Planner Ideas That Work With Your Personality.

Bullet journaling is an increasingly popular planner system that can transform into anything you want it to be by the day. People that don’t want to be boxed into choosing one set system love it. People that embrace change, and hate commitment love bullet journaling. 

The concept is simple. 

You take a planner that’s completely blank except for a small dotted grid on every page and you make your own planner based on what you need. You can use any of the concepts we talked about here and you can change the layout as often as you want. 

A ton of these end up being pretty planners, but there are people who do this functional style (and remember, just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s not functional.  It just means that they enjoy the creative outlet of calligraphy and stickers and it’s a hobby as much as a functional planner). 

There are as many bullet journaling set ups as there are types of planners.  While many people spend significantly more time setting up a bullet journal than a done for you planner, there are some popular short cuts out there that make this easier. 

One popular system people love for bullet journaling is Brainbook (Use code: Rosemarie15 for 15% off), which lets you pay a low monthly fee to get access to printable bullet journal templates and printables- you can either use the templates to recreate the pages or you can print out the templates and attach them right into your bullet journal. 

Do I use a Bullet Journal? 

Nope. I’m a super functional planner and have no desire to be changing pages. I thrive with a system set up to work with my unique personality.

But if you need freedom, you want to design your own system, or you enjoy spending time planning… the bullet journal may be for you! ( Don’t forget things like Brainbook exist to save time so you don’t have to start each week from scratch.)

Choose One Or More Of The Following Planner Ideas To Add To Your Planner:

There are tons of popular planning strategies that are working for people that you’ve likely never tried. We need to find the one (or several because many of them can be used simultaneously) that works best for you. 

These strategies don’t require a special planner and most of them will fit into your own unique planning system. These are what I call “proven by popularity.”  Even if I’m not a fan of a particular philosophy, there are enough people that are using it and loving it that they’re proven to work for certain personalities.

 I’ll break down the type of people that usually does well with each trick or philosophy. 

Getting Things Done 

Getting Things Done is a wildly popular productivity system that’s best for extremely detailed people that have willpower and can stick to systems. This is the most popular system for your typical type A personality. 

The basic concept of GTD (as it’s often called) is that our brains are crappy storage facilities. The trick is to get everything you need to remember out of your brain and into a system that can be recalled at the appropriate time. 

There are 5 steps to the GTD system… 

1. Capture everything- that crosses your mind (big or small) into your inbox. 
2. Process everything- in your inbox into next action steps. Sort items into reference, next action, or project. 
3. Organize- put everything into the right place, add dates to the calendar, delegate action items, file away reference items. Sort your tasks and more. 
4. Review- frequently look over, update, update and revise your lists, do smaller daily reviews and bigger weekly reviews. 
5. Engage and work on the important stuff- know exactly what to work on and where. 

You can set up your own GTD system here…

Do I Use Getting Things Done? 

Not just no, but absolutely no. Detail oriented “Type A” executors love this system. I would LOVE setting this up with color coordinated everything and then I would never touch it again because there’s too many steps, they don’t make sense to me, and I’m not going to follow through on days that I don’t want to. 

The only thing that works for people who struggle with sticking to a planner routine like me is setting up a system that lets me do what I’m naturally going to do (what’s easiest and laziest in my worst moments and make that work with the bare minimum effort on a consistent basis). I stick with Home Success and leave GTD to the glass ceiling breakers. 

Eisenhower Matrix (also called Eisenhower Box) 

So the concept here is that humans suck at prioritizing important things. We just do the things that are due the soonest, not the things that are actually most important to our long term goals. Because of this,  we’re always kind of operating in the “red zone.” 

The Eisenhower Box is one of the simpler planner ideas.  It’s a box divided into 4 quadrants. 

Based on where the tasks end up, you complete the action based on where it lands in the box. Do, delegate, schedule, or delete. 

It’s works best for people that struggle with correctly prioritizing things, who just do the next thing without understanding leverage. 

One thing that should be said is it can be difficult to correctly categorize items on your task list if that’s not your natural strength. 

Do I use Eisenhower Matrix?  

I have before. Usually for work tasks but not on a regular basis. I prefer ROI as a prioritization method.  I actually think this method leaves a ton of room for error based on your ability to correctly identify where a task fits in the box.

ROI is my prefrence because it’s more straight forward. There isn’t a dedicated planner system that teaches ROI, I use my own system.  But let me know in the comments if you want more information about how I use ROI in a planner for business and I can do a separate post on that. 

 Eat that Frog

 “Do the hardest, most important thing first”

Eat that Frog is a best selling book by Brian Tracy but the strategy is SO simple, you don’t even have to read the book. Do the hardest, most important task for the day as soon as you wake up. Don’t give yourself a chance to procrastinate it. 

Once It’s done, you feel AMAZING, like you can tackle the world and the rest of your day is really easy. You don’t have that big, stressful thing looming over your head. 

Eat that Frog is beneficial to literally everyone, but the people that get the most life changing benefits are those that are prone to procrastination.

Hint: For people that have necessary routines, like moms with young kids (you kind of have to feed kids and get them to school before you can eat your frog), “First thing in the morning” doesn’t necessarily have to be the second you wake up. It can also be the second you start your work day.

Why is it called Eat That Frog? It’s based on an old adage by Mark Twain that said “If the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do all day.” 

Do I use Eat That Frog?

Absolutely! I’ve used Eat That Frog for years and can’t imagine life without it. It’s absolutely life changing. I’ve also adapted this to my eating habits (I’ve lost 60 pounds in the last few years) by eating ALL of  the healthiest things first at every meal (two servings of the vegetables and fruit before the bread) and that’s also been a life changing habit. 

Pomodoro Technique

“Work in 25 minute focus blocks”

The Pomodoro Method is basically to work in uninterrupted focus blocks of 25 minutes with 5-10 min breaks between. 

These are typically used for work but can be applied to any project. 

The idea behind it is that humans can only focus on a single thing for a certain period of time.  So, rather than planning to work for longer but spending most of your time surfing Instagram or texting people… Pomodoro has you dedicate a 25 minute block of intense focus with no distractions and then has you plan a 5 minute break to allow for distractions. 

This is life changing and like Eat That Frog works for people who are easily distracted and procrastinate.   (Hint: this is often too rigid for super creative types who want to go with the flow of their thoughts and ideas.) 

There’s a few more rules.  

• For every four 25 minute blocks (called Pomodoro’s), you need to take a longer 20-30 minute break.
• If task items are small, group them together to fill one Pomodoro. 
• Leave an overflow Pomodoro (or two) built into your workday.  They’re for things that take longer or that come up when you didn’t anticipate. 

If you work 8 hours a day, you don’t necessarily need to have 16 focus blocks of 25 minutes. The average worker only focuses for 3 hours a day. The rest is distracted busywork. I built a successful thriving business working an average of 15 hours a week by making sure that every minute of those hours was in a focus block with no distractions. 

Also, if you need to get things done with toddlers at home, Pomodoro was life changing for me. I spent 5-10 minute breaks playing on the floor with the kids at their level and then gave them something to occupy them (a jumper, a toy, a busy box) for a 25 minute focus block.

When the timer went off, I went right back to them. Over time,  the sounds of the timer,  trained the kids to know that I was coming right back.  It also prevented me from continuing on with what I was doing and letting them get bored. I built my business while staying at home with a baby and a toddler and this was a major factor in my success. 

(Pro tip:  It’s hard in the beginning and gets easier as your consistent with it). 

Hint: I use focus@will to play brain stimulating sounds and to track my focus blocks, it’s $9.99 a month but I’ve used it exclusively for 5 years and it’s probably the best money I spend every month. It trains my brain over time as well, as soon as I hear my “channel” start (what they call their timed wordless “music” which is really more sounds.) my brain automatically knows to focus. 

Do I use Pomodoro? 

Absolutely. There’s no way I could have been as successful as I am without utilizing Pomodoro. I started Pomodoro the same week as I started my business. It’s life changing.

Zen to Done 

“Get things done with a focus on habits” 

Zen to Done is an off shoot of Getting Things Done that we already went over. It’s slightly simpler and it focuses on you creating habits to get your most important tasks done. So if your most important task is a dissertation paper for college for instance,  it creates a habit of working on it for 25 minutes a day. 

Who it’s for – Type A personalities, detail oriented people, people who enjoy systems and routine and can stick with them. 

Do I use it? Nope. While I definitely focus on habits in my life, I use the Hot Mess to Home Success System which teaches those habits in a way that uses bare minimum consistent effort. I like the idea of this system in theory but won’t stick to it when I’m having an off day (or an off month).

Kanban 

“Visual way of moving tasks in a team to completion”

Kanban is typically done with post it notes in a paper planner or more commonly on an online task management tool like Trello which lets you set up an online post it system. But you can also buy large white board systems like the one above.  

It’s one of the incredibly popular planner ideas (along with other variations like Agile and Scrum) in business task management of coordinated teams. 

This is a visual way of organizing tasks so that the focus is on completing a task before you pull another one. 

 Your goal would be to work in sprints and move as many tasks as you can along those 4 columns as efficiently as possible. 

This planner ideas system is able to show you at a high level where all of your tasks are at in a single glance.  Then you can see what needs to be done, pull those tasks, and get them done quickly. Other benefits for these planner ideas are that it helps you focus on completion of tasks before you pull more. You learn to work more efficiently as you get used to pulling the tasks along as quickly as possible. 

Here’s what this looks like in Trello…

 (Hint: if you use Asana already, Asana has the capabilities to do this as well. 

SNOWBALL (Or Leverage)

“Do this first to make that easier” 

The concept behind the snowball (also called leverage) is that you prioritize and focus first on the tasks that make other tasks easier. This is most popular in Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball method, where he has you pay off the smallest debt first and then roll that payment into your next smallest debt. 

But this doesn’t just apply to debt pay off. It applies to every aspect of life. 

This can be used on a daily basis.  Which of my tasks will make other tasks easier? 

Do I use Snowball?

YES! This is a core foundation of the  Hot Mess to Home Success system that changed my life. It taught me automation first (how to remove myself from the running of my home with no extra cost), then foundation (the only 3 things that matter in the running of your home including how to use a planner so you’ll actually stick to it), next simplified meal planning, then easy budgeting and finally simplified cleaning.

Each of those things were taught in a way to make the next task intensely easier. 

Which is exactly what happened, because despite trying and failing at budgeting for 12 years, when I did the things in order… it was easy. Not “eating cheetos on the couch” easy, but WAY easier than anything else I’d ever tried and it actually worked the first time. I’ve been doing that for 7 years now and can’t imagine ever going back.

Don’t Break the Chain

“How many days in a row can you do your new habit.” 

If you’re trying to implement a new habit in your life, then Don’t Break the Chain is the best way to track it. It’s a really simple planner idea. 

• Pick a habit that you want to do every day. 
• Then put an x on every day that you do it… 

This can be done on a separate graph in your planner, on the days of the week, or on a monthly calendar. 

Your goal and the entire concept behind this is to go as many days as possible without breaking the chain of x’s. 

This is great for both work and business (like making the habit to “Eat that Frog” every morning and do your biggest task first), but also for home management (like a habit of doing the dishes every day), or weight loss (track points or calories every day) or even just life (journal every day for 5 minutes). 

Fun fact: This system was developed by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. 

Habits to consider doing for Don’t Break the Chain 

(Remember to work on one habit at a time for more than 30-60 days until it’s well established as a habit before you attempt to start another one.) 

Hint: Try to make them SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound) by saying “read every day for one hour before bed” versus read every day.

*Note: you can still check it off if you read for an hour in the morning but by saying before bed, you’re setting yourself up for success because you’re actually thinking about the lay out of your day and deciding where it’s going to fit in. 

Business Habits:

• Write every day for 45 minutes. 
• Eat that Frog every day for 45 minutes. 
• Track income every day.

Weight Loss Habits:

• Work out every day
• Track calories or points every day. 
• Meal prep healthy meals every day. 
• Eat within your points every day. 
• Drink 64 oz of water every day. 

Home Habits

• Do 1 load of laundry per day
• Do one load of dishes per day
• Check and add to your planner every day
• Do a 15 minute decluttering session per day
• Do a 15 minute pick up every day. 
• Plan tomorrow’s meals every day. 

Marriage Habits

• Give your spouse 3 compliments every day. 
• Spend 30 minutes catching up every day over coffee or wine after work. 

Parenting Habits

• Spend 15 minutes a day with each child individually. 
• Compliment each child 3x a day. 
• Stay calm during tense moments with kids every day. 

Self Care Habits

• Write down 3 things you’re grateful for every day. 
• Take a bubble bath every day
• Read for an hour before bed every day. 

Do I use Don’t Break The Chain?

Yes! I love Don’t Break the Chain. It’s as easy as it is effective. I choose a different habit to focus on every month.  And, I often repeat a habit for multiple months until it sticks and becomes a permanent habit. 

Planner Ideas for Note Pages

When you implement any of the above ideas, you’ll usually end up using your note pages to fit them into your current planner. But there’s lots of other things you can do with your note pages.

Inspirational Meals Lists

Having a shortlist of SLAM DUNK meals that EVERYONE in your family loves mixed in with some easy back up meals (that can be made quickly and easily if the menu plan doesn’t work out ).  Back up meals can be as simple as canned ravioli or as delicious as pulled pork nachos depending on your current level of skill in the kitchen and your palate. 

Stockroom List

The Home Success Planner that I use has this in it, but if your planner doesn’t, this is a great place to list the items your house NEEDS to run. When you stock these items (hint: don’t stock food.  Only stock items you would immediately go out and buy if you ran out. Things like deodorant, toothpaste, and toilet paper.)

This way you eliminate a TON of unnecessary errands and naturally save money by not opening yourself up to impulse purchases when you’re running to the store. 

Christmas Planner

They have actual Christmas planners, but you can also use your note pages to dedicate to this (I use this one which helps you have the BEST Christmas ever, even with a tight budget and stressful schedule. It’s been a life saver the last few years.

This Christmas planner has single handedly established all of our favorite Christmas traditions and kept me under budget while still giving amazing gifts. 

 Daily routine 

Listing out your morning routine and evening routine.

Cleaning program

Listing out your cleaning system.   Particularly if you use a system that has a different task on every day of the week.  

Goal pages

One of the most popular planner ideas is using the notes pages of your planner for planning your weekly, monthly, and yearly goals (use the systems above to do that- like the 12 Week Year).

Vacation Planning

I always use the notes pages to plan all of our vacations.

Wants list 

This is my favorite. It means that when I see something I want to buy (on Amazon or Instagram ads or wherever), instead of buying it… I list it here. 

Then when I have money (or when I save money) I’m able to look at EVERYTHING I want to buy.  And I can choose the thing I want most. This way I don’t just randomly spend money on whatever happens to be in front of me at the moment (I have low willpower). 

This also makes it so I can keep shopping, which I love, without blowing tons of money. Because I “shop” to fill my wants list instead of buying. And the more I shop to fill my wants list, the better purchases I make. 

Party Planning 

We plan our annual parties in the note pages including guests, menu, timeline and tasks. I do annual parties where we host the same event every year.  This makes it really easy to duplicate and get better results.  We have less stress and less money spent every year I do it. 

Other Types of Planners 

Once you get the hang of using a planner, you may want to expand and look into other types of planners that track specific aspects of your life. 

Budget Planner (also look into Qube). 

A Budget planner will help you track your net worth, your budget and everything you want to focus on to improve your financial outlook. 

If you want to do this online- Qube MONEY is an UNBELIEVABLE life changing way to manage your budget especially if you suck at budgeting. We started using it when it first came out and I will never go back. 

It’s extremely unique though because they literally do your budget right in your bank account, by separating your paychecks into digital cash envelopes. 

You can go directly to Qube here but if you’ve never heard of it before, I suggest you read this instead so you can see for yourself why Qube can make literally ANYONE stick to a budget.

Do I use a Budget Planner? 

Yes but the Home Success Planner that I use incorporates budgeting right into their planner so I don’t need a separate planner to keep track of this,  but we do use Qube… because when we started using it we cut our spending in half easily and budgeting actually became fun (even to Jon!) 

Qube also works seamlessly with the easy budgeting system they teach in the Hot Mess to Home Success. 

Project planners 

For large projects, you may find that having a dedicated planner to plan it all out is immensely helpful. 

Home Decor and Designing Planner Ideas

Designer in a Binder is a genius system to plan out home projects and renovations, whether your decorating a powder room or renovating your kitchen.

I use this and love it. Here’s before and after pictures of rooms I’ve used this with

Health Planners 

A health planner can help you get healthier.  This can be a planner that focuses on helping you lose weight, a planner that focuses on improving your mental health,  or a planner to help you identify food intolerances.  

This could also be a specialty planner (like this one that helps caregivers of cancer patients track complicated schedules, appointments, and symptoms). 

Teacher Planners