Why I Write Things Down
I was going to add this to my mindfulness post, but I realized that this is slightly different, though for me, it serves the same purpose.
I love paper planners. I’m also not a joiner, so when I saw people posting about certain types of planners it made me not want any of those planners, and then when I did end up with one of those planners it made me never want to post about it. Is anyone else an angry, but basic, hipster in their heart or is that just me?
I think it’s a holdover from high school. I want to be unique, but sadly, I’m mostly just like everyone else. Super mainstream. A Target-loving, pumpkin-spice-consuming, athleisure-wearing woman who is apparently susceptible to pretty planners with stickers.
Okay, so I admitted to it, and now I can proceed with the post.
A lot of my adult life has been spent learning to be honest with myself about who I really am. (You know, like the fact that I LIKE mainstream things, okay?) Honesty with myself about how my brain works has been key to my writing process. Because I like to work with my brain and not against it. I can’t work the way someone else does if it runs counter to my own strengths.
I’ve never been the neatest person, and I think because of that I’ve spent a lot of time under the delusion that I’m not one for organization. I’m also deeply skeptical of ‘methods’ or ‘programs’ because in my experience, while I might start something with enthusiasm I typically fall right off the wagon and revert to type within a few months.
But especially as my kids have gotten older life has gotten a lot more chaotic. And I discovered I do not keep track of appointments that are stored in my phone. It goes in the phone and it’s invisible to me. So in a desperate bid to figure out how to get more on top of my schedule, I got myself a paper planner.
I think I stuck with the first one for 6 months. Then I fell off the wagon. And then I got a new one after missing a couple of appointments, and this time I lasted eight months.
This year I finally jumped hard into the Erin Condren planners (which, yes, I was avoiding because EVERYONE had those) but it has been the best layout for me, by far. It makes me feel a lot more organized, and a lot more prepared for the week ahead.
So why does this work for me?
I think for a few reasons, and most of them come back to the principle of mindfulness, and being in the moment.
If I sit, and take the time to write out what’s coming in the week ahead, and what my work goals are, it doesn’t feel like interruptions are hitting me every few minutes and throwing me off my game.
I hate it when my week/day doesn’t go how I expect it to. I find that I’m much better off when I have a whole calendar in front of me, with all the upcoming appointments and deadlines, right there so I can build in a general expectation of what’s coming up. And spending an hour or so on Sunday night looking over the week ahead and making a game plan, then writing it out, really cements it for me.
When I don’t writing things out, it’s easy for me to feel like there’s a big, fuzzy ball of BUSYNESS somewhere out there in front of me. I don’t know what all has to get done, I only know that it feels like a lot.
Writing it out, breaking it down, is really helpful for me. It helps me stare down those events that are making me feel overwhelmed, helps me break my tasks into chunks that are manageable, rather than a static ball of anxiety.
So what kind of things do I write in my planner?
I write out a basic meal plan that I often don’t stick to exactly, but it’s nice to not have the specter of: what will we have for dinner? hanging over my head.
I write my goals for the month, and then when the month is over I write out everything I did. What I knitted, if I tried new recipes, what I read, what I watched on Netflix, if we went on any fun family outings, and how much I wrote.
My month view of all my deadlines and appointments.
Weekly and daily tasks.
So it’s pretty basic, but it really helps me get my head on straight and get life broken up into manageable tasks, and it helps me remember what I have on my plate for the coming days.
Have you found a method that works for you?
