How I Use My Monthly, Weekly and Daily Inserts Together
Hello! You may be tuning in today because you love planning just as much as I do! You might be looking for inspiration on how to use monthly, weekly or daily spreads together - either you do already and find it’s not really working for you, or you want to start. Either way, I’m here to explain how and why I use mine the way I do, and how I’ve turned it into a successful system that works for me and makes me more productive.
So first, let’s talk about time. It takes time to plan. The point though, is that if you take time to set goals and plans, (if you do it right), it’s supposed to help make doing (and remembering) the task easier and faster in the long run. Planning prevents you from forgetting important appointments and tasks. If you find that you don’t have the time to sit down and plan for a few hours each week, then I would suggest keeping to a monthly/weekly only schedule, or monthly schedule with a daily task list.
My system works for me because I use it every day of my life. If I were to not use my planner, I fear I would be lost. With the amount of things I need to accomplish every day, and all the appointments and things to remember for my family, I would forget it all. My life, and that of my family’s would easily fall apart. (I’m really the glue that keeps it all together, but my planner is a very important tool that helps me do that)!
My system of using three types of inserts together allows me to prioritize easier and to organize myself to a point that I don’t have to waste time worrying about “what” to do - I just do it. For example, a list of things I would keep on my monthly calendar are:
Appointments (I include who it’s with, what it is and what time, always!)
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Garbage/Recycle/Compost/tree disposal/yard waste days
Grocery Shopping Days
Days my husband is off work
Budgeting Days & Days Paid
Holidays
No School Days
School Commitments and/or appointments (I.e. parent-teacher interviews)
Early Dismissal Days (for school)
(Note: personally, I do not keep all of my monthlies or weeklies in my planner. I keep only one month at a time (I don’t have space in my planner, and I like to plan monthly, and not touch a new calendar until I’m ready - it keeps the months separate for me), and any future appointments are placed in my future log. (I keep this in front of my monthlies). I plan my monthly for a new month the last weekend of the previous month.
Once my monthly calendar is filled in, I move on to the weekly. I do my weekly planning every Thursday (convenient time for me to film, and gives me editing and proofing time for my YouTube content). I take everything from that week (from my monthly) and add it to my weekly. I use a dashboard - type layout for my weekly. I cannot use an hourly time-blocked schedule because I have small children at home, and they don’t go by any schedule, therefore neither can I.
My weekly planner gives me a week-at-a-glance on the left side, and the right side is for important reminders, tasks for the week (pulled off the monthly master task list), and any other information I deem important enough to keep here. Since my weeklies are contained in boxes, I also use the weekly session as an excuse to do a little hybrid/decorative planning to make my planner pleasing to my eye.
Next, come my daily inserts. I DO NOT fill in my dailies at the same time as my weekly. My OCD kicks in - I always write in my dailies the night before (the only exception is if I’m filming a month of Planmas; then I do my daily filming every morning). I write my daily tasks the night before so I can sleep on it. Usually by morning, my brain has thought of more things I need to get done that day. (Then I write them in during the morning, or at my leisure). Usually by the end of the day, I’ll have filled up the entire space of tasks. On a really productive day, every single line item will be checked off. Most of the time thought, just the majority are crossed off.
I examine the remaining tasks that evening before I’m about to write out the next day. If the item is still relevant, I move it to the next day. If it no longer matters, I cross it off. If it needs to be rescheduled, I put it where it needs to go.
In the same way, I transfer my monthly tasks from month to month like that, as well as my weekly tasks. (Unless of course they no longer matter, then they get crossed off and I forget about them).
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you will join me next week!
Happy Planning!
❤️ Sandra
