On the 3rd of October, I started a 90-day experiment where I decided to plan every day till the 31st of December. I had never been a fan of daily planners but after the experiment, I don't think I'll ever live a day without them again. I'll share my 5 major lessons with you in this newsletter (and hopefully you join the planner family soon).
Lesson 1: Better time management
The major concern of every Ph.D. student is time. One of my lecturers told me they intentionally set up the program that way. Having a planner cured this for me. The page for each day has a section where I write my plans for each hour. I write what I'll do hourly from 6 am to 10 pm. This gives a holistic view of my day. I keep adjusting it till I'm happy with what I've planned. I became time conscious because I have planned every hour before it happens.
Lesson 2: Improved Productivity
The planner has a task section as well. I write out my top 3 tasks for the day first. I also write other tasks underneath. Having 3 as a limit forces me to prioritize what is really important. The 3 things I must do that day. These 3 things aren't just business (YouTube) or school related. Sometimes they are people I need to call, important meetings I have, or getting to the gym. At the end of the day, I felt fulfilled and happy with the things I had achieved. It hits differently when you plan to do something and actually do it.
Lesson 3: Managed stress levels
I love big-picture thinking (There are 11 types of thinking John Maxwell mentioned in How Successful People Think). Big Picture thinking just means I can give a holistic perspective on many things. This also includes my daily activities. I can write out 10 major tasks I'll love to get done on a particular day. I rush into them with so much motivation but I end up doing just 4. That makes me discouraged and increases my stress levels. I've had several episodes of stress-induced ulcers in the past because of this. My planner stopped that permanently.
After writing my tasks and planning my hours, I remove any task without its dedicated time on that day. My stress levels reduced significantly.
Lesson 4: Organized life
My planner has annual goals pages, daily pages (planning each day), a self-care planner, monthly calendars, a habit streak tracker, project trackers, an ideal week builder, weekly reviews, and a quarterly review. That's organization at its best. I agree that many things can get overwhelming so I started with one thing at a time. I don't use all of them yet. I had my life under control. I saw so much order and direction. I reviewed every week and made changes in the next week.
Lesson 5: Maintain Reliable Records
This is one thing that makes the planner really stand out. Everything I did, I can know exactly when I did it. I can see patterns in how I planned my day and things I achieved. I can see when I had my full body checkup. I can also see when I spent 5 hours editing a video.
The Full Focus Student Planner I used has been retired. This linen version (not an affiliate link) is also good if you're considering running an experiment.
Have a great weekend.
Zubby
💬 Quote of the Week:
With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.
Thomas Fowell Buxton