I mentioned in my previous post that I started using schedule organizers to keep up. Throughout my life, I had been so fascinated on how to use one especially because I had always fancied the starbucks planner- which until this day- though I can afford it, I had not been able to possess.
Don't feel sad for me- I got planners and refills- they're just not starbucks. In fact, I have a planner subscription( where get to be sent planner refills on regular basis).
These are my reasons for using a planner/ organizer:
- Having a paper record of my shifts
As a health worker, it cannot be avoided to work in long, often
unreasonable hours. Patient load and condition plays a very important role on my job and yes, working in different shifts( am, pm, nights) could truly throw my body out of wack.
I often find myself getting disoriented with the dates especially when I had been working on night shifts. While we have a very useful hospital app( where I can keep track on my shifts, leaves, pays, worked hours), I made the decision to keep an actual paper base record. Technology sometimes malfunctions.
- Maintaining a Tracker
Either that tracker is for my habits, moods, shopping lists or savings, having an actual record to look back and see where I am on various activities gives me the feeling that I am more in control of my life.
As you can see above, I keep track on everything from cleaning my house, reading, praying, watching and walking.
It is important for me to keep track of my moods as this will greatly influence my work and interaction with people both in and out of work.
It feels good to know that my financial tracker is helping me keep on top of things- as I have an idea how much money is coming in, out and being deposited in my savings account. It helps me get a better insight on my spending behaviors.
I have also separate lists of things I needed to shop( like groceries, toiletries, house needs). That helps me avoid buying unnecessary things and saves me time trying to remember what exactly do I need( especially when I want to cook a new recipe).
If you guys can see, there are like 3 organizer planners that I am actually using right now. One is the main one- I keep at home( green/ silver one) and the pink organizer is the one I take at work( as I often do my shopping right after work). Its also handy when there are some changes in my shifts or someone at work wants to swap with me. I can easily determine if that will work( I often to do not want to swap with someone if my days off gets compromised or, I get to work nearly a double( shifts where the gap for the next one is less than 8 hours).
Keeping planner/ organizer is not for everyone. I am not going to recommend this as we all have our own way of coping up with things. Its just that in my situation, this works well with me- so I keep using it.