Playing to our love of patterns

We humans naturally seek patterns and organisation. Our penchant for pattern recognition is actually one thing we still have going for us when up against artificial intelligence. This natural urge to seek order within chaos is one of the reasons students learn better in an organised classroom and why workers get more done when their desk isn’t cluttered.

Our draw to patterns and organisation applies to our planning as well. To-do lists, calendars, charts and schedules all take advantage of our propensity for breaking things down, grouping things together and laying things out in new ways.

Graphically organising information

Planners also work to graphically organise information. Tables and graphs might not seem that interesting, but the human brain begs to differ. It processes images 60,000 times faster than it does text. Further, over 90% of all the information your brain apprehends is visual. 

Which isn’t to say textual information is lost in translation. Far from it: tables are seen by the brain as catalogues of information, able to be parsed and understood quickly.

Planners essentially turbo-boost information processing.

Breaking things into lists

It’s not just graphs and tables that brains love, lists are up there too. Handy for almost every desk job, the humble bulleted list is a great way to:

●Draw the eye

●Encourage reading

●Visually break up content

●Aid memorisation

●Enable scanning.

How does it do all that? Bulleted lists basically short-circuit the human propensity to apply “heuristics” to paragraphs of text. When reading, we tend to assume sentences in a paragraph build upon each other. This can encourage us to only read to the first or second sentence and skim the rest, using assumption to fill in the blanks.

Bulleted lists aren’t structured the way paragraphs are: there’s no hierarchy to the content being listed. This encourages people to read and comprehend each point as if it were a standalone piece of information.

Planners centralise information

If you work in an office or team, then centralising planning information can be crucial to a project’s success. Centralisation ensures that:

●Everyone is working off the same information

●Goals and due dates are stated clearly

●Everyone is accountable.

Whiteboard planners are a great way to centralise information and ensure that said information is hard to miss. Not checking a linked spreadsheet is a mistake easily made; walking past a whiteboard of due dates every day? Less so.

Make a DIY whiteboard weekly planner today

JustBoards has you covered when it comes to monthly or semesterly whiteboard planners, but did you know a whiteboard weekly planner is just 20-minutes of DIY away? All you’ll need is:

1.A JustBoards glass whiteboard

2.Wet erase markers

3.Dry erase markers

4.A ruler.

Our glass whiteboards are the perfect canvas for a whiteboard weekly planner, they’re: stain resistant, durable and aesthetically superior. They work particularly well as a canvas for a DIY weekly planner because they work as well with wet erase markers as they do with dry erase markers.

Other boards might “ghost” over time, particularly when wet erase markers are applied, but glass boards never stain. This means this week’s weekly planner can transition into next week’s brainstorming session with minimal fuss.

Here’s how to set up a killer weekly planner:

1.Using the ruler, measure out seven even columns across the top of your board. Mark each column with a dot using your dry erase marker.

2.Do the same to the bottom of the board.

3.Using your wet erase marker and the ruler, connect the top and bottom dots.

4.Wait for the wet erase marker to dry and then wipe off the dry erase marker dots. 

5.Label each day of the week with wet erase marker.

And there you have it. A weekly planner template that’s able to withstand dry erasure. You can then plan your week in dry erase marker and simply wipe each week clean as needed, leaving the weekly planner template intact.

Looking for a canvas for your own DIY whiteboard weekly planner?

Get in touch today! Great service, great prices and Australia-wide delivery to your door. Call us today on 1800 654 917 or send an email to info@justboards.com.au 

The local Rotary Club was awarding its Avenues of Service Award for Youth Service to the shopping centre manager. The manager told us later that he was thrilled to be presented with the award in front of his wife, children and staff.

But he was even more thrilled that his simple idea to put up a big whiteboard had made a real difference in his community – and we were just as thrilled as he was.

Why choose a JustBoards whiteboard?

JustBoards will help you find the best solutions. We offer Australia wide delivery to your door. Contact us today on 1800 654 917 or at info@justboards.com.au

3. Photo of the day

It might be a selfie or of your kids or your pets, or something interesting you have seen recently like a sunset or waterfall.

4. Meals

What you’re going to have for dinner every day or what you ate and how many calories it was.

5. Video of the day

It could be a video you post or one that particularly tickles your fancy on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.

6. Gratitude

You could focus on things that you’re grateful for. This really helps to keep things in perspective and life in balance when you’re feeling sorry for yourself and you want a more ‘glass half full’ perspective.

7. To Do List

Try making a top three to do list for a day – a priority list of things that have to get done and that you can refer back to.

8. Spirituality

This is about how you see yourself in relation to your family, friends and the world – and what’s important to you. You could write a Bible verse, or write about meditation, yoga, or a beautiful place in nature.

9. Social Media

Look at the responses you get to posts – track followers or how many likes you’re getting.

10. Win of the Day

Something that you accomplish on a certain day – something you’re proud of. It could be something you’ve been putting off doing that you finally got around to doing. Recording wins of the day will motivate you to stop procrastinating and do more.

11. Quote of the day

This has to be something that ‘speaks to you’. One of my personal favourite quotes is: \"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.\"

12. Tidy Up

People get busy and sometimes things inside and outside the house get untidy. You might want to declutter in general, wash the windows or trim back the trees and bushes in the garden.

13. Positive Affirmations

This is a great way to start your day. You can put yourself in a positive mindset and start off on the right foot.

14. Doodle of the Day

Sometimes it’s good to be a bit silly – life can get way too serious at times. Even if you’re the worst artist in the world, anyone can doodle.

15. Self Care

It could be anything from taking a bubble bath to rewatching your favourite movie. A good one that many people choose is turn off your mobile phone for a certain period.

16. Sleep

How many hours of sleep a night are you getting? Is it enough? Most experts say it should be at least 7 hours.

17. Headline of the day

What current events are important to you? In your community? In your country? In the world?

18. Memory

Write something that happened on a certain day that was important to you. Something that’s fun to look back on. You found a new kind of wine that you love or one of your kids said something nice to you.

19. Budgeting

Write down what you spent on a significant spending day. This can help you keep your overall spending on track.

20. Today’s goal

This wouldn’t be a major goal – just a little goal achievable in one day. Like:

• Walk 10,000 steps
• Meditate
• Smile at 5 people
• Try something completely new
• Call an old friend
• Explore a park
• Cook a healthy meal
• Volunteer for charity

Many of these ideas you wouldn’t do every day. And you can focus on some ideas one month and on other ideas the next month.

Whichever ideas you choose, you are using your whiteboard monthly planner in a way that will help you feel more enthusiastic and confident, both about yourself and the world you live in.

Why choose a JustBoards Whiteboard Monthly Planner?

JustBoards will help you find the best solutions. We offer Australia wide delivery to your door. Contact us today on 1800 654 917 or at info@justboards.com.au.