Overwhelmed by Distractions?

"Time Management" experts seem to encourage getting everything out of your mind and into your trusted collection device - like a planner or app.  I've heard the term 'brain dump' used many times over the past number of years.  I became familiar with the term 'grasscatcher' list over 35 years ago. Brain dumps or grasscatcher …

Goal Setting and Planning

I recently received a request to take a closer look at goal setting and planning.  I ask for your indulgence as I attempt to explain the process I follow. "Goals are dreams with a deadline" "Goals have to be big" "Goals drive productivity" I've seen so much information about goals over the years that it …

What If I’m Wrong?

I know that I’m probably the only person who has ever made a decision about planning materials/supplies/systems that turns out to be wrong. Since I am, please indulge me and read along so that you can avoid the same sort of mistake. One of the real keys for any planning system for me is that …

Just a thought…

I've been using the same basic planning method for around 30 years.  I've veered off a time or two to try digital methods, other "systems" etc.  But I've always came back to the old Time Power system.  Of course, I've adapted it to take into account that I am likely exposed to 100 times more …

The pens I use

I'm a practical planner - or at least I think I am - and the tools I use are important to my effectiveness.  With that said, I do have a small obsession with using fine writing instruments, specifically fountain pens.   I just posted a short video about a couple of pens I am using now. The Lamy …

Focusing on What’s Most Important

Many of the time management experts tell us to try and only work on the important stuff.   I agree. Where it starts getting more complicated is trying to figure out what is important.  Hobbs, Smith and Covey all write about trying to separate the urgent from the vital.  I looked up urgent and important in …

Time Power – Insight on Time Management

I’ve referred to Time Power as where I got my start in learning about time management.  Several members over at the facebook group - PLAN to Enjoy Life - Functional Planner group - have asked about this since it is somewhat of an “older” approach to time management.   I’m somewhat of an older type fellow.  …

Monthly Calendar and Daily Pages

One of the cool things I’ve learned about using a Franklin planner and before that a Daytimer, is how easy it is to keep events and obligations from falling through the cracks of life.   I want to share a bit about how I use the tools of the monthly calendar (including Google calendars) and the …

The Index and Cross-Referencing

I threatened (promised) to write more about the index system I use in my Franklin planner.   This will be a pretty short entry.The index is simply a listing of the things I think I may need to refer back to in the future.    So I selectively choose just a few things to list.   The …

Customizing a Pre-Printed Planner

I really enjoyed the freedom of the Bullet Journal but found it fell  short of what I needed for planning out into the future. I came back to a pre-printed 2 page per day Franklin planner in a ring binder.    I didn’t buy the “starter kit” which has quite few samples of some pre-printed …