Thank you so much for including a section for those of us with chronic illnesses. I have a hard time with schedules and planners bc it seems everytime that I plan something that is the day I’m gonna have a flair that will knock me down for a week
I don't have a chronic illness at the moment, but between toddlers and ND kids, I never know how much I will be able to get done in a day. I've used this method when pregnant, which for me, is the same as a chronic illness in terms of reliable energy levels.
My solution is to play my day in quadrants: Before breakfast, morning, afternoon, evening. I then have a "low time/energy" schedule for each one that consists entirely of self-care/kid-care tasks like eating and changing diapers. I plan extra tasks in a priority list, but I know the basics and can easily cut things out or push them back when it becomes obvious that the task isn't going to happen. Plus, I reset expectations at each quadrant based on how things have been going. This way, if the morning went way off rails because 2 kids had meltdowns, when I sit down for lunch and think about the afternoon, I already know it's going to be a low energy period and plan accordingly. Instead of cleaning the whole house(like I had originally planned for the morning), I might do some computer work or read a book to the kids.
It is not a recipe for getting a lot done. But, there is no possible way to get a lot done in this situation. It's mainly a way to make sure the *most important* things get done and to lose the guilt for all the things that simply can't happen.
I've been writing for free for years and only been paid once or twice for writing (it was a private donation on my Venmo, so I can't show it to any magazine editors or anything). Is there a good way to show off my free work, blogs, etc, during a pitch and how should I go about doing that?
Thank you for sharing your planner before the pen! It’s beautiful.
Thank you so much for including a section for those of us with chronic illnesses. I have a hard time with schedules and planners bc it seems everytime that I plan something that is the day I’m gonna have a flair that will knock me down for a week
I don't have a chronic illness at the moment, but between toddlers and ND kids, I never know how much I will be able to get done in a day. I've used this method when pregnant, which for me, is the same as a chronic illness in terms of reliable energy levels.
My solution is to play my day in quadrants: Before breakfast, morning, afternoon, evening. I then have a "low time/energy" schedule for each one that consists entirely of self-care/kid-care tasks like eating and changing diapers. I plan extra tasks in a priority list, but I know the basics and can easily cut things out or push them back when it becomes obvious that the task isn't going to happen. Plus, I reset expectations at each quadrant based on how things have been going. This way, if the morning went way off rails because 2 kids had meltdowns, when I sit down for lunch and think about the afternoon, I already know it's going to be a low energy period and plan accordingly. Instead of cleaning the whole house(like I had originally planned for the morning), I might do some computer work or read a book to the kids.
It is not a recipe for getting a lot done. But, there is no possible way to get a lot done in this situation. It's mainly a way to make sure the *most important* things get done and to lose the guilt for all the things that simply can't happen.
Thank you for this. I love how you clearly account for the needs of others around you and how they affect you, and your schedule.
Too much advice is geared towards ‘just do it’, which works fine if you aren’t chronically ill or caring for others with fluctuating needs.
What kind of planner is that called to buy??
When you buy A4 paper, do you get it pre-hole-punched or do you have your own hole punch? These are the things that keep me up at night 🫣
I use a Franklin Covey planner, which has an odd hole punch system. So I punch myself. To clarify: I use a5 paper, which is a4 cut in half.
I've been writing for free for years and only been paid once or twice for writing (it was a private donation on my Venmo, so I can't show it to any magazine editors or anything). Is there a good way to show off my free work, blogs, etc, during a pitch and how should I go about doing that?