90 Day Pocket Planner by The Thinking Tree
Sarah from The Thinking Tree has come out with some really neat planners. She explains:
One of the most important activities we are doing with our planner is THINKING. We are stopping to ponder the question every day: What is Important? Can I do it today? What is necessary? Will I do it today? When we are in survival mode we are just trying to fix the problems caused by neglecting important and necessary items that were not prioritized.
Sometimes we are going through hard times, loss, new baby, sickness and we really fall behind in a lot of necessary things. But I find that when I am unable to get up and do the necessary things, I can still do many important things. I can have a child snuggle up with me and read a stack of books. I can give my children a chance to grow by asking them to prepare Christmas Dinner because I was up too late on Christmas Eve.
So many important things can happen when we are down. Right now I am at a Dr appointment with my husband in Hungary, for stomach pain. I had to set aside three days of daily stuff to be with him. In this, I can still do important things. I am drawing 31 pictures for my friend who wrote a Devotional Book for women based on the Proverbs while waiting in waiting rooms all day. I can connect with all of you. I can do many important things even when I am limited. Last month I was traveling and spending a lot of time at the hospital with my mom. Ten days ago my computer was dropped and I can't work on publishing. I am limited, but there is so much I can do.
I have found that in times of morning sickness and new babies, I couldn't do the daily things for my family, but I could do important things. I had a lot of guilt in the past for not homeschooling much during morning sickness. But, my kids learn to manage the house and do the cooking, that was important.
Sometimes we feel stuck in survival mode cause of sickness, loss or problems. In these times we need to look outside ourselves and love. We can't sit around fussing because of all the limitations and troubles we feel. We can rise above by loving others in the ways we can. We need to look into the hearts and eyes of the people God gave us to love. We must just ask how we can bless them, even if we can't get out of bed or rise above our pain. Others are hurting too. You may wonder "How can I help others when I am hurting?" You can share God's word with them, or turn on uplifting music in your house.
God will give us His blessings in our limitations, and we can reach out in small ways to do great things. Just a word of encouragement can be a powerful tool to help someone we love today. How long does it take to speak a few words of affirmation to the person in the next room? Just a moment. How hard is it to give a hug to the child that just dumped the Lego box into the sandbox? How long does it take to send a note to a faraway friend or make a cup of coffee for your sweetie?
Little things make a big difference, but we are often so wrapped up in the demands of the moment that we can't even think of what we can do to bless others. As moms we live for others all the time, we do all we can, we do it for love, but often we do it without joy.
Get back to the place of joy that only comes through living and loving intentionally, and thinking about what matters most.
Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between important and necessary, both are "important" but the urgent and necessary things are the things that keep you in survival mode. Once you start focusing on things that are important that build relationships and help you draw closer to God, you will no longer be in survival mode. Don't expect too much of yourself, sometimes all we can do are the loving things that only take a moment, but do them with all your heart.
Many moms are in survival mode. They are just surviving from day to day and that's not good for your family or your health.
We need to get out of survival mode to be the best we can for our husband and kiddos. This planner is meant to help moms get out of survival mode to be the best we can be. To not feel overwhelmed.
On DAY ONE you choose 4 "important" things that you plan to accomplish, on DAY TWO you choose 4 "necessary" things that you plan to accomplish.
If you can't do it all, just begin again on the next day. You write in the date, and if you skip a day you don't have to skip pages, the dates are not in stone.
You are free to spread your 90 days over as long a time as you need. The book is small enough to carry around with you. There are some lined pages and cute coloring pages in the back. Also, every planner has a special message in the back that relates to the Quote on the cover. The Quote on the cover is designed to inspire you every time you see the planner laying around.
A big part of the plan is the moment you will spend each day deciding what is important in your life today, and what is necessary. If we only focus on the urgent and necessary things EVERY day we often put off the important things indefinitely. What makes this planner work so well is the way it helps you to balance the things that are Important & Necessary. We have to make time for the important things. The most important things are the things that we often neglect because we don't make time to do them.
This book is fun and not overwhelming. It will only take a moment to use but can make a wonderful impact on the way you manage your day and treasure your time.
There are a few lines at the bottom of each page for your notes, reflections, and plans. Yes, this is simple, and that is what makes it a joy to use, and not a burden. This is a daily planner, not a calendar. You don't need to plan out your days in advance in this planner, this is to help you to prioritize the present, not the future.
Question:
How do you differentiate "important" and "necessary"? In my mind, they are the same thing.
Answer:
They are not really the same, and that is the point. Important things are often the things we need to do to build relationships, impact others, care for ourselves, reach out, and grow. They are things that take time and investment, but are not imminently necessary to survival or managing a home.
Your list of important things may not actually be necessary to survival. For example, it isn't necessary for me to create and publish a planner and start a support group, but it is important. I could do it next year, there is no time limit, just opportunity and need. If I don't do it, know one will really know the difference. It is necessary to trim my toenails and clean my oven, if I don't there will be unpleasant results... but are these things important? Our life often becomes driven by urgent things that are necessary but not important. We need to focus on the things that are both necessary and important, but to get out of survival mode, you need to make time to focus on things that are IMPORTANT but not urgent.
The reason I am making a difference making a difference in the lives of others is that I make important things a priority, even if they are not necessary or urgent.
We also need to do the necessary before the become urgent. For example cleaning out an oven is something I can put of for a long time until the crumbs at the bottom catch on fire.
Here is why so many women are in survival mode. You are dealing with having to put out fires because the necessary things in life were never completed on time, and now you have a mess or problem. You fall behind because you are dealing with the consequences of failing to do the things that were important and necessary at the right time.
If we live in survival mode for too long we neglect the things that are important, because the urgent things rule our lives. If your most important relationships are suffering, chances are you have been busy dealing with "fires" and have no time or energy to invest in relationships, dreams or the future.
We also need to realize that many of the things that the world, calls important are NOT. Life gets easier when we let them go.
Does that help?
I read this tiny booklet several years ago, if I had not I would have never been able to do anything more than put out the fires of procrastination.
On day one you choose four important things you want to accomplish. On day two you choose four necessary things you plan to accomplish. If you can't get to them all then just begin again on the next day. The dates are not set in stone, which means they are blank, you write the date. If you are sick or one day you just couldn't get to everything you DON'T have to skip that page. I love that because many times planners are predated and I really, really, don't like skipping pages (makes me feel behind and that's not good we don't want you, mamas, to have that "behind" feeling).
One of the most important activities we are doing with our planner is THINKING. We are stopping to ponder the question every day: What is Important? Can I do it today? What is necessary? Will I do it today? When we are in survival mode we are just trying to fix the problems caused by neglecting important and necessary items that were not prioritized.
Sometimes we are going through hard times, loss, new baby, sickness and we really fall behind in a lot of necessary things. But I find that when I am unable to get up and do the necessary things, I can still do many important things. I can have a child snuggle up with me and read a stack of books. I can give my children a chance to grow by asking them to prepare Christmas Dinner because I was up too late on Christmas Eve.
So many important things can happen when we are down. Right now I am at a Dr appointment with my husband in Hungary, for stomach pain. I had to set aside three days of daily stuff to be with him. In this, I can still do important things. I am drawing 31 pictures for my friend who wrote a Devotional Book for women based on the Proverbs while waiting in waiting rooms all day. I can connect with all of you. I can do many important things even when I am limited. Last month I was traveling and spending a lot of time at the hospital with my mom. Ten days ago my computer was dropped and I can't work on publishing. I am limited, but there is so much I can do.
I have found that in times of morning sickness and new babies, I couldn't do the daily things for my family, but I could do important things. I had a lot of guilt in the past for not homeschooling much during morning sickness. But, my kids learn to manage the house and do the cooking, that was important.
Sometimes we feel stuck in survival mode cause of sickness, loss or problems. In these times we need to look outside ourselves and love. We can't sit around fussing because of all the limitations and troubles we feel. We can rise above by loving others in the ways we can. We need to look into the hearts and eyes of the people God gave us to love. We must just ask how we can bless them, even if we can't get out of bed or rise above our pain. Others are hurting too. You may wonder "How can I help others when I am hurting?" You can share God's word with them, or turn on uplifting music in your house.
God will give us His blessings in our limitations, and we can reach out in small ways to do great things. Just a word of encouragement can be a powerful tool to help someone we love today. How long does it take to speak a few words of affirmation to the person in the next room? Just a moment. How hard is it to give a hug to the child that just dumped the Lego box into the sandbox? How long does it take to send a note to a faraway friend or make a cup of coffee for your sweetie?
Little things make a big difference, but we are often so wrapped up in the demands of the moment that we can't even think of what we can do to bless others. As moms we live for others all the time, we do all we can, we do it for love, but often we do it without joy.
Get back to the place of joy that only comes through living and loving intentionally, and thinking about what matters most.
Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between important and necessary, both are "important" but the urgent and necessary things are the things that keep you in survival mode. Once you start focusing on things that are important that build relationships and help you draw closer to God, you will no longer be in survival mode. Don't expect too much of yourself, sometimes all we can do are the loving things that only take a moment, but do them with all your heart.
Many moms are in survival mode. They are just surviving from day to day and that's not good for your family or your health.
We need to get out of survival mode to be the best we can for our husband and kiddos. This planner is meant to help moms get out of survival mode to be the best we can be. To not feel overwhelmed.
On DAY ONE you choose 4 "important" things that you plan to accomplish, on DAY TWO you choose 4 "necessary" things that you plan to accomplish.
If you can't do it all, just begin again on the next day. You write in the date, and if you skip a day you don't have to skip pages, the dates are not in stone.
You are free to spread your 90 days over as long a time as you need. The book is small enough to carry around with you. There are some lined pages and cute coloring pages in the back. Also, every planner has a special message in the back that relates to the Quote on the cover. The Quote on the cover is designed to inspire you every time you see the planner laying around.
A big part of the plan is the moment you will spend each day deciding what is important in your life today, and what is necessary. If we only focus on the urgent and necessary things EVERY day we often put off the important things indefinitely. What makes this planner work so well is the way it helps you to balance the things that are Important & Necessary. We have to make time for the important things. The most important things are the things that we often neglect because we don't make time to do them.
This book is fun and not overwhelming. It will only take a moment to use but can make a wonderful impact on the way you manage your day and treasure your time.
There are a few lines at the bottom of each page for your notes, reflections, and plans. Yes, this is simple, and that is what makes it a joy to use, and not a burden. This is a daily planner, not a calendar. You don't need to plan out your days in advance in this planner, this is to help you to prioritize the present, not the future.
Question:
How do you differentiate "important" and "necessary"? In my mind, they are the same thing.
Answer:
They are not really the same, and that is the point. Important things are often the things we need to do to build relationships, impact others, care for ourselves, reach out, and grow. They are things that take time and investment, but are not imminently necessary to survival or managing a home.
Your list of important things may not actually be necessary to survival. For example, it isn't necessary for me to create and publish a planner and start a support group, but it is important. I could do it next year, there is no time limit, just opportunity and need. If I don't do it, know one will really know the difference. It is necessary to trim my toenails and clean my oven, if I don't there will be unpleasant results... but are these things important? Our life often becomes driven by urgent things that are necessary but not important. We need to focus on the things that are both necessary and important, but to get out of survival mode, you need to make time to focus on things that are IMPORTANT but not urgent.
The reason I am making a difference making a difference in the lives of others is that I make important things a priority, even if they are not necessary or urgent.
We also need to do the necessary before the become urgent. For example cleaning out an oven is something I can put of for a long time until the crumbs at the bottom catch on fire.
Here is why so many women are in survival mode. You are dealing with having to put out fires because the necessary things in life were never completed on time, and now you have a mess or problem. You fall behind because you are dealing with the consequences of failing to do the things that were important and necessary at the right time.
If we live in survival mode for too long we neglect the things that are important, because the urgent things rule our lives. If your most important relationships are suffering, chances are you have been busy dealing with "fires" and have no time or energy to invest in relationships, dreams or the future.
We also need to realize that many of the things that the world, calls important are NOT. Life gets easier when we let them go.
Does that help?
I read this tiny booklet several years ago, if I had not I would have never been able to do anything more than put out the fires of procrastination.
Take a peek inside.
Some pages in the back of the Pocket Planner.
Here's how I'll be using my 90 Day Pocket Planner. I don't feel like I'm in survival mode at this time but do need to stay on track. I'm currently in "Derailed Mode
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