I needed to revamp my planning system. My iPhone was getting full of content, and managing my planning from it has become troublesome. At the same time, I have looked for a way to combine my planner, and journal, as tracking multiple items for weekly planning is somewhat troublesome. My solution is to use a Moleskine type notebook in the following way:

Section One

Mission Statement – On the first lined page of the notebook I copied in my current mission statement.

Section Two

This is the largest part of the system. It is the Weekly planning, and Journal pages of the system.

Each week has a full 2 page spread. On the first page I put the dates for the week I am covering. Then, I draw a line three lines from the bottom across the width of the page. Then I draw a line down the middle of each page. Each day gets 1/3 of the space, making 6 boxes. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all get full boxes, while Saturday and Sunday share the last box.

The three-line area at the bottom of the page I copy out my vision statement each week, to keep it in front of me all week.

The second page gets a line down the middle of it. I use the first column for my task list, and then use the second column for my Spiritual, Mental, Physical, Social Goals, and the Roles I am working on this coming week.

I reserved one spread of pages after the first full week of each month for the journal pages. So far this has worked out, because each spread will only need 4-5 entries, and the journal pages are logically placed.

Section Three

This is the last section of the notebook, and it is made up of the sheets not used by the first two sections. I quickly found a use for most of them in my notebook, helping me track my glucose readings, and the progress of one of my goals for 2016.

Implementation Notes

  • I still use my web and phone calendars to track reoccurring, and long-range appointments.
  • I place post it notes on weeks with a note to help me track short-term appointments within the next month.
  • I can still use my telephone for notes, or a web-based tool, but I have a small notebook I fold into the main one for notes and projects.