Today let’s review the Today Planner Page. These instructions are applicable for the undated or focused daily pages that will accompany specific blog posts or workbooks.
The .pdf is available here: 100SC CU_Todays Plan
The Today Page is broken down into 8 sections. Each section is meant to induce positive emotion as you plan and go through your day.
The DATE Section is designed to accommodate any day of any year. Circle the day of the week, month of the year, fill in the year, and circle the day of the month. This makes the page reusable, you can print and reprint this page for each day if you choose.
The EXCITED ABOUT section is to get those positive thoughts going in the morning or whenever you’re planning your day. It is right on top to remind you throughout the day about the exciting thing happening today. Don’t have anything exciting to look forward to today…sure you do…create something. Look forward to a nice walk this evening, look forward to inviting your co-workers to eat lunch together today, look forward to cooking a nice dinner tonight, get excited about a cup of coffee while taking time to plan your day.
The GRATEFUL FOR section is a direct connection to research in the field of positive psychology. Expressing 3 gratitudes each day increases feelings of positive well being. I will repost my Ignite Gratitude Series at some point.
The FOCUS box is a place to put a motivational word for phrase for the day. If you have a day full of challenges ahead then perhaps COURAGE will be your key phrase.
The AFFIRMATION is a place to put an encouraging statement for the day. Perhaps you have a presentation today and a simple “I GOT THIS!” is the mantra you need to bring forth your power when it wavers.
The PRIORITIES section is a place to capture the most important things you need to accomplish today. This is not the buy dog food section, you could capture that in the capture list area so you don’t forget. This section is for those things that you need to do to move your life, work, or a project forward. This is for “Finish the Blog Post on the Today Page” types of items. I like to accomplish 3 priority items each day and any additional are a bonus. I have given space for 5 incase a few end up pending someone else, get delegated to another, or you have an especially productive day.
The DELIGHTER section is a place for that one task that may not be on your priority list, but sure would make others happy. It could be a customized calendar for a specific function at work, chopping firewood for the week so you can snuggle with your sweetie and watch a movie tonight, or making your kids favorite dinner. This is an item that will require effort on your part, but delight your heart as you ignite the smiles of others.
The last section is the CAPTURE LIST which is a place to capture all those random thoughts before they vanish. You could use this to capture the tasks you need to do and have not captured on your project plans yet, a reminder to add dog food to the grocery list, a reminder to do something when you get back to your desk. It is a place to capture those thoughts before they vanish and not require your mind to remember every little thing.
Finally, I have a way of CODING THE ITEMS on my Today Page:
- An empty box means I have done nothing on this item yet.
- A box with a dot inside means it is at least started.
- An “X” in the box means the task is complete.
- A date in the box means it is planned for later, on that specific date. At this point it is a good idea to start a page for that date and make that task a priority on that day.
- A “P + Initials” means the task is pending another. Later I will introduce a Pending List that all these tasks will migrate to during a Daily Download (more about that later as well).
- A “D + Initials” means the task has been Delegated to another (YEAH). However, a delegated task is still a task to keep track of so for now agree on a date to check in on this task with the one it is delegated to and create a planner page for that or add it to your calendar. Later I will introduce a Delegated To List that all these tasks will migrate to during the Daily Download (more about that later).
Give this page a try. You can print the .pdf to write on or download and use the page digitally by writing over the image with an app like GoodNotes. Then come back and let me know how this page worked for you.