Putting the Planning in Planning Goose

As students, we often have a million things going on. Sitting here and writing this, I have a quiz to study for, a speech and debate tournament coming up, loads of homework to do, emails to send, and the list goes on. And, while all of this can be difficult to manage, I don’t have to keep it all floating around in my brain; and, neither do you.

I started using planners years ago, and my obsession with them led me to create this very website. Today, we’re going to go in depth about how to use a planner so that it benefits you. And, if there’s one blog post you should read, it’s this, because of all things, I’m kind of an expert about planners. Now, let’s get organized!

First, a little background…

When my workload first started piling up, I figured I needed a place to organize everything. And even the process of writing down a to-do list helped me feel less stressed. Because, planners are inherently helpful. The action of you physically being able to see what you still have to complete by a certain date gives your brain a break from remembering things. There’s less worry about forgetting something because it’s all written down, and there’s no right or wrong way to do this.

Eventually, I turned my planner into a spreadsheet for *maximum* organization. Entering high school, it felt like there were a thousand moving pieces, and I couldn’t possibly control every piece of my day. But, once again, by being able to visualize what my calendar looked like, I could feel less anxious about all that I had to do. The very action of checking something off my list or changing an assignment’s status from “In Progress” to “Complete” made me feel better, and that’s because, as people, we naturally love validation—even if it comes from a self-made spreadsheet.

Where do I start?

Often, people are drawn away from planners because all of the responsibilities that seem to come with it. First, some people don’t know where to find a good one. Then, they don’t even know if they’ll like it. Next, they start to feel pressure about remembering to use it, and, in the end, they just skip out entirely. Well, part of Planning Goose’s mission is providing resources like planners for free, so you don’t need to go through the awkward stage.

Let us be your starting point! On our Tools page, you can follow the instructions to download our spreadsheet planner for free. And, if you don’t like it, at least you didn’t lose anything. Now, let’s get into how to use that same spreadsheet like a pro!

Using your planner

At the heart of the planner is the fact that you’re really just trying to track something, and that’s important to remember. Don’t be thrown off by all the numbers, charts, and lists that can suck you in.

First, make a copy of the Template page. This planner is intended to be used weekly, so title your new page with the week that you’re using it for.

Next, let’s pick an assignment to track. In the left most column of the tracker section, write the class this assignment is for. Next, write the title of the assignment. Moving over one column, write the grading category of this assignment. The dropdown has the most frequent categories, but feel free to edit what’s there if you’d like.

Now, this is where the fun stuff happens! In the Status category, choose how far along you are. Our template will automatically create a pie chart at the top to show your completion total for your assignments that week. And, in the next column, when you type in that assignment’s due date, the planner will also automatically give you a countdown to the due date. The last step is to input your grade when you get the assignment back, and you’re done!

But now, you have to repeat this for everything you want to track. It will take a little bit of commitment, but the few seconds you spend tracking each assignment will help you out in the long run.

Now, the bigger things

Once you’ve nailed the basics, it’s time to work on the rest of the spreadsheet. You’ll notice that the top and left sections of the planner all have various categories for you to fill in. Most are self-explanatory, but we’ll give you are tips for what we like to do.

In the Short Term To Do, we like to put events or important things happening during that week. For example, if it’s Picture Day, that would go in the Short Term To Do. The Long Term To Do, however, is for things that are going on repetitively or for longer than one week, like if there’s a big test you want to study for for multiple weeks.

Moving to the top, there are a few things that might jump out at you. First is the Notes for Today section. Here, you can take a minute in the morning to write out something to remember for that day. Next is the Plan For the Week. We choose to use this as a way to see what needs to happen each day, typically in terms of homework or things to do after school. The big one, though, is the Grades section. This section is pretty much up to you. We like to update it at the end of each week, but if you’d rather change it every time an assignment gets graded, then go ahead!

See, you’ve got this! It might seem daunting, but all of this is just here to help you. And, if you really dislike a section, then just don’t use it.

Consistency

At the end the week, you’ll hopefully find satisfaction in a column of green dropdown choices that all say “Completed.” But, what happens next? Well, each week, make a copy of the same Template tab and repeat all of this again! Copy and paste your grades and to do list over if you want, and keep using your planner to stay organized.

Conclusion

Overall, planners are here to help, but you have to meet them half way. Staying consistent and knowing how to effectively utilize your planner will be your best bet, and if you ever get lost, just come back here.

And, if you’re still here, thanks for reading this whole post! Feel free to check out other blog posts below, or head over to the Tools page to explore our other free resources.