Winners aren't the one who necessarily try something and ace it.
I think winners are those who keep trying for their goals even in the face of failures.
I think, above all, winners are those who never give up.
Buying a planner and committing to using it are only the first steps in the direction of 'never giving up'.
It is you telling your sub-conscious, 'here look at me, I am still trying'.
Trying to-"be better at managing my life, at getting my days in order, in controlling time rather than the later controlling me".
Yet this commitment falls flat if the planner remains gathering dusk out of sight.
As I said, buying the planner is only the first baby step. Showing up for it, actually getting use out of it, are the true steps you have to get used to taking. Daily.
I understand it is not an easy commitment to make. It requires consistency which is harder attained than promised.
It requires forming a new habit.
So what do we do?
We apply to journalling and planning method that takes inspiration from multitude of researches. It is my spin on the 'five minute rule'.
The rule says when the inspiration to do something hits you, you have five minutes to lean into it. Sometimes less. If you don't immediately give in to the inspiration, you might fail to follow through on the task
Combine what with something Atomic habits preaches-we need visual cues to remind us and inspire us to successfully make new habits.
Now how do you combine all of these rules into one simple one that you can easily show up for?
You invest in a planner. (A step you have already done.)
A planner that by its sight is your visual cue to start woking on the details of your day and in itself has more visual cues for you to get to your to-do list.
And writing in the planner, especially when it is an online one, takes little effort and less time. Easy to practice the five minute rule. Easier still if you commit to just opening it.
Task yourself initially with not filling out each page. But just promise yourself that you will open it, every day. And show up for that promise. Lean into the five minute rule and show up daily.
Write one line. Write only one thing on your to do list.
Just show up consistently.
Let the sight of the planner (your visual cue) inspire you to open it, lean into that drive and sit with the planner even if only for a minute (make use of the five minute rule).
Do this till the sight of the planner become your visual cue to get your day started on the right foot, to get back to planning your days where you make the most of them.
Remember, planning and journal aren't habits easily formed, and if so far you have only bought a planner (mine or otherwise) and failed to actually benefit from it, do not lament. Know it is understandable that you find it hard to use it on the daily, we have all been there.
And remember, it is not failure that defines you, but truly giving up that is the true loss.
Let this article here be your sign to start. Or restart.
Start small, but remain consistent.
In summary here are the steps that will aid you in making this habit:
Set a place in your room where you sit down to write in your planner. And show up for that promise daily, in that space, even if all you do is sit down and open the planner.Do so till opening your planner in that place and at a specific time becomes second nature to you, till the sight of that place and your planner become easy triggers to lead you to using your planner.
Once you reach that point, then you can move on to step 2, 'showing up to stay'. But that is the story for another day.
Till then, happy planning!
Yours, Dr Gull.