5 Types of Planners for Procrastinators
Do you too have a planner graveyard under your bed?
In this article:
- The Daily Planner
- The Weekly Planner
- The Digital Planner
- The Monthly Calendar
- The Planning App
- Honorable Mention — Productivity Apps
Do you have a planner graveyard under your bed?
I have had an incredibly difficult time sticking with one planner for any length of time. When I was in school, I found that weekly planners didn’t have enough room for all my assignments. But when I switched to a daily planner, I found that planning out too much of my day made me feel too busy (even if I wasn’t) and stressed me out. I like having a schedule so I can remember to do things like get up early enough to make coffee before class or make time to eat lunch and dinner, but planning every minute of my day is just too much, and leaving part of my planner empty just feels wasteful.
Over time, I have discovered that what works best for me is using multiple planning methods together. In college, I used an app called Power Planner to keep track of my class schedule, grades, and assignments on my phone and laptop. I also had a daily planner that contained a schedule, task section, weather, and meal planner. Every week I would take some time to write out each day in my planner so I could get ahead of any conflicts, deadlines, and even have the daily weather written down so I didn’t have to check my phone every morning. Lastly, I hung a paper calendar over my desk with any important deadlines and events so that they would be literally “in my face” and I couldn’t forget.
That planning method worked pretty well for me in college, but I realized I still got tired of my planner pretty quickly and my planning needs changed each time my schedule did. Post-college, I didn’t have enough going on to fill my daily planner. This is when I finally broke down and bought a digital planner compatible with OneNote, which has served me EXTREMELY well.
These days, I essentially just use my digital planner alongside a Pomodoro timer app, and planning has gotten much easier and more flexible.
So, if you struggle to pledge your allegiance to a planner as I do, here’s a list of planning methods you might want to try that won’t break your bank.
The Daily Planner
My daily planner served me very well in college and probably would have been nice in high school as well after I stopped being able to fit all my assignments in the small spaces of my weekly planner. Many daily planners include a blank schedule, some kind of to-do list, daily goals, exercise, weather, and even a water intake tracker. Before I started using schedule-oriented planning, I would forget to make time for important things like lunch, showers, and laundry. I found that taking time every week to sit down and fill out my daily schedule for the next seven days allowed me to better comprehend deadlines and start completing chores on time. My time management improved a ton, and making my planner colorful and visual helped me to stay on top of things. Even minor things like filling in daily weather in advance helped me to make sure I had appropriate clothes clean.
Ideal for people who:
- Struggle with time management
- Are (relatively) busy
- Are trying to track habits, meals, or exercise
- Students
Look for:
- Undated planners (if you skip a few days or more, you won’t waste pages)
- Schedule-style task list
- Daily goal and accomplishments
My favorites:
- Happy Planner from BeatificHappyPlanner on Etsy
- Daily Planner Journal from Urban Outfitters
The Weekly Planner
Like many people, my first planner was a weekly planner given to me by my school. It was a small spiral-bound book and each day had far too few lines for the amount of homework we were assigned. At the bottom of each day block was a spot for a parent’s signature to certify you actually did the work you said you did (no honor system there), and at the bottom of each page was a motivational quote. Despite how much I despised this planner, I do think it’s the best system for middle school and high school (minus the parent signature). It also works well if you don’t have a terribly busy schedule or are good at managing your time. Weekly planners are a nice, clean, succinct planning method and generally a great way to keep track of deadlines.
Ideal for people who:
- Need to keep track of tasks and deadlines
- Prefer a simple planning style
- Students
Look for:
- Monthly calendars included
- Enough room to fit your handwriting
The Digital Planner
I’m LOVING my digital planner. It comes with templates for pretty much every style planner (daily, weekly, monthly, different calendars) as well as templates for goals, appointments, exercise schedules, finances, and pretty much anything else. This works well for me because it accommodates my changing preferences and workload without having to buy a whole new planner every time. Additionally, you can customize it all you want and it can be a nice creative outlet (or leave it minimalist, it’s totally up to you). Depending on what kind of device you have, most companies sell planners that work in OneNote, Evernote, GoodNotes, and many other programs, so you should be able to find one that works for you.
Ideal for people who:
- Change their minds often
- Prefer a LOT of customization and control
- Like to keep everything in one place (like a less messy binder)
- Have a good laptop or tablet
Look for:
- Bundles with lots of templates, stickers, and different daily set-ups and calendars
Examples & Recommendations:
- OneNote Digital Planner Bundle from HappyDownloads
- GoodNotes Digital Planner from forLittleLion
The Monthly Calendar
Who doesn’t love a good, classic monthly calendar? I seem to get one or two every year for Christmas, and they definitely serve a good purpose. But there are a lot more (and potentially better) options than the typical flip calendar. For example, my family likes to print a themed (usually free) calendar every month to hang on the fridge that keeps track of every appointment, payday, holiday, and major task. When I was in college living with three other girls, we found having a nice big dry-erase or chalk calendar to keep track of our schedules, cleaning, household items we were running out of, and just to leave notes in case we didn’t see each other tremendously useful. My favorite personal calendar is the desktop calendar, a large, flat monthly calendar that sits in the middle of my desk. I like that there’s plenty of room to write and that it’s easy to check when I’m making appointments or checking deadlines. Whatever you choose, keep in mind what you want to use it for and make sure there’s enough room in each day to write it out.
Ideal for people who:
- Prefer to visualize deadlines
- Prefer a simple planning style
- Want to use it in conjunction with another kind of planner
- People who want obvious reminders at home
Look for:
- Squares large enough to fit your deadlines and appointments
Examples & Recommendations:
- This FREE printable calendar from Printables and Inspirations
- This chalkboard calendar from Target
- This large desktop calendar from Amazon
- This smaller desktop calendar from Amazon
The Planning App
At the end of my first semester of college, I convinced myself that I was failing all my classes and broke down right before Christmas. I’d had a very difficult time acclimating to the school and the classes, and found learning in a 300 person lecture nearly impossible. In high school, “failing” for me was receiving a C or even a B. Actually failing a class had never been a concern and was a whole new sense of failure. Well, when it came time to check my grades, it turned out that I was never in danger of failing any classes, and pulled through with mostly Cs and a B. It wasn’t ideal, but far better than the situation I thought I was in.
After that experience, I decided I needed to keep on top of my grades to maintain a realistic image of where I stood. I found an app called Power Planner specifically designed for college students (or any student, really) that proved to be excellent at keeping track of deadlines, assignments, grades, and my schedule with customizable reminders and “what-if” grade scenarios. I also loved this app because I could use it on both my phone and my laptop, which meant I could input assignments during class before I forgot without awkwardly pulling out my phone. Some of my friends find grade tracking stressful, but personally, I can’t imagine being more stressed than staying in the dark and constantly imagining the worst-case scenario.
Ideal for people who:
- Are keeping track of tasks and deadlines
- Have a lot of appointments
- Students
Look for:
- Ability to create categories, tasks, or even subtasks
(i.e. School -> Chemistry Class -> Final Project) - Customizable reminders
Examples & Recommendations:
Honorable Mention — Productivity Apps
I would be remiss not to mention another blessing of modern technology — productivity apps! Earlier I mentioned the homework/planner app I used in college, but what I haven’t mentioned was how I actually got homework done. I have always had time management issues (especially in school) and have a very hard time with procrastination and focusing on simple (read: boring) tasks, like normal homework assignments, sending emails, or cleaning. Early in college, I discovered the Pomodoro technique, which essentially gives you the goal of focusing for small intervals of time rather than to complete an entire task in one sitting. I found this helpful for procrastination because the idea of completing a whole homework assignment, or a whole cover letter, or reading a whole chapter can be rather daunting and deterring. But sitting down for 25 minutes and working on a homework assignment is a much more doable task, and a more realistic time-frame for staying focused. Often 25 minutes turns into an hour, and an hour turns into a completed task.
Another great productivity app for people who thrive on instant gratification (ahem, gamers) is Habitica. Habitica is a habit tracker, planner, and even a bit of a social platform (if you want it to be). It’s designed to feel like an RPG video game where you can get both penalized and rewarded, earn accessories for your avatar, and even join “parties” with other users. It’s a highly incentivized productivity method, and very effective for many people, especially chronic procrastinators.
Ideal for people who:
- Struggle with time management
- Struggle with procrastination
- Like or need reminders
Look for:
- Ability to create categories and tasks to develop a more realistic idea of how long certain tasks take
Examples & Recommendations
Finding a planner that works for you can take ages, but hopefully, this rundown will help speed up the process!
