So this year I finally decided to get my crap together and actually plan properly. Saw this “Depo Calendar Schedule” thing floating around, decided to give it a real shot for 2024. No fancy apps this time, just pure paper and pen action. Here’s how the mess went down.
The Setup Disaster
First, I dug out an old binder from the back of my closet – dust bunnies and all. Found some tab dividers laying around too. Figured that would work. Went completely overboard at the stationery store, grabbing highlighters, colored pens, sticky notes… you name it, I probably bought it. Felt kinda ridiculous walking out with that haul, but hey, commitment looks like stationery hoarding sometimes.
Sitting down at the kitchen table was the hard part. Spread everything out, stared at the blank pages… absolutely nothing happened for like 20 minutes. Seriously overwhelming. My brain just froze. Where the heck do you even start planning a whole year?
Actually Making Some Marks
Flipped to the first page and just wrote “JANUARY” at the top in big, kinda ugly letters. Decided to just start blocking stuff out.
- Work Stuff: Scribbled deadlines I already knew – quarterly reports, big project wrap-ups. Highlighted those suckers yellow.
- Personal Stuff: Threw in birthdays (in blue – less stressful color!), the week I wanna take off in summer, family visits. Used sticky notes for things not nailed down yet.
- Big Rocks: Then I stared hard. What do I actually want to happen this year? Not the daily grind, but the important things. Got “Finish Website Redesign” and “Learn Basic Guitar” written down. Made a whole “BIG ROCKS” section at the front with like… 5 things? Can’t handle more than that. Bolded them. They’re non-negotiable.
Looked messy, honestly. But hey, at least things were getting on paper.
The Weekly/Quarterly Flip
Month view is too vague for actually doing stuff. Made tabs for each quarter too. Started breaking down those big yearly rocks.
Like “Finish Website Redesign”? That ain’t happening magically. Split it into chunks:
- Q1: “Hire Designer” (put in Jan), “Content Outline Done” (Feb)
- Q2: “Draft Pages Complete” (April), “User Testing” (May)
Same deal for the other goals. Felt way less intimidating seeing tiny steps instead of a giant mountain. Each Sunday evening now, I flip to the week ahead and pencil in the small tasks that feed those quarterly chunks. Actual doing stuff.
Why Paper Won This Round
Used apps for years. Why’s this stuck?
- Screen Notifications Kill Focus: Phone beeps, I jump to email instantly. With paper? It just sits there. Quietly. I control when I look at it. Huge.
- Physical = Real: Seeing sticky notes peel off, ink smudges, coffee ring on February… feels tangible. My plans exist in the real world, not hidden behind icons.
- Flexible: Changed my mind on a project deadline? Just erase and move the sticky. No fussing with settings.
- No Scrolling Hell: Everything’s spread out. Can see month/week/view all at once without digital thumb exercises. My wrist thanks me.
It’s rough around the edges, definitely ain’t minimalist Pinterest-worthy. But this battered binder? It’s finally got me feeling like I have a grip on what the year could be. Month by messy month.
