5 Tips on How to Use a Daily Planner for Beginners
Sure you can face your day in a grand “wing it style” fashion.
That sounds more fun and kind of adventurous right?
Hmmm..
Yeah.
Maybe for a day or two.
But once your tasks start to pile up, and you’re missing deadlines left and right.
Or you find yourself feeling lost.
You’re confused and not sure where to even begin because there’s just too much to handle.
That “wing it style’ is going to be banished from your vocabulary.
And when that happens, one thing you can do is check your daily plan.
Not a planner?
I’ve got 5 tips for you on how to use a daily planner perfect for beginners.
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But why use a Daily Planner?
One of the biggest reasons why it’s hard to keep an organised and productive day is lack of planning.
Without a clear plan, managing tasks, events, and appointments can be really challenging.
It can even cause missed opportunities, stress from missed deadlines and waste of time.
Effective planning helps you prioritise your tasks, allocate time wisely, and maintain focus, and help you make the most of your day.
Bonus: you get the important tasks done, and you get closer and closer to your goals.
Download your Free Printable Sunshine Weekly Planner here. And if you prefer to plan in Notion, you can get this Free Weekly Planner in Notion here.
So, if you’re ready to plan your day and rock it like it’s nobody’s business, go ahead and start with Tip #1.
Tip 1: Choose the right planner
The right planner is the one that works for you and your style. In other words, it’s the planner that ticks all the boxes for you.
My choice of planner, Bullet Journal + Notion combo, is the right planner for me, but it doesn’t mean it’s the right one for you.
Interested in using Notion for planning?. Find out more about this Free Notion Weekly Planner in this post.
So, choose the planner that suits your style and that works for your brain.
Here’s a list of what you might want to consider when choosing your planner
- Decide if you will be using an analog planner or a digital planner. You don’t have to pick just one, you can use both. Just be intentional about it. Because you want your planner to be the tool, not another chore you need to maintain.
- What type of planner do you prefer? DIY like a Bullet Journal or pre-made daily planner?
- Consider the size and portability.
- Think about layout and preferences for a day planner, weekly planner, or monthly planner.
- Think about optional but nice to have features, such special features like a Goal Setting Page. For example, a Personal Goals Page or a Professional Goals Page. Another example of a special feature of a daily personal planner is the page for a daily habit or creating a new habit.
I’m using Notion and Bullet Journal. This is the best combination for my style.
I love them so much that I’ve never used different types of planners since 2015.
My weekly planning process and the way I use Bullet Journal and Notion evolved and improved over time. And one thing I’m sure of (at least for now) is I won’t be changing over to something else.
I use Bullet Journal for documentation of my daily experiences and to be ultra-focused. It’s a mindfulness tool disguised as a productivity tool.
Bullet Journal is the only planner that enables me to pause and be present. This happens when I do my weekly planning and weekly review.
Notion on the other hand is what I use to organise both my personal life and business. I love it for so many things it can do. It’s my best choice for project management, If you know me personally, you won’t be surprised that I treat almost everything as a project.
I am a work in progress project. (just kidding, but it has a hint of truth in there).
Notion is a good choice for managing daily tasks. It’s best for a recurring task because I don’t need to write the same thing over and over.
When it comes to managing specific task with due dates, Notion has a built-in calendar and it’s accessible in one quick click (very handy).
Tip 2: Set your Daily Planner “for you”
A common scenario is a person seeing a planner of another person and immediately thinking ” I like the same planner” then going all in with that planner.
If it’s you or it happened to you, there’s nothing wrong with it.
I did it too before I discovered Bullet Journal and Notion.
And it’s good to a certain level but if I had to start again. I wouldn’t even make “looking at planners” as the first step.
Instead, I would consider first, the type of set-up I would like to have.
Here are the questions that’ll help you determine what set-up you might like.
- Would you like to personalise your planner? If so, would you be using stickers, different kinds of washi tape, sticky notes, photos or maybe quotes inside your planner? Would you be incorporating different colours?
- Will you be including all the life areas in your planner, or do you prefer having a specific daily planner for a specific goal or large projects?
- When do you usually do a big planning session? During the new year, your birthday or whenever you feel like it?
- What sections would you like to have in your daily planner?
One way of boosting your productivity and creating a productive day is having a well set daily planner.
It’s a good idea to make your own list of what sections you would like to have in your planner. This is just me, but my ideal planner would be something with the following:
- a task list and daily schedule
- section for important information, except for passwords. I use a password manager for this.
- family, kids’ sports, and work schedule
- shopping lists or grocery shopping checklist
- meal planning section
- weekly/monthly planner
Tip 3: Choose your planning techniques
By now, you’ve decided on the right planner for you and have a clear idea of the set-up you’d like.
It’s now time to decide what type of planning technique you’d like to embrace.
To be truly productive every day, you need:
- the right planner
- great planner set up
- time for planning
Even if you think you don’t have much time, you have to make time for planning. Make it a habit to practise intentional planning. There is a power in using a planner.
So, for beginners, I suggest taking a look at different planning techniques. Then implement one technique at a time, and test.
There are so many planning techniques you can try.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll give you my top 3 favourites to use as examples. You’re welcome to try other techniques, of course.
- time-blocking, where you schedule specific time blocks for a specific task or set of tasks.
- daily planning sessions where you set aside time in the morning (or evening) to review your calendar, tasks, and goals to set a clear agenda for the day.
- prioritising your to-do and events or appointments, by doing the most important things first, and scheduling the most important dates first.
Tip 4: Stay Consistent
The best way to be consistent is simply to create a habit.
A habit is a routine behaviour that is repeated regularly and done automatically without so much conscious thought.
You can build a habit by frequent repetition of a specific action. A great way to start forming a habit is to make it a part of your routine.
Even if you have a busy schedule, make sure that you set a time even just a few minutes to use your planner. Create a Weekly Planning Routine.
If you’re a beginner with this whole daily planning thing, don’t be frustrated if you find it hard to be consistent with the actual planning and use of your daily planner.
It’s ok.
At first, you might even need a reminder or an alarm to use your planner.
You can use a digital calendar like Google Calendar or your phone and set a reminder to use your planner. Do this until you don’t need a reminder or alarm anymore.
Put your planner on your desk, and make sure that the first thing you’ll do, once you sit down to begin your work day, is to grab your daily planner.
Daily planning doesn’t take a long time.
I only take about 5 to 10 minutes to plan my day. The end-of-the-day reflection takes about the same time, or less when I’ve already done my daily log.
Start by looking at your calendar events, then check your daily to-do list.
If you’re keeping a running list of tasks, look at that as well and pick a few tasks that you would like to complete on that specific day.
But remember to prioritise.
Schedule the most important tasks first then the rest can wait.
Tip 5: Review and adjust regularly
When it comes to reviewing and making adjustments, many people focus on a weekly review.
However, not everyone realises how valuable daily reflection can be.
Simply taking a few minutes each day to think about your tasks, and actions can lead to smarter decisions and continuous improvements.
Instead of waiting until the end of the week, daily reflection keeps you proactive.
It helps you spot issues early on and make real-time adjustments.
So, while weekly reviews are helpful, don’t overlook the importance of daily reflection and use your daily planner to do this.
Planner tips
A few tips about planner and planning.
- Avoid overloading your planner, make some white space. When it comes to scheduling, schedule breaks, and free time too.
- Please don’t be too rigid, allow some flexibility in your day. You do not need to schedule every minute of your time.
- Put self-care at top of your priority list.
- Even though we’re talking about daily planners here, make sure you have quick access to your weekly overview pages.
- Make time for weekly reviews so you can regularly look at your bigger goals, and align your weekly plans and daily actions with them.
- Track your time so you know where your time goes and this will help you make adjustments if you need to later on.
Wrapping it up
Incorporating a daily planner into your routine can be a game-changer for managing your time and boosting productivity.
Set clear goals, prioritise and make time even for a couple of minutes of reflection.
Start simple.
Stay consistent and make small adjustments as you go.
Remember to get your Sunshine Weekly Planner or Notion Weekly Planner here.
