Finally ditched my yearly planner for a simple daily log three months ago

I used to cram a whole month into one spread and never touched it after day three, but now I just write one page per day with my top three tasks and it actually sticks, has anyone else found that less structure works better for them?

2 comments

2 Comments

evah407d ago

Is it weird that the less I plan, the more I actually do? @sage_rodriguez you hit on something big about the brain and small commitments. I think all those fancy planners just make us feel productive without actually being productive, like the act of organizing becomes a substitute for doing the work. My brain honestly rebels if I try to schedule every hour of the day, but giving myself just a handful of tasks feels manageable and I actually finish them. It's like the freedom to choose what matters most each day beats being locked into a rigid plan that never accounts for real life.

sage_rodriguez7d ago

Actually heard a psychologist on a podcast talking about this exact thing. She said most people overestimate how much structure they actually need to be productive, and that the brain does better with small daily commitments than big monthly plans. It really clicked for me because I used to buy those fancy Erin Condren planners and would get so overwhelmed by all the sections and stickers. My system now is just a plain notebook and I write down three things I want to get done that day, sometimes four if I'm feeling ambitious. The funny thing is I'm actually getting more done now than when I had all those color coded categories and time blocks.