Every new year, or new school year, I end up on the hunt for the perfect planner. Much of my search is a misguided attempt to create the perfect schedule that will allow me to complete every task and goal (so long as everything runs perfectly, and I can run on coffee instead of sleep). While that endeavor is doomed to fail, I have learned a few things over the last few years about what helps me be the most successful and productive in my realistic plans.
I need to be pretty constantly reminded what my biggest goals are so that I can work on them a little bit – even if it’s only five minutes – every day. I need to encourage myself with positive thinking, and I need to remind myself that every day will present a challenge. I also need to hold myself accountable for some basic daily ritual tasks, and I need to evaluate how I’m living each day.
I’ve learned that consistent journaling and evaluation helps me spot depression symptoms and potential relapse issues before they get too big to deal with.
So, I spent about a month each in several planners and decided to just make my own that had the things I wanted to track and the questions I needed to journal through each day. I stripped out my personal details to make a blank I could pass on to my neighbor, so I thought I’d share it here if there are any other writer-artist-depressed-dieting types out there. It’s a fairly niche market, but you can also take what’s there and change the categories to suit yourself.
The file is a pdf, so you can print it if you want to use it, and it’s here for you to click on and open – no strings attached. I’m only doing a month at a time, so if you use it and like it or have suggestions, please pass those on. You can comment here or drop me an e-mail at mabbatblog@gmail.com. Also, I’m working on setting up a mailing list this weekend, so if you like the free planner and Bible studies, please sign up. I’ll share more details on that post.
Mabbat 