Have you ever observed somebody ~ a supervisor or an executive or a secretary or busy mom ~ use a day planner to manage their time? I have. And for a long time, I never possessed the first inclination to use one of these convenient and practical time management tools, until I took a job with a small progressive medical communications company back in the mid-nineties.
I worked for a professional woman was undoubtedly one of the busiest and most organized individuals I have ever met, even to this day. She never failed to have her Franklin Day Planner placed conveniently next to her on her desk or to be able to readily retrieve it from her briefcase. She kept scrupulous notes in her planner and could always find exactly what she wanted at exactly the time she wanted it, all at the flip of a page, right from that day planner. She conducted staff meetings, managed her hectic schedule, and delegated and tracked work assignments for the staff and amazed everyone with what seemed to be her ability for “total recall.” After working with her for nearly a year, she decided, after I missed an important deadline, that I needed to get myself better organized and convinced me to try the Franklin Day Planner System.
I was hesitant at first. I had always taken great pride in my ability to remember everything I needed to do, but she convinced me that if I would give it a try, I would never go back to relying only on my memory to remember everything I needed to do both professionally and personally. She was right. I started small with one of the pocket planners and I listened to the tapes that went along with the whole system. It’s not just a day planner, it’s a system that enables and supports you in developing an understanding of your own values and vision as it relates to your professional and personal goals and aspirations.
Steven Covey said it best in his quote:
“Personal leadership is not a singular experience. It is, rather, the ongoing process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with those most important things.”
The Franklin Day Planning System does just that. It teaches and enables us to break patterns of self-defeating behavior and to replace old patterns with a principle-centered approach to managing our time and our life. Emphasizing balance by putting wellness, relationships, family, and personal growth just as high on our list of priorities as urgent business and professional concerns.