How I Approach Forward Planning?!? | CHARMED CHAT

[@narelleworks8448]

Oh thank you for this! The hours I've wasted believing that I can plan 2-3 months in advance and created a terrible mess are too many to mention. I believed that planning out as far as possible was the mark of excellence in organising. Even when I had a job, hubby and 3 kids with many pre-scheduled tasks I couldn't make it work. Naturally, there was something wrong with me being unable to pursue the excellence I craved. After a few more years I thought that I just needed to find the right planner. I knew I wanted a tidy planner but not one where it was so pretty I'd be afraid to mess it up with my plans. What you have said here is a light bulb moment. 💜🇦🇺

[@narelleworks8448]

Sorry I forgot, Happy Mother's Day to human, feather and fur Mums. 💐🎁💜🇦🇺

[@MissTrenchcoat]

+Narelle Works Fur, Feather & Fins!! Love it!

[@felimekj]

+Alexis aka MissTrenchcoat Sounds like a song I know. Also a store I know : )

[@NORTHERNGYPSY]

Love the bundles!!! Great video my friend. Forward planning is sssssooooo important and I love hearing your process.

[@rachelstevens5099]

Completely agree, I love forward planning but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I'm still yet to find planner peace, but your videos are really helpful!

[@VeganOrganizer]

Happy Fur Mother's Day to you too, and thanks for the great insights!

[@bags_books_and_bowwows]

I have two really busy middle school students, so I do a ton of forward planning. I start with the most constrained events, which go on my monthly planner. On the 17th of the month (random... but that's when my Pure Barre autorenew hits and I can register), I transfer what's on my monthly to my weeklies, register for all my exercise classes for the next month and add those into my weekly layouts. I have a set production schedule for my custom stationery orders, so I flesh that out, too. I recently printed my own stickers to fit my weekly/hourly pages that represent my most common time blocks, so it's really quick for me lay down a good overview. The nuttiest forward planning I do is meal planning, which I actually do three months at a time. It won't be 100% fleshed out. I do some freezer cooking, and I also subscribe to a CSA, so it's the freezer meals that really get laid in three months at a time (and based around days I know the kids have activities and it will be nice to come home to a steaming crockpot). The beauty of freezer cooking is making up several batches of each dish, but when I tried doing sessions once a month, we got really tired of eating chili every week! That's why I ended up going to a three month system. During CSA season, the forward planning of two meals a week will just be filled out as "CSA," and I'll finalize what they'll be when I know what food will actually be coming! My instagram is @veronicafoleysplanner , I try to show how some of my system works over there. I'm thinking about doing a video about how I use apps for my meal planning process (as in, how recipes travel from Pinterest to plate), but I haven't done videos before.

[@felimekj]

+Veronica Foley I'll have to look at your IG stuff. Sounds great. I know Mom's of human children have a heavy load of responsibility. But I think that means you r doing the Mom thing right : )) When they have their own cars watch out : ) A whole new system will need to evolve.

[@user-Tea278]

so glad you have this channel. I love your planner series, I love how you add things that you or i would not think of... thanks..

[@felimekj]

Thank you again for another great video. I agree on the "too much forward planning can have negative effects on our motivation" idea. I think we need to make our plans realistic. If we get more done than is scheduled, we can do something else as well. And then be happy that we got done more than what we planned for. Its ok to challenge yourself, but not too much. I know for me, due to medical stuff, I can loose entire days at any given time and get really frustrated. However, if I don't plan at all I don't get things done on days I am up to the task. Finding the balance is the biggest challenge. To that I say to myself "Practice." Maybe I will find a pattern or just track weeks I do well and maybe why. For that reason, I do write things in pen and note why I cancelled or rescheduled something. Though it looks terrible, no lie there. I think for me, it is important. Somethings I do write on Post Its so I can save a space for something I am pretty sure will happen. If I did this too much however, my whole planner would be on Post Its. : ))

[@felimekj]

+felinekj I'm glad I'm not the only subscriber that writes long comments : )

[@ConnieBea]

In terms of my life right now, I don't like to forward plan. I keep a huge soft list of plans so I know what I need to do in the next couple of months. But oh my gosh! As my former position of being an Executive Assistant, I had to forward plan like crazy. I started off with setting deadlines for certain things, and as I was doing them, I would create a continuity book. At the end of the year, I was able to solidify my continuity book. I had everything in terms of dates, how to determine deadlines, an estimate of how long certain projects should take and what should be done by a certain time period. So forward planning was all based on a continuity book. When I knew a certain event was coming up, I would open up to that section in my continuity book and then start planning in terms of having deadlines and time periods. It was intense!

[@felimekj]

+Sponsored By Coffee Yikes, that sounds very intense!! Kudos to you!!!! I'm glad that was a Former Position! I love the term "soft list of plans", not to mention ur user name. Love it!!

[@stephaniechrystal9]

Hi Alexis! Awesome video!! loved how this video could be for biz and non-biz owners alike plus LOVING the mix of planning for personal vs biz. I find it hard to balance both. Also the fact that you don't forward as much as I would've thought is SO refreshing! More videos like this would be great :)

[@MissTrenchcoat]

You got it!

[@DeannaMoyers]

Thanks for sharing - my forward planning as far as my business is concerned is looked at as GOALS. Of course some things MUST get done but if I schedule myself too tightly I feel overwhelmed and lose my creativity and mojo. I like to look at my goals for the month and do my best to achieve.

[@korkeshaarrington7223]

Thank you. Happy Furry Mother's Day to you!!!

[@CarmenANazario]

awww, Happy Fur Mamma!

[@kelli1402]

Happy Furmommy Day to you too! It's Mothers Day in Australia today too :-)

[@jennifergregory65]

I am very much a forward planner, but I think my reasoning and expectations. I have plans on my calendar for next Spring already that are not doctor's appointments but they need to be on my radar so I can be working towards them, knowing full well that thing about it may change. I just need to have the big picture framed. My August...between kiddos starting high school, the last of Summer camps, and my own seasonal work flow...is already booked. I am no long taking commitments, appointments, projects anything for August. For , long range projects though, I generally only map out a month at a time for what I'd like to accomplish, and make hard deadlines 2 weeks out as that seems be the rotation at which new info comes in. even in long range planning, I use pens and pencils versus flags. I like flags, but trying to balance a convoy with the rebellious teen, while fielding a phone call needing me to write something, and scheduling an orthodontics appointment in 6 weeks...those flags won't make it out. I pencil it in, or they staple it to my page. It gets crazy sometimes, and I am actually trying to slow the influx of incoming right now.

[@thelaurensoko]

i like to make a very general forward plan. on sundays, i like to make an outline of my time for the week in my emily ley simplified planner. it gives me a general idea of what i should be doing each day. i also like to write down the tasks that i have to accomplish for the week and assign them to random days so i can try to balance how much i am doing each day and i don't get overwhelmed any one day or feel that i am saving everything to do on the weekend. the night before each day however, i will write down a more specific schedule and to do list in my bujo to help keep me motivated for the following day. i guess my system is a combination of the two, but it is definitely starting to work for me.

[@taliarivera5647]

My approach is somewhat different. I use the weekly plan with the week as the target not the exact days. The day assignments are just adjusting for priorities, more or less. I overcame the "inking" tasks on a certain day with the bullet journal key: where at mid-week I look over the open tasks and decide if I will be able to do all, and the ones that might not make it -like waiting for ones- I write on a post-it. It stays on the current week until the next week's planning, in case I get to do them. Also serves as cue to follow up. So, whatever is left on the post-it, or on the pages, gets a "migrated forward" arrow as I move them to the next week. This way, I know nothing was left behind. To stop and review mid-week has the effect of me doing a lot Monday to Wednesday, with miscs to do on Thursday and Friday, with minimal migrations about 85% of the time. I've never been so productive in my life, and I have you and Boho Berry's Kara to thank for! You girls are awesome. Thanks forever.

[@ChristyAymami]

You are SO on the mark with this! I HATE having blemishes in my planner! My issue is that my office changes things the very day of. Sticky notes have become my best friend! When you use yours, are you adding them to the monthly pages, or the weekly pages?

[@MissTrenchcoat]

I add them wherever the note is applicable. So if its a note for the month it goes on monthly, if its a note for a specific week, it goes on the week!

[@DAC2254]

😊❤️😻 happy mothers day to you

[@jamesbriggs5740]

I do not think in months only weeks. On my weekly review I go over my projects and choose which next action to do. Kathy B.

[@kelseysworld4598]

I have soo many things to do so I always forward plan. But how I do it is by putting it on my phone first then after it gets done I hand write it in a physical planner that way if things get moved around the digital planner is an easy place to make it more correct. I hate messy planners it completely overwhelms me.

[@Sophia8983]

thank you

[@shaconejohnson3578]

Mmmm you always make me think;) I am rethinking my forward planning and love the tips and tricks, as always. Do you have any suggestions or links for the year at a glance fold out kind of insert? Something I can jot down, and later plan from?

[@MissTrenchcoat]

I have a free one in my shop: www.strangecharmed.com/shop/product/2016-year-at-a-glance-calendar-printable-a5-personal-sized/

[@AS-lm9xm]

Miss Trenchcoat, Hello, let me start by saying thank you for all the great information and accessories you have available. a question that I have is what weight of cards took or paper if that's what you use for your printable for Journaling and planning do you use or recommend? I really enjoy al, the things you have on your site. Please continue to share your ideas, thoughts, and information. Arlene ☺

[@MissTrenchcoat]

I leave all my paper recommendations in my Shop listings, but for journaling cards I recommend 120lb cardstock or greater.

[@KylieWoolen]

This video made me subscribe. I feel like we're soul sisters here. Very very very similar ways of planning. Xoxo great video

[@MissTrenchcoat]

Awesome! Thank you so much for hanging out with me!!

[@alexandriadesrameaux7208]

I am really new to this planner community. I am a mother of 5 children but I never wrote down anything and never missed a beat until now. I am not sure what inserts or size of planner. I need to track 6 people and my job stuff ??? I do have a planner for two weeks and what now..... I already schedule too many appointments on one day and I had the planner... I just did not remember to look at it..

[@StyleandGrace08]

I'm much like you....I forward plan on stickers and post-its that can be moved or tossed

[@elnamea]

I have my first baby today

[@jwilliams3547]

+elnamea Congratulations. Enjoy the journey of motherhood.

[@angelinaoliveira6117]

first!!!

[@user-Tea278]

so glad you have this channel. I love your planner series, I love how you add things that you or i would not think of... thanks..

[@Sophia8983]

thank you