By Patty Gardner I have a planner. I admit it. I’ve actually had a planner forever. I can’t function without it and my family will testify to that fact. When I’ve gone through brief periods of rebellion against using a planner, my life falls apart. If you have a planner but it isn’t working for …
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By Carmen Coker There’s likely not a day that goes by where you, or someone around you, comments on how time flies or time is money. It’s a given that you know how important time is, but … how do you make the most of it? Traditional productivity strategies tend to emphasize “getting things done” …
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With all the cool devices at our fingertips, perhaps the best gadget is one invented centuries ago—the pen. That’s why so many people continue to use paper planners, calendars, and notepads. Today, technology is growing ever more prevalent and convenient, so our challenge is to keep it all in sync. How do we do that? …
Want to get even more out of your planner? Keep it close at hand as a reminder of your goals and dreams. If you keep it open and in easy view in a corner of your desk, you’ll be able to keep track of your task list throughout the day without getting distracted by email …
If you don’t live in an area where the seasons change, autumn is worth a visit. Colors go from vivid green to bright yellow, orange, read, and finally brown as temperatures glide downward until autumn careens into winter. Changing seasons are impressive. In homage to Mother Nature, we’ve gathered a few things to help you …
By Carmen Coker If you’re like most people, you want to get organized and stay organized, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on containers, bins, and other storage solutions in the process. Trade store-bought organizers for one of these inexpensive, out-of-the-box clutter busters created from everyday household items. Pantyhose. Cut off the waistband …
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Music is an integral part of our lives. Whether it’s the perfect lyric that describes how you feel, the melody that somehow resonates with your soul, or the perfect rhythm that gets you going, music moves us. Music is like the wrapping paper of our memories. How often has someone asked you, “What do you …
When you have a full schedule, the last thing you want to do is spend extra time trying to access your schedule. Putting appointments on your cell phone can be a complicated process, from navigating to the calendar app, to finding the right time slot, and then tapping out any notes in a limited space …
By Patty Gardner Planner pages don’t have to be used the way they’re designed. If the way they’re designed works for you, great. But if not, do it your way!!! This is Franklin Planner’s compact 2 pages per day. All I did here was skip the lines and the single column and make two lists in …
Heading to college? You’ve got a lot to pack. Of course, some things may be more important than others. If it gets too crowded in your tiny compact car, you may need to prioritize. Here are a few things that we think should remain near the top of your list. Backpack or Tote College students …
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By Patty Gardner Planners are extremely effective tools for helping you keep your ducks in a row. I’ve been using a planner for 20 years. Before that I had a calendar and a to-do list. My family knows that if I don’t use my planner, bad things happen. In case you’re skeptical about the benefits …
By Carmen Coker A friend recently asked me if there was anything in particular that helped me to get motivated and power through boot camp. (If you didn’t know, I served in the military for over six years.) There are too many things I remember about boot camp and most of them unpleasant. Running in …
By Patty Gardner I’m pretty sure that all time management experts recommend using a personal planning system of some sort. It can be anything: an electronic planner, your smart phone, a paper planner (my personal favorite), your computer or tablet, or even notebooks, steno or legal pads, or index cards. It doesn’t matter what you …
If you’ve ever typed out notes during a rapid lecture and tried to adapt them for a paper later, you probably know how hard it can be to re-format everything to look nice. Here’s a list of keyboard shortcuts, both common and obscure, that can help you dress up your notes for easy reading (replace …
Staying productive on the go is easier that you might think. If you keep a list of things to do with you at all times, you’ll likely find a number of tasks and to do’s that can be executed with very little technology or tools beyond pen and paper. If you need to meet with …
One of our Facebook followers asked us how to turn a Lose/Win mentality into a Win/Win mentality. That’s a great question. We live in a very competitive world. We’re all clamoring to get ahead and meet our agendas. Nobody likes losing. But when we’re working with other people, we need a little give and take. …
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Prioritize your daily tasks and keep track of progress towards personal and career goals using color. I use yellow to highlight tasks that must be completed that day. Pink indicates activities or plans after work. With a busy work schedule it can be easy to forget other plans you have made. I’ve found highlighting these …
We’re approaching the end of June, so that means that we’re almost half a year away from our New Year’s Resolutions. How have your goals held up this year? June is the perfect time for reviewing your goals, celebrating your successes, and recalibrating your plans for the rest of the year. As you go over …
There are few things in life more rewarding to me than crossing tasks off of my to-do list. In fact, if I am busily working on a Saturday morning and complete something that isn’t on the list, I’ll immediately write down the completed task just for the pleasure of crossing it off. I’m easily distracted, …
By Carmen Coker An old Chinese proverb declares that “the palest ink is better than the best memory.” And there’s a good reason for it! Relying on your memory can be tricky business. When you think about the fact that: You get exposed to more information in one day than a well-educated individual living in the …
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