(ThyBlackMan.com) Life happens quickly. It doesn’t stop because we are tired, sick, grieving, or just plain overwhelmed. There was plenty on my plate as a single woman. However, I admit much was added to that plate once I was no longer the only person on it. Marriage was one addition, but becoming a mom threw my plate into a frenzy and there were days I recognized nothing. I remember being vexed with my mother at different times in my life because she called me by the name of my sibling, or she forgot something I told her about more than once. There was a need to apologize to her once I understood how this could happen…even to someone as organized as myself. For those of us that have a great memory we feel we don’t have to write everything down.
Having a calendar on the phone was all I needed because I could quickly jot down what I needed to remember, and everything would be great again right? Wrong. After having two children, juggling my schedule and work, my husbands schedule, that of a grade school kid which can be chaotic, and my infant I found my memory to need more assistance. Maybe for you it isn’t so much family life but various endeavors. I broke down and bought a Happy Planner; there are three reasons your planner can become your best friend.
1. Having a physical planner forced me to spend time with my thoughts, and sort them out. The planner is not going to fill itself. You will have to sit down and gather your thoughts. This will allow you to organize your agenda more efficiently verses simply doing so on the fly where something can be missed.
2. Writing everything down in the order you need will help you remember. I admit carrying my planner at first was a pain, but over a time it became just as much of an extension of me as my phone. Furthermore, as I found myself writing the order I need…which helped re-establish a working routine as I constituted some constants. It also allowed to me log into my phone want was necessary for me to have at my fingertips.
3. If the tech goes down we will be okay. If you get easily overwhelmed or deal with anxiety on any level having a backup plan can help avoid some of those spaces. Yes, having things in my phone is convenient however, if this phone decides to have a possessed moment I can keep trucking through my day without missing a beat. This allows one to feel more in control of the day.
I admit it can be difficult, at first, to get back into having a physical planner if you have gotten us to everything being on the phone. However, it allows you to slow life down if for only 30min and gather your thoughts in the order that you need them. This can easily become a part of self-care as you are giving yourself some control over how your day will flow. This can help you stay on task…if it’s not on the list, and I don’t have a time slot, in most cases the item will get moved to another day. This can help you make use of every minute you have in a day and be accountable for them. This doesn’t mean you have to be bound to a schedule in an overbearing way. This allows you to be more so in control of your time verses issues, situations, and people taking that control from you.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.