#planning tips

[ariaxco]

⋆ planning tips that actually helped when nothing else worked ♡

i’m not talking about planners, cute layouts, or waking up at 5am. these are the planning habits that helped when motivation was low and my brain felt full already!!

plan energy, not time

instead of asking “when will i do this”, ask “what kind of energy does this need”. some things need focus, some need calm, some need zero thinking. match tasks to how you usually feel, not to the clock

decide in advance what you’re allowed to drop

every week, i pick one thing that’s optional. if the week gets messy, that’s the first thing to go. this stops the spiral of feeling like you failed everything

keep a “later but not now” list

this is for ideas, goals, random motivation bursts. writing them down somewhere separate stops you from overloading today with things that don’t belong there yet

plan for friction

most plans fail because we assume everything will go smoothly. add buffer time, expect delays, assume low focus days exist. planning with realism feels way kinder

break tasks by stopping point, not start

instead of “work on essay”, plan “stop after outline” or “stop after one page”. knowing where you’re allowed to stop makes starting easier

don’t plan every day the same

some days are good for thinking, some for doing, some for catching up. labeling days loosely helps you stop forcing productivity when it’s not there

review plans quietly

once a week, look at what actually happened without judging it. what worked stays, what didn’t gets adjusted. no punishment, no dramatic reset

use planning to reduce thinking, not add to it

if a system makes you think more, it’s not helping. good planning should make decisions automatic, not heavier

planning isn’t about control. it’s about giving future you fewer decisions to stress about. when it feels lighter, you’re doing it right ♡

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[honeytonedhottie]

how im preparing for 2025⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🍬💕

MY MANIFESTING LIST ;

every year i always make a list of the things that i wanna manifest in 2025, i dont always complete it in the first sitting bcuz i add onto it as the year progresses but i like to have a basic framework of everything that im manifesting in that year.

also along with my manifest list for 2025, i also create a 2025 vision board because it motivates me and reminds me of all the amazing things that im going to experience in 2025.

REFLECTING ON THIS YEAR ;

so in my notion i have a section called the 'monthly digest' where every single month i break down the 4 weeks of the month and everything that i did in them in relation to my goals. after every month i write a little summary.

so with that being said i have a LOT to go back to and reflect on so that i can see what i accomplished this year and what i can do better in the next year. this reflection system that i have is so helpful so i'll set one up for 2025 so that i can also have that at my disposal.

BREAKING UP THE NEXT YEAR ;

i break up my year into 4 quarters (each lasting 3 months) that way i can see my year broken up and i have a clear plan and i can be organized. quarter one (january - march) quarter two (april - june) so on and so forth. and after every quarter i do a little analysis.

something else that i wanna try for next year is giving myself quarterly themes. like for each quarter of the year i'll focus on a different aspect of myself, i think that could be fun…💬🎀

PREPARATIONS ;

im wrapping up some things like my projects, assignments and things of that nature so that i can go into the next year on a clean slate. furthermore im making plans for new years eve, and january and making sure that i've already set some things in motion.

all in all, with everything in motion and everything set in place im going into the new year INCREDIBLY confident 💕📔

[phoenixplans]

Your brain forgets. Your planner should remember.

Most advice assumes you need better sections. Prettier layouts.

But here's what happens when I'm overwhelmed.

My brain deletes the evidence.

I call this "capacity amnesia." 

When stress hits, I forget I've survived hard things before. My capacity vanishes from memory. Every new challenge feels impossible, even if I did the same thing last week.

So I don't use my planner to guilt myself into doing more.

I use it to build "Capacity Receipts." 

This is my memory backup.

I write down the task. How impossible it felt to start.

Then I log the time it took to finish.

When I'm spiraling next week?

I flip back.

I see the receipt.

→ "Felt impossible"

→ "Done in 20 mins"

Past-me testifying against the lies present-me tells.

Structure helps you execute. Structure also helps you stay sane.

Does your brain delete your wins when you're stressed?

Like and share this if you need more receipts and less guilt. 

[mental-mona]

Celebrate JDAIM in February | The Jewish Educator Portal

Tips and Tricks for supporting people with disabilities in programs and events in honor of JDAIM.

[emily-studies]

hey guys! I am a big planner and I love to plan in advance of everything.

I am taking the SAT in june 2021 and i decided to show you all how i plan. I know it is a bit overkill planning 6 months in advance but you can never be too prepared!

to start, i have two options for everyone: notion or google docs.

Notion is a free note taking app that i absolutely love and is using.

Google docs a free web based note taking site

you can use other programs or plan all of this on paper but these are the two i recommend.

how i plan:

1. Gather your supplies

at first i ordered all the prep books i needed which  are what i based my study schedule around.

2. Add up all the chapters and divide it by weeks remaining

if you are in a time crunch, i would add up all the chapters you need to finish and divide it by the amount of weeks you have left.

for example: if you had 36 chapters you need to get through but you only had 4 weeks.

36/4 - 9 chapters per week (which seems a bit extreme so plan accordingly)

but if you are like me and like to plan in advance, work backwards. Pick how many chapters you would like to complete per week and work backwards from the test date. Make sure to included plenty of days for practice tests too!

3. Write out a rough draft on google docs.

you can skip this step but i wrote down all the chapters and what i need to do on a google doc.

as you can see i separated the math section from the reading & writing. i also separated it by prep books too! this is super helpful in organization and gives it a cleaner look.

4. Add into notion

if you use notion to plan out your entire life like me, this step is essential! I basically made a whole new page dedicated to  sat prep and i important all my plans and divided into weeks.

I also included a monthly overview.

I hope this helps you on your SAT/ACT tests and gives at least a bit of structure to your study routine! 

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[365text]

{ 2020 quarantine challenge :: day 1 } how i plan my days + my “study” schedule

basically a wEek in the LiFe of a bErkEley (graduating) senior + deep dive into how i plan and remember each day i spend in quarantine while still attending ~*zoom university*~ !! yeet

• an introduction •

because i spend a lot of time online, i find that my google calendar is the quickest and easiest way for me to manage my time !! though i use my planner / bullet journal on a daily basis to manage my TODOs (+ to journal), i find that gcal gives me the best flexibility and efficiency when it comes to actually planning out and scheduling my day!

the fact that i can check it on my phone while i’m on the go (hurray @ integration across devices) also helped a lot when i was still on-campus and didn’t have the ability to take out my planner from my backpack. and even now in quarantine, when i don’t want to be on my laptop, i can just quickly glance at whatever mobile device to see what i need to do next!

but ya, here comes a (very long) breakdown of how i use this system to keep my days goin’ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 

(1) color coding + customizations

i am, as many of my friends have pointed out, an aggressive color-coder 👀 i just really like to be able to look at my calendar at the start of the day and have a good idea of what kind of things i need to take care of! to go through my separate calendars/categories in (reverse) order:

bright red (tests) || to remind me when my exams are, not that i’d forget 🤪

light gray (school) || all things school related! classes, student orgs, meetings, etc.

bright blue (teaching duties) || class i’m a TA for

dark blue (csm, aka more teaching) || student org i’m a part of

orange (exercise) || everything health + wellness related

yellow (events) || all my non-school related Events™ that i schedule (ie. socials, calls with friends, anything rly a step from a ~regular daily activity~)

maroon (chinese hw) || hw + projects assignment due dates

light green (daily) || my day-to-day activities

i like having separate categories correspond to colors that i associate with them too! bright red for alarm (exams lmao), light gray for school (muted, in the background hah), light green for daily (because it’s also more muted/in the background, but still prominent enough that i’ll notice it heh), and yellow for fun! events! (because it’s warm and cheerful). 

(2) separate calendars customization

most of my colors correspond to separate calendars, partially because it’s faster to create a color-coded event if you have it in a separate calendar! at least, it is on desktop heh. and also! i find that it’s easier to customize more things on an individual calendar basis:

notifications: each calendar/category has different notification settings. my “tests” calendar reminds me 1 week + 2 weeks in advance, "school” is just 10 min. in advance, whereas “daily” has no reminders at all! i customized these settings according to how often i felt like i needed help remember when certain things were.

colors (lol): in case it wasn’t obvious, colors matter a lot to me LOL. you can choose your own custom colors if it’s a separate calendar, and you can only use the google calendar default colors if you’re “recoloring” an existing calendar event.

display: it’s nice to also be able to toggle on/off various calendars!

but ya those are the main reasons why i use separate calendars instead of just recoloring the events in a single calendar!

(3) creating structure

because as a college student we usually have a good amount of free/flexible time, i find creating structure to be very important for me — and this is true for almost all students now during times in quarantine, when everything is kind of up in the air / go-at-your-own-pace. 

i feel like the nice thing about being a student is that we usually have repeating events, so i like to set recurring calendar events to help create a regular structure on a weekly basis. usually i sit down at the start of the semester with my schedule/syllabi and just add everything in one go. 

and now in quarantine, even if you aren’t given a schedule to follow and if working with a schedule is helpful for you, then creating that structure yourself is a nice way of adding consistency and stability back into your life :’)

the first calendar photo is how my gcal looks at the start of the week before any planning happens!

(4) time blocking

i once read that time blocking (re: setting aside chunks of time for a single task) is optimal for efficiency / mental energy. typically it’s easier for people to focus on one task for an extended period of time (with breaks) than it is to multitask or context-switch super often.

i also find that sometimes my schedule has weird gaps in it, due to the way my mandatory events are set up. so time blocking has helped me determine when i can get certain things done, or if i just wanna take a break in my awkward 30 min. gap between meetings!

the way that i time block is usually:

write in my planner all my (intended) TODOs + goals for the day

look at my calendar for the day + start planning when i’ll do which TODOs using my (default) calendar DAILY 

i only plan the day of in my google calendar, because things change and who knows how much i’ll actually get done ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯ also it’s a relaxing thing for me to sit there and journal/plan before i get started with my day hehe. a morning ritual, in a sense!

it also makes it a lot less stressful to look at my calendar, because i only ever look at the current day i’m on and what to do on that particular day. the interface of google calendar makes it really easy for me to drag events around and update time estimates as the day progresses too!

i also find it very useful for me to see what it’s actually possible to get done in my day, since sometimes my TODO list can be a lil’ too ambitious (oops 😋)

(5) daily logs + journaling

and lastly, i have some friends who have completely forgone their gcals since things moved online, but i have actually leaned on it even more —

one reason is all the stuff i listed above (structure, efficiency, also just habit at this point haha). but another really important reason to me is the logging that my gcal calendar creates! since i just spend every day at home, i feel like days were passing by a lot more quickly + in a blur, and by “writing down” everything i did/planned to do on gcal, i’m able to remember what i’ve been doing during these really interesting times o:

it helps me when i journal at the end of the day / the next morning, because i just look back at my gcal to reference what things i did, and then journal about how i felt about those activities.

• the ending •

aaaaand that’s it!

my super long documentation on how i’ve managed my time these past few years in college + in this 2020 quarantine era :’)

[knowledgestudies]

Academic Planner Setup Tips

There are many ways to set up an academic planner. Here are some of my best tips based on how I used my own academic planner these past few years: 

Use the monthly overview calendar pages and don’t forget to refer to these pages everyday. This is a good place to record exam dates, assignment and group project deliverable due dates, dates of professional events and their locations, and dates of non-academic/personal events (such as family events).

Have a weekly to-do list for specific tasks. Ask yourself exactly what you need to get done to make the task as specific as possible. This will help you break down your work in manageable steps. For example, if you have to work on individual assignments or group projects, it might be helpful to record tasks such as conducting steps of the relevant research process, writing your specific part of the group project, editing an individual/group paper or other project materials, and meeting up for group project discussions and their locations. And if you have assessments to study for and/or need to schedule personal studying time, you might find it beneficial to record tasks such as creating study guides and flashcards for the specific chapters you have to study for, especially if there has been a change in the syllabus, and meeting up for partner or group study sessions and their locations.

Record your tasks or appointments on each relevant day. These might include meeting with a teacher or professor during office hours and running academic or non-academic tasks. If you don’t have specific tasks for that particular day, revise your tasks for the week to account for any progress you might have made! 

Record tasks for your daily routine each day as well. You will feel so much better having been able to be productive and you will also maintain good work-life balance.

Have a self-care activity planned for each day. While it is important to be academically productive, it is equally important to unwind and relax after a stressful day. Try to mix it up so you have something new to look forward to every day!

You should definitely experiment and see what process and layout works for you. I hope this is helpful, and as always, please leave some of your own tips below in the comments! Happy planning!