High School Chronicles #3 - why i stopped using my planner

 i've developed the best process to maximize efficiency when the to-do list seems endless. every sunday night, i opened my planner and chronicled a mental summary of major deadlines (from shortest term to longest term)

daily deadlines: write down assignments that i'll need to work on every day.
deadlines that occur this week: block out time to work on those assignments on monday and tuesday.
deadlines that occur next week or later: choose a few less populated day to start hacking away at long-term projects.
monthly goals: write down as an optional goal to finish part of the project by the end of the week.

this process has two major benefits.

1. avoiding cognitive meltdown.
   if i kept a running checklist of items every day, the list could seem very long. as a result,
   a) i could feel overwhelmed and therefore unmotivated to even start.
   b) if i do start, but i don't finish a majority, i feel dejected because of the lack of dopamine that comes from chipping away at the tip of an iceberg. this leads to less motivation to continue the next day.
   thus, by creating extremely feasible goals every day (taking into account my entire week's schedule), not only am i on track to meet my deadlines, but i also feel satisfied knowing that i finished this today's tasks.
2. holding myself accountable
   i recognize that i'm an anomaly in discipline, but the reason is because i really do receive a dopamine boost from checking off items on my list, a feeling much more satisfying than procrastinating endlessly.

i treasured my planner for most of high school. i was able to create rigorous study plans, application writing schedules, and even timelines for personal projects.

i stopped using my planner senior year. here's why.

1. i found that i got a bit too much satisfaction from crossing things off the list; i would almost write in extra to-do tasks just for that satisfaction. that meant that there was an endless cycle of work to do.
   1. no i've developed more of a "work hard play hard" mindset where i stop working when i feel my productiveness slowing down and take a truly invigorating break. i've found this really resets the brain and makes work periods feel much less burdensome.
2. there's no such thing as "free time", you have to make time for your hobbies. but when i'd schedule this in on my planner, it made my free time feel like more of a burden.

some of these ideas arose from my battles with Perfectionism.

now i use one calendar! it syncs with my google calendar so i can schedule around family events as well. since i'm not physically pulling out my planner every day, it feels like a compromise where i'm not placing such heavy importance on my work and giving my brain the heavy dopamine boost from crossing items off.

i still think planners are useful in moderation, especially during really hectic weeks. just not for all 365 days of the year.