“Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.” Alan Dean Foster, Nor Crystal Tears

I have not read the book, like the quote though. The beginning of a brand new year and its a good time to consider getting a Planner. It’s been most helpful to me – tracking birthdays and occasions, monthly expenses, to-do lists, appointments, reminders, jotting down notes; everything that comes to mind goes into the planner. This is a very helpful habit as once its in the planner, I am free to forget about it. It’s stored safely and I don’t have to rack my brain to remember.

One for me and the second for the kid. Many people prefer going digital, I still like jotting and ticking off items, maybe for the extra dose of dopamine rush. I find the layout very useful. Compact, it gives a bird’s-eye view of the year, each month and then the week. And you can plan for each day.

For a look inside, I do not want to post the pages of my old planner. So the empty pages of the brand new one will have to do 🙂. Most people make their own layouts, I like the ones in PaperClip, they are highly functional. The pages can be personalised with doodles, stickers, washi tapes etc. as per liking.

And what’s the plan for 2019 with regards to blogging? I am skeptical about sharing my plans, revealing an aim is a sure shot way of jinxing it 🤐. Last year I focussed on the count and was successful (reached 💯 with 2 posts a week from Jan to Dec 18) and am a firm believer of this cliché “What gets measured gets done.”

“Any idiot can face a crisis, its day-to-day living that wears you out.” Anton Chekhov

As much I enjoy planning and following a plan, I dislike monotony. Hence I have a love-hate relationship with routines and a plan helps to balance the everyday ought to-do’s and the like to-do’s. There are scores of books and videos on the merits and ways of planning your day. Pick and choose. Two of my favourite plan principles

[1] Finalise on the To-do list the prior evening

[2] The constraint is time and not the number of tasks, we can make the list as long as we want; hence be sure to allot time for the task. With the limited time, the tasks will dwindle down and get prioritised……and stop when the allotted time is over. Walk away either completed or half-done. Plan for it again.

I remember one uncle of mine advising his daughter on how to make the grandson drink milk, something which the kid hated. He asked her start with extremely small quantities each day; less than one-fourth of a glass to begin with, which the kid can finish in one gulp. The kid won’t object to one gulp. In fact the kid was surprised at the unusually low quantity and happily finished it.

Keep it up for a few days. And the subsequently, very slowly start increasing the quantity. It works and same with the ought to-do’s in our daily life which we hate. Start small.

2019 will have to wait and watch !!