I am generally a plan the whole year out kind of person. December of each year I go into lock down mode. I plan out my next year, lay the groundwork, prep and plan each month. I plan completely comfortable in the fact that my plans won't happen exactly like I plan them (life happens) but secure in the knowledge of my own flexibility. I have a plan and I have the flexibility to bob and weave with whatever the real world throws at me. This system has worked great for me in the past.
And then (dun dun duuuh) 2020.
Sometime around April it became clear that my plans weren't going to work out. Sometime around May time started slipping away from me. The middle part of this year became a sludgy blur where the days ran together in one unproductive, unhappy acrylic pour art gone wrong (google it for telling visuals).
I switched from my very unstructured Bullet journal to a planner with weekly layout. I needed the framework to try to make sense of my weeks.
Gradually, that couldn't even contain my crazy life. And so this week, I did what I recommend you do.
Take it down to one day at a time.
“How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.”- Annie Dillard
I saw this year slipping away from me. And it wasn't all about lost productivity or not meeting my goals, but about not using my time to live the life I wanted. Not creating. Not caring for others. Not enjoying the world. And yes, not getting things done and not making money.
I knew I had to take back my time. To give myself even MORE structure if I was going to make the progress on my remaining goals that I know that I can. I bought a daily planner.
Having in front of me JUST one day, the finite hours I have available to me written out in front of me (ON PAPER) is making ALL the difference. Not only can I block out what I need to be doing in each hour of my work day, but I can also keep track of what I want to be doing in my personal time. Narrowing my focus down to one day and having to create a shorter (read: more reasonable) to do list brings back the structure that I was missing in my life.
The lesson here is not necessarily that you need to buy a new planner to make it through the rest of 2020, but rather that you need to troubleshoot. What is the issue you are running up against? Knowing yourself as well as you do, what is something that helps you? I thrive on structure, when I'm having a hard time adding structure, in this case a daily planner, helps me. With a daily planner, I can match my hours up to my vision and makes sure that what I am doing today will lead me towards where I want to go. That helps me put on blinders and not worry about tomorrow, or next month, or next year. I know that what I do at 3:30 on a Monday is leading me closer to the best version of myself.
Find ways to narrow your focus down to one day at a time and please reach out if you need help connecting your each day to your end of the road. I would love to help you with that.
(I bought the Passion Planner Daily a brand I highly recommend and they have a free printable version if you want to test it out or if planners aren't in your budget at the moment. If you do decide you want to buy a passion planner use my affiliate link to get $5 off )