Business Owner Planner Hacks for 2022

August 10, 2021


By Jason Eisenberg
Community Program Manager for Office Depot

Let’s run through an all-too familiar scenario. It’s the end of the year, and you’re telling yourself, “This year is going to be different.” You’re going to make organization a priority because you know that it can help with your productivity as well as lower stress levels [Health.com]. The next step to take is to get the tools to help you stay organized and one of those tools is a planner. However, it shouldn’t just be any planner – it should be a planner that is suited to your style and your processes. Organization expert Lauren Ladouceur states:

“Yes, we want to push ourselves to grow and improve but we can’t start at that point. The point you should start at is with things that are easy to incorporate into the rhythm and systems you already have in your day-to-day life.”

Life changes. Your processes may change. Having a planner and a tailored strategy for yourself is the best way to keep you on track on your path to better organization for yourself and your business.


1) Uninterrupted lists

@lahluzeplanner

Generally, we leverage a planner or organizer in order to manage a multitude of tasks. Work stuff, social stuff, home stuff, personal stuff… they can sometimes all get crammed into a day or a week.

 

But @lahluxeplanner shares a counter-intuitive hack called a “get to do uninterrupted” list, which lets her focus on her most important priority for the day, as well as ease the stress of a massive to-do list within a small timeframe.

 

“My planner today is a “get to do uninterrupted” list as opposed to the usual “have to do while doing 10 other things” list. This is the best idea I’ve ever had.”


2. Time block

@bysandylin

An easy, actionable tip to best utilize your planner is by time blocking. Remember school when you had certain periods for certain activities – History, Math, Lunchtime, etc.? It’s the same principal. Block out periods of time to focus on one thing and one thing only so that you can keep distractions at bay.

 

It’s in a similar vein to making uninterrupted lists, but with a hard deadline so you can move on with your day if you need to.

 

“Time blocking helps you protect two extremely precious resources–your time and your focus.” [Monday.com]


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3. Assign each day a theme

@smallstuffemily

Organizing consultant @smallstuffemily is always trying to stay creative when managing her home life and her business. One of her hacks is assigning each day a theme.

 

Whether it’s setting a daily theme for the dinners she prepares for her family or assigning certain days of the week to a certain set of tasks, this can help keep you on track when you’re not feeling so motivated or creative on any given day.

 

“I can always get creative and plan different meals for the week, but when life gets crazy and I have no brain power for decisions, it’s so nice to have a default [theme] to fall back on.”


4. Plan in advance & color code tasks

@planning_in_the_479

“Planning gives your company a clear direction when mapping out your goals. You plan on the direction you would like the business to go, and the plan maps out how you will achieve those goals.” [Forbes]

 

A planner is pretty much a map of your day, week, month or year – depending on what kind of planner you decide to go with. Even if you use a day planner, you probably shouldn’t be filling it out the day of. Plan ahead. For @planning_in_the_479, planning one month ahead of time is what keeps her not only motivated and on track, but gets her excited for the upcoming month. She also color codes her tasks as it's much easier to visualize your day this way!

 

“The best part of a month ...ramping up and getting next month’s dates and activities down.”


If you would like to discover more inspiration on how other business owners are improving productivity within their business, check out our Discover Depot page and if you’d like to be potentially highlighted in an upcoming feature, visit here to learn more about the #DiscoverDepot Ambassador Program.