How to Use a Planner

Last week, I wrote about how a planner can be useful in scheduling your school day. This week I want to share some tips to maximize the helpfulness of a planner.  

Relevance 

One of the first things you want to do is choose a planner that will be relevant to you. For example, if you are really creative, a planner that has lots of space for imagination and customization might be great for you. Or if you like to have all your activities in one place, a planner with a lot of extras (like habit trackers, to-do lists, spaces for writing class times, etc.) might be helpful for you. The planner that I have this year is pretty straightforward with a space for monthly notes, birthdays, and important dates; a monthly calendar with enough space for writing in events; and a weekly spread with 3 boxes per day. I like my planner to be specific in where things should go and not as dependent on my creativity, so that kind of spread works well for me. Also, think about your goals with your planner- if you want to plan your schoolwork, don’t go for the planner that is meant for budgeting. Student planners are also great for high school if you can find one that fits your needs. They tend to have more extras in them which some people like, but others might find them overwhelming or unnecessary.  

My planner’s first page for the month

Color Coding 

Even if you wouldn’t classify yourself as creative, color coding is a great way to organize your schedule. I like to assign a color to each of my subjects at the beginning of the year. Then, I use a pen that matches that color whenever I write assignments for that subject. For instance, this year, math is pink, biology is purple, Latin is blue, government is green, English is yellow, and programming is red. When I am writing in a Latin assignment for a certain day, I always write it in blue. That way, I only have to specify the assignment, not the subject since there’s usually limited space. I can also tell from a quick glance which subjects I will need to spend more attention on that day.  

Be Specific 

When you’re writing in your assignments for the day, don’t be too general. For example, if I need to complete a math lesson today, I’m not just going to write “lesson”. I’m going to specify which lesson I need to complete so that I can stay on track. Additionally, if I need to read something for government but I also need to work on an essay, I’m not just going to write “government homework”. I’ll probably write one assignment as “reading” and then write “essay paragraph” below that. That way, I know exactly what I need to do each day.  

Include Extracurriculars 

Make sure to write your extracurriculars in your planner too. That way you can tell from a glance what you have committed to that day and you’re not rushing to a meeting or out the door when you realize that you have a commitment in five minutes. This is also helpful in planning when to do which assignments. Maybe you have a really busy day- if your math is on the computer, you’ll have to do that while you’re in the house. But you can probably bring your government reading assignment with you in the car. 

Start Early 

Ideally, you should write out your assignments and extracurriculars at the beginning of the day. It helps to make a plan for the day before you start anything so that you can figure out the best times to do things. I don’t generally like to plan my whole week at one time though. My plans usually change, and I don’t want to confuse myself. For example, maybe I have time to do an extra English assignment on Monday. If I’ve already written the whole week down, now I have to shift things around which will probably confuse me as I’m trying to figure out what I need to do each day. I also like to keep my planner open all day so that I can add or take away assignments as needed throughout the day, depending on the amount of time I have.  

 

I hope these tips were helpful in planning your day and organizing your work!