Quarterly Planning & Organization
My planning routine consists of quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily updates. In this series of posts, I’ll share what inserts I use to stay organized and how I use them in my agenda system starting with yearly & quarterly planning.
The Inserts
I’m using the 2023 Yearly & Quarterly Planner Inserts MN018 from 8Lotus, my favorite planner insert shop.
Coupon code MADY8 to save $
How I Plan
Quarterly inserts provide a long-term view in a condensed format. Every time I schedule an appointment or get an invitation, I need somewhere to schedule those dates. My quarterly section is my “catch-all” for noteworthy dates.
You might ask, why not put them directly into your monthly calendar? When planning months in advance, cancellations happen, things get rescheduled, or actions are completed early. By listing them in my quarterly section first, I avoid crossing them out in my monthly and weekly spreads. When I sit down each month to update my monthly calendar with important dates, I use my quarterly inserts as the reference. This serves as a reminder to keep these dates fresh in my mind.
What I Plan
So, what exactly goes onto these inserts? Any important long-term date that I’ll need to reference or schedule into my agenda later goes straight to this section. For example, dentist appointments, annual exams, quarterly prescription refill reminders, important tax dates, social events, weddings, vacation dates, etc. Pretty much anything scheduled 2+ months out.
Why is This Helpful?
These long-term plans sometimes have multiple parts to them. Here’s a scenario. You’re invited to a baby shower! The date is 3 months out, (you’re super busy right now) but you open up your quarterly section to note the date right away. Time passes, and now your 2 months out from the event. Checking your planner reminds you that the RSVP date is coming up! You add this to your weekly tasks so you don’t forget. You’re now 1 month out. You sit down for your monthly planning, referencing your quarterly dates. Since you’ve RSVP’d and you plan on attending, you add the baby shower date and time to your monthly calendar. You need to check the registry and purchase your gift by the end of the month to ensure it arrives on time. You plan this straight into your monthly & weekly spreads so as to not miss your deadline and everything runs smoothly. Well done!
One more scenario. You’re invited to an out-of-state wedding, exciting! The date is also 3 months out. You don’t use quarterly inserts, so you schedule the wedding date right into your monthly calendar. You start scheduling when to purchase tickets, when to go dress shopping, what days you’re taking off from work, and all the other small details. Now your agenda has lots of writing on your monthly and weekly spreads. A couple of weeks later, you’re notified that the wedding date is cancelled due to travel restrictions and the wedding will be pushed out indefinitely. Oh no! Now you have to cross out ALL of the monthly and weekly plans related to the wedding. Not the end of the world, but when planning long-term, taking cancellations or rescheduling into account can save you tons of time and valuable space in your planner.
Conclusion
Having a calendar isn’t what helps me stay organized, the action of planning is what keeps me on top of my deadlines. In other words, having a set “protocol” in my agenda keeps me actively engaged with my organization systems. By having consistent routines, I know exactly what to do with certain dates, where they need to be written down, when to add them to my monthly spread, and how they should be scheduled into my weekly & daily plans.
If you’re not currently using a long-term planning strategy in your agenda, try adding quarterly inserts or another system!
Want to see more?
Watch my YouTube mini-series for an up-close look at each of these inserts starting with Part 1 Quarterly Planning.
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