What Kind of Planner are You?

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I realized today that I’ve been kidding myself for a long time.  Every year I get a new daytimer.  Every year I write out a few things and then…..

It sits untouched for months.

I started thinking that maybe I wasn’t a planner type person all along.  Maybe I don’t need a plan.  Maybe I’m an impulsive spur of the moment kind of person.  Then I laughed because that’s not right either.

So what type of planner am I?  What kind of planner are you?  I’ve tried to detail the options here – just as I see them but I’d love to hear what you think.

The Obsessive Planner:

You remember dates very well, phone numbers too, but you still document everything down to the veterinarians address in your day timer.  You have a calendar posted in the kitchen and that acts as your family hub.  You get upset if your hubby doesn’t follow the plan you laid out so effectively for him. You have a home organization binder which lists everything from bank accounts to landscapers.  It’s your pride and joy (after your kids of course.)

The Digital Diarist:

You don’t remember phone numbers but that’s ok because they are all stored in your Blackberry and your Blackberry never leaves your side.  You set reminders, use it to email yourself notes and have birthdays pop up on a recurring schedule year after year.  You feel a little sad when it has to sit on the charger.

The Seat of Your Pants Planner:

Plan? What plan? You just go with the flow and it’s likely your significant other is the planner in your family. This means you don’t have to worry about things and you just go on your merry way.   You rely on routine to get you through the week and if something gets re-scheduled it throws you off.

The Non Planning Planner:

This is where I sit.  I like a good plan.  I need a good plan, but I don’t sit down and detail every minute detail.  I like to have it in my mind.  This means I need a lot of thinking time and a lot of processing time.  I don’t remember numbers well so I have a few key ones in my cell phone and the rest don’t matter so much.  I know how to get the information quickly if I need it.  I think this is the key aspect…getting at information quickly when I need it so I don’t need to lug around a Blackberry or a day timer.   What does this mean for my plans?  Well, I work it out in my head.  How am I going to make dinner….no recipe that’s a plan.  But I think about what we have on hand.  What time frame I have.  What I might need to pick up. What steps I’ll need to take and only once I have it all figured out in my head do I get to work (hubby is laughing and thinking….oh, this is why she hardly ever makes dinner!).

Is one method better than another?  No, and each certainly have their drawbacks but think about how you plan and where you might fall short.  Is there something you can improve on?  Does having a detailed map stifle your creativity?  Does going without a plan cause you to waste time?  Think about those things and take some time to fill in where you might be missing out.