time management

October 13, 2021

The Four Rules of Planning Part 2 – (Podcast Ep. 2)

Posted in Lifestyle Planning, Mindset, Planner Tips, Podcast Episodes

In our second episode, we dive into the final two rules of planning: train your subconscious and maintain a flexible mindset. These concepts are simple to implement, yet extremely effective for crafting an intentional lifestyle. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Our “Four Rules of Planning” —

Write down what you did. For several days or weeks, use your planner to record what you did. By starting with the rhythms and habits you already operate in, you can recognize patterns, and evaluate what’s working and what’s not. You can then design incremental change that serves your family, makes sense for the season you’re in, and builds into a sustainable lifestyle.
Build your repertoire of planning skills. Think about it like becoming a skilled cook in a kitchen. You must build your planning and productivity skills over time, as you come upon new challenges. Learn as you go, practice patiently, and you’ll soon feel equipped to adapt your new skills to fit any given situation. Just as a skilled cook would not feel the pressure to use every technique they know every time they prepare a dish, you shouldn’t feel the pressure to exercise every single time-management or efficiency muscle you have every single moment of every day. You simply build your repertoire of skills for when you need them.
Train your subconscious. The more you write down your goals and priorities, the more you are teaching your brain to focus on what is important to you. This builds a “working memory” around your priorities, enabling you to waste less energy on deciding what you need to do next in the day-to-day, so you can give more brain space to bigger goals and projects.
Maintain a flexible mindset. Even with the best planning, life still throws punches and things play out in ways you could’ve never anticipated. Instead of mislabeling yourself as “failures” because of circumstances out of your control, you have the choice to strengthen your positive influence in any given situation. You can take a proactive approach to these challenges—whether big or small—by adopting a mindset that inspires you to pivot and handle the inevitable changes to your plans in creative and life-giving ways.

Remember, these rules are not a once-and-done process, they are a cycle that you can move through again and again. The truth about intentional living is that it has to be adaptable, because your life will change constantly. The schedule rhythms you were following in January are likely not the ones that will work well in September. These four rules will help you to constantly adapt, change and perfect your planning processes, while doing it in a way that is unique to your lifestyle, season and needs.

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The Evergreen Planner system is comprised of three unique pieces: the Cover, the Annual and the Monthly. Here at Evergreen we believe in self-compassionate planning and want to inspire women to craft a lifestyle that both fuels their dreams and serves their daily rhythms. Learn more about our system here!

October 6, 2021

The Four Rules of Planning – (Podcast Ep.1)

Posted by By Shelby Shepherd

Posted in Lifestyle Planning, Mindset, Planner Tips, Podcast Episodes

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts

You want to start getting organized around the things that matter most to you. But where do you even begin?

In our first episode, we offer an effective shortcut for diving into the world of time-management and productivity—without getting overwhelmed. Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts

Our “Four Rules of Planning” —

Write down what you did. For several days or weeks, use your planner to record what you did. By starting with the rhythms and habits you already operate in, you can recognize patterns, and evaluate what’s working and what’s not. You can then design incremental change that serves your family, makes sense for the season you’re in, and builds into a sustainable lifestyle.
Build your repertoire of planning skills. Think about it like becoming a skilled cook in a kitchen. You must build your planning and productivity skills over time, as you come upon new challenges. Learn as you go, practice patiently, and you’ll soon feel equipped to adapt your new skills to fit any given situation. Just as a skilled cook would not feel the pressure to use every technique they know every time they prepare a dish, you shouldn’t feel the pressure to exercise every single time-management or efficiency muscle you have every single moment of every day. You simply build your repertoire of skills for when you need them.
Train your subconscious. The more you write down your goals and priorities, the more you are teaching your brain to focus on what is important to you. This builds a “working memory” around your priorities, enabling you to waste less energy on deciding what you need to do next in the day-to-day, so you can give more brain space to bigger goals and projects.
Maintain a flexible mindset. Even with the best planning, life still throws punches and things play out in ways you could’ve never anticipated. Instead of mislabeling yourself as “failures” because of circumstances out of your control, you have the choice to strengthen your positive influence in any given situation. You can take a proactive approach to these challenges—whether big or small—by adopting a mindset that inspires you to pivot and handle the inevitable changes to your plans in creative and life-giving ways.

Cozy up with this first episode, & you’ll hear:

A little about team Evergreen and our heart behind starting this podcast
Our shortcut for understanding and getting organized around your unique dynamics
A practical tip that helps you shift your mindset from never feeling like you’re doing enough
How planning is a lot like cooking—and how learning on the go is a super-effective approach

We’ll be back with The Four Rules of Planning – Part 2 next week!

Please rate & review the podcast!

It does so much to help other women discover the show.

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To celebrate the launch of our podcast, we are giving away a Getting Started Kit (our Annual and two Monthly booklets) + our brand new 2022 Month stickers! Write a review by Friday (Oct 8, 2021) and email a screenshot of your review to helloevergreenplanner@gmail.com to enter the giveaway!

Follow us also on Instagram @EvergreenPlanner (there are ways to enter the giveaway there, too!) and Pinterest @helloEvergreenPlanner.

September 8, 2021

Time-Blocking: Your Framework for Productivity

Posted by By Clari Mercier

Posted in Planner Tips

One of the most essential features in our Monthly booklets is the time-blocking section on the day spread.

When researching how to increase productivity — especially when needing to balance multiple roles in one day — there was one practical skill that came up again and again: time-blocking.

It’s highly recommended by productivity experts, and after using it in our own lives, we get why. When you make space to get realistic about your time availability, set up habits and rhythms, thoughtfully organize your tasks, apply prioritization and batching methods, and pad everything with ample margin—your productivity will increase.

With our Monthly booklet, the time-blocking feature on the day spread is completely customizable to your unique schedule. You can write in each hour to reflect your ideal rise and sleep schedule, or focus on only your working hours.

Think through your body’s energy, productivity, and rest rhythms (and for mamas, the rhythms of your kiddos). Then line out your tasks accordingly. Do you have the most creative energy first thing in the morning? Slot your most creative and important work during that time. Are you working during the day and making progress on your side hustle in the evening? Focus your time-blocking on those evening hours, writing in the key project you plan to tackle in the to-do column. Do you capitalize on your kiddos’ nap time to get work done? Slot that as your predictable working hours.

New to time-blocking?

A great way to develop this habit is to start by writing what you did do at the end of each day. Do not pass over this tip, it may seem simple, but it is a powerful tool for tracking the rhythms you already operate in. The truth is, you can’t wipe your current rhythms away and start over with a brand new schedule you think would be awesome. We are creatures of habit, and it simply won’t work. You have to begin to make change by first evaluating what you currently do, and then incrementally adjust the things that need adjusting. This will also help you see what is currently working well in the way you go about your day, and continue those life-giving habits you already have. By writing down what you did, you will be able to:

gauge what is realistic for you to accomplish in this season
spot the areas where you could use some discipline (we all have them!)
note the days or hours you tend to run errands, plan appointments or take care of home tasks
chart out the natural rhythms you (& your family) already operate in (meals, naps, school, work, etc.)

A few days (or even weeks) of this, and you will have loads of insight you can then use as you start to plan days before they happen. The practice of writing down what you did is a trick you can pull out again and again whenever you hit a season of transition (new job, new baby, new home, etc.). When things feel a little off, just take a few days to evaluate your rhythms and see what insights you can gain about what is working and what needs changed.

If you’ve never made a habit of time-blocking, start today! Flexibility is always required, but you’ll be amazed at how much time-blocking will enhance productivity. It’s the gift that just keeps giving.

Want to keep it fun? Highlighters, colored pencils, or even washi tape can be great ways to visually track the different sections of your day.

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August 11, 2021

Our Dutch Door Layout: The How & The Why

Posted by By Clari Mercier

Posted in Planner Tips

Perhaps more than any other feature in our planner, the built-in dutch door layout is the most unique to the Evergreen planner system. It’s widely used in the bullet journaling community, but we built ours seamlessly into the design and functionality of the Monthly booklet.

When it came to designing our planner, a built-in dutch door was near the top of the “must have” list & here’s why:

Have you ever made a great plan and it seemed perfect in every way (actionable, the right season, doable), but then you almost immediately went off plan? It’s not just you!

In “Boundaries for Leaders,” Dr. Henry Cloud reveals that making a plan and then completely proceeding without following the plan plagues organizations everywhere.

As a coach, he recommends creating a system where essential, updated information and goal-driving tasks are ALWAYS before the eyes. He says systems like this create what’s called “a working memory” which is vital for getting & keeping the brain on board with the overarching mission in day-to-day operations.

This is what our dutch door feature provides. Your agenda for the full week stays in view while you plan your days. Your habit tracker keeps your habit-goals top of mind. Above that is a flex space that stays visible all week long for a running to-do list or for weekly goals and reminders. This is exactly the type of system your brain craves to stay focused.

To create the dutch door effect you can either fold or tear off the edges of the day spread pages at the perforated line. This enables you to see your week’s agenda and habit tracker all week long.

Folded or removed edges are great for grocery lists that can be torn and taken to the store, notes from phone calls, or running to-do lists. {pro-tip: leaving the Sunday Dutch Door and folding it toward your week spread, creates the perfect place to brain-dump your week’s to-do list. The list can be folded out to view while planning each day, or paper-clipped closed to enable you to see your vertical calendar}

Using a piece of washi tape, these paper strips can easily be moved from page to page as your week progresses, enabling you to move lists or notes as you need them. If you don’t have an immediate use for the removed paper edges, they can be kept in the back of the Cover for later use, or given to kiddos who like to plan just like mama!

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