Creating an Effective Organizational System When Recovering from Concussion/mTBI
I previously wrote about why planning and organization are instrumental in recovery from Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) . Now, I want to lay out what goes into creating a good planning and organization system for individuals with persistent PCS/mTBI and other brain injuries.
Get a high-quality planner
To begin with, you should use a high-quality planner.
A great planner doesn’t just allow you to keep track of appointments. It enables you to get a handle on everything that you want to do— including your deadlines, regular obligations, longer-term projects and your self-care.
Imagine if everything you needed to remember for the week was on a centralized 1-2 page spread. How much more in control would you feel? How much more effective would you be? How much calmer would you feel?
That is what a high-quality planner can do for you.
Using your planner to create an effective planning and organization system
So, how can you use a high-quality planner to create an effective planning and organization system for yourself?
The best planners for individuals with persistent PCS/mTBI allow you to engage in the following multi-step planning process:
1) Write down the things you need to do and when— i.e., what time, what day (or just the due date, if it’s a deadline).
Here’s how I suggest doing that:
a) In your monthly calendar, write down all of your appointments and deadlines for the next 6 months.
b) In your monthly calendar, write down on the appropriate days all of your obligations that will need to take place weekly or monthly for the next 6 months.
c) Transfer the appointments, deadlines, and obligations for the next 2-3 months from your monthly calendar to your weekly calendars.
d) Next, add in your daily obligations to the same 2-3 months of your weekly calendars.
2) Write down all the things you want to do.
a) First, decide on 2-4 categories for yourself, such as: Work, School, Business, Home, Personal, Art Practice, Exercise Practice, etc. (For example, in my own planner, I use 3 categories: ‘Coaching Business,’ ‘Writing,’ & ‘Personal.’)
b) Taking the first week, think of all the things you have to do and all the things you want to do in each of these categories in your first weekly calendar. If it feels daunting to do any of these tasks, break them down into smaller ones.
Remember, this is a brainstorm: don’t worry about the order in which you write these tasks down.
3) Prioritize and sequence among the tasks for the week within each of your 2-4 categories. What do I mean here by prioritizing and sequencing? Here’s a quick example: if you were looking for a job for the first time in 5 years, you would probably want to update your resume and start networking before you begin applying for jobs and preparing your salary and benefit negotiation strategy. Thus, if you were in the early stages of this process, updating your resume and contacting your professional network might be two of your biggest ‘Career’ priorities for the week.
4) Pick a Top 10 list. Now, looking at your priorities in all of your categories, highlight in a color of your choice your top 10 priority tasks across all categories. (Note: some planners will provide spaces in which you can fill in your top 10 priorities. If that is the case, I’d advise using the spaces provided to write these in instead of using a highlighter.)
5) Complete your Top 10 list.
Write down your daily to-do list in the morning (or the night before). Your daily to-do list should be approximately 2-10 items long— preferably 3-7 items. Make sure to include at least 3 items from your weekly Top 10 list.
Remember to review your appointments and to-do lists more than once/day— in case you lose focus or forget what you’re supposed to be doing. If you forget to look over your appointments and to-do list items, then create calendar alerts or phone alarms to remind yourself to do this at least 2-3 times per day.
If you accomplish all 10 of your weekly Top 10 list tasks before the end of the week and have the energy to do more, create a 2nd top 10 list.
Stay tuned…
So, how do you choose a high-quality planner for yourself? Which planners do I recommend for individuals with persistent PCS/mTBI, and other brain injuries?
I’ll cover that in another post by the end of the month.