With two months left to go in 2016, it’s time to order a new planner for 2017. It’s easy to stick with the same planner you used this year, but now and then it’s fun to change things up a bit. At FranklinPlanner.com, we’re always developing new ways to plan, from the free-form Dot Grid …
How to Build Momentum to Accomplish Your Tasks
October 17, 2016Have you been feeling unmotivated lately? Does it seem like the tasks in your life are too large, too many, and too daunting to attempt? You’re not alone: in a 2014 national survey*, 73% of respondents said that they don’t feel “completely balanced,” and need to find ways to counteract crammed schedules. This same survey …
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10 Quotes That Will Make You Rethink About Time
September 26, 2016We all wish we had a little more time. There is always so much we need to do, so many things we’d like to learn, so many experiences we’d like to have—and never enough time to do them all. The trouble is, everything we do costs time, so we can’t say yes to everything we’d …
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Make the Most of Your Daily Notes Page
September 19, 2016The question comes up again and again: why use paper in a world where all the information on the Internet is just a click away? You can find practically any fact you’re looking for with the right search engine, and recording information with a keyboard works very quickly. If life were only about storing and …
3 Keys to Using the FranklinPlanner
September 15, 2016We can’t control how much time we have, but we can control how we use our time. Think about what matters most to you in your life and fill in the blank: “Effectively managing my time, gives me _______ in my life.” Whatever this may be, you can use a Franklin Planner to achieve that. …
How to Apply the ABC123 System to the Clutter Around You
September 12, 2016The FranklinPlanner method of task management is to prioritize your tasks with the ABC 123 method—setting apart the things of greatest importance to help ensure you are putting your greatest efforts toward the things that matter most to you. A version of this method will also work wonders for your work space. Here’s how. Just …
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The Top 3 Reasons Why You Procrastinate
September 5, 2016“It’s WORK! How I hate it! I’d much rather play!” – Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg Can you remember when you were younger, when time seemed to move slower and moments seemed to last longer? With fewer hours, days, and weeks for comparison, nothing mattered more than the immediate present. It took years of …
Why Write a Personal Mission Statement?
August 29, 2016Do you have a personal mission statement? Most of us think of mission statements in corporate terms. Large corporations, non-profit organizations, universities, and philanthropies have mission statements. These messages are usually directed toward the people involved in the organization as well as the person who would buy their product, enroll in their school, or donate …
The Two Most Basic Planner Functions
August 15, 2016Memory could be defined as our ability to capture information and retrieve it when we need it. How many of us can do that? Our brains have almost limitless capacity to retain information, but the challenge comes when we want to retrieve that information during the chaos of the day. Even if we believe we …
6 Excuses Why We Don’t Plan, and How to Overcome Them
August 8, 2016Before we start talking about excuses, we need to understand that “excuses” is the proper term—not “reasons.” Reasons are perhaps the most important part of what makes us tick. They’re based in our values—the underlying principles upon which we base all of our actions. Reasons are the why of our actions, and the why is …
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5 Steps to a Successful Weekly Planning Session
August 1, 2016You’ve heard sayings like “The best offense is a good defense”, right? Here’s a new one to add to the list: “The best daily plans come from weekly planning.” To achieve any significant goal, you need to look beyond the day-to-day cycle of actions and reactions and make a larger plan. These five steps will …
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The Importance of Using One Planning System
July 25, 2016“No man is an island, entire of itself” – John Donne The most effective planners know how to coordinate their personal planning system with the rhythms of those around them, whether it’s sending a student back to school or spearheading a project at work. From setting up meeting appointments on the company’s Google account to …
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The Top 3 Time Robbers and How to Overcome Them
July 18, 2016For some of us, time is a constant, plodding taskmaster—demanding our attention and dictating our actions. For others it’s a welcome adventure—a powerful tool that we use to make the most of our skills, sharpen our talents, dabble in hobbies, and work toward goals. What’s the difference? It isn’t time. Time is unchanging and beyond …
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5 Planner Accessories You Didn’t Know You Needed
June 27, 2016Have you ever had a moment that changed you? We can probably all think of events in our lives that acted as hinges for our life’s direction—pivot points that altered the course of our lives forever. The day she said yes, the birth of our children, the death of a loved one—all of these big …
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8 Ways Using a Planner Reduces Stress
June 13, 2016As with all successful efforts, it takes some initiative to use a planner. But when you look at the alternatives, using a planner eliminates many stressful situations from your life. Here are eight examples. 1. Avoid double-booking If you’ve ever accidentally double-booked your schedule, you know how stressful it can be when you get a …
Your Whole Life in One Planner
June 6, 2016This may sound strange coming from FranklinPlanner, but the truth is, time management is an oxymoron. We have no control over time itself—it moves at the same rate continually, whether we keep up with it or not. That means, of course, that you can’t save time either. It isn’t something we can keep in a …
8 Activities to Make the Most of Memorial Day
May 27, 2016Memorial Day is intended as a way to remember our brave neighbors, friends, and family who gave everything they had to ensure our freedoms and to help maintain freedom for others. Because it’s a Federal holiday, many of us have the day off work so we can devote time to celebrating and remembering. How we celebrate varies. It’s …
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How a Planner Can Help You Get a Job After Graduation
May 23, 2016Before spring is over, universities everywhere will hold their commencement ceremonies, celebrating their students’ years of academic achievement. By this point, these students will have had close to 16 years of structured days, each naturally flowing toward the next. After throwing their caps in the air, however, their future will become their own responsibility. If you’re graduating this spring, …
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6 Planning Tips for a Successful Workout
May 16, 2016We all want to improve or maintain our health, and we know that the best way to do that is through exercise. So why is exercise so hard to fit into our lives? Here are some things we can do to help ensure we have a successful workout. Use Your Planner Planning ahead will make …
How to Turn Your Commute Time into You Time
May 9, 2016Most of us would love it if we could eliminate the time it takes to get to and from work. It would be nice to walk out of our office and be instantly on our own time, running our own errands, catching little league games, or helping prepare dinner. But we can’t—we have to spend …
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