How Planning Enhances the College Experience
Hey everyone!
This is a very unique post but it's one I am so excited to share with you all today. For a long while now I have been very insistent on implementing a planner as part of my "daily routine". In this post I'm going to highlight 5 ways in which you, too, can use a planner to enhance your college experience.
Before we begin, let me introduce to you what a typical week looks like in my planner. This week my spreads theme was "Valentines Day".
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| Blank slate! |
But don't worry! Below are the five ways I encourage you to start planning and why you should plan.
1. Allows for Creativity
Of course we're all familiar with how planners can, quite literally, help us remember our assignments and upcoming events. However, were you aware at the different kinds of planners there are? From monthly, yearly, weekly, and hourly, you are sure to find a planner best suited for your needs. If you're someone who benefits from knowing the general rather than the detailed, I would recommend the yearly or monthly. For those, like myself, who prefer to keep myself a little more in-check, a weekly planner is a great asset. And, lastly, if you find that you prefer utilizing a more list-like style, then hourly would be your best bet!
In addition to knowing the type of planner you want, you should also look into brands and styles. Erin Condren, Happy 365, and Bullet are all popular forms of planning. I personally like the Happy Planner because it allows me adequate room to plan and get creative through the use of stickers and such. Erin Condren is the same way, although I've found them to be a little pricey. Bullet journals are the "risk takers" of the group, as they come with no structure and allow you to format and design each spread. If these don't sound like your type of planner, you can always go with a Day Designer and use a more traditional form.
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| The brightly lit Erin Condren |
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| A very common Happy Planner |
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| The classic Day Designer |
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| The ever-popular Bullet Journal |
2. Keep Track of Your Progress
As discussed before, there are plenty of ways you can utilize your planner. Your details can range from the very general to the very meticulous, meaning they are much more freeing than you think. However, besides homework and meetings you can also use your planner to keep track of your goals! I like to use mine to remind me of my workouts and gym routine. I also like to use my planner to remind me to stay hydrated, stay focused, and keep track of how often I need to do laundry, buy groceries, and also prayer requests for that week. If you're not sure where to start, or even what to track, 365 Create helps you out big time by providing lots of useful sticker books like: Mom Life, Fitness Tracker, Faith Pack, and Productivity Pack (amongst many others!).
My progress section looks a lot like this:
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| The third column of my planner is used to motivate myself and keep my fitness journey documented. |
3. Self Care
Planning is something that can either take you a few seconds or a half hour to do. However, if the idea of planning is something that appears daunting, have no fear! Look at planning as a way of self care. Every Sunday I like to sit down and plan out my next week. After arranging my stickers and writing my notes, the time spent totals to about 20 minutes. Some might say that is a waste of time, but if you really think about it, taking those 20 minutes a week to do something both relaxing and enjoyable could very well be something that you come to enjoy. It is something that varies person to person, but if you look more at planning as something to be enjoyed, I promise you it will feel less like a chore and more of an exciting thing you can do.
4. Express Yourself in an Unconventional Way
Back when I used to carry my planner around with me, I would oftentimes get asked various questions about my planner, my spread, and why I do what I do. While I appreciate the comments, above all I began to see that my planner tells a lot about me. If I have a messy, unorganized spread, than people are more likely to believe I am a messy and unorganized person. When they see that I have a brightly colored week with a clean design, the first instinct is going to be that I, too, am an organized person. Planning, if you really decide to put the time into it, can very well be that outlet you use to express yourself in a subtle way.
5. The Three E's
Planning should be something that is easy, efficient, and enjoyable! In the stressful and fast-paced life that is college, having a little extra help should be something you find useful, not boring! It's a fun way to combine crafts, expression, and art and create something worth looking back on. Plus, planning is never as expensive as you think it is! I got my planner, my planner cover, and sticker packets at Michaels for less than $50! I encourage you, if you are actively seeking out a planner, to start at a craft shop like Michaels and use as many coupons as possible to help make the investment feel a little less heavy on your wallet.
Everyone's planning style is different, but that doesn't mean planning shouldn't be something you make part of your routine! I can't tell you the amount of times I have overheard a student say, "It's not worth it," or "I don't like wasting the paper". In the high-stress and fast-paced day that most of us college students live in, using a planner should never feel like a chore. I encourage all of you to look into the benefits planning can provide, as these are just 5 of the many, many benefits!
Until next time,
Aislinn
1 comments
I LIVE for planners. I love being able to write down all of my to-dos and thoughts in a physical place. I've been using Passion Planners for a while now but I'm thinking about abandoning mine in favor of a bullet journal.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about planners is that if you have a few blank pages, you can really add in whatever you want to make it do the most for you. Here's a post I made about setting up my own planner: http://rianashahid.com/new-year-new-planner/
Let me know what you think!