you have to get done.
Here is to a happy week of planned tasks and lots of productivity.
To find out when I drop the next post discussing each of the planning methods stated in the article, Master Time for Artists: Tools and Techniques for Artists to Boost Productivity, please sign up for my newsletter. I won’t bug you, and I never share your information. I will send you a quick weekly email with updates on the blog, the artwork I am working on, and new items available in my store.
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