Treating my Anxiety Through Planning, Continued

What Kind of Planner?

Planners are now very big business. Google “planner” and you will find everything from the storied basic At-A-Glance daily and weekly scheduled planner to the simple blank bullet journal, literally hundreds of planners and planning systems are crowding into a hot market.

I have tried several different systems. My anxiety-ridden brain likes novelty, so I am able to stick with a system for around 4-6 months before I need to move on. I began with a simple academic planner in my college years which was really a university-branded weekly calendar in which I would note due dates for papers and lab work and test dates. I then relied on my brain to keep track of things, which worked well because I used to have a fantastic memory. In the mid-90s I jumped on the Hyrum Smith time management classic The 10 Laws of Successful Time Management, later renamed The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management. Smith’s groundbreaking process took planners out of the simple calendar and to do list boundaries and created a framework for managing interruptions and measuring productivity.

Steven Covey released The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People in 1989 and his unique system introduced seven principals for managing one’s life through consistent planning. Covey added a method of self improvement called “sharpening the saw” and his methodology laid the foundation for nearly every current “new” planning system — list your values, create value-based goals, break those down into tasks, prioritize those tasks, and whittle away. The system’s main drawback was that it added a lot of stress for already busy people by wedging in extra items, although it did allow for projects and goals to be combined into more than one category through “synergy.”

The next planning craze was the Getting Things Done method (affectionately known as GTD) by lifestyle guru David Allen. GTD is still very popular and its methodology is engrained into some current planning systems. Unfortunately, the system can get very complicated with lists and if one does not keep them current. The entire system collapses quickly if not reviewed regularly (Allen suggests a weekly review). I still use the inbox processing and planning to the simplest task methods, but I do struggle with staying on top of so much stuff that long lists can be overwhelming, triggering anxiety.

Coming soon: more about current systems with their strengths and weaknesses to help people with anxiety.