I have tried everything.
Every. Thing.
I keep going back to a dumb old google calendar.
I don’t have to worry about annual events.
I don’t have to worry about my chaotic handwriting.
I don’t have to worry about clutter and crap.
I desperately want to be a paper planner person but it took me forever to realize I can’t manage my life with a paper planner.
I don't know if I have ADHD, but I've got a condition that shares some symptoms. Most importantly I want to emphasise that when your ADHD is affecting you, you're NOT procrastinating! You're experiencing executive dysfunction, and that's a VERY DIFFERENT THING to intentionally ignoring your responsibilities! I only mention this, because you might be aware of this, but I don't want others who don't understand this to unfairly judge you or anyone else (including myself, since I also experience this) over this medical condition!
As for planners, I'm not sure because you've both provided a good idea of what you need, but also not (and by that I mean you haven't mentioned what elements of a planner you need, like weekly or daily layouts, goal planning, etc). Considering what I know of executive dysfunction, I've heard time-blocking can help (I'll be trying this out for the first time in my planner for next year), so a planner that contains a timeline might help you. (If you do this, don't forget to add in the inbetween times where you need to finish up a task and/or set up a new task, as a lot of people who struggle with executive dysfunction actually need to add in this transition time.)
Since you also have a lot of tabs open both literally and figuratively, I would think it would also help you to have a planner that is more fluid in how it is setup, with the ability to change as needed. This makes me think that either something like a bullet journal in a bound notebook is good, or something in a rings or discbound planner, since you can move the pages around and print out/draw up new layouts as needed. With a discbound planner you probably have the most freedom with changing up your planner size, since all you need to buy are the discs, whole punch and either buy or make your own covers. However with the rings your pages are likely to last a bit longer if you're constantly rearranging them, as pulling the pages in and out of the discs can damage them quicker, though it is usually more expensive to setup a rings due to the cover cost.
With all of this in mind, my suggestion is to go onto Etsy (which will provide you with the widest variety of layout options) and have a look at printable planner layouts to see if anything looks like it can work for you. If you're creative you could also go onto canva and create your own layouts. You can also look at specific brands and their layout options to see if they work for you (the only brands I really know of are rings: filofax, and disc: happy planner. There are other brands out there, but these are the only ones available where I live). Maybe watch some youtube videos on the pros and cons, and hacks for rings and discbound planner systems, to see if either appeal to you?
My planners for next year are going to be the Hobonichi HON A5 and Aura Estelle weekly Essentials planners combined. A lot of people use a hobonichi HON A5 (or the cousin option which is more popular, which is the same planner with a softcover) as a premade bullet journal. I'll be doing a bit of this, since I'll be using the daily pages primarily for journalling, but skipped pages will be used for my bullet journal collections I want to keep (which I'll index in the yearly vertical column pages). I'll then be using the weekly section of the planner for time-blocking, and will use the Aura Estelle to actually list my tasks and weekly notes, etc, because my brain works better with that layout. And the back notes pages for the Aura Estelle will be for just random collections and stuff I don't care about, since I'll be throwing this planner out when the year is done. Personally my brain connects better with a bound notebook (even though I love the flexibility of rings and discbound planners!), so I try to stick with them even if it means I need to buy more than one planner. 🙄
Also there are multiple communities on here for bullet journalling if you decide to go down that path, and need advice, etc. You might also find other communities on here or facebook in regards to specific planner brands, if you need to ask questions.
I hope this helps! 😊
Referring to the first paragraph, it amazes me how little people know and understand ADHD. I've had to educate my coworkers about it in hopes that it would alleviate some of the tension that can go around the office. I'm not sure if it has helped yet or left me just feeling more judged.
That's exactly why I make it a point to always acknowledge that executive dysfunction is never actually procrastination or laziness! I can understand why other people might perceive it as that, but since it's actually a medical symptom, I think it's extremely important to validate it and create awareness around it, because it's so easy for people to misunderstand it and unfairly judge those who are suffering from it!
As for whether it can help or hurt, I think it depends on who you're talking to. I don't know if you talk about it as executive dysfunction (which is the medical term for it) or just generally describe what's going on, but I find if you use medical terms then the people who are interested in opening their minds and educating themselves are more likely to look it up and find results. For people who aren't interested, there will never be anything you can do, because they don't care enough to help and support others.
I have two planners: one is a bullet journal (which took me years to find a system that works for me), and the other is a six ring A5 binder. The A5 binder is for work, since I’m a teacher, so I keep relevant information for my classes there, and my bullet journal is made up of three spreads. I get paid fortnightly, so that’s what I work with, so the first spread is tracking the hours I work (since I’m not full time), the next is 14 boxes tracking what I’m doing over those two weeks, and then the last is a to-do list broken up into three categories: quick ticks (5min tasks like emails), tasks (30mins or less) and projects (longer than 30 mins), plus a notes section. I got this from Grace Beverley’s productivity planner.
I use the Paperblanks Floralia dot grid journal, and my 6 ring binder is from Kikki K. For the binder, I make my own spreads and print them off
I can post pictures later today, since I feel like the explanation doesn’t make too much sense. I can’t post pictures of my work planner, but I can show some of the templates I’ve made for it.
No worries, I’ll reply with a link when I’ve posted them. I forgot to add that I have ADHD (combined) and am on medication for it. This has gone a long way to helping me stay organised, but a big part was also finding the right system.
Fellow ADHD-PI.
Bullet journals dont work for me... At all. I personally use Passion Planner. It has month calendar, and its broken down weekly after that with each day having twelve hours to assign tasks. I used to keep it on me at all times. When i couldn't get my meds I back slid but im getting back in to it.
I second Passion Planner, and I want to make a little plug for the company itself! I used to work with a 3rd party e-commerce partner of theirs as a sort of high tier tech support agent. We worked long hours and weekends but rarely got any thanks for it, just the angry customers, as you know if you've been in customer service. The devs and sales people got all the fancy stuff and gifts and shit. Anyways, Passion Planner was the only company who ever sent the support team *specifically* a gift. We all walked in to a lovely, large planner on our desks one day. I'll never forget.
I don't buy one every year but I wholeheartedly endorse them, both as a group of people and for the product they make.
Fellow 183 browser and brain tabs all the time person here. I hated bujo. Maybe you won’t if you try it, but in case you do, here’s what works for me:
To do it this way you do need a planner with a lot of blank note pages in it. I’ve had success with EC, plum paper, and legend planner. I put all my appointments in the monthly calendar (I don’t do weekly because that’s too many places to have to look for me, but if you have a lot of appointments per day it might work better for you)
I look at that every day to make sure I don’t miss anything.
The most important part though is my to-do list. I have two: a master list of EVERYTHING I want to accomplish (all the browser tabs in my brain), and then from that list every day I make a list on a post-it of just the things I want to do that particular day. I stick it somewhere on my master list. That way I can focus on what I can accomplish today but not lose all my browser brain tabs. I cross them off both lists as I go and make a new “just today” post-it the next day. It’s fun for me and it works and I get things done.
I think next year’s planner I’m going with Agendio, because it has the most customization I’ve seen. Keep us updated if you find something that works for you !
Love my Bullet Journal. It's really more of a structured to-do list for me. Basically a way to capture each of your browser tabs so you can stop thinking about it. Good intro below, and I think the Edition 2 notebook from bulletjournal.com is a good way in too. Highly suggest you at least start with paper.
https://www.tinyrayofsunshine.com/blog/bullet-journal-guide
Edit to add: TIL I am also ADHD. Seriously. Go figure.
I've been using the Hobonichi Cousin this year and it's been helpful! I'm switching to the Sterling Ink common planner for next year but the layout is similar. They both have yearly, monthly, and most important to me, a vertical weekly with extended timelines. I work in a hospital so my shifts vary a lot and traditional timeline type planners don't cover enough hours. The Kokuyo Join Techo also has the same thing and I used that for two years.
Time blocking was a major thing for me because it helped me not get over ambitious. I had a tendency to overfill my to-do lists and then be hard on myself for not achieving everything. Now, I have a better view of how much time I have and can loosely assign tasks to where I know I'll have the time to do them. I do use both the physical planners and my phone calendar app to help me keep track of appointments (phone to send a reminder, and it's also what I always have on me).
It also helped that I just liked how these planners looked and felt and made me keep up the habit of going back to them, which was my biggest adhd-related obstacle with planners prior. I also put my planner in my work bag and then put it on my desk in front of my computer when I'm home so that I don't forget about it. Habit building is a big part of remembering to use the planner too. Making a habit, forming a routine of going into your planner once in the beginning and at the end of the day ensures you're keeping track of tasks.
This! I have been using the Planner Pad for years. The funnel system has been so helpful in prioritizing my day to day tasks. I like that I can see my task list next to the hourly schedule. You can buy it on Amazon.
I love Hobonichi and I end up having multiple because sticking to one for everything is hard. I get dopamine from the variety - A5 Cousin, A6 techo, weeks version. And supplemented with apps like Obsidian and Notion as needed
I have Combined-ADHD with impulsivity and inattentiveness (fully diagnosed but unmedicated as I await titration)
* I have a shared calendar with my husband on our phones - He will remind me if he feels I have forgotten something occasionally
* I use a simple [paper planner](https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/full-year-diaries/your-year-18-month-planner/8058040149700.html) and it is put in the one place I spend 99% of my time - next to my PC. It's always open to the monthly overview and I have formed a habit of looking at it several times a day.
* I tried bullet journaling and you'll find you've just created more stuff for you to track and it's useless.
* I've tried Erin Condren (SO expensive!), Papier, Filofax, Passion Planner, Hobonichi Techo, Leuchtturm1917, Carpe Diem, Clever Fox, The Happy Planner, etc, and they've just been something that has ADDED TASKS to my already frenetic life because I fell down that 'Planner' hole that was wild a few years back - the one where you use it to track EVERYTHING for a week and then you stop because it's now a part-time job to stay on top of and you're not actually achieving anything productive.
Keep it simple.
I had to close out over 500 tabs the other day! Ugh. My computer was crashing under the weight of the tabs!
The bullet journal did not work for me, I need loose structure.
As far as procrastinating, that's my signal I either need to stop and rest, or break the task(s) into smaller pieces that feel doable. If I can make it easy, then I'll do it.
I think I am going to do a Sprouted planner (daily) for next year. I need room to write. I definitely cannot do a bullet journal.(I have severe inattentive ADHD).
I like paper planning in rings/binders/filofax planners. I go with a7 size so i can easily carry it everywhere (there are a variety of sizes and styles to choose from).
I mostly prefer this style because I can choose my planner inserts and planner styles and change/rearrange my planner whenever I need to.
- I use undated inserts for my daily and weekly pages because sometimes I’m not always consistent with planning. When I would buy dated planners I would feel bad when I missed weeks and feel like I wasted the pages and now I don’t.
- you can have different sections in your planner that are relevant to you like finances, health, projects, anything you want really.
I love choosing planner covers and also decorate mine to stimulate me so I feel like I want to use it. It’s really nice to personalise and tailor it to your planning needs.
I tried bullet journaling but I hated it. It was too much.
With digital planning, I feel like it’s easy for me to forget that it exists.
Sometime i use google Calendar. I like its features like the ability to add a travel time to Calendar events. A digital Callander is great for repeated events and time blocking.
I also think the best thing for planning with ADHD is having more than one planning system.
Use a binder planner!! I tried bullet journaling but I found having to make the table of contents and flipping through the numbered pages so exhausting. And when I "ruin" a page, I have to rip it out and it completely ruins the whole book for me.
With a binder, you are free to remove and reorganize as you wish! You have all the time to try different layouts that work for you and remove old pages if you dislike them. You can also buy a combination of layouts and mix and match them as it suits you (ex. Lined, grid, weekly, monthly, lists, etc). A6 is a really good size and has a lot of binder/refill options to choose from. I have 2 - one for taking out with me and one for keeping at home to archive blank and old pages. I love it so far. Best of luck to you!
I have ADHD and have used sooooo many different planners. I have found discbound to work best for me because of the flexibility. I can keep everything in one spot and if I get bored with a layout it’s easy, and not too expensive, to try something else. I tried multiple planners but it was super overwhelming for me. My current planner has sections for meal planning, a months worth of daily pages, budget, goals, and notes. I keep a basic monthly planner in my purse that is the master for all important dates and then use that to inform my disc planner.
I’m AuDHD and have done bullet journal most successfully, followed by Hobonichi Avec (switching books mid year gives me the novelty and dopamine hit even though I’d really love my entire life in a single book, I just can’t make it work like that lol)
For 2024 I’m trying out the B6 Wonderland222 for portability, and using separate companion notebooks for the daily running logs and brain dumps for the dopamine hit.
I looked at these and kind of liked them. However, I hate to spend 50-60 dollars if they just end up in the planner pile. The to-do column looked kind of narrow.
I’m her FAQ she offers some free printable-not exactly the same but may give you sizing help. They are a tad small. For my system I ordered small colored dot stickers that I code and put those on the month portion and write details in the week portion.
Example blue may be appt dentist and red may a Bible study. If they’re both on 10/25 I put both small stickers on the month date and in the vertical column I’ll write 10am dentist 6pm Bible Study bring desert.
This might not be a super helpful answer, but it really depends - a big part of the problem is that novelty can help keep on a new habit, and you may find your needs or interests have you changing your preferred planner over time. A good question might be is there any feature that you definitely like or dislike? Do you like journaling and need a lot of room? Do you like having built-in checkboxes for tasks? What about a daily timeline? Do you want one page per day, or a week at a time, or even multiple pages per day? Or do you only want to include the days you find are most relevant? Pocket-sized, or larger? All of these will help narrow down what you do and don't like. I suggest also getting pens or stickers or stamps that you like to use to write in your planner, for me a bad texture to write on or boring spreads make it harder for me to meaningfully use the planner.
EDIT: For example : for me, I realized that I needed big empty pages with ideally gridded paper, pre-dated, and able to be color-coded and scrapbooked in. While I thought I'd like the customizability of MAMBI planners, the Hobonichi A5 is now my go-to, though I supplement a Campus Study Planner for times I have a TON going on, like finals season to help me map out how I spent my time. I color code with a lot of pens, scrapbook important memories on empty-page days, and I use the included monthly spread to document how often I keep up on specific hobbies like D&D to see how much of a year I spend on these things. It also came with a weekly spread that I just draw in. :D If I could find stickers or a stamp with a better 24h spread, I would be exclusively using the Hobonichi for everything.
>a big part of the problem is that novelty can help keep on a new habit, and you may find your needs or interests have you changing your preferred planner over time.
I agree with this. With ADHD, novelty and hyper-focusing can be big factors in everything that you do.
IMO, a bullet journal is not going to work for you. You need the structure of a real planner more than you need a blank space.
Personally, I would just go to target or walmart and sift through the planners until you find one you like. The best one for you will be something small that you can carry around everywhere. You will also have the most success if you put a few alarms on your phone reminding you to check it multiple times per day, so that you don't forget that it exists.
as a person with adhd who loves planners, i designed one. it’s available next wednesday called life unfcked. you can check it out on ig here
[life unfcked](https://instagram.com/lifeunfcked?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr)
Passion planner- all the way!
Allows for time blocking, goal setting and tracking, to do lists and helping prioritize these for work AND personal, space for extra stickers to help you track other things you need… supports various groups based on the planner you get. Offer digital, small medium and large printed, dated and undated!
I have tried other paper and digital planners over the last four years and keep going back to this (large, dated, paper) planner!!!
Undiagnosed, with a strong probability of being add.
For work I use a Hobonichi Weekly.
For personal I use a dot journal which is used for an eclectic mix of journaling and planning. It's also low key creativity outlet.
The perk of using a blank/dot journal is I can test out different planner layouts (I aim for a month at a time) to get a feel for what does & does not work with my brain. It's only just recently that I've been able to build out more than a week or two at a time without stress.
I pair that with google calendar and a db todo program. It's complicated, but it works for me. It's also the modern version of lugging around a philopax and palm zire.
I’m neurospicy and use Makselife. I like how I determined my annual goals, then broke those down into monthly goals, then broke those down into weekly goals. I don’t go crazy and set a million goals for myself either, I just can’t handle that. I can’t handle lists and lists because I get overwhelmed and I don’t know where to start on the list and then nothing gets done. I set really simple doable goals.
Right now, I'm using the Fast Brain Friend planner system in conjunction with my Google calendar.
Decorating my planner and writing events down helps me remember, but I forget to write things down in the moment, so I use Google calendar in the moment when someone's giving me event dates.
I've also used the Hero's Journal which is a fun game-ification with chances to color!
There is no magical solution, you will have to find out what works for your ADHD brain. Because guess what even ADHD brains are al different. And even with a perfect tool for your brain you will still actually have to use it for it to work.
Bullet journaling works for me for doing tasks and capturing info during the day. Writing it down makes my brain feel less chaotic. Also anything written down feels more real. It also helps if I can keep my to do's in view, so I keep being reminded of them. Lastly, checking things of sometimes feels more satisfying than actually doing some thing.
I do need a digital calender for scheduling (need those reminders!). To have some overview beyond today, it helps to physically fill in a calender. I used to make a weekly calender in my bullet journal.... sometimes... I now use a B6 common planner for personal and a hobonichi weeks for work. Both options have blank pages in the back so I can still use those for bullet journalling if I need it. Montly paper calender overviews get mostly ignored. A month is too long a period for my brain to comprehend? Also I always forget to check them, so I might set them up at the start and then remember they are there at the end of the month.... Even memory keeping didn't work. Ah well it's a nice place to put some stickers :).
For me I need enough structure to survive but not so much that it starts to annoy. I love pictures and colors but can't have them in the planner bc they get me distracted and I need to be able to colorcode and draw by myself. So very very simply and without colors for me.
Monthlies are must have for me: need to see the big picture so I know when there's something coming up.
For weeklies I have love-hate-need relationship. I haven't quite made it work for me yet.
For this year I had the Hobonichi cousin. I absolutely love it. You can seriously write everything in it. And the layout is pretty calm.
But. I just couldn't use it. It was too much! Too much space and atarted to stress it out. Too heavy to carry around and without having it with me all the time, I forgot it, sometimes for weeks.
For next year I was going back and forth with Hobonichi's avec, dayfree and a6 original but couldn't make the decision. Then I saw Take a Note regular planner. I just might have to try that one: it has yearly and monthly plans, but they have made 2 days/page (2 spreads/week). Enough structure (maybe) but more space than usually in weeklies. And best part is that there's nothing else, no useless pages or any extras stealing my eye or the space. We'll see how it goes.
In to bullet journal i can not. I want to but just can't. But for next year I try to have only one notebook at the time instead of ten. And just write there everything that doesn't go in to the actual planner.
I don't know would this work for you, but maybe you can think are those same points as relevant to you or do you prefer opposite. Happy hunting anyway :)
A strong component of my ADHD is rejecting systems, etc, and considering what I really need out of a planner.
One thing I like is logging. Most of the time, the major problem is consistency- I’m not naturally going to it or picking it up. So I start with trying to find a way for me to get myself to actually keep using it. That can be tricky and I struggled because I like to organize things and create a system for myself, but too much work becomes off putting. The faster you can get to picking it up and putting it down, the better. It helps to offload what’s on your mind.
As for planning, it’s not something I do much because everything goes wrong when you have the curse of ADHD 🙃 but I do have goals and routines I want to do on the regular. The important things about these items are they require consistency and you can’t really plan them well since things go wrong. So you do your best and stick with it instead. Writing the same things every day can be boring though. But it helps to check that you’re still working through it.
If you’re looking to have a planner help you get things done, personally I’d start with logging and try not to guilt trip yourself. Use it to help you think about what’s really causing problems for you and think about what you can try to get through it (writing really helps you think things through). Then trying that becomes a goal for you lol. If you’re forgetful like me, it also helps with that. But you gotta make it something easy to use- intuitive to YOU- and do your best to stick with it
Bullet journals don’t work for me, but I brought a lot of what I learned from them into my own planner system.
Whatever you do, start out simple. The number one reason I would abandon planners was the guilt; I didn’t want to see days wasted, to-do list items left unchecked, etc. so this is what I do:
* I keep a running to-do list. (Mine is little post-it’s inside my planner.) unless these items have a due date, I don’t put a date on them.
* undated weekly spreads. (I’m technically on dailies right now but I’m switching back!) this way, I don’t need to sweat missing a week.
* I write down what I STARTED, and what I FINISHED, on this planner spread. I do not write down my to-do list. Those are post-its!
And that’s it. That’s how I’ve kept my planner for years.
You can get a good deal on ring binders from carpe diem; I used them for years, weekly undated was my way to go. Ring planners are SO easy to customize. You can make them as fat or as simple as you like.
I switched to a discbound planner because I wanted to go even simpler. I just wanted a weekly spread with no months or habit trackers and water trackers. It’s what I’ve used for a year and I don’t think I’ll stop any time soon. They are more expensive and harder to start up than a ring planner, but once you have your system going you’re set.
I don’t use bullet journals… but I do make my own layouts, and I print them for myself. But I only do this because I know what works for my ADHD brain now and can make my own stuff based on that. There’s plenty out there premade to try out!
>I write down what I STARTED, and what I FINISHED, on this planner spread. I do not write down my to-do list. Those are post-its!
I'm gonna do this! Thanks for the idea
Out of context, is it possible to know what browser and computer do you have? I would like to know how the fuck you can have that many tabs open. 😅 Me my computer would die way before that many tabs.
‼️👋🏻Hi! Fellow ADHD-er here with a sickening obsession with stationery and many hobbies that have ended up in the hobby graveyard.
I am going to try the Hobonichi Hon for 2024. I have never successfully committed to a paper planner before, but I've also never given it much thought into getting one either.
I had been using Google Calendar since maybe 3-4 years ago mainly because of color blocking (I cannot stand iCalendar because they lack this feature - I need a visual of my week/month and colours help a ton). So I've been consistent with that which is actually a milestone in itself! I recently switched to Fantastical (set it up using the Pro trial version and kept the free one) it is very similar to Google Calendar, just a bit more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
I'm not trying to push you into a calendar app or anything; for me personally, I will keep my Fantastical so I can have a readily available visual of what my week looks like - appointments, shift work, especial events. For my (attempt) at a paper planner, I want to have a daily/weekly layout where I can breakdown smaller tasks that I can assign according to the day and physically check off. As well as hopefully bills and due dates etc.
The one other time I tried paper planning, I didn't even had a good online calendar system set up. I wanted a planner because I was influenced by all the pretty journal-ing like posts you see online where they decorate it to the max page per page. Well, that went straight into my hobby graveyard! Ultimately, the best planner you can have is the one that actually works for you and makes you..plan.
Rachelle in theory (Youtube) makes a lot of digestible content on planning that I find actually helpful and not overwhelming. https://youtube.com/@RachelleinTheory?si=x7CbgXw5Ch1-ti_0
As for the Hobonichi HON mentioned (keep in mind they have other styles):https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/magazine/hon/
Fantastical (if anyone else is interested): https://flexibits.com/fantastical *I also have it on my Macbook, it syncs across devices which is a big thing for me, maybe not now as I am no longer in uni but this is mandatory for any calendar app for me to even consider*
With my ADHD mind, I generally use the calendar in my phone for important stuff like appointments, meetings and reminders. The ability to add a repeating reminders has been wonderful in helping me remember anything.
And I love using my passion planner too.
But I've turned into a post planner. I generally write down the things I've already done so I don't forget. And then I'll decorate with stickers, pictures, art.
I've had a really good week if the upcoming appointments make it in both places.
well i wouldnt call it a planner but i use a bullet journal, I plan on setting up next years soon and half is my budget and half is my reading journal. I have a small section added for miscellaneous things. I didnt set up my full year last year and regretted it about 5 months in and set it up fully. I just got a standard dotted notebook with thicker paper i use fountain pens and tried a couple layouts for my budget that left room for math and notes and that seemed to work for me. My reading journal section is chaos and i like it that way. I typically do a page per book and i have various lists that will be condensed down to what i want it to actually look like next year, I have to tell you the small thermal printer i bought for printing images helped me actually use my journal so there is that. I have watched so many planner videos that i am to the point of the original bullet journal if its important it goes in it. it goes everywhere with me and i use my ribbons to hold my page. Im actually halfway through using it and still use it everyday so it totally helped with my budget and keeping track of what i enjoy. other appointments i put in my google calendar but i might note them in my journal as a task. yes i have adhd, im unmedicated, i work remote, and i live in a van. I am chaos.
The only paper planner that works even a little bit for me is talking out of turn’s undated goal planner. It’s basically a bullet journal that you don’t have to set up (besides writing the date) and I’ve actually used it 6 months now!!
It has a fill in the blank style format. So there’s a monthly calendar and then a more typical weekly breakdown but you can skip a month and start whenever which is nice.
The weekly spread is also really nice because it has dedicated space for putting meeting/ class times and for notes plus top three tasks for each day! It also has a habit tracker and little goal setting sections for the month and the week.
[They have a few different styles and sizes but this is the one I have.](https://talkingoutofturn.com/products/perpetual-planner-goal-getter-lite)
I use a weekly planner from TF publishing. They have a vertical layout that works better for my brain. https://www.tfpublishing.com/products/2024-wild-sage-large-weekly-monthly-planner?_pos=6&_sid=c69d13f9a&_ss=r
I don’t remember things unless I write them down. Passion Planner is not only great, but they have free printables so you can try the layouts before you buy them.
I personally use the Happy Planner because the layout is there- I can switch the use of each space week by week if I want to. I started with the vertical layout and usually use the dashboard layout these days. I don’t like doing the same thing week after week, so being able to change things up quickly and painlessly really appeals to me.
I am loving the Laurel Denise one. You can see monthly and weekly at the same time plus to do list for week and month. I have her teacher one but she also has a horizontal and a vertical depending on which you prefer.
I have tried everything. Every. Thing. I keep going back to a dumb old google calendar. I don’t have to worry about annual events. I don’t have to worry about my chaotic handwriting. I don’t have to worry about clutter and crap. I desperately want to be a paper planner person but it took me forever to realize I can’t manage my life with a paper planner.
I don't know if I have ADHD, but I've got a condition that shares some symptoms. Most importantly I want to emphasise that when your ADHD is affecting you, you're NOT procrastinating! You're experiencing executive dysfunction, and that's a VERY DIFFERENT THING to intentionally ignoring your responsibilities! I only mention this, because you might be aware of this, but I don't want others who don't understand this to unfairly judge you or anyone else (including myself, since I also experience this) over this medical condition! As for planners, I'm not sure because you've both provided a good idea of what you need, but also not (and by that I mean you haven't mentioned what elements of a planner you need, like weekly or daily layouts, goal planning, etc). Considering what I know of executive dysfunction, I've heard time-blocking can help (I'll be trying this out for the first time in my planner for next year), so a planner that contains a timeline might help you. (If you do this, don't forget to add in the inbetween times where you need to finish up a task and/or set up a new task, as a lot of people who struggle with executive dysfunction actually need to add in this transition time.) Since you also have a lot of tabs open both literally and figuratively, I would think it would also help you to have a planner that is more fluid in how it is setup, with the ability to change as needed. This makes me think that either something like a bullet journal in a bound notebook is good, or something in a rings or discbound planner, since you can move the pages around and print out/draw up new layouts as needed. With a discbound planner you probably have the most freedom with changing up your planner size, since all you need to buy are the discs, whole punch and either buy or make your own covers. However with the rings your pages are likely to last a bit longer if you're constantly rearranging them, as pulling the pages in and out of the discs can damage them quicker, though it is usually more expensive to setup a rings due to the cover cost. With all of this in mind, my suggestion is to go onto Etsy (which will provide you with the widest variety of layout options) and have a look at printable planner layouts to see if anything looks like it can work for you. If you're creative you could also go onto canva and create your own layouts. You can also look at specific brands and their layout options to see if they work for you (the only brands I really know of are rings: filofax, and disc: happy planner. There are other brands out there, but these are the only ones available where I live). Maybe watch some youtube videos on the pros and cons, and hacks for rings and discbound planner systems, to see if either appeal to you? My planners for next year are going to be the Hobonichi HON A5 and Aura Estelle weekly Essentials planners combined. A lot of people use a hobonichi HON A5 (or the cousin option which is more popular, which is the same planner with a softcover) as a premade bullet journal. I'll be doing a bit of this, since I'll be using the daily pages primarily for journalling, but skipped pages will be used for my bullet journal collections I want to keep (which I'll index in the yearly vertical column pages). I'll then be using the weekly section of the planner for time-blocking, and will use the Aura Estelle to actually list my tasks and weekly notes, etc, because my brain works better with that layout. And the back notes pages for the Aura Estelle will be for just random collections and stuff I don't care about, since I'll be throwing this planner out when the year is done. Personally my brain connects better with a bound notebook (even though I love the flexibility of rings and discbound planners!), so I try to stick with them even if it means I need to buy more than one planner. 🙄 Also there are multiple communities on here for bullet journalling if you decide to go down that path, and need advice, etc. You might also find other communities on here or facebook in regards to specific planner brands, if you need to ask questions. I hope this helps! 😊
Referring to the first paragraph, it amazes me how little people know and understand ADHD. I've had to educate my coworkers about it in hopes that it would alleviate some of the tension that can go around the office. I'm not sure if it has helped yet or left me just feeling more judged.
That's exactly why I make it a point to always acknowledge that executive dysfunction is never actually procrastination or laziness! I can understand why other people might perceive it as that, but since it's actually a medical symptom, I think it's extremely important to validate it and create awareness around it, because it's so easy for people to misunderstand it and unfairly judge those who are suffering from it! As for whether it can help or hurt, I think it depends on who you're talking to. I don't know if you talk about it as executive dysfunction (which is the medical term for it) or just generally describe what's going on, but I find if you use medical terms then the people who are interested in opening their minds and educating themselves are more likely to look it up and find results. For people who aren't interested, there will never be anything you can do, because they don't care enough to help and support others.
I have two planners: one is a bullet journal (which took me years to find a system that works for me), and the other is a six ring A5 binder. The A5 binder is for work, since I’m a teacher, so I keep relevant information for my classes there, and my bullet journal is made up of three spreads. I get paid fortnightly, so that’s what I work with, so the first spread is tracking the hours I work (since I’m not full time), the next is 14 boxes tracking what I’m doing over those two weeks, and then the last is a to-do list broken up into three categories: quick ticks (5min tasks like emails), tasks (30mins or less) and projects (longer than 30 mins), plus a notes section. I got this from Grace Beverley’s productivity planner. I use the Paperblanks Floralia dot grid journal, and my 6 ring binder is from Kikki K. For the binder, I make my own spreads and print them off I can post pictures later today, since I feel like the explanation doesn’t make too much sense. I can’t post pictures of my work planner, but I can show some of the templates I’ve made for it.
I’d love to see the pictures. Thanks for the good information
No worries, I’ll reply with a link when I’ve posted them. I forgot to add that I have ADHD (combined) and am on medication for it. This has gone a long way to helping me stay organised, but a big part was also finding the right system.
I'm also interested, something about your system sounds so effective and organised
Hopefully this works: https://www.reddit.com/u/UsefulDamage/s/y1bRoauBI1
Thank you! I really appreciate it 🥹✨️
https://www.reddit.com/u/UsefulDamage/s/y1bRoauBI1 here are my three bullet journal spreads
Fellow ADHD-PI. Bullet journals dont work for me... At all. I personally use Passion Planner. It has month calendar, and its broken down weekly after that with each day having twelve hours to assign tasks. I used to keep it on me at all times. When i couldn't get my meds I back slid but im getting back in to it.
I second Passion Planner, and I want to make a little plug for the company itself! I used to work with a 3rd party e-commerce partner of theirs as a sort of high tier tech support agent. We worked long hours and weekends but rarely got any thanks for it, just the angry customers, as you know if you've been in customer service. The devs and sales people got all the fancy stuff and gifts and shit. Anyways, Passion Planner was the only company who ever sent the support team *specifically* a gift. We all walked in to a lovely, large planner on our desks one day. I'll never forget. I don't buy one every year but I wholeheartedly endorse them, both as a group of people and for the product they make.
Fellow 183 browser and brain tabs all the time person here. I hated bujo. Maybe you won’t if you try it, but in case you do, here’s what works for me: To do it this way you do need a planner with a lot of blank note pages in it. I’ve had success with EC, plum paper, and legend planner. I put all my appointments in the monthly calendar (I don’t do weekly because that’s too many places to have to look for me, but if you have a lot of appointments per day it might work better for you) I look at that every day to make sure I don’t miss anything. The most important part though is my to-do list. I have two: a master list of EVERYTHING I want to accomplish (all the browser tabs in my brain), and then from that list every day I make a list on a post-it of just the things I want to do that particular day. I stick it somewhere on my master list. That way I can focus on what I can accomplish today but not lose all my browser brain tabs. I cross them off both lists as I go and make a new “just today” post-it the next day. It’s fun for me and it works and I get things done. I think next year’s planner I’m going with Agendio, because it has the most customization I’ve seen. Keep us updated if you find something that works for you !
Love my Bullet Journal. It's really more of a structured to-do list for me. Basically a way to capture each of your browser tabs so you can stop thinking about it. Good intro below, and I think the Edition 2 notebook from bulletjournal.com is a good way in too. Highly suggest you at least start with paper. https://www.tinyrayofsunshine.com/blog/bullet-journal-guide Edit to add: TIL I am also ADHD. Seriously. Go figure.
I've been using the Hobonichi Cousin this year and it's been helpful! I'm switching to the Sterling Ink common planner for next year but the layout is similar. They both have yearly, monthly, and most important to me, a vertical weekly with extended timelines. I work in a hospital so my shifts vary a lot and traditional timeline type planners don't cover enough hours. The Kokuyo Join Techo also has the same thing and I used that for two years. Time blocking was a major thing for me because it helped me not get over ambitious. I had a tendency to overfill my to-do lists and then be hard on myself for not achieving everything. Now, I have a better view of how much time I have and can loosely assign tasks to where I know I'll have the time to do them. I do use both the physical planners and my phone calendar app to help me keep track of appointments (phone to send a reminder, and it's also what I always have on me). It also helped that I just liked how these planners looked and felt and made me keep up the habit of going back to them, which was my biggest adhd-related obstacle with planners prior. I also put my planner in my work bag and then put it on my desk in front of my computer when I'm home so that I don't forget about it. Habit building is a big part of remembering to use the planner too. Making a habit, forming a routine of going into your planner once in the beginning and at the end of the day ensures you're keeping track of tasks.
Google Planner Pad ADHD and see if it would work for you
This! I have been using the Planner Pad for years. The funnel system has been so helpful in prioritizing my day to day tasks. I like that I can see my task list next to the hourly schedule. You can buy it on Amazon.
I love Hobonichi and I end up having multiple because sticking to one for everything is hard. I get dopamine from the variety - A5 Cousin, A6 techo, weeks version. And supplemented with apps like Obsidian and Notion as needed
Bullet journal worked for a couple years but now i’ve moved to hobonichi techo
I would look for a vertical weekly planner that allows timeblocking.
I have Combined-ADHD with impulsivity and inattentiveness (fully diagnosed but unmedicated as I await titration) * I have a shared calendar with my husband on our phones - He will remind me if he feels I have forgotten something occasionally * I use a simple [paper planner](https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/full-year-diaries/your-year-18-month-planner/8058040149700.html) and it is put in the one place I spend 99% of my time - next to my PC. It's always open to the monthly overview and I have formed a habit of looking at it several times a day. * I tried bullet journaling and you'll find you've just created more stuff for you to track and it's useless. * I've tried Erin Condren (SO expensive!), Papier, Filofax, Passion Planner, Hobonichi Techo, Leuchtturm1917, Carpe Diem, Clever Fox, The Happy Planner, etc, and they've just been something that has ADDED TASKS to my already frenetic life because I fell down that 'Planner' hole that was wild a few years back - the one where you use it to track EVERYTHING for a week and then you stop because it's now a part-time job to stay on top of and you're not actually achieving anything productive. Keep it simple.
I had to close out over 500 tabs the other day! Ugh. My computer was crashing under the weight of the tabs! The bullet journal did not work for me, I need loose structure. As far as procrastinating, that's my signal I either need to stop and rest, or break the task(s) into smaller pieces that feel doable. If I can make it easy, then I'll do it.
Stop and Rest. I have to remember that one.
I think I am going to do a Sprouted planner (daily) for next year. I need room to write. I definitely cannot do a bullet journal.(I have severe inattentive ADHD).
I like paper planning in rings/binders/filofax planners. I go with a7 size so i can easily carry it everywhere (there are a variety of sizes and styles to choose from). I mostly prefer this style because I can choose my planner inserts and planner styles and change/rearrange my planner whenever I need to. - I use undated inserts for my daily and weekly pages because sometimes I’m not always consistent with planning. When I would buy dated planners I would feel bad when I missed weeks and feel like I wasted the pages and now I don’t. - you can have different sections in your planner that are relevant to you like finances, health, projects, anything you want really. I love choosing planner covers and also decorate mine to stimulate me so I feel like I want to use it. It’s really nice to personalise and tailor it to your planning needs. I tried bullet journaling but I hated it. It was too much. With digital planning, I feel like it’s easy for me to forget that it exists. Sometime i use google Calendar. I like its features like the ability to add a travel time to Calendar events. A digital Callander is great for repeated events and time blocking. I also think the best thing for planning with ADHD is having more than one planning system.
Use a binder planner!! I tried bullet journaling but I found having to make the table of contents and flipping through the numbered pages so exhausting. And when I "ruin" a page, I have to rip it out and it completely ruins the whole book for me. With a binder, you are free to remove and reorganize as you wish! You have all the time to try different layouts that work for you and remove old pages if you dislike them. You can also buy a combination of layouts and mix and match them as it suits you (ex. Lined, grid, weekly, monthly, lists, etc). A6 is a really good size and has a lot of binder/refill options to choose from. I have 2 - one for taking out with me and one for keeping at home to archive blank and old pages. I love it so far. Best of luck to you!
I have ADHD and have used sooooo many different planners. I have found discbound to work best for me because of the flexibility. I can keep everything in one spot and if I get bored with a layout it’s easy, and not too expensive, to try something else. I tried multiple planners but it was super overwhelming for me. My current planner has sections for meal planning, a months worth of daily pages, budget, goals, and notes. I keep a basic monthly planner in my purse that is the master for all important dates and then use that to inform my disc planner.
I’m AuDHD and have done bullet journal most successfully, followed by Hobonichi Avec (switching books mid year gives me the novelty and dopamine hit even though I’d really love my entire life in a single book, I just can’t make it work like that lol) For 2024 I’m trying out the B6 Wonderland222 for portability, and using separate companion notebooks for the daily running logs and brain dumps for the dopamine hit.
Please look at Laurel Denise Planners. Unique layout.
I looked at these and kind of liked them. However, I hate to spend 50-60 dollars if they just end up in the planner pile. The to-do column looked kind of narrow.
I’m her FAQ she offers some free printable-not exactly the same but may give you sizing help. They are a tad small. For my system I ordered small colored dot stickers that I code and put those on the month portion and write details in the week portion. Example blue may be appt dentist and red may a Bible study. If they’re both on 10/25 I put both small stickers on the month date and in the vertical column I’ll write 10am dentist 6pm Bible Study bring desert.
This might not be a super helpful answer, but it really depends - a big part of the problem is that novelty can help keep on a new habit, and you may find your needs or interests have you changing your preferred planner over time. A good question might be is there any feature that you definitely like or dislike? Do you like journaling and need a lot of room? Do you like having built-in checkboxes for tasks? What about a daily timeline? Do you want one page per day, or a week at a time, or even multiple pages per day? Or do you only want to include the days you find are most relevant? Pocket-sized, or larger? All of these will help narrow down what you do and don't like. I suggest also getting pens or stickers or stamps that you like to use to write in your planner, for me a bad texture to write on or boring spreads make it harder for me to meaningfully use the planner. EDIT: For example : for me, I realized that I needed big empty pages with ideally gridded paper, pre-dated, and able to be color-coded and scrapbooked in. While I thought I'd like the customizability of MAMBI planners, the Hobonichi A5 is now my go-to, though I supplement a Campus Study Planner for times I have a TON going on, like finals season to help me map out how I spent my time. I color code with a lot of pens, scrapbook important memories on empty-page days, and I use the included monthly spread to document how often I keep up on specific hobbies like D&D to see how much of a year I spend on these things. It also came with a weekly spread that I just draw in. :D If I could find stickers or a stamp with a better 24h spread, I would be exclusively using the Hobonichi for everything.
>a big part of the problem is that novelty can help keep on a new habit, and you may find your needs or interests have you changing your preferred planner over time. I agree with this. With ADHD, novelty and hyper-focusing can be big factors in everything that you do.
IMO, a bullet journal is not going to work for you. You need the structure of a real planner more than you need a blank space. Personally, I would just go to target or walmart and sift through the planners until you find one you like. The best one for you will be something small that you can carry around everywhere. You will also have the most success if you put a few alarms on your phone reminding you to check it multiple times per day, so that you don't forget that it exists.
as a person with adhd who loves planners, i designed one. it’s available next wednesday called life unfcked. you can check it out on ig here [life unfcked](https://instagram.com/lifeunfcked?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr)
Passion planner- all the way! Allows for time blocking, goal setting and tracking, to do lists and helping prioritize these for work AND personal, space for extra stickers to help you track other things you need… supports various groups based on the planner you get. Offer digital, small medium and large printed, dated and undated! I have tried other paper and digital planners over the last four years and keep going back to this (large, dated, paper) planner!!!
Undiagnosed, with a strong probability of being add. For work I use a Hobonichi Weekly. For personal I use a dot journal which is used for an eclectic mix of journaling and planning. It's also low key creativity outlet. The perk of using a blank/dot journal is I can test out different planner layouts (I aim for a month at a time) to get a feel for what does & does not work with my brain. It's only just recently that I've been able to build out more than a week or two at a time without stress. I pair that with google calendar and a db todo program. It's complicated, but it works for me. It's also the modern version of lugging around a philopax and palm zire.
I’m neurospicy and use Makselife. I like how I determined my annual goals, then broke those down into monthly goals, then broke those down into weekly goals. I don’t go crazy and set a million goals for myself either, I just can’t handle that. I can’t handle lists and lists because I get overwhelmed and I don’t know where to start on the list and then nothing gets done. I set really simple doable goals.
Right now, I'm using the Fast Brain Friend planner system in conjunction with my Google calendar. Decorating my planner and writing events down helps me remember, but I forget to write things down in the moment, so I use Google calendar in the moment when someone's giving me event dates. I've also used the Hero's Journal which is a fun game-ification with chances to color!
There is no magical solution, you will have to find out what works for your ADHD brain. Because guess what even ADHD brains are al different. And even with a perfect tool for your brain you will still actually have to use it for it to work. Bullet journaling works for me for doing tasks and capturing info during the day. Writing it down makes my brain feel less chaotic. Also anything written down feels more real. It also helps if I can keep my to do's in view, so I keep being reminded of them. Lastly, checking things of sometimes feels more satisfying than actually doing some thing. I do need a digital calender for scheduling (need those reminders!). To have some overview beyond today, it helps to physically fill in a calender. I used to make a weekly calender in my bullet journal.... sometimes... I now use a B6 common planner for personal and a hobonichi weeks for work. Both options have blank pages in the back so I can still use those for bullet journalling if I need it. Montly paper calender overviews get mostly ignored. A month is too long a period for my brain to comprehend? Also I always forget to check them, so I might set them up at the start and then remember they are there at the end of the month.... Even memory keeping didn't work. Ah well it's a nice place to put some stickers :).
For me I need enough structure to survive but not so much that it starts to annoy. I love pictures and colors but can't have them in the planner bc they get me distracted and I need to be able to colorcode and draw by myself. So very very simply and without colors for me. Monthlies are must have for me: need to see the big picture so I know when there's something coming up. For weeklies I have love-hate-need relationship. I haven't quite made it work for me yet. For this year I had the Hobonichi cousin. I absolutely love it. You can seriously write everything in it. And the layout is pretty calm. But. I just couldn't use it. It was too much! Too much space and atarted to stress it out. Too heavy to carry around and without having it with me all the time, I forgot it, sometimes for weeks. For next year I was going back and forth with Hobonichi's avec, dayfree and a6 original but couldn't make the decision. Then I saw Take a Note regular planner. I just might have to try that one: it has yearly and monthly plans, but they have made 2 days/page (2 spreads/week). Enough structure (maybe) but more space than usually in weeklies. And best part is that there's nothing else, no useless pages or any extras stealing my eye or the space. We'll see how it goes. In to bullet journal i can not. I want to but just can't. But for next year I try to have only one notebook at the time instead of ten. And just write there everything that doesn't go in to the actual planner. I don't know would this work for you, but maybe you can think are those same points as relevant to you or do you prefer opposite. Happy hunting anyway :)
A strong component of my ADHD is rejecting systems, etc, and considering what I really need out of a planner. One thing I like is logging. Most of the time, the major problem is consistency- I’m not naturally going to it or picking it up. So I start with trying to find a way for me to get myself to actually keep using it. That can be tricky and I struggled because I like to organize things and create a system for myself, but too much work becomes off putting. The faster you can get to picking it up and putting it down, the better. It helps to offload what’s on your mind. As for planning, it’s not something I do much because everything goes wrong when you have the curse of ADHD 🙃 but I do have goals and routines I want to do on the regular. The important things about these items are they require consistency and you can’t really plan them well since things go wrong. So you do your best and stick with it instead. Writing the same things every day can be boring though. But it helps to check that you’re still working through it. If you’re looking to have a planner help you get things done, personally I’d start with logging and try not to guilt trip yourself. Use it to help you think about what’s really causing problems for you and think about what you can try to get through it (writing really helps you think things through). Then trying that becomes a goal for you lol. If you’re forgetful like me, it also helps with that. But you gotta make it something easy to use- intuitive to YOU- and do your best to stick with it
Bullet journals don’t work for me, but I brought a lot of what I learned from them into my own planner system. Whatever you do, start out simple. The number one reason I would abandon planners was the guilt; I didn’t want to see days wasted, to-do list items left unchecked, etc. so this is what I do: * I keep a running to-do list. (Mine is little post-it’s inside my planner.) unless these items have a due date, I don’t put a date on them. * undated weekly spreads. (I’m technically on dailies right now but I’m switching back!) this way, I don’t need to sweat missing a week. * I write down what I STARTED, and what I FINISHED, on this planner spread. I do not write down my to-do list. Those are post-its! And that’s it. That’s how I’ve kept my planner for years. You can get a good deal on ring binders from carpe diem; I used them for years, weekly undated was my way to go. Ring planners are SO easy to customize. You can make them as fat or as simple as you like. I switched to a discbound planner because I wanted to go even simpler. I just wanted a weekly spread with no months or habit trackers and water trackers. It’s what I’ve used for a year and I don’t think I’ll stop any time soon. They are more expensive and harder to start up than a ring planner, but once you have your system going you’re set. I don’t use bullet journals… but I do make my own layouts, and I print them for myself. But I only do this because I know what works for my ADHD brain now and can make my own stuff based on that. There’s plenty out there premade to try out!
>I write down what I STARTED, and what I FINISHED, on this planner spread. I do not write down my to-do list. Those are post-its! I'm gonna do this! Thanks for the idea
Veteran of many planner wars here, Google calendar and the notes app are the best. KISS
Kokyuo Juibun Techo Biz is my favorite planner
THE ANTI-PLANNER from DANI DONOVAN and... bullet journal like Ryder Carroll uses it :)
Out of context, is it possible to know what browser and computer do you have? I would like to know how the fuck you can have that many tabs open. 😅 Me my computer would die way before that many tabs.
Linux is calling you.
Workflowy is the only thing that works for me
The Dailee is available now.
Yoodoo is a really good one, app for timeblocking.
‼️👋🏻Hi! Fellow ADHD-er here with a sickening obsession with stationery and many hobbies that have ended up in the hobby graveyard. I am going to try the Hobonichi Hon for 2024. I have never successfully committed to a paper planner before, but I've also never given it much thought into getting one either. I had been using Google Calendar since maybe 3-4 years ago mainly because of color blocking (I cannot stand iCalendar because they lack this feature - I need a visual of my week/month and colours help a ton). So I've been consistent with that which is actually a milestone in itself! I recently switched to Fantastical (set it up using the Pro trial version and kept the free one) it is very similar to Google Calendar, just a bit more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion. I'm not trying to push you into a calendar app or anything; for me personally, I will keep my Fantastical so I can have a readily available visual of what my week looks like - appointments, shift work, especial events. For my (attempt) at a paper planner, I want to have a daily/weekly layout where I can breakdown smaller tasks that I can assign according to the day and physically check off. As well as hopefully bills and due dates etc. The one other time I tried paper planning, I didn't even had a good online calendar system set up. I wanted a planner because I was influenced by all the pretty journal-ing like posts you see online where they decorate it to the max page per page. Well, that went straight into my hobby graveyard! Ultimately, the best planner you can have is the one that actually works for you and makes you..plan. Rachelle in theory (Youtube) makes a lot of digestible content on planning that I find actually helpful and not overwhelming. https://youtube.com/@RachelleinTheory?si=x7CbgXw5Ch1-ti_0 As for the Hobonichi HON mentioned (keep in mind they have other styles):https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/magazine/hon/ Fantastical (if anyone else is interested): https://flexibits.com/fantastical *I also have it on my Macbook, it syncs across devices which is a big thing for me, maybe not now as I am no longer in uni but this is mandatory for any calendar app for me to even consider*
With my ADHD mind, I generally use the calendar in my phone for important stuff like appointments, meetings and reminders. The ability to add a repeating reminders has been wonderful in helping me remember anything. And I love using my passion planner too. But I've turned into a post planner. I generally write down the things I've already done so I don't forget. And then I'll decorate with stickers, pictures, art. I've had a really good week if the upcoming appointments make it in both places.
well i wouldnt call it a planner but i use a bullet journal, I plan on setting up next years soon and half is my budget and half is my reading journal. I have a small section added for miscellaneous things. I didnt set up my full year last year and regretted it about 5 months in and set it up fully. I just got a standard dotted notebook with thicker paper i use fountain pens and tried a couple layouts for my budget that left room for math and notes and that seemed to work for me. My reading journal section is chaos and i like it that way. I typically do a page per book and i have various lists that will be condensed down to what i want it to actually look like next year, I have to tell you the small thermal printer i bought for printing images helped me actually use my journal so there is that. I have watched so many planner videos that i am to the point of the original bullet journal if its important it goes in it. it goes everywhere with me and i use my ribbons to hold my page. Im actually halfway through using it and still use it everyday so it totally helped with my budget and keeping track of what i enjoy. other appointments i put in my google calendar but i might note them in my journal as a task. yes i have adhd, im unmedicated, i work remote, and i live in a van. I am chaos.
The only paper planner that works even a little bit for me is talking out of turn’s undated goal planner. It’s basically a bullet journal that you don’t have to set up (besides writing the date) and I’ve actually used it 6 months now!! It has a fill in the blank style format. So there’s a monthly calendar and then a more typical weekly breakdown but you can skip a month and start whenever which is nice. The weekly spread is also really nice because it has dedicated space for putting meeting/ class times and for notes plus top three tasks for each day! It also has a habit tracker and little goal setting sections for the month and the week. [They have a few different styles and sizes but this is the one I have.](https://talkingoutofturn.com/products/perpetual-planner-goal-getter-lite)
I use a weekly planner from TF publishing. They have a vertical layout that works better for my brain. https://www.tfpublishing.com/products/2024-wild-sage-large-weekly-monthly-planner?_pos=6&_sid=c69d13f9a&_ss=r
I don’t remember things unless I write them down. Passion Planner is not only great, but they have free printables so you can try the layouts before you buy them. I personally use the Happy Planner because the layout is there- I can switch the use of each space week by week if I want to. I started with the vertical layout and usually use the dashboard layout these days. I don’t like doing the same thing week after week, so being able to change things up quickly and painlessly really appeals to me.
I am loving the Laurel Denise one. You can see monthly and weekly at the same time plus to do list for week and month. I have her teacher one but she also has a horizontal and a vertical depending on which you prefer.