Planners & Other Scheduling or Day Diaries, 2026

[Harriet]

Time for the big reveal. (drumroll)
What "write it down" purchase(s) or decision are you making for 2026?

Do you use a planner or
small calendars? Do you use any type of
purse/pocket note-taking or
PocketMod.
Do Daily printables work for you?

No matter what kind of planning on paper, feel free to chat here and tell how it helps you in 2026.

The card file box is the Queen of traditional order. And glancing at a big wall calendar as we race out the door can't be beat.

But your tips and ideas for other "Write It Down" methods might be just the inspiration someone needs!

[Nancy]

I luv this topic was just getting out some from my stash yesterday.
My dining table is stacked with options to decide on currently...

Prayer Journal in comp. notebook this month it changes.
Bullet Journal on dot grid or lined pages in a journal I often thrift them as I see em often.
Daily Diary blank lined journal stuff
Morning pages & larger one classic Happy Planner notes pages so far.
Happy Planner disc. bound as I'm left handed works well for me.


Holiday planner [disc bound] I update each year.
Daily Wellness Journal has prompts I do not use the prompts but put in Rx food and exercise in it daily.

Legacy type with prompts lined journal with some type of art I have several choices.
Like Grandma / Mom we want to hear your story.

Jr. Size 5" x 7" disc. planner hard bound is my writing binder with book notes inside I have three of em found
em when I de-cluttered last round in my butterfly room.
I have a writers planner, writers comp. note book and writer's binder got refills for them off Amz.

Franklin Covey style I have two with rings for notes projects & set up one with refills for 2026 one has needle point type of cover,
the other is a tri-fold kind and both have note book type rings in them that click.

So many fun choices I've used p/c and small note books in the past as well.
Just do what works for you!

Currently I'm using cards 4 x 6" size for notes and idea for various writing projects.

[Twins' Mom]

Recent Wirecutter recommendations for planners: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/revi ... -planners/

My notebook/planner is merely a "Junior" size Circa notebook with pages that can be added and moved around. I can tear one out and not miss it. I add monthly tabs as each month approaches, and remove the older monthly groups as the months are gone, so it stays a manageable thickness. (Those get filed for reference for a couple of years.)

At the beginning of every week (Sunday start) is a weekly page with the days of the week down the right side, and a blank column to the left for OMM/catching thoughts. This is on the right side of the double wide pages that start each week. I use the left page, and continue on the reverse of the calendar page and on subsequent pages as needed for the week. Most days are headed up with the day of the week and date, followed by appointments, then notes about to dos, meeting notes, anything else that I want to write down that day. Last night I took 1.5 pages of notes in the temple finance meeting so I added a new blank page and continued on.

I can reference notes as needed by searching my google calendar (which is the ultimate calendar. Appointments for the week are copied into the paper planner.) Once I locate a meeting on the google calendar I can go to that page in the filed planner pages to get notes, if I took any, lol.

I keep some master lists in a front section of the planner. I also keep a master to do list in an Excel spreadsheet, I can sort by priority when I'm overwhelmed and figure out what's important.

[Kittykatt]

You ladies sound like true professionals! In comparison, I'm a lowly amateur.

I have a "his & hers " wall calendar in the kitchen, where I write birthdays, my appointments, the cats' vet appointments (these also go in my column) and DH ... tends to forget.

I have a pocket filofax in my bag, which is my "go to" when I'm out and about.

I also have an A5 diary (day to a page) which I use as my gratitude journal, to write three good things about each day, and also thoughts hopes, concerns and prayer lists. This year has been a bit of a disaster as there was something "not quite right" about this year's journal, so I didn't use it very much. However, I bought m to 2026 journal early when there was still lots of choice, and I love it! Especially the "feel" of the cover when I hold it, and the quality in of the paper in inside. It's just a plain grey/ brown, so doesn't look anything special, but it just "feels right" to me. So hopefully I'll be more successful at regular journalling in 2026!

Oh, and I nearly forgot, I keep my daily / weekly/ monthly to do lists on threads on this forum!

[Lady Maverick]

true professionals vs lowly amateur.

This made me smile.
I am a professional wanna be planner user.
I am an amateur planner user because I rarely follow through.

In my professional career, I was an avid franklin covey planner user and that paper planner went everywhere with me for many years. It was crazy how fast information and requests were coming at me so my only hope was immediately jotting it down to capture it until I had time to deal with the issue. All that to say, yes I do know how to use a planner and have many years of experience with them. However, my life is different now and much simpler. I don't have hundreds of people telling me their computer problems and expecting me to handle it.

I am trying to decide what the purpose of the planner will be and exactly where I will keep that information. I use google calendar as primary on the go source of information. I share my google calendar with DS17 and DD14 and add events & information to their calendar frequently. They are trained to look at their calendar which seems to be working well. ANYway....back to planner thoughts...

Yearly view - This is for the big rock view of plans and goals.
Monthly calendar - Focuses for home and health. Also appointments, events, birthdays.
Weekly calendar - Menu, NTBE (date when food need to be eaten or tossed),
Daily - 3 OMM things to do, 3 blessings/gratitude, declutter item of the day
COI - Circle of influence. The most important people in my life and our interactions. Prayer request and answer received.

Master list ....I don't know what this would include. I would love to hear any categories you use.

For me, there is a complete separation from planner information and the SHE cards and I have no plans to combine them.
I have my digital SHE cards in pretty good order and enjoy using them as they are. I know I probably have more cards than most people would think is reasonable, but each one serves a purpose, so I’m sticking with what works for me. I’m now averaging completing 180ish cards a day, including daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly ones. It sounds mind-blowing when I say it, but the setup makes them quick and easy to use. It’s taken years of tweaking to get the SHE cards to this point and training myself to use them effectively.

[Twins' Mom]

They are trained to look at their calendar which seems to be working well

.

I wish I could train dh to look at ours. The issue is that he couldn't access it on his work computer when he was there, so his primary use is on his phone, and he'll add things without making it visible to me. I'm not sure what he's doing. Then when he has something to do - or even sometimes both of us - I have no idea.

[Lady Maverick]

Teaching the teens to use the calendar isn't perfect but works most of the time. When we first started, I put treats on their calendar that they would only get if they looked at it. If they skipped a day and saw the treat the next day it didn't count.

I'm trying to think about possible Master list ideas....
** OMM (On My Mind)
** Brain dumps
** Projects and detailed steps to accomplish
** Holiday planning with details.

[Harriet]

I have 3 potential choices for a 2026 planner in my "cart" online and am pondering. "A-5" or about 6x8 size. Range from $ 9 to $ 21. The 21 is called a "note it" by Blue Sky and includes 50 extra pages of lined note space. The problem is, it's not interspersed to give note space to each week, but all in one section. I'm thinking... is this really valuable, since I could have a separate note pad that would be just about the same thing, just not attached. My priority here is to take up as little horizontal desk space as possible, so maybe.

Also interesting, while I ponder practical, no-nonsense things, is the multitude of youtube videos that teach how to cover all kinds of composition books and small notebooks to make them into personal planners. The reality of my planner use, however, is that it's open all the time on my desk, by virtue of spiral binding, and I seldom even look at the cover. Have I learned smart tips on how to make lovely textile covers, though? Of course I have! lol.

[Kittykatt]

Harriet, I think those videos.could definitely be very useful as well as interesting. For me, the "feel" of the journal when I hold it is very important for some reason!

[Nancy]

I have added some sale ones to my books list on Amz.
got some Cmas $ and a book & work book for my writing.
So I'm going to be getting a gift card to use for those soon.
Do not really need them for now but next quarter I will.
One book said only one left so I want to do that this next week.

Might have some thing help with my low mood today.
It's cloudy out and rained some.

I looked at those ADHD & PPP planners and I have the bujo that pretty much
cover the same things and have my info. from the SHE system I use so I"m glad.
I am thankful I looked it over and looked at some at Wmart but the only one that interested
my I's already bought!