Quick Tip 4: Save time and hassle with routine lists

How often do you sit down to work and forget where you’re up to? Or, worse still, ‘complete’ a task and realise you’ve forgotten a crucial step? I do it more frequently than I’d like, so I’ve come up with this quick planner tip to save you the time and frustration.

I hate wasting time and I bet you do to!

​URGH! How often do you click publish on your blog and realise you’ve forgotten to SEO, ALT text images or add in links? It’s such a frustration, a waster or time, a potentially costly occurrence and, as it turns out, completely avoidable. We, as (semi)-professionals, strive for an error-free product, and missed steps cost time, money, and dent our image. Not good for any of us! So, I’ve come up with a solution so simple and easy you’ll wonder why we haven’t all been doing this forever!
This year I’m trialling a new planning format, and I decided early on that some kind of easily accessible list would be essential. Being a trial, it’s not particularly pretty, but it is dead cheap – a left-over 1B5 exercise book that I’ve spent time ruling up to use for planning. Since having children I’ve lost the magic ability I used to have of keeping an entire diary in my head, so I’ve created Planner Foldouts that hold those essential lists that I CANNOT afford to forget. I’ve got one for my Journal Prompts because I tend to lose the loose pieces of paper I used to tuck between pages, and there got to be so many that I’d be leafing through and wasting time every time I went to look for one!
Well, it’s time for that to stop!
Back in my previous life as a teacher, one of the things that became overwhelming was reinventing the wheel every time I went to teach a lesson that followed a very similar format, for example, printing/handwriting. Yes the letter changed, but the general formula for teaching the lesson didn’t. That’s where Routine Plans helped immensely, and this is where this Quick Tip comes in – ROUTINE LISTS. For the printing routine plan I created a general format lesson that outlined every repeated step in teaching all the letters (the steps that never changed, or changed very little). At the bottom I included the formation sheet and dated each letter as we went through. Tada, one Routine Plan instead of 26. Simple, effective, and not a step missed out, paper and time saved. So how can that lesson help save us time and energy in writing (or almost any other process)? Find out below!

My new journal for next year with Journaling prompts ready to go!

Image from @heyamberrae on Instagram (shared via Pinterest)

​“I despise wasting time searching for lists, AND reinventing the wheel every time I want to plan something. Routine Lists on Foldouts are such a quick, easy, and time-saving solution!” – Emily Larkins, author.

It’s a no-brainer, really: Foldout Routine Lists!

​My last Quick Tip outlined exactly how to make your very own Planner Foldouts  - simple inserts made to fit the inside cover of your planner that can be folded out for quick reference, and folded away when not in use. What makes them great is that they’re attached (so you can’t lose them), and they extend beyond the cover of your book to refer to as you go. Routine Lists are the extension of that – the essential lists and processes that you use often. My prototype planner with one large foldout holds: Journaling Prompts, Weekly Review Checklist (things I need to check I’ve done each week), Story Creation Steps (from idea gathering to clicking publish on my eBooks and making the Legal Deposit for my story (which we’re legally required to do in New Zealand)), and my Blog Post Checklists for before and after clicking publish. Some of these lists I refer to daily, others weekly or monthly, but the key is: I know exactly where they are when I need them.
To create yours:

​Consider what you regularly check when completing a task – do you refer to a task list when creating a story? How about steps for editing? Do you use a specific process to write your blog? Here are some suggestions: frequently used hashtags, social media post schedule, daily/weekly/monthly tasks, Time Blocking chart, editing passes list, publishing process, blog post checklist, publishing checklist, reading list, Goals for the Year/Month/Week, inspirational quotes, conversion charts... In your home diary you may have a list of family birthdays, emergency contacts (doctor, plumber, electrician, etc.), appliance replacement part numbers, key dates (e.g. insurance payments, mortgage repayments, bills, children’s activities, etc.). The options are endless. Choose what works for you.
Write out the steps for your process and double check you’ve got all the steps and order correct.
Create a Planner Foldout for your journal/workbook/diary.
Transfer your list or routine to the foldout.
Hey presto! Done!

Now you’ll always have those essential lists on hand at a mere flick of pages. Check out my Foldouts Quick Tip to see how my clever wraparound Foldout makes this process even quicker and easier!
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Happy planning everyone,
Emily.
 
Do you have a question about it or would you like more on this topic? Do you have suggestions for other Routine Lists? Leave a comment to help others make the most of their Foldouts.