Depending on the planner I use, I like to keep my Work and Life apart. If they're in the same planner, then I assign a section that is just for work. The reason for this is to allow my brain to not constantly think of one when I'm meant to think of the other. Below are some ways in which I use a planner for work rather than overlapping the two.
(Referencing Style #1)
Work and Life are two important parts of your week - whether you spend your time at a typical office job or something else, it all culminates into what is happening in your day-to-day life. There are some complexities that come with planning for both. Especially when they both require different types of techniques in order to get the job done.
Style #1 - Different planner books
This is the method that I'm currently employing. With this, I keep my Life Planner and my Work Planner in two separate books. By using the Passion Planner Undated Daily, I've been able to keep them apart from each other unless events cross over - which I will get into later.
The Undated Daily allows me to document each day based on my needs. It's perfect for my daily life, but also work. I'm not obligated to deal with dated pages for weekends that I won't be using. And, I get frustrated seeing blank pages.
Having an undated planner is perfect for work! And, I can still decorate it if I want to.
Passion Planner's Undated Daily has a "Space of Infinite Possibilities" on the right hand side. I use this side to take notes of meetings, of items that I need to focus on, or lists of what I need to do throughout the day. It allows me the chance to stay organized and have all my notes in one place. The left side has areas of to-do lists to help me track my projects, and the hourly tracker to keep me in check of what all I need to accomplish that day. This also helps in updating my timesheets for work.
I also get to keep this planner at my desk at work without having to drag it back and forth.
I also use this Planner for my day-to-day, so I'm really accustomed to using it.
Style #2 - Dedicated section
Before the flood, I had built together a Cloth & Paper planner over time; this was going to house all of my planning needs and I often miss the feeling of it all in one place. But, I had tabs put in place to keep my work layout apart from my day-to-life. Having them in two different sections allowed me to also utilize two different layout styles - one that included an hourly agenda for Work, and a different one that worked better for my life outside of my job.
This helped when I had my Monthly Calendar at the beginning of the planner, allowing me the chance to see it all in one place.
Having it one binder gave me easy access to everything all at once, and I could take it with me all at once. On the con side, it gave me access to work every time I wanted to look at it. I still very much miss this and I'm hoping that one day I can return to this route just to see if it's still the style for me.
Style #3 - All in One
A common method is to have it all in one place; use the hourly agenda to document your work events and throughout the day, and then use the to-do lists for the items needed to tackle for your hours before and after work.
This allows for less confusion and less juggling - which, for a lot of people, is the key to a good, simple planner system!
Using it together
The biggest hurdle is when you have overlapping appointments and deadlines. Having it all in one place allows you to have an easier time to see the events crossing over. This way, you can plan your events bit by bit around any work meetings and appointments. With having two separate books, sometimes you have to write the events in two different places at once.
While it's not a big deal, it can be annoying for a lot.
Find the way that works best for you!
With my current style, it gets easy to use my two planners together. While my day-to-day planner comes with me everywhere I go, my work planner stays at my desk.
Things I write in my Work Planner:
Major and Minor Deadlines
Reminders
Appointments & Meetings
Work Events after Work Hours
List of my Current Projects
Upcoming Projects
Daily To-Do Lists
Meeting Notes
Goals for the Month
Goals for the Week
Sometimes, two is better than one
For now, I really like keeping my Work and Life apart from each other. Whether it is in the form of two different planners, or two different sections in one planner. This keeps me from overloading on work, while still ensuring that I'm keeping up with all the things I need to do. Of course, I work a typical Monday-Friday job behind a desk. It gets easier to keep track when my hours are all the same. But, in terms of what I doing during the day, having a place to write it all out really helps.
What are your favorite ways of keeping up with work? Let me know in the comments!
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