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Let's look forward to 2022
What are your goals for next year?
Do you have any?
How do you look forward?
Are you planning 2022 already - holidays, birthdays, family get togethers, date nights?
Or do you sit back and wait for 2022 to happen to you?!
The past two years, not all due to the strange times in which we live, I have been reacting to events rather than taking control and planning activities in advance.
I don't want 2022 to be like this if I can help it!
Having recently discovered the wonders of Flexible Planning when it comes to my blogging and my business as a whole, I am aiming to take it to the next step in 2022!!
This is something I have developed as I have become more interested in planning and scheduling in my business.
There are a set number of things which have to get done each week.
However, the very nature of having a family means that there are also unplanned and unscheduled things which may arise any time during the week and I need to make sure that my planning and scheduling is flexible enough to accommodate these things.
I do this by making sure everybody is aware of the times when I am not available - working outside of the home. Then I make sure there are gaps in my calendar, every available day. Then if somebody needs a lift or I have an appointment I can move things around using the gaps.
It helps that I use a digital calendar which I can access on my laptop, phone and tablet. My calendar of choice is Google.
If I have planned to do some research for an hour but I need to go for an appointment, I can simply click on the research block and move it to one of my gaps, meaning the job still gets done.
So now I am seeing if this method can be used in my personal life.
Here is how I am going about it:
1 List all the important dates
Birthdays holidays when family is here or not, appointments you already know about, if you run a business you could also include important dates for your business. These are the dates which are set in stone and cannot be changed.
2 Brainstorm all your ideas for things you want to do, places you want to go etc.
3 Do you have any goals in 2022? Do you want to save an amount of money by a certain date? or are you aiming to run a marathon? Add these to your list.
4 Find a year at a glance calendar I have a 2022 year at a glance planner - you can print one for free here https://www.lindajharper.com/shop from my shop or on google docs, and fill in the dates - if you are like me you can go as far as to colour code them - birthdays one colour, holidays another etc.
5 If any items on your second list are time specific enter them onto the calendar, these are also set in stone.
6. Now, you decide whether to add all, some or none of the items on your brainstorm and goals list onto the calendar. These are your flexible chunks of time - until they become date specific.
Do you want to set up a family night once a month or a date night?
Now is the time to discuss it with everyone and see if you can put them on your calendar.
Don’t forget about rest, and downtime. I know that if I have something arranged for every weekend I will get overwhelmed and I will stop looking forward to things. It is important to know yourself and plan with this in mind. If seeing a calendar with lots of empty spaces stresses you then add in some events off your brainstorm list to give you things to look forward to.
This means that on my calendar I have a column at the side where I will keep a list of ideas that I have come up with, or that someone else is interested in and these can be added to the calendar as and when we decide to do them. My plan is to look no more than one or two months in advance and fill in dates then. Remember - LEAVE GAPS on your planner. BE FLEXIBLE - don't be worried about moving things around - you know the dates which are absolutely set in stone - everything else can be moved with a little conversation between participants!!
This is just as I have begun to add things to the list.
I am hoping 2022 will be a year of doing. Acting instead of reacting!
If you would like a year at a glance planner to print, I have an a4 version you can access as a free printable over on the website SHOP! https://www.lindajharper.com/shop
Would this type of planning help you? Let me know in the comments below!
You can comment below ↓↓ or look at the end of the blog for all the ways you can contact me privately. I love hearing from you with all your ideas and photos of the areas you are working on!!
If you want to delve deeper into finding a ‘system’ which will work for you, you can contact me via my email lindajharper@yahoo.com or using the chat bubble on my website, I would love to help you!
You can message me on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Linda-J-Harper-Professional-Declutterer-and-Organiser-107805011001601.
I am also on Pinterest and Instagram if you need some inspiration! https://www.pinterest.co.uk/adnilenaj1314/boards/