Going Analog: How Your Planner Can Help You Be More Present
Nothing is more important than our time. There are so many people, responsibilities, and companies vying for our attention. I think most people can agree that one of the biggest distractions in our lives are our smartphones. There are so many uses for them, both productive and unproductive. But how easy is it to start off sending an important email or texting a friend, only to end up scrolling mindlessly? Twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there may not seem like much, but when done repeatedly throughout the day, it can amount to a lot of wasted time and lost attention.
In the productive category of phone usage, I find myself reaching for my phone the most for lists, communication, recipes/information, and health/wellness tracking. It’s not always possible to put your phone completely out of sight, but here are some Golden Coil planner pages that you might swap for an app (at least in the meantime) and some strategies to help you be more present.
LISTS
For lists, try swapping your note-taking app for To-Do Lists in your weekly layout. Keep a running grocery list on the Groceries and Meals Page or just in the side margins of your weekly calendar. Keeping your planner somewhere visible and easily accessible, like on your kitchen counter, can help make it easier to jot down those thoughts right when they strike.
COMMUNICATION
For communication, it’s not easy to unplug, especially if you’ve got a demanding job or people are depending on you. However, if you can, try setting “in office” hours, even if your office is your home and your job is running after toddlers. Keep your phone in a bedroom, or somewhere that’s not as visible. Stepping away from the phone and the need to respond immediately to every text or call that comes in, can help you focus on other things that are important to you. Set specific times when you can go check or wear a watch that pairs with your phone so you can respond from there instead of always running to your device. Embrace the FOMO.
RECIPES & INFORMATION
For recipes and information, try writing down your oft-used recipes in the Recipes pages. By doing this, you don’t have to go searching it up online every time you need it, and it lessens the likelihood of getting distracted once the food is prepped. Similarly, if you have a question about something, write it down in your Lined, Blank, or really any page you have the space. Resist the urge to look it up immediately. Get nostalgic and pretend it’s 1999! Then, at the end of the day, if you haven’t figured out the answer on your own, feel free to use that Google machine.
HEALTH & WELLNESS TRACKING
For health and wellness tracking, there are so many helpful apps that can count your calories, keep track of your habits, etc. Rather than logging meals on your phone, try writing them down in the Fitness and Meals page. For habits, you can keep track of those in your weekly layout or Goals page. Again, at the end of the day or at set times, you can always input that info on your phone later.
While these suggestions do add an extra step, if we’ve become addicted to the ease of our smartphones and the goal is to be more present, the added step may be necessary to break a few cycles, even if it feels tedious or harder. These are just a few ideas of how going analog, at least in small part, can help you be more present. If you can avoid twenty extra minutes of distraction or break a cycle of sliding from productive to unproductive phone usage, then that’s still a little time reclaimed for yourself, your goals, or your personal relationships!