Not sure if planners are worth your time? Read below to discover if a planner is a good investment for your life.
When life seems overwhelming the thought of adding anything else to your already full plate can seem impossible. Where are you going to possibly find time to devote to something else? It seems a lot of women have this struggle when it comes to buying their first planner.
You’re just not sure if the return on investment will be worth it. Will using a planner really help with your overwhelm? How can paper and a pen really make your life better?
If this has been your struggle then you are in the right place. Below you will find eight reasons I truly believe a planner can make your life better.
8 Reasons Planners are Worth Your Time
A Planner Clears Up Mental Space
Our brains work really hard to keep track of all the things. We have so much going on all the time that requires our focus and attention, so it’s only natural that we are going to forget things.
Trying to mentally keep track of everything all the time can lead to exhaustion. Our brains need a break from the constant work of just trying to keep up.
Taking the time to jot notes in your planner will free up mental space. You won’t have to worry about remembering all the little things anymore because it’s all written down in one convenient place.
A Planner Allows You to Celebrate Others Well
Life is full of moments and people worth celebrating. There are birthdays, anniversaries, births, promotions, and holidays just to name a few. Moments we can use to show those we care about just how much we care.
One of the things I love about using my planner is planning for special events. I write notes a month or so in advance to remind me to make plans, buy a gift, or send a card. This helps you avoid that last minute scramble to throw something together.
The ability to celebrate people well is one of my favorite parts of planning. Life is short and any chance we have to tell people we care about them is one we should take advantage of.
Planners Give You Clear Focus
This is one of the most important things to consider when deciding if planners are worth your time.
In the modern world we live in with email and texting, there’s really never a time where people can’t get a hold of us. We seem to always be connected to the outside world, and sometimes everybody needs something. It is so easy to continually get sucked into all the little things thrown at you all day.
If you do manage to get some time to accomplish something, you waste time trying to remember everything you need to get done and figuring out where to start.
As you head to bed at the end of the day you realize that you really accomplished nothing of value all day.
Spending a few minutes at the beginning of your day, or the night before, to write out your top priorities can help you to start accomplishing what matters. It allows you to choose what you will focus on that day, instead of just responding to the noise around you.
Writing down your priorities isn’t enough though. You have to take a few minutes throughout your day to check in with your planner. Checking in pulls your focus from all the noise around you, and re-centers it to what you should really be doing with your time.
Your planner also gives you a place to write down all of those distractions to deal with when it’s their turn. That might mean tomorrow, next week, or even next month.
Planners Motivate You to Reach Your Goals
Most people who set goals on January first, forget about them by the middle of February. Unfortunately, I’ve been there more times than I care to admit.
People who write their goals in their planner and track their progress accomplish more. You will no longer struggle with the “Out of sight, out of mind” issue that causes a lot of people to fail. If you have a good planning routine in place you’ll be seeing your goals on a regular basis, which will help to keep you focused on what you are working toward.
Planners Save You Time
It’s not uncommon to see people who don’t have a planner writing notes and reminders on random pieces of paper. The problem with this is that you have to keep track of all of those pieces of paper. Most of the time as soon as you put it where you won’t lose it or forget it, you do exactly that. This leads to wasted time searching for that random note or reminder when you need it.
A planner gives you one centralized place for all of those notes and reminders. It keeps the paper clutter down because when you need that note you know exactly where to find it. No more wasted minutes!
Planners save you money
Believe it or not planners can actually save you money!
I was spending some time with a friend one day, and she told me that her daughter’s birthday was the next day. She was trying to finish putting together her gift so that she could get it in the mail. I was trying to encourage her that I’m sure her daughter would be understanding of receiving it late. She was like “No she won’t! Because I’m shipping it so that it will be there tomorrow.” She paid around $36 just to ship that birthday gift.
As I was listening to her talk I just wanted to point out that using a planner could have saved her so much money. She could have written reminders well in advance to buy the gift, put it together, and ship it.
There are several ways a planner can help you save money. Here are just a few possibilities: no more late fees on bills, no paying extra for shipping, no more late fees at the library. You can even use your planner to write down coupon codes for online shopping.
Planners Help You Accomplish More
This very closely ties in with having clear focus. If you write out your schedule and to-do list for the day, you won’t waste time wondering what you should work on next. You’ve already created a plan for the day and you can just move from one thing to the next allowing you to accomplish more in less time.
Planners Hold You Accountable to the Life You Want to Live
Using a planner helps you to be more intentional with how you spend your time. As you write out your plans for the day, you are actually making decisions about how you will spend your time. This means you choose what’s important to you. Instead of just letting your day happen to you, you choose what you will fill your time with.
If you’ve been sitting on the fence wondering if planners are worth your time I hope you found your answer in this post. In most cases what you gain from using a planner far out weighs the time you invest. It can make your life easier and help you to finally end the overwhelm you’ve been living with for far too long.