How I Became A "Planner Person"

Have you ever walked into the stationary aisle and thought to yourself, “This is it, this cute planner is what I need to get myself organized.” But then that planner ends up sitting in a drawer never to be seen again? 

It took me a while to get on the planner train, I was never someone who wrote things down, but after about three years, I’m finally one of those “planner” people, and here’s how I did it: 

My first step was taken during my junior year of college. College schedules can be hard to follow, and it took me until then to realize that maybe I should write something down. I started off getting a plastic picture frame, some cardstock, and some dry erase markers. It was simple, me and my roommates each had a different row of colored card stock. On that row we would write down our weekly schedules, and it helped us not only keep track of ourselves, but each other too! It wasn’t totally comprehensive, just class schedules and weekly meetings, things that happened regularly, but it was a start. 

Then, after about a year of that, I bought a desk calendar. One of those large, obnoxious, “I’m never going to use one of those” calendars that are on everyone’s desk at work. I used some command hooks to stick it to the wall by my bed and it forced me to look at it every day. This really worked in college because it wasn’t time consuming to hand write things and it was so big that I couldn’t ignore it. This was also the first time I color-coded anything:

Blue - sorority schedule

Red - Dance schedule

Black - family life

Green - BIrthdays and events

 I used colors that meant something to me, like my sorority color was blue, so just by seeing that color I could associate. I would definitely recommend using a similar idea if you want to color-code, if not it can get hard to remember which color means what. 

Finally, I have reached what I consider to be the peak of organization. GoogleCalendar. I was always against this, as it took too long to put everything in, was too detailed for me, and just overall overhyped. Now here I am, fully imputed, color-coded, and living off of this app. 

Gray - work

Dark Blue - Gym

Red - Dance

Yellow - Photography

Light Blue - Appointments/bills

Pink - Events

Green - Birthdays

It is time consuming when you first get started, but once everything is in and it’s just maintenance, it’s super easy! Having the ability to show both your, and your friends calendars at the same time is cool too, since being an adult doesn’t leave much room for socializing and you can plan things easier. 

Being a “planner person” is a lifestyle, and like all lifestyle changes, it takes time. If you slowly get into it, you’ll be able to stick with it and before you know if you’ll be a “planner person” too!