HOPE: I purchased a planner. A planner is an exercise in Hope. I hope to gain better control over my life and productivity. I hope to use this to keep everything in one place so I can feel less stress and anxiety. A new planner has so much hope riding on it.

My two-pages per week, FranklinCovey Compass planning system I purchased at Office Depot, is quite simple as far as planners go. I get to fill in the dates, so I was able to set it up to start in May. I went ahead and set up the first two pages per day spread for May 2.

This planner came with a nice cover, it has a magnetic snap for closing it, there is a notepad in the back with subject and date blanks in the header. I have an elastic loop for a pen, and room in the spine for a second one. I used a business card in the window pocket to identify this as my planner, and filled in the information in the front.  I added the moms from our AHG start-up to the address book.

This simple two pages per week Franklin Covey is serving me well so far. I watched a video on youtube about the use of the FranklinCovey. Here is the link: 25 years of Use   The concepts behind planners are fairly consistent, so while the video is focusing on the more complex planners with more pages and rings, the concepts still work for this planner which fits my life quite well.

Why do I need a planner?  Well, I struggle with executive function. I struggle to categorize; I struggle to prioritize; I struggle to remember everything that needs to go on my list so I can be sure to get it done. I lose lists all the time, so while creating lists on whatever paper is handy is flexible,  I wasn’t getting the degree of organization and planning I needed.

THEN, I added a couple of new things to my already full plate, and realized very quickly that without a planner I was going to sink fast!

Welcome little Franklin Covey Planner!

Dear Lord, Thank You for planners and the hope they bring to the organizationally challenged and the very busy. +Amen.