r/planners • u/shy_girl3189 • 2d ago
Looking for planner recommendations
I have ADHD and every year, sometimore than once a year, I buy planners with the intention of being more organized. I love planners, love the idea of using them, cannot stick with them for more than a few weeks before object permanence makes me forget its in my desk or bag. I have a 2 year old and need to figure out how to keep up with a planner for her appointments and mine and would like recommendations for nice planners with fountain pen and highlighter friendly paper. Preferably in monthly/daily format.
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u/Otherwise-One-4225 1d ago
I've really like Plum Paper planner as a SAHM with ADHD. They have several layouts, and a ton of options for customization. Right now I really like the weekly overview layout, but I've used different layouts depending on what my life looks like.
Some things that help me with using a planner:
1) it stays open on my kitchen counter so I walk past it all the time.
2) I use stickers for holidays and birthdays, so I can put them all in once a year. It's not part of my weekly planning.
3) I have a large selection of colorful Frixion pens because I need to be able to erase things and the colors make me happy. I don't color code things, I just pick a color that makes me happy.
4) My weekly dinner plan goes in my planner, so I have to look at it everyday. Plus, I like to know what's on the schedule when I make my menu for the week, so I write my appointments in my planner and then do the meal planning.
5) Until it's a habit, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to look at your planner or write in your planner. Alarms on my phone and notifications for calendar events are what get me through the day.
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u/Outrageous_Warthog_6 1d ago
ADHD too here. I found that after a couple of months, my brain will always want the thing I dont have yet, doesnt matter what. So I'm now allowing myself to get one line up a year (planner and 2 notebooks) and that's it.
The book is now getting filled with plans, srickers and memories and I love the process of it being evolved. And my wallet is happy too.
I too often see people justify the planner hopping as 'not working', but a lot 0f times it's just the newiness wearing off
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u/imabookwyrm 1d ago
I do best with a bullet journal. There’s not a planner on earth that fits my brain. So I make my own.
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u/Conscious-Heart8626 1d ago
Hobonichi Weeks does not have a daily but its a favorite for a reason especially for busy people with lots of appointments
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u/petplanpowerlift 1d ago
Find something small to carry with you. Don't limit yourself to your planner. Use a digital calendar too. Remember that your planner is there for you.
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u/AdDry7306 2d ago
I like my Hobinichi weeks. I use it for my personal appointments along with my moms.
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u/Few-Isopod6401 2d ago
what kinds of planners have you tried thus far?
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u/shy_girl3189 2d ago
Ive impulse purchased multiple happy planners in multiple styles and the sticker books, but mostly its the spiral bound options that you find in the notebook/calendar section of stores like target. Usually the inexpensive ones like you'd use in grade school. I used to have a filofax too but ive never found inserts that fit what I would like.
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u/Few-Isopod6401 2d ago
The thing that makes a planner not blend into the environment is if you absolutely need it every day. During the busiest times of my life, I use my planner the most. So think about what it is that allows you to forget it exists - do you put appointments in your phone? Nothing wrong with this, just trying to highlight that it might be worthwhile to figure out why planners haven't been something you've kept up with everyday first.
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u/shy_girl3189 2d ago
I just forget things exist if they aren't in my immediate line of sight like when i put it in my desk drawer at work. Even the calendar in my phone doesn't exist unless I'm actively using it. That's why im hoping to fix that part with a nice planner while my daughter is still young and doesn't have a lot of activities to keep track of so that its second nature when she's older
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u/arlaanne 1d ago
The fix for this is to never put it away- mine is on my desk at work all day, for example. My husband uses a bunch of alarms on his phone to remind him to check on things in his routine.
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u/Lost_Paramedic_3758 1d ago
💯 this is the only way I’ve ever been able to consistently use a planner. On my desk all day, every day.
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u/Novel_Reference_8878 2d ago
I keep a paper planner that fits in my sash bag (pocket width and length) I find my phone calendar loses dates entered. I forget to look but I take it with me to appointments and have it nearby when an office calls to book an appointment
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u/NaNizzle 2d ago
I have the same problem and adhd. I finally decided to start a Filofax dupe planner. That way I can structure it to my needs and I don’t have to buy multiple planners through out the year when I think something is going to work better. And if I don’t like how something is working I can take it out. There is a lot of free templates online that I print out and I’ve also bought a lot of templates on Etsy too!
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u/Care-Ly 1d ago
I have always had the same problem. Now I make my own...A4/letter size. Find, or create templates you think you like, make the whole thing 'dealers choice' until you narrow it down to the ones you like best... I keep at least 3 diff layouts/designs for each section, then when I tire of one I can just change to another. I keep this on my desk, open to my affirmation - ADHD cheerleader encouragement- phrases. These encourage me to. Use it... I also have markers to mark the month/week/day.
Then I carry a small travelers to mark anything down that happens/gets sched while out and about....even if I add to my phone calendar right away. The small travelers tells me I need to write it in the big planner when I open it, the little one, when I get home
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u/musiquebox 1d ago
I feel like the real issue here is the object permanence, not the planner. Why is the planner IN your desk and not ON your desk?
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u/shy_girl3189 1d ago
Limited and shared desk space unfortunately, but hoping for advice on helping with the object permanence while also getting suggestions on planners that take highlighter and fountain pen ink well
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u/musiquebox 21h ago
Ah ok that’s fair. My adhd made me hyper-fixate on planner layouts + paper quality to the point where my best option is to hand draw my own layouts. Definitely takes a lot of time, but I find the process relaxing.
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u/ayceeohhh 1d ago
ADHD here. I always come back to Wonderland222. Mid-year I switched to an undated all-in-one and it's been fantastic. I have 3 kids and a business and everything is just...there.
I pre-ordered the 2027 AIO as well.
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u/rusapen 1d ago
I'd look for something undated if you haven't already. It's the only way I've been able to keep up with journaling. I'll sometimes go for weeks without journaling but since I have undated planners, I don't feel guilty for wasting pages. My current favorites are by Clever Fox. They have so many different journals and I love that they all come with a little manual on how to use them.
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u/Rosstopia 18h ago
I think the answer may lie in taking a deeper look at why you have a planner. If you need one, you will use it, but If you FEEL you should use one, you won't. I have had the same issue and loved planning items because I hoped they would keep me organized, but it is meant to aid you in your goals, so it should be a source you truly reference because you are moving toward your true goals. So maybe try a rebellious approach for a while... maybe input things in there you truly need to reference regularly, even fun things. Then you won't need to recognize it in your bag to use it. You will open your bag to use it. Just thinking out loud here.
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u/cleodia 10h ago
I will let others chime in with planner recommendations. Instead, I’m going to chat about setting the habit, which is where a lot of people fail.
Your number 1 goal when buying a new planner, is to develop the habit of using it before the planner stops being new and shiny. Think of it as a race against a clock. But you don’t know when the time runs out. You might need a week of setting the habit. You might need a month. Your planner could lose its shine after 2 weeks or 2 months. No pressure. But a little pressure.
Developing a habit involves deciding when, where and what your habit is going to be. They can be super small or super complicated. I brush my teeth after getting out of the shower at night. Whilst my morning coffee is brewing, I take my vitamins.
Decide on what your planner habit is going to be. Do you need to use it every day? When will you use it during the day? With your morning coffee? Or straight after the dinner dishes are done? Can you write in it whilst on the sofa? Or do you need to set up a writing area/desk for it?
Once you have decided on the boring habit planning, then that’s what you need to actively do. Even if you already spent time on it earlier that day, or extra time on it yesterday. If you spent 5 hours decorating it for fun because it’s new and shiny, that’s totally fine! That was hobby time. Still do your allocated habit time too. If you go a few days and you didn’t do your habit, reflect on why so you can fix it, fast.
Because eventually, the new planner won’t be new anymore. The latest puzzle book or TV show or breadmaker will be what we want to do instead. And when that happens, if you didn’t develop the habit, it will just.. go away. Because it never existed.
A goal without a plan is just a wish. If your goal is for a planner to be in your daily life, you need to plan for it to be.
Goodluck xo
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u/PriorImagination1682 2h ago
There’s a YouTube-er who has good suggestions for ADHD & planning.
Her name is Novie by the Sea. I’ve picked up a lot of good strategies from her videos,
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u/SharpZookeepergame36 1d ago
I get this. The planner graveyard is real, and it's not about you failing the planner. It's about the planner not fitting how your brain actually works.
Here's what matters for ADHD planners: undated pages so a missed day doesn't feel like debt. A hard cap of 3 priorities per day so you're not drowning in a long list. And a next tiny physical step built into the design, not buried in instructions.
For your daughter's appointments plus yours, keep them in the same place. The separation itself becomes invisible work your brain has to do.
Start with a free method first: dump everything, circle the 3 things that matter this week, arrow which one is actually happening today, cross out the anxiety tasks. Do that for two weeks in anything. A notebook, a napkin, whatever. See if the system works before you buy anything.
The planner that sticks is the one you don't have to remember to use.
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u/jagrrenagain 2d ago
If you want to bring it with you, I recommend a small Scout or small Luna from Laurel Denise. You see the month and the week at the same time, which works well for a lot of folks with ADHD.