Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast

Why You Still Need A Paper Planner

I started using planners in junior high and high school because it was something that our teachers made us do. You got a school tracker or a school calendar and you had to fill it out. Even though I had to use it, I realized having a planner was super helpful for keeping track of everything. I had a lot of daily activities, appointments and meetings and deadlines to keep up with. My planner helped me stay organized and prioritize tasks.

In college, I used a planner to stay focused and keep my sanity while I was working, volunteering and studying. Not only did having a planner help me manage stress but it let me put my best self into every commitment. That’s really what I want you to get out of this. I want you to be able to prioritize the things that matter most to you so that you can live a fulfilling life and keep up with all the things.

I think most of us ditch the planners as soon as we’re done with school. We’re excited to never have to write anything down again. When you think about it though, this phase of our lives is just as important and meaningful as what we were doing in school. There are even more deadlines to meet and details to keep track of in your daily life. Having a paper planner is just as necessary when you’re an adult as it was when you were in school.

5 Tips To Use A Planner To Reduce Stress

Instead of viewing filling out your planner as yet another thing on your to-do list, this will help you plan your week effectively so you can be more productive and feel less stress and overwhelm.

Tip #1: Schedule Your Priorities

You know you want to clean your house each week and go to the gym. You know you want to cook healthy meals and show up for the events at your kids’s school. The problem is that if we don’t schedule those activities, and give them importance in our calendar, a lot of times they don’t get done.

Writing down your top priorities, or what I call your fundamental needs, in your planner and deciding when you are going to get them done will relieve stress. You are putting all those things you feel like you should do onto paper, giving them a deadline and permission to add them into your weekly daily routine.

Tip # 2 : Reduce Stress By Prioritizing Tasks

Do you feel like you are constantly behind? Are you tired of the overwhelming feelings that you are always missing something? I hear a lot of women say that it feels like something is constantly overflowing or spilling over—whether its emotions, house chores or the kid’s messes. There’s always something that we can’t keep up with.

Maybe there are goals you have for your physical health or projects that always get put on the back burner. Maybe it’s just the constant stress of being called on by other people.

I know for a long time I always had projects in the back of my mind that would eat away at me while my kids were “nagging me” too. It constantly left me in a headspace of always feeling behind. That chronic stress is such a negative cloud to carry around with you all the time!

“A planner with absolutely help you reduce stress. Writing things down in the key to getting it all done.”

I don’t feel behind all the time anymore. Because of my paper planner, I have less stress and know exactly what needs to get done in a week.

Use A Simple Brain Dump To Reduce Stress

One of my favorite things to in my planner when I need to manage stress from all the to-dos in my head is a brain dump. If you’ve never done a brain dump, read How to Use a Brain Dump To Increase Productivity.

It is essentially a process of writing everything down that you need to get done, prioritizing your tasks and then deciding when you are going to do them during your week. This system has helped me tremendously. I am able to prevent stress because I don’t feel behind anymore. Instead, I can see when I’m ahead and take a break.

Tip #3: A Planner Can Help You Stay Focused

Planners are great for those days when you are feeling unmotivated, with no energy. I know it seems counterintuitive to write everything you need to do down in a planner if you already feel overwhelmed. A lot of times though, those feelings of overwhelm that drain your energy and cause you to procrastinate are because you are trying to do it all at once instead of creating a plan.

Having A Plan Will Reduce Stress

When you have a weekly plan, you can decide ahead of time when you will do each task. Then, when you look at it each day, you only focus on what you have to get done that day. If you stick to your plan and get it done in that time frame, when it’s done, it’s done. You can walk away from it.

Instead of feeling awful about needing to all the laundry, you can focus on one task at a time. “I’m doing three loads of laundry and then I have an intentional 30 minutes sitting down on the floor with my kiddos. After that, I’m making lunch.”

When you have all these things written down, it helps you complete tasks and progress through your day in a way that energizes you. You’re controlling your day. You know what comes next. If you follow your plan, you are going to decrease you stress. You are absolutely going to go to bed at the end of the day feeling accomplished because you can see all you got done. That energizes you to get up and do it again the next day. It just becomes a sort of snowball effect. Not only do you start to get ahead of the game, you feel really excited and proud of yourself.

Tip #4: Use Your Planner As Self-Care

Another really great way to use a paper planner to reduce stress is by allowing your planner to help with your self-care. If you can’t figure out a way to prioritize yourself, it’s probably because you don’t have a plan in place. I love using my planner for habit tracking and even cycle synching to help me better care for myself.

Coming from a family of women who really take pride in caring for other people, it’s hard for me to want to put time down in my day for myself. At the same time, I know I have to. The best way to care for my mental health and deal with my stress triggers is to prioritize my own needs as much as I do everyone else’s.

For more tips on how I use my planner to live a more balanced life, listen to episode 439: Transform Your Planner Into A Self-Care Tool.

Tip #6: Use A Planner For Time Blocking

If you struggle with anxiety or depression, planning ahead can help you start to relax. You no longer have to worry about when a task will get completed. When you take the time to look at everything you want done at the very end of your week and you work backwards to plan out what that looks like every single day you gain so much mental clarity.

On Monday, all you have to worry about is Monday.  You don’t have to think about Friday because you know that Friday has a time and a place. So does Thursday and every other day of the week.  

My anxiety came from feeling like the weight of the world rested on me. I was in charge of my kids, my marriage, the food, making money, keeping the house clean, keeping the garage from becoming cluttered. The weight of all of it was riding on me, constantly. It doesn’t have to feel that way.

Take One Bite At A Time

When you break your week down and you put it into little segments, it can help reduce your anxiety. Instead of looking at everything at once, it becomes one bite of the elephant at a time. Here I am swallowing elephants every week, one bite at a time.

You get up on Monday and you just do Monday. I’m able to be present, and plugged in with my kiddos. I don’t let that cloud of depression and negativity hang over me. Instead, I can focus on what I am actually doing at that moment. I am able to stay organized and feel present.

Just committing to a plan, even if it doesn’t work out perfectly, will reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. I get so much more done than I would without a plan. Simply, start somewhere. If you don’t have it written down you’re not going to remember it.

My own roller coaster of emotions is completely mitigated by simply being able to calm the voice in my head telling me I have to get it all done today. I can reduce anxiety with my paper planner because I know exactly when each task is going to be completed. Instead of feeling stressed or worked up, I am simply full of joy!

Tip #7 – Use A Planner For Time Management

The last way a planner can help reduce stress is by using it as a time management tool. This self-awareness is the cornerstone of me being able to keep my life together and get it all done. I’m realizing that the perfect planner has always been the tool I’ve used to reach that next level, to climb every next rung of the ladder. It helps me control how much I put on my plate each week, turn big projects into actionable steps and increase my productivity tenfold.

Start Using A Planner To Reduce Stress

Regardless of what excuses are holding you back right now, I hope that you ignore all of them and find yourself a good daily planner. My absolute favorite is the Dream Planner from Horacio Printing. (By using my affiliate link you can get a discount at checkout!)

It has several customization options. I think what I like most about it is the amount of blank space you can use to turn in into the exact tool you need to support your well being.

If you’re sitting at home thinking that you are always going to feel frumpy, lost, or left out, under-appreciated, neglected, sad or lonely, I want you to get a planner and start prioritizing your well being.

Trust me, this will work for you. There are so many health benefits to using a planner, both physical and emotional. You get to plan out your schedule and see your progress each week so you know it’s working. A planner gives you the ability to be in control of your life, instead of constantly feeling behind.

What Could You Achieve If You Didn’t Feel Behind?

If you’re struggling with feeling behind all the time, feeling unmotivated with no energy, a planner can be an invaluable tool to help you tackle the challenges you and so many other women are experiencing. Don’t wait. Go out and get a planner today!

Then, download my Fundamental Needs Workbook to identify exactly what you need to prioritize to boost your well being. These practical tips will help you get started in the right direction. If you need more guidance, join my 12-month home management and business coaching program, Systemize to Scale.