Karen Brown Tyson

Tag: #writingproductivity

How To Use A Daily Planner Effectively + Free Printable Template

Do you wish you could get more done during the week? Do you have great ideas that never seem to come to life? If you answered yes, it might be time to add a daily planner to your life.

Whether you use a paper or digital planner, writing your goals, ideas, and plans is a great way to organize your week and get more done.

If you need help starting or keeping a planner, fear not, because here is a list of tips you can use.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost, if you purchase using the links.

Practice consistency

Keeping a daily planner can be exciting and fulfilling. You faithfully log important dates, events, and goals in the early days. Then life happens. Before you know it, your planner is in the corner collecting dust.

Lack of consistency is one of the reasons people lose interest in keeping a daily planner. But consistency is the key.

Studies show that to develop a new habit, you need to do it consistently for it to take effect.

If you fail to use your planner daily, it’s easy to fall out of habit and stop using it altogether.

One of the ways I stay consistent in writing in my planner is by keeping it with me. I also keep it in places where I see it every day. This reminds me to keep writing in it and helps me make it a part of my daily routine.

Record as much as you can

People tend to think they can remember a whole host of minor details and facts in the confines of their heads. I used to be one of those people.

But the experience taught me that it could be hard to keep track when I have multiple tasks ahead of me, such as appointments, holidays, meetings, and even grocery shopping.

Research shows that we remember things better when we write things down. I learned to take the time to write down all of the events I have going on. As a result, I can free up my mind to think about more important things. Ultimately, I felt l less overwhelmed and more at ease.

Keeping a planner not only helps you to stay organized but can give you a clearer head too.

Use a smaller-sized planner

If you’re worried about carrying a large planner, consider keeping a smaller-sized planner. A smaller planner can fit more easily in your backpack or a handbag.

Large, bulky desk planners can be aesthetically pleasing, but they’re just not as practical.

By choosing a planner that is more compact, you can take notes on the go.

As new tasks or activities come up throughout the day, you can whip out your smaller-sized planner on the spot.

Don’t stress about filling it in

Many people think that it’s pointless having a planner if they don’t fill in every available space, but this isn’t the case.

Your planner should be a direct reflection of your life. Some weeks might be empty, but others might be packed with tasks, events, or reminders. Enjoy the weeks when you don’t have as much to do.

If you enjoy writing things down but don’t necessarily have much to fill in your planner, you should consider keeping a diary too.

This will help you jot down any thoughts and ideas floating around your head and will also help to satisfy your craving to write things down.

Personalize your daily planner

The prospect of making it look aesthetically pleasing can give you an incentive to start keeping a planner.

There are so many ways that you can spruce up a boring old planner by filling it with drawings, quotes, and stickers.

You can style it according to your unique style and taste because, after all, a planner should be a reflection of you and your daily life.

Pinterest has many ideas on how to accessorize your planner, so why not look to find some inspiration?

Use action words with each task

If you want to complete a task, use action words. This will help you get it done. Action words can include things like “create,” “organize,” and “research.” Using action words will make you more likely to complete the task.

Add a goal-tracking section

If you want to stay on top of your habits, add a goal-tracking section.

Having a goal-tracking section in your planner is an excellent way to keep track of things like how much water you drink each day or your workout schedule.

This could help provide structure to your day. The goal-tracking section helps you keep track of your plans and reminds you why they are important. You’ll be more likely to achieve these goals if they’re written and visible.

Final thoughts

Keeping a daily planner is a fantastic way to track all your tasks and activities. Over the years, I have come to love a variety of planners and notebooks. One of them is the Erin Condren LifePlanner. You can find out more by watching the video below.

Remember to have fun, no matter what type of planner you choose.

October 3, 2022
Too Unfocused To Write? How to Help Your Writing in 3 Easy Ways
Every writer, myself included, has fallen into the trap of losing focus while writing. We sit at our writing spaces, intending to get lots of writing done, but we lose focus. Before we know it, we’ve spent two hours surfing the web, and we’re nowhere close to getting anything done. If you sometimes feel too unfocused to write, I will share three easy ways to refocus your writing time to improve your writing productivity.

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Too unfocused to write? You are not alone.

When you sit down to write, do you constantly check your phone or your email? It’s no secret that distractions are all around us. Sometimes it’s the phone or doorbell ringing, while other times, it’s us pushing our writing to the side to do something else.

According to a ComScore study, we spend at least three hours on our smartphones every day. So every time we stop writing to deal with our smartphones, emails, or other unplanned distractions, it can take up to 23 minutes to recover. Whether you write full-time or part-time, your time is precious. If we’re not careful, we end up wasting more time doing other things besides writing.

Frustrated with my own unproductive writing time, I decided to monitor what was going on by tracking my steps. I paid close attention to:
- how I started each writing session,
- at what point I stopped writing,
- what types of things distracted me most, and
- how much time passed before I returned to my writing.
As a result, I decided to make several changes, but I’m sharing three easy ways to help you get your writing back on track.

The three easy ways to help refocus your writing.

1. Calendarize your writing tasks

Every morning, I write down my to-do list for the day. I only focused on the tasks I had to complete for my full-time job as a corporate communicator, eventually carrying this habit into my consulting business. But I never included my writing tasks. Without including my writing tasks as part of my daily list of things to do, I easily lost my focus.

Now, I use two tools to keep me on track. First, I use my Google calendar to write down all of my tasks for the week. As I complete tasks throughout the week, I cross them off the list. The second tool I use is a desktop whiteboard which I update at the start of each day. On my desktop whiteboard, I write down the writing tasks I plan to work on for the day.

2. Time your writing sessions

Nothing helps me focus my writing sessions more than doing sprints. As a writer, it would be great to sit down and write for three or four hours non-stop. But life happens, and like many writers, I have to devote my time to other responsibilities. To manage all of my tasks, including my writing sessions, I set a timer for each task.

I have lots of apps in my arsenals like the PomoDoneApp and BeFocusedPro (in the Apple App Store) that allow me to use an electronic timer to time my writing sessions. My favorite program is RescueTime which offers FocusTime, where I can set a timer for 30 minutes or 2 hours. Also, FocusTime automatically blocks distracting websites I might try to sneak in when I lose focus.

3. Walk away from your writing session

After calendarizing my writing tasks and timing my writing sessions, I still had one obstacle to overcome: controlling my movement. After years of sitting at a desk, I was eager to start working at a standing desk with a floor mat. Despite being eager to work in my new writing environment, I still felt the urge to walk away from my writing project when I got stuck or lost my focus.

As it turns out, studies show that getting up and walking around for five minutes every hour can help you regain focus. In the study, employees who were allowed to walk for 30-minutes before working for five-hour stretches were happier and had less fatigue than the employees who weren’t allowed to move. So I made myself a deal. After each 25-minute writing sprint, I take a five-minute break. After five consecutive 25-minute writing sessions, I take a 20-minute break. By walking away from writing, I’m able to refocus and return refreshed.

Find Your Writing Blockers

Every writer must come to terms with the potential blockers that keep them from writing. Find out what causes you to lose your focus when writing. Is your writing environment loud, uncomfortable, or distracting? Within five minutes of your writing time, are you interrupted by something? Are you too tired to write? Once you find your writing blockers, deal with them quickly, or they will rob you of your precious writing time.

[bctt tweet=”The world is waiting for you to tell your story. Don’t let us down.” username=”KBTWrites”]

For more information on how to manage your writing life, check out these articles:

How to Bend Time to Fit Writing into your Busy Life

6 Powerful Time Management Solutions for Time-Crunched Writers

10 Awesome Tips on How to Overcome Time Anxiety When Writing

I’d love to help you as you take the next steps in your writing life. To get started, complete this form to let me know about your current nonfiction writing project and needs.
May 20, 2021