How do you use your planner? Do you merely list and then cross off your tasks? A lot of planner designers are working on turning planners into a powerful self-awareness and self-mastery tool. All you have to do is to get a bit more mindful about planning, doing and reflecting on your daily tasks.

Here’s 8 best practices from a variety of famous planners.

1. Start with Vision. What do you want to achieve in one month’s time? One year’s time? Three years’ time? Lifetime? Keeping your vision at hand will help you to make sure all the small steps you plan are aligned with your vision. Otherwise you may find yourself eternally busy but at the same time getting nowhere. You can take this process one step further and create a vision for each of the life areas where you would like to improve.

Example: Panda Planner, Commit30 planner

2. Set SMARTER Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluated, Reviewed). If you’re about to start a big project, think not only about the end result but also the first few steps and a way to reward yourself for their completion.

Example: Full Focus Planner

3. Find your Why. What motivates you? To discover your motivation you are suggested to finish the following sentences “The end result goal is very important for me to achieve because…” “When I achieve this goal, my life will improve in the following ways…” Full Focus Planner encourages you to rank your key motivations. Ideally, you should end up with a list of values that will help you connect with your goals and show you how meaningful they are.

Example: SELF Journal

4. Create Rituals. A series of recent investigations by psychologists have demonstrated a positive impact rituals can have on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. If you define what an ideal morning is like for you or how you want to start your work day to be more productive, you’ll reduce the number of time wasters.

5. Hold yourself accountable. Choose one helpful habit to develop each month and set yourself up for success with a 30-day challenge. Looking back at your achievements during the year will make you feel proud and will motivate you.

Example: Panda Planner, Commit30 planner

6. Celebrate your Learning and Small Wins. SELF Journal suggests you to list your lessons learned to show you opportunities for improvement and provides users with a brag zone to record their wins. This will also help you progress from SMART goals to SMARTER goals, as you’ll have to evaluate and review them.

Example: SELF Journal

7. Become More Mindful about How you Spend your Time. Review your week and ask yourself, “Did I spend time on the right thing? If not, how will I improve next week?”

Example: SELF Journal

8. Do Weekly and Monthly Reviews. Reflect on your accomplishments, recognize areas for development, plan concrete actions you can take to work towards the improvements and keep work-life balance (include a passion project for the week).

Example: Panda Planner

Author: Luba Diasamidze