As we approach the end of 2026 and start thinking about the new year, some of us may be seeking out the perfect planner or planning system that will finally make all the difference.
I know I did that every year for decades!
Yet all too often, the planners I bought didn’t quite fit my needs for long. The boxes were too small or the pages too thin. I didn’t need to track the things they wanted me to track, so sections stayed blank, and inevitably another planner went unused as I began my search again.
A few years ago, I designed my own daily planner page in Canva, and it changed everything!
It’s a system I’ve actually stuck with, and I find it incredibly helpful for managing tasks, time and appointments, as well as personal goals like fitness, self-care, learning and having fun.
Full disclosure: I have ADHD, so I don’t know if this system is useful for everyone, fellow ADHD folks, or even just my particular flavour of ADHD. I’d love to hear your feedback!
The essential elements of my planning system
Google Calendar
My daily planner page works alongside Google Calendar, which is where I keep appointments, client bookings, deadlines and monthly, seasonal or yearly reminders.
Daily tasks (and lots of checkmarks!)
I have a column of daily tasks that gets printed right on the page. This way I get checkmarks for things like “Clean Kitchen,” “Laundry” or “Shower,” and that little dopamine hit helps keep me motivated.
It also gives me easy wins when I feel at loose ends and can’t quite bring myself to start a project that requires more focus.
I can feel good about taking a break to put in a load of laundry or vacuum the living room. Sometimes that’s exactly the kind of activity I need to burn off some energy before settling back into deeper work.
Freedom to choose
I’ve tried time blocking and all kinds of other time-management systems, but I’ve learned that my capacity for focused self-motivated work isn’t exactly predictable.
I don’t do my best work by forcing myself to sit down at a certain time and work on a particular thing.
Having a list of tasks to choose from means I can check in with myself, see where my energy is at, and choose something that works for me in that moment.
Instead of constantly fighting my natural rhythms, and dealing with the shame and guilt that comes with that, I can work with my waves of energy, excitement and inspiration.
Structure to get back on track
Sometimes I wake up excited about continuing yesterday’s project and go straight into hyperfocus mode.
By 1 pm, I can feel totally at a loss, wondering where the day went.
So I check my planner page and see that “Shower” isn’t checked off.
Hey, that would be a good reset! 😅 ✔️
Maybe after that I’ll walk the dog, which also contributes towards my daily step count goal and earns me a checkmark for spending 30 minutes outside. ✔️✔️✔️
As the checkmarks pile up, I’m feeling productive and motivated. Suddenly I’m back on track, without having to figure everything out from scratch.
The magic is in the mix of structure and freedom
This combination means I can manage my energy, enjoy breaks from work and get household chores done in little bursts of activity without feeling like everything is flying out of control.
My mental load is greatly reduced, along with those feelings of overwhelm.
I can focus on the here and now, knowing that the other things I need and want to do are written down and will have their turn.
And sometimes, I give myself credit for the tiniest things.
Take laundry, for example.
“Laundry” is an everyday task, and I get a checkmark whether I put a load in, took a load out, folded some clothes or put them away.
The victory here is that laundry doesn’t pile up and make me feel like a slob anymore!
By giving it just a little attention daily, a task that was once to way too easy to ignore (zero dopamine!) is now 7 easy wins a week. Best of all, I always have clean clothes.
It’s a tiny action that has made a surprisingly big difference in my life.
My planner is always a work in progress
Another important feature of this system is that I’m always revising it.
I print about ten pages at a time and sit down with Google Calendar every few days to make sure I’ve accounted for upcoming appointments and deadlines.
Then I work backwards, adding in all the little steps that need to happen to prepare for things.
This week, an event out on Friday night means I have to plan my outfit on Thursday and talk to my friend about when we’re leaving and how to get there.
Each of those milestones get plopped into my calendar during my weekly planning time, and they become easy to check off as I go through my week.
Otherwise, this fun night out would turn into a ton of mental load and swirling thoughts around those unknowns popping up at random throughout the week.
“Do I still have that dress or did I donate it in that last batch?”
“Is is a fancy thing? Do I have any fancy dresses anymore? Would they still fit?” 😅
“I wonder where the event is? Should I drive? But I’ll want to drink wine… ”
Instead, on Thursday I opened up the email, figured out how fancy it is, found a dress that will work and mapped out a route and schedule with my friend. ✔️✔️
I could focus better all week knowing I those things would be dealt with ahead of time and I could just enjoy the night out.
Nothing is written in stone
My daily task list changes as habits develop, priorities shift or new interests emerge.
I’ve recently added “Read Book” because I’m working on rebuilding my attention span and making reading a regular habit again.
I also signed up for a French course, so “French” is now on my daily list.
This doesn’t mean I have to complete a full French lesson to earn a checkmark, by the way.
I’ve defined it as any French at all.
It could be a lesson, listening to French music while cleaning, watching the news in French, or enjoying a French movie.
What I love is knowing that if I keep making French a part of my life, little by little, I’m going to become more and more fluent.
It might take years, but that’s okay!
And this is one of my favourite things about the system.
Small actions, repeated over time, lead to really big changes.
But here’s the other thing: I’m not just working towards some wonderful future life. I’m living it now!
I don’t have to wait until I retire to learn French, make art, get healthier or spend time doing the things I love. I get to make room for those things in my life today.
My planner helps me fill my days with things that matter to me, whether they’re things I need to get done, things I want to accomplish or things I simply enjoy doing.
And all those little daily choices add up. I’m enjoying my life in the present while also creating the future I want, whether that’s a healthier body and mind, a more profitable and fun business or living in Paris one day!
It’s about progress, not perfection
One important note: this system is about setting myself up for success, not giving myself another reason to beat myself up!
It’s about information, not perfection.
It’s absolutely okay to have empty boxes.
In fact, those empty boxes can be useful. They give me an opportunity to get curious about what’s working and what isn’t.
Do I need to make that task easier somehow? Get some help? Break it into smaller steps? Or take it off the list altogether?
Maybe my priorities have changed. Maybe it’s become a habit and I don’t need to reinforce it anymore.
The planner is there to serve me. I’m not there to serve the planner!
And that’s really the point.
Design your days, design your life
I’ve come to believe that the way we spend our days is how we create our lives.
Not through enormous bursts of productivity or dramatic reinventions, but through the choices we make and the small actions we take, day after day.
I want a life that includes meaningful work, creativity, financial security, good health, learning, fun and plenty of time to enjoy being a human.
My planner helps me make room for all of it.
All in all, it’s the best way I’ve found to Keep Calm and Check Things Off as I move towards my goals.
Want to try my planning page?
I’d love to share it with you!
Just email me at laurajean@laura-jean.ca with “Planning Page” in the subject line, and I’ll happily send you a blank one.
You can add your own daily tasks or use it as inspiration for designing a page that works for you.
And if planning is something you’d like help with, I’m here for you!
Whether it’s big-picture goals, daily planning or both, I love helping people create the systems and structures that support the life they actually want to live.
After all, you deserve A Totally Created Life.
