There‘s only so long I can stay focus on an analog planning system. I thought the break from digital stronghold would give me a welcome respite but alas, old habits die hard. I‘m back to where I started – hopping around various systems while settling on none.
My current favourite is The Emergent Task Planner (ETP) by David Seah. At the start of the day, I list out three important tasks to be completed, then estimate their time required in blocks of 15 minutes. With that, I input the respective tasks and time on the left side of the sheet. I find that listing out the tasks into manageable bits and tracking the time gives me a better sense of control. I could see the things needed to be completed at one glance. I could then schedule the mundane chores or less critical things around the spare time blocks.
Before ETP, I was using Chronodex by Patrick Ng. For a while, it seemed like the ideal system for me. Its pie-like shape is highly visual and flexible. I can adapt it to the way I want. The novelty lasted for less than a week, before I gradually passed up on it. It was fun while it lasted, the shading and writing without any form. I could well come back to Chronodex if I ever get bored of ETP.
With that, these are the two most recent systems I‘ve tried. Of course, there‘s also the bullet journal and dash/plus. Everyone will have their preferred method of organising. What works for me may not necessarily works for you. Explore around just enough to know what doesn‘t work.
It would be nice if I can follow through on one (or at most two) system and get going on finishing the tasks at hand. A good enough tool would suffice. The time spent to learn the basis of a new system and getting to a comfortable level could be better utilised elsewhere.