I find my planner reflects me. It documents what I care about and often reflects how I’m doing. When I’m having a flare up or I’m particularly stressed, the pages are fairly blank. But my planner has become an invaluable tool for finding balance and going after resources to help me live better.
Simplifies Paperwork
I have talked about all the paperwork that is involved with business and dealing with government benefits. There is a lot of paperwork with strict deadlines. Because of these recurring pieces of paperwork, I’ve been able to take my planner and simplify filling those bits out. By taking a few minutes more to make these pages and update them, I’m saved hours of pouring over old statements and documents to find that information.
Along the same lines, I have previously transformed those planner entries into paperwork. Whether it’s using the table I create in my planner to stand as my paperwork or turning in actual pages for my disability hearing, having those pages ready to go has helped me to get and keep resources.
Seeing Trends
It’s pretty amazing what writing things down can bring to the forefront of your attention. Whether it’s identifying a trigger, seeing your priorities, or noticing habits, keeping track of your life allows you to see things you would miss otherwise. Because of my planner, I could notice that I had more issues with seizures on days where I didn’t eat lunch. As someone with ADHD, I often forget about eating lunch until about dinner time. By noticing the trend, I could make a more conscious effort to actually eat during the day and even set up my office with an array of snacks.
Organizing The Chaos
I have a kid in school, various doctor appointments for myself and my kid, and a terrible habit of not connecting the date with the day of the week. There is a lot on my calendar that is important to pay attention to, that would get lost or forgotten in the jumble of my brain. By keeping a planner, I’m able to see what is actually happening and prevent myself from doing things like saying “Yeah, I can’t think of anything on Wednesday” when I have a doctor’s appointment on the 29th. With all the demand for attention, it’s helpful to have a place to write it all down and even pause a moment to decide if it’s really worth writing.
Those are some ways I use a planner to find balance. Can you think of anything I missed? Add your tips to the comments or include a spread from your planner.
