For all of my adult life I’ve used printed planners to keep track of appointments and schedule important tasks. I’ve kept daily to-do lists in these planners, and this has been essential to my productivity. Last year I realized that this approach was no longer working for me. I’m almost always accompanied by my three young kids, so carrying my planner along with the diapers, snacks, and other gear we always need simply didn’t make sense.
Despite everything else I need to keep track of, I almost always have my phone with me. Thus, I decided to try using a digital calendar. To be honest, I didn’t think I would like it. I like habit and familiarity (which is the printed planner), so the digital planner took a bit of getting used to. However, now that I’ve been using it for a few months, I really like it! The most useful thing to me is being able to schedule reminders. For example, I have dinner scheduled on the calendar each evening. I have the calendar send to my phone each morning a reminder message about what we’re having for dinner. This helps me remember to pull anything from the freezer that needs to thaw. I also schedule reminders about things like when library books are due. This really helps me stay on top of things!
Sadly, one feature that isn’t available on the digital planner is a daily to-do list. I still need this, so a couple of weeks ago I created a one-page weekly planner that I can print and use for this purpose.
(Click on the image to view and download a larger, printable version of the planner.)
This weekly planner gives me space to document daily to-do lists. It also contains space for me to document priority tasks for each week, weekly goals, and notes for the coming week. In each space designated for a daily to-do list, I included a tiny image of a shoe and images of drops of water. I use these to keep track of exercise and water consumption.
If this daily planner will help you stay organized and be productive, then feel free to print copies for yourself (simply click on the above image to access a printable version).
What strategies are helping you stay organized these days? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Shared at the following:
Homestead Blog Hop, Encouraging Hearts and Home, and Over the Moon.
I really like this. I’ve not seen planners with the water 💧 goal to keep track of!
I like alarms and stuff from my phone, but when it comes to everyday, I have to have a list on paper in front of me. And there’s something satisfying about crossing off done items.
Thanks for putting this together!
I am not sure if you share on blog hops, but it would be great if you’d share this at the Homestead Blog Hop this week. The hop begins on Wednesday morning and goes til Sunday. This would be a great post to share with others!
Blessings!
Laurie
Here’s a link to the blog hop page.
https://www.ridgehavenhomestead.com/category/homestead-blog-hop/
I’ve never felt the need to keep track of my water consumption, but lately I’ve noticed that I’ve been drinking less. Thus, I decided to include it.
I like crossing things off of lists, too. It’s like a small reward. 🙂
Thanks for sharing about the blog hop and for stopping by!
This is an awesome format. I need to be better about to-do lists, they are definitely the way to go. Thank for sharing this with us at the Homestead Blog Hop, I’ll be sharing this to my page too!
To-do lists work for me. I’m sure other approaches work for some folks, but this is definitely worth a try.
Thanks for sharing, Ann!
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
Thanks, Marilyn!
I definitely need to write things down and I just love crossing them off as I accomplish them too. Thanks for sharing your printable with us at Encouraging hearts and home. Pinned.
It’s amazing how much the simple action of crossing it off the list feels like a reward!
Thanks for hosting, Joanne.