by Linda | Dec 5, 2017 | DIY printables
Check out this free printable time audit planning sheet to help figure out how you use your time, ultimately to improve on your productivity!
Leading up to the new year, I’m doing some journaling and planning for 2018 for positive self-development and change.
This week is about getting down to the details and doing a time audit.
This is something I have done many times over, because our habits and schedules change constantly and it’s very helpful to stop and audit our time usage every now and again. It’s a way to keep ourselves in check.
Think of why companies do inventory. It’s the realistic snapshot of what they’ve got in the warehouse. When it comes to our personal achievements, a time audit helps us to see what is factually taking up our days. This will help us take stock of what is actually going on and where we can improve.
The amazing thing about this time audit exercise is how often there is misalignment, of what we spend our time on and what we think our priorities are.
The worksheet is quite simple. The idea is to write a list of your top priorities in life. You can be general and list things like family, work, exercise, volunteer work – or get more detailed. It’s up to you what elements you want to focus on.
The important part is to block out those categories onto the timeline of 24 hours – a typical or average day.
Now the interesting step is to analyze the data. You get to see on paper how you are spending your time and if it aligns with your priorities. Are there gaps where you are spending time on non-priorities? Or are you spending more or less time on certain priority items?
If family is the most important thing to you, are you spending most of your time on family?
I realize that sometimes time and priority cannot correlate exactly. If you work an 8 hour day, it leaves less time for other aspects of life if you are going to get any sleep at all… so take what you can from this exercise without beating yourself up on the realities of life.
Instead focus on whatever time is left and how you spend that time, if you have certain non-negotiable time constraints.
It’s not an exact science, but this time audit will give you a good picture of what your actions show are your priorities, versus what you think are your priorities.
With this information on hand, think about what has to change or shift. You can always move closer to what you consider your ideal day.
Download the free printable time audit planning sheet PDF:
Download TG Planning3 Time Audit A4
Download TG Planning3 Time Audit LETTER
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Nov 28, 2017 | DIY printables
Download the free printable to face your challenges and move forward with intention towards productivity and success for the future.
Leading up to the new year, each week I’m working on an element of my planning to actively work towards positive self-development and change.
This week it’s all about the challenges.
I’ve noticed that often I try to ignore the pain points and crazymaking issues in my life. I feel particularly sheepish when I start to complain about things, but never actually do anything to make a change.
Think about how annoying it is when you hear others complain, yet they make no effort to solve the problem at hand.
And of course, when I catch myself doing it, I seriously just want to crawl into a hole and hibernate… ugh!
Sometimes it’s a small issue that I try brush off, but other times it’s a big thing that overwhelms me, so I would rather not think about it. That’s when I turn to any kind of busy work, just to take my mind off my worries. Avoidance!
I know logically that if I want things to get better, I have to face the challenges and make plans to take action.
I know I must create the change I want!
And if you think maybe there’s just a lot of little stuff that should be brushed off easily, consider how much of your emotional energy you are using up on fears, doubts, pain points and frustrations.
You wouldn’t be venting, complaining or worrying about something, if it didn’t mean something to you. It’s obviously occupying your mind space and it’s to your benefit to clear it all out.
So if there are fears and challenges haunting you, then it means that they are important issues you need to address. Face your challenges!
The first thing is to get all the things written down on paper. Get it out in black and white, so you can really assess the situation.
- What bothers you all the time?
- What areas in your life need improvement?
- Are there weak points in your business or personal life?
- What has been causing you stress and anxiety in the past year?
- What are the crazymaking elements that you complain about all the time?
Even the hesitations, doubts and fears that cause you worry… write it all down.
Whether you have specific major meltdown episodes to journal about or just everyday things that have built up over time, it’s good to get it all out.
You might have to print out a few pages to give yourself plenty of room to release. Make a quick list and then expand on the items in more detail or go stream of consciousness. Whatever comes naturally.
I find this process to be really helpful for your mind. A way to release what has happened in the past year and identify the pain points that we can address in the coming weeks.
The challenges we face in life are a great jumping off point when it comes to establishing goals for the future.
Download the worksheet in your preferred paper size below and journal away.
Face the Challenges Free Printable Below:
Download TG Planning2 Challenges A4
Download TG Planning2 Challenges LETTER
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Nov 23, 2017 | DIY printables
Download these plan for success printables to get clear on your plans and productivity. You can celebrate your success!
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we often search for the magic bullet. The one tool or resource we are needing to achieve our goals and take our life to the next level.
It’s the belief that we need something that we don’t yet have to be successful.
The funny thing is, if you think about your own history of achievements you will probably start to notice that there was never one tool or one thing that really helped you to succeed overnight. It’s usually a series of actions that led you to a certain result. And maybe there were turning points or eureka moments along the way, but the foundation of you – who you are – was more or less the same before and after.
So the amazing realization is that you actually already have all you need inside of you, right now, to succeed.
Success is reachable and often we even know what we want. We have hopes and dreams and goals. It’s just a matter of actually tackling them, planning for success and believing in the process.
I have found that we often fail before we even begin, because we give up. It might seem like too much work. It might seem like such a far off destination. We doubt and fear and convince ourself it’s impossible. Maybe we can’t see past the horizon, because it’s such a big goal.
But if you zoom out, the journey is there, the road is there… you just have to keep going and keep following the path.
So my point is that we often have all we truly need to succeed in life. There isn’t a magical wand that changes things over night. Unfortunately, that’s only in the storybooks.
But the long journey can seem fast and furious, when you are in your flow and know your path. So it’s largely mindset and perspective on the journey that truly matters.
If you knew that you were just 30 days from the destination, then that’s something to work towards. When it’s just “someday” then that’s much less convincing or helpful.
So with these thoughts in my mind, I thought it’s high time to properly plan for 2018. I’m determined to work things out and I thought I would share the process with all of you.
I’m making printables to help guide my own planning process for the year. I hope that by sharing my printables, they will help you find clarity and plan the best possible year as well.
We aren’t yet finished with 2017, but with November known as the gratitude month, I think it’s a good time to reflect about the past year.
Start with celebrating your successes and expressing gratitude for where you are now.
No matter what has happened in your year so far, there’s always something to celebrate, learnings to chalk up and blessings to savor in.
Even if your list of accomplishments is a short one or just tiny things, there are always lessons learned and experience to add to our record.
Download the celebrate success worksheet in your preferred paper size below and take your time to journal your thoughts and feelings and start your yearly planning.
Plan for Success Printables – Download Below:
Download TG Planning1 Celebrate A4
Download TG Planning1 Celebrate LETTER
It’s really important to take stock of your current situation and I like to start with successes and good feelings. You can even print this sheet multiple times if you need more room – don’t hold back! Write it all out on paper, to get it all out!
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Nov 17, 2017 | DIY printables
Free Printable Perpetual Calendar Planner Pages for free download so you can create your own DIY planner at home.
Who doesn’t want to be organized and plan for success, right?
I’ve always loved notebooks, stationery and planning… but always found it difficult to fit myself into a specific format, a specific number of pages and all the pre-printed planner systems out there.
I have always found myself wasting pages, skipping pages and often not having enough of certain pages. It’s a one size does not fit all situation.
That’s why I turned to creating printables and came up with my own set of perpetual planner pages.
I have tried bullet journaling and love the flexibility, but I also found redrawing boxes to be a waste of my time in the long-term.
Creating a perpetual, flexible printable design was the in-between that suits my needs.
These perpetual planner pages are between the two spectrums. It’s ready-made and easily printed again and again, but you can fill in the dates and use the unlabelled lined, list and blank pages for a variety of planning needs. I find this system to works the best for me.
You will get printable pages in both A4 or Letter sized PDFs for:
- year-long, 12 month calendar of goals page
- monthly calendar at-a-glance page
- weekly calendar at-a-glance with notes page
- check list lined note page
- half page blank note page
- full page blank brainstorming page
These perpetual calendar and planner pages will help you:
- plan your year-long goals, be your future log and record important dates that you want to see year-at-a-glance
- organize your monthly calendar, blog, or menu planning in a month-at-a-glance view
- organize your weekly tasks along with a notes checklist page
- organize your lists and to-dos no matter how many pages you need
- help you braindump, draw or mindmap ideas on blank pages
Download Free Printable Perpetual Calendar Planner Pages:
TG Perpetual Planning Pages A4
TG Perpetual Planning Pages LETTER
What’s next?
I hope you will be able to make use of these free planner printables to help you create a system that works for you. Ultimately, it’s about doing the things you want to do and feeling good at the end of the day. I wish you all the best!
You might also like these planner related posts with free printables:
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by Linda | Jul 28, 2017 | DIY printables
As much as I like calendars and templates, there’s nothing like plain notepaper for list-making, organizing notes and general brainstorming.
I thought these beautiful butterfly planner inserts would be perfect to use in my notebook, especially for writing down grand plans and dreams. I purposefully made these butterfly illustrations black and white, so we can color them in with whatever colors or combinations we choose.
It will be easy to color the butterflies to match your current planner theme.
My free printables are for personal use only, but feel free to share with friends and post on social media 🙂
Download A5 Planner Pages – Butterflies to Color PDF
These planner pages are A5 sized, so you can pop-them into any A5-sized planner or notebook. If you like printables, be sure to sign-up for my weekly newsletter here.
