This system works exceptionally well for the spaghetti-brained like me. With this structure in my day, my brain is more like rigatoni than spaghetti now- Ha!
Get your supplies: I got all this at Office Depot.
A magnetic dry erase board – I like the 24” by 36” size. The one I got had a two-week time strip that I put at the bottom of my board.
Colored index cards
Dry erase markers
Small magnets
Sticky notes (Use these to write the random things that flow into your mind that you need to do. Then you can add these notes to your calendar in your planner notebook later.)
Make some decisions:
Decide what is most important to you and make sure you make time to do those things.
Decide what THING you want on each index card — remember ONE THING ONE HOUR.
Decide when you want to do your things – the HOUR— make sure you take your varying energy levels into account and when your mind is the sharpest. I am a morning person when it comes to mental focus.
Put the cards next to the hours you have written on the board.
Keep refining it:
Keep working with it until you get it the way that works for you. Analyze and change accordingly!
This planning board will take some time to perfect, but you will get there. Maybe there is a THING that is just not working out at the HOUR you gave it.
You can do one thing for 3 hours; just make sure you block it out!
If something takes you less than an hour, that is good; you now have a little margin in your day — maybe do some needed tidying up time or gathering up items you need for the next hour THING.
Planning and organizing are difficult for me, so I put them in my day’s highest mental focus times.
Be flexible and go with the flow.
My low energy time is mid-afternoon around 3 or 4 pm. The last thing that I want to do is exercise. But it is the THING I need to do. That hour of exercise energizes me for the rest of my day. It is essential!
My high focus time is before noon, so I have the THINGS that require higher focus before lunch.
I also make sure I do my bedtime routine before I get too tired.
Be sure to include breaks and “Me Time” because when you get rest, you are more productive.
Your schedule needs to be flexible. Just be sure not to drop the essential things!
Remember, you are controlling your schedule. So move those cards around to fit each day!
Have some unstructured days:
I like to have a couple of unstructured days. I want my Saturday to be FUN DAY and my Sunday to be REST DAY. Now that I have all my other days well planned and structured, I can do this.