Planning with Jei: How to use a planner during a Pandemic

Who else has been having a hard time using their planners lately?

The change of lifestyle no one saw coming has been a bit difficult to adjust to. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy working from home but now that my space to relax has turned into my workspace….well, the relaxing feeling isn’t there anymore.

All the events I had for this year have been accordingly cancelled. Doctors appointments? Not until next year for me since my doctors are booked and I don’t want to start anew with another. (It’s hard finding a doctor you trust to actually listen to you).

So where does that leave my planning if I’m barely going out anymore and every day is the same as the last? How can you use a planner during a pandemic when everyday seems like the same day?

To adjust to this new way of living (seems dramatic to call it that but that’s honestly what it is) I’ve changed the way I plan.

How to use a planner during a Pandemic

If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know that I began to use Multi-planners this summer. I had split my everyday tasks up into 4 planners. (Ambitious, wasn’t I?)

• Everyday
• Social Media
• Budgeting
• Reading

Well, guess what? I barely touched my Everyday Planner or Budgeting planner. Why would I need to when every day was pretty much the same thing? When I wasn’t really spending money since I wasn’t doing anything for the most part? Occasionally, I would sit down and write out the same tasks for the week just so I could say I’ve used my planner. But it got old. Fast.

So what did I do? What can you do?

The answer is simple. Switch it up.

Do you have a daily planner? Change to a Weekly layout.

Do you have a weekly planner? Change to a Dashboard Layout or Monthly layout.

Using more than one planner? Concatenate the planners that are of similar categories.

Or better yet, Go virtual!

In my case, switching to a weekly layout to a monthly layout for my Everyday planner has helped immensely. Everything is at a glance and I only use extra pages when I need to make a shopping list. It helps me keep my habit of organizing my life without feeling redundant.

As for my budget planner….well, I’ve saved that one for a rainy day. I don’t need it at the moment as I’m not spending much. I did keep the debt pay off pages to keep track of how much I’m putting into my credit cards.

Let me mention that you can also Stop looking at your planner everyday.

Crazy right? But it works! It’s been my experience that when I stop planning it’s because I feel overwhelmed that there’s too much to do for a day or there isn’t enough or that it’s the same thing as the day before. Giving yourself a little break won’t hurt and it’s more likely you’ll stick your planning habit!

How have you found motivation to use your planner? What are your tips for how to use a planner during a pandemic? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxoxo,

Jeimy