5 Planning Tips for Beginners + A FREEBIE

I recently went through a pretty long and drawn-out planning slump. I didn't feel motivated to look at my planner at all and my overall well-being and productivity plummeted. The only solutions I could come up with were 1. to take a break and 2. start over when I was ready. I felt like I needed to just forget everything I was doing and start my planning habits over from scratch because obviously what I was doing wasn't working. Doing so made me feel like a total beginner again but I learned a ton about my planning style in the process.

If you're just getting into the planning world or maybe you're like me and going through a total planning slump of your own, here are 5 great tips that I promise actually work:

1. SET AN ALARM

Like I said above, the lack of motivation was absolutely killing my productivity. To-do list? Ha, What to-do list? I didn't even write one. I'd get to 7:00 p.m. before realizing I hadn't cracked open my planner once that day. I hadn't been focusing on my priorities, my habits, or making the most of each day. Likely, this was happening because I have a pretty solid daily routine that doesn't change too much. I wake up, read a book with my coffee, answer e-mails and client messages, and work on client design projects until 5:00 p.m every day. This is so ingrained in me that I eventually stopped feeling the need to plan.

So, I decided to set an alarm on my phone for 10:00 a.m. every day which prompted me to stop what I was doing and open my planner. I allowed myself the time to plan out my day, and set intentions. Just that act alone had me feeling more motivated to get more done.

2. KEEP YOUR PLANNER OPEN

This is pretty straightforward but once I got the hang of checking and planning in my planner every morning I kept my planner open on my desk (or wherever I sat) with the current weekly or daily page visible. This way, I could so easily glance over to see what I could do next if I found myself with a few spare moments or needed a reminder of what had to get done.

3. DON'T OVERDO IT

Once I was getting the momentum back with my planning routine I was excited