I don't always use a day planner, but I do occasionally when I am feeling particularly under pressure with a lot to get done. When in that position I simply use a piece of paper and at the start of the day I make a small list of things that I absolutely must get sorted before I finish up for that day, and score off each item as I work through the list.
I always also leave enough flex in the day to allow for interruptions so that the list is achievable.
Nothing complicated, just a piece of paper and a list at the start of the day that I stick to when I need to.
I do this when I'm in a similar situation - a lot of pressure things/deadlines building up and a lot to accomplish.
BUT to subject of to-do lists and planners, I am desperately looking for something that will help me and I haven't found anything yet. I can be dealing with 20 or 30 or 40 different projects or actions at one time - some might be things that "come and go" - need some attention one day then nothing for 3 weeks. Others are things that I'm working on in some way most days and will be for the foreseeable. Others might be one off things here and there that I know I need to do "in the next couple of days". By my own admission I am liable to procrastinate or get easily distracted - like I am right now browsing and replying on UKBF!
I just simply can't, or haven't, found a way to keep track of each project and what's been discussed on it and when. if we have a meeting and some things need actioning, I could do with notes and reminders for that. When I ask somebody to do something, I need a reminder when they haven't got back to me. I've tried various "systems" of my own, e.g. I used to file all of my sent emails and leave ones in my sent box that I was waiting for a reply to. Likewise filing all my incoming emails but leaving ones that need actioning in my inbox. But that was just chaotic, receiving an answer to an email, then having to remember to go back into my sent box and find the original one so I could now file it! Add to that the sheer volume of emails I deal with daily and it's impossible. I've tried various online apps and systems but a lot of those are based on "collaboration" and "assigning tasks to other team members" etc...something which I don't need. I have tried just basic powerpoint with a slide for each project and adding notes/updates on there, but then it's too easy to go a few days or a week without doing any updates and not be able to remember what has or hasn't been done!
I think my next thing is to take it back to basics - have a basic word, excel or powerpoint and have an entry for every thing I've got going on. But I think the key then is to be
absolutely disciplined in reviewing it. In my case, probably blocking out for example 4.30pm - 5pm in my diary
every single day to
A) Review all projects and update any with notes/comments/actions required from that day
B) Add any new projects/to-do that have come in that day
C) Plan the priority tasks for the next day and be ready to start them first thing in the morning
Now...if only I had the time to initially sit there for god knows how many hours and get everything I'm working on written down in one location!
