Despite how life seems to be right now, it usually can get pretty repetitive. There are always events or things you want to track in your planner that happen over and over again. So here are a couple of strategies I use to deal with repeating tasks and events in my planner. Adopt one (or ALL!) of these to make your life a little bit easier.
Create font stickers for weekly meetings, reoccurring events, prescription pick-ups, sports games, etc. That way you’ll already have it written out in a cute font to stick into your planner for the next time it comes around. Add a small graphic to it if you have some design skills or clipart on hand so you’ll be able to quickly notice it when skimming your planner.
Designate a color to each of your family members, life categories, etc so you know which color belongs to what activity. Maybe you have a color for each of your work clients, or colors for working out, family, and social. Write down what you usually track in your planner, separate them into groups, and designate a color to them. I use color coding to make sure I’m not letting a part of my work/life slip through the cracks. If I notice I’m seeing a lot of one particular color, I make sure to check my color code key to see what other things I might be forgetting to work on.
Use a date dot circle from EC if you need to track something like sick days, vacation time, or for me when my cat throws up (I know glamorous). This is a great way to keep track of things that happen sporadically, but you don’t want to just let the world see exactly what it means. These can also be used to track if your partner travels a lot. There are so many different uses for them!
Generate a code/shorthand system so you aren’t constantly writing the same thing in your planner over and over again. Use people’s initials or abbreviate things so you can easily squeeze the information next to the date rather than taking up valuable planning/to do space.
I find that when I’m planning out repeating tasks I want to be able to notice them, but I don’t want them to be overwhelming my entire planner. I like to keep them small, simple, but still easy to spot when I’m skimming what my day looks like.
What are your methods to deal with repeating tasks in your planner?
Currently, I have a commitment every Tuesday evening for the next 6 months. I used stickers that came with the planner, matched the color to the month and wrote it in. I plan weeks out, sometimes months. So,when I know of recurring meetings or events, I put them in the calendar either in pencil or a sticky,note then make it pretty as the time gets closer.