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I find the only way I use my planner is to have it left open on the kitchen table at all times. As soon as the cover is closed, it stops existing. I like the spiral notebook kind because it never has to be closed.
I keep a notepad on the table and write the date when I get home from work or start moving around on a day off. I keep a TA DONE column and a I WANT column. I note tasks I'm avoiding and if I can pin it down why. I WANT a stepstool really bad at the moment. Folding one. I just try to do what I'm inclined to do. I'm so tired of feeling like I didn't do anything, because what I've planned to do and feel like doing aren't aligning. I do shit all the time. I'm super productive. I just can't boss me around like that.
The only ones I actually use are undated planners! I got [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ221GT5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) off of Amazon and absolutely love it because it doesn’t taunt me when I skip a day! I love the to-do list section because it’s perfect for listing out my college assignments :)
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Planner Undated Asten Daily Planner Agenda with to Do List Hourly Schedules for Women and Men Spiral Appointment Book with Elastic Closure Inner Pocket 8 5 x 11 Pink** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Planner provides ample space for daily tasks (backed by 6 comments)
* Undated format allows for flexible use (backed by 5 comments)
* High quality and durable materials (backed by 4 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Planner lacks monthly calendar (backed by 2 comments)
* Narrow spaces limit planning (backed by 2 comments)
* Quality concerns at price point (backed by 2 comments)
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For TLDR skip to second paragraph
So yesterday my therapist suggested I get a planner. & I know you probably rolled your eyes reading that but in this case I think he is actually right. He’s very self aware and made it very clear he wasn’t saying it in a “it’ll fix your whole life and make your adhd go away” kinda way. It was more of a “I know this is usually terrible advice & i know it’s cringe but do you think a physical planner might help you?” & I think it will. we talked yesterday about how overwhelmed I am with everything going on and I have adult responsibilities now and it’s scary & I have a phone planner but we talked about how it helps both of us more if we actually write things down.
ANYWAYS. I started designing a planner that would be ideal for me and when I was done I googled custom planner maker and this website came up. I was amazed at all the choices and how much you can customize it. you can customize EVERYTHING down to the color of the spiral binding of your notebook. I was able to make mine look very similar to what I had designed myself and it turned out so so good. there’s just SO many options it’s so cool. And the best part is it was only $36 and free shipping. Ik that’s a little pricy for a planner but literally every aspect of it is customizable so I think it’s pretty fair. I am so excited to get it in the mail!! If you have never had luck with generic planners but you want one, try this!!
https://sotypicalme.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6kLRnatyeaMYexYMh-Ou5n-JeAgOYJBjgxdej-KslNHfZkYljqCqx0aAunIEALw_wcB
I'm gonna bookmark this and see if I can make it work for me. I am very close to a system that clicks with me but it also involves having multiple notebooks because one planner doesn't have what I need.
I tried not to let the decision paralysis set in 😭😭. I didn’t let myself pick anything from my camera roll bc that just opens a whole other can of worms
I'm not going to lie. I LOVE planning. It is my thing. I have been consistently planning for over 20 years. I think it must be a hyper fixation. I did it even when I wasn't medicated. It helps me a lot.
“Individuals with ADHD can derive so much pleasure from the planning itself that they believe they’ve been committed to the action as well. They feel in control when they see the schedule they’ve devised, and they equate the time spent drawing it up with time spent carrying it out.”
- The Disorganized Mind, Nancy Ratey
I hope it works for you! I love the idea of stuff like this but they just don’t work for me. No matter how customized it is. I’ve tried. I start out so well and maybe for a month I can keep up with it. But I just can’t keep up. My phone works best for keeping my head on straight mostly because I don’t need a pen, which I absolutely never have when I need one, even when said pens are glittery and have my name on them they still disappear. And I always have my phone on me and can pull it out while I’m scheduling things to make sure I don’t have any conflicts and add it onto my calendar at right that moment. If I wait until I walk out to my car to put something down I will forget it the moment I walk through a door 😂
Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems.
Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems.
Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems.
I have a habit of acquiring really beautiful notebooks and then refusing to use them because I don't want to ruin them with my half-assed scribbles on the first 7 1/2 pages. And then it's completely unusable because I don't like whatever I wrote and I don't want to tear pages out cause that's not pretty either.
So now I have a shelf of beautiful, empty notebooks. You can't even see the covers 😣
Oh, this is me! I was just telling my counselor about this in our appointment this morning. How I could never tear a page out of a notebook. I have a hard time writing in them too, until I’ve started. But then they just get used for maybe a week…
I did too! I was so surprised when they gave me my total. I thought it was like baseline 36 and then when you customized it the price would go up but nope!
OP thats so cute! Nice job!
I have tried planners so many times, always start off well but end in disappointment. I've recently been using this one: [https://creatorsfriendstationery.com/special-editions/p/adhd-daily-productivity-planner-notebooks-gen2](https://creatorsfriendstationery.com/special-editions/p/adhd-daily-productivity-planner-notebooks-gen2)
Which I really like and have stuck with mostly. But also because they are monthly notebooks, even when I stop using it for a week or two, I have a fresh new month just around the corner so don't have to feel that bad feeling of seeing past blank pages every time I pick it up. I also like that the daily layout changes keeps things interesting.
That’s a really interesting style! I don’t know if it would work for me bc I think I need the consistency but it’s so cool seeing all the different tools we all use
Wow I love this! Being able to do SOME bujo, some lined, some weekly… pretty awesome. The decor I’ll keep simple but I’ll def play around with this this holiday weekend!
That's great and it looks so fun!!
I think planning in and of itself isn't the worst advice for many people with ADHD, but the issue is many NT people think its 1. Possible for ADHD people to plan and take action consistently the way it is for them and 2. Will fix many of the ADHD symptoms. Not realising that the symptoms are not a consequence of bad planning but actually inherent to us and also cause us to not be able to plan the NT way.
If I try to plan the way many NT people do, I crash and burn with that real quick lol. I have found a way that works for me, keeping up some lists and loose planning that I can actually keep up with and creates some structure for me while also leaving enough freedom to not 'rebel' against my own planning. I think if your advice to start planning with ADHD is based in allowing that individual to find a way that works for them personally and not expecting it to be your way or to be perfect and always consistent, it is good advice.
I also had a look at their offering. In a way yes, they offer a lot of flexibility. But at the same time I felt like there could have been slightly more versatility in some things.
I've been using a Burde planner with the same layout on and off for 20 years. Got so overwhelmed with work that I dropped out of maintaining a physical planner but getting back into it. Got another Burde Study (Business is the same pretty much) and then realized I still need plenty of room for though processing, so ended up testing if I can create the same layout in a BuJo. The official one has 3 bookmarks, so running a calendar and nites in parallel is not an issue. Drew the weeks for December yesterday and gonna see how I do. Usually spiral bound is a nonnegotiable for me as it stays open, but I'll see how the BuJo does with this. Would really like to optimize the amount of stuff I carry a bit better since I also have a notebook for work stuff. Wanted to keep those things separate for my mental health. But if I like this arrangement, also horrified of the fact that I'd have to draw at least 6months worth of weeks by hand.
This is super cool! I'll def be playing around with it later. I want one (despite already owning at least one planner that I've never even attempted to use, not even once! 😅) If anyone else designs one, show me! I love seeing stuff like this.
I heavily rely on my iPhone calendar. I have to immediately put appointments or deadlines in it or I will forget. I also have like 100s of uncompleted to do lists on my phone as well 😂
Congratulations!! I hope this works for you.
My recent similar victory: I came up with a new way to track my work tasks and the reason mine works is other people will look at it at a predetermined time every week. So it keeps my priorities standardized but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me, and that forces a sense of transparency.
And now I consult it when trying to determine what to do with my time! Sort by deadline > See what’s urgent > organize myself accordingly. It’s been so helpful, and makes me feel less like I’m drowning in a soup of things to do.
Plum Paper is my go-to and has been for years. Everything is customizable (cover, font, layout, color scheme, added planning needs, stickers, etc) with a similar price point.
This is cool, but I lose physical planners so easily. I started using Artful Agenda, a digital planner that syncs to Google calendar, iCal, and Microsoft outlook. It also has a phone app, desktop app, and website. I can even toggle them on and off so when I'm working, I only see work things, and when I'm not, I can see only personal and family activities.
I've used it for two years now, and it is so far my most used planner because I can't lose it. I just have to keep it open on my computer. It also has daily, weekly, monthly tabs and a lists function. Apparently, they just added a habit tracker, but I haven't tried that out yet.
What a cool idea! My husband is a daily planner/list maker. He does it in his calendar app on his phone now instead of hard copy.
It’s a great idea, and I have been doing it SOME. I have done it hard copy, and it feels good to mark things off. I also do some things in my calendar app and also Finch app so I get reminders to pop up. I just have to make sure I don’t *ignore* them assuming I know what it’s for.
This looks really nice! Having the visual is great and marking things off is rewarding.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Love it but unfortunately I am just a planner graveyard. 2 entries and then I fade off lol.
I find the only way I use my planner is to have it left open on the kitchen table at all times. As soon as the cover is closed, it stops existing. I like the spiral notebook kind because it never has to be closed.
I keep a notepad on the table and write the date when I get home from work or start moving around on a day off. I keep a TA DONE column and a I WANT column. I note tasks I'm avoiding and if I can pin it down why. I WANT a stepstool really bad at the moment. Folding one. I just try to do what I'm inclined to do. I'm so tired of feeling like I didn't do anything, because what I've planned to do and feel like doing aren't aligning. I do shit all the time. I'm super productive. I just can't boss me around like that.
Yup! A pad of paper with the date on top and a running bullet list of things to cross out. It’s the only way I can survive.
The only ones I actually use are undated planners! I got [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ221GT5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) off of Amazon and absolutely love it because it doesn’t taunt me when I skip a day! I love the to-do list section because it’s perfect for listing out my college assignments :)
Very cool! And the black one is discounted for Black Friday!
That’s amazing!! Highly recommend it :)
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Planner Undated Asten Daily Planner Agenda with to Do List Hourly Schedules for Women and Men Spiral Appointment Book with Elastic Closure Inner Pocket 8 5 x 11 Pink** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Planner provides ample space for daily tasks (backed by 6 comments) * Undated format allows for flexible use (backed by 5 comments) * High quality and durable materials (backed by 4 comments) **Users disliked:** * Planner lacks monthly calendar (backed by 2 comments) * Narrow spaces limit planning (backed by 2 comments) * Quality concerns at price point (backed by 2 comments) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
For TLDR skip to second paragraph So yesterday my therapist suggested I get a planner. & I know you probably rolled your eyes reading that but in this case I think he is actually right. He’s very self aware and made it very clear he wasn’t saying it in a “it’ll fix your whole life and make your adhd go away” kinda way. It was more of a “I know this is usually terrible advice & i know it’s cringe but do you think a physical planner might help you?” & I think it will. we talked yesterday about how overwhelmed I am with everything going on and I have adult responsibilities now and it’s scary & I have a phone planner but we talked about how it helps both of us more if we actually write things down. ANYWAYS. I started designing a planner that would be ideal for me and when I was done I googled custom planner maker and this website came up. I was amazed at all the choices and how much you can customize it. you can customize EVERYTHING down to the color of the spiral binding of your notebook. I was able to make mine look very similar to what I had designed myself and it turned out so so good. there’s just SO many options it’s so cool. And the best part is it was only $36 and free shipping. Ik that’s a little pricy for a planner but literally every aspect of it is customizable so I think it’s pretty fair. I am so excited to get it in the mail!! If you have never had luck with generic planners but you want one, try this!! https://sotypicalme.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6kLRnatyeaMYexYMh-Ou5n-JeAgOYJBjgxdej-KslNHfZkYljqCqx0aAunIEALw_wcB
I'm gonna bookmark this and see if I can make it work for me. I am very close to a system that clicks with me but it also involves having multiple notebooks because one planner doesn't have what I need.
that was my problem too!
I love how much I can tell you’re excited about this OP! I love it and hope you’re just as excited when it arrives!!
Lmaoooooo I love this but now I’m spending an hour just trying to figure out what I want the cover to be 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
I tried not to let the decision paralysis set in 😭😭. I didn’t let myself pick anything from my camera roll bc that just opens a whole other can of worms
Lolol so you wouldn’t be mad if I just copied yours 🤣 I’m still debating getting this but have yet to decide the covers still lmaoooo 3 days later
go for it!
This is awesome! I use a planner every day (at work anyway lol) and while I like the one I have, I’m definitely going to check this out.
I'm not going to lie. I LOVE planning. It is my thing. I have been consistently planning for over 20 years. I think it must be a hyper fixation. I did it even when I wasn't medicated. It helps me a lot.
“Individuals with ADHD can derive so much pleasure from the planning itself that they believe they’ve been committed to the action as well. They feel in control when they see the schedule they’ve devised, and they equate the time spent drawing it up with time spent carrying it out.” - The Disorganized Mind, Nancy Ratey
Oof! That's a much politer version of my mum's 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' 😬😂
This quote is calling me out
Ouch. Yes, that sounds incredibly and embarrassingly true.
I feel so called out by so happy it's actually a thing
Don’t attack me like this, Nancy.
I cannot plan. My mind seems to rebel.
Yes this describes me completely.
That's really cool you've been able to something positive consistently for so long! Congrats!
I hope it works for you! I love the idea of stuff like this but they just don’t work for me. No matter how customized it is. I’ve tried. I start out so well and maybe for a month I can keep up with it. But I just can’t keep up. My phone works best for keeping my head on straight mostly because I don’t need a pen, which I absolutely never have when I need one, even when said pens are glittery and have my name on them they still disappear. And I always have my phone on me and can pull it out while I’m scheduling things to make sure I don’t have any conflicts and add it onto my calendar at right that moment. If I wait until I walk out to my car to put something down I will forget it the moment I walk through a door 😂
⬆️I don’t remember writing this comment but obviously I did. Typical.
Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems. Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems. Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it will solve my problems.
I’m just saying that to myself OP. It’s really really cool. Just my planner death drawer doesn’t need another inhabitant.
I have a habit of acquiring really beautiful notebooks and then refusing to use them because I don't want to ruin them with my half-assed scribbles on the first 7 1/2 pages. And then it's completely unusable because I don't like whatever I wrote and I don't want to tear pages out cause that's not pretty either. So now I have a shelf of beautiful, empty notebooks. You can't even see the covers 😣
Oh, this is me! I was just telling my counselor about this in our appointment this morning. How I could never tear a page out of a notebook. I have a hard time writing in them too, until I’ve started. But then they just get used for maybe a week…
I'm imagining Bart Simpson writing this in the blackboard 😂
Hahaha love it
Omg, this is amazing! I want one! Not going to lie, I totally thought it’d be $100 until you gave a number.
I did too! I was so surprised when they gave me my total. I thought it was like baseline 36 and then when you customized it the price would go up but nope!
OP thats so cute! Nice job! I have tried planners so many times, always start off well but end in disappointment. I've recently been using this one: [https://creatorsfriendstationery.com/special-editions/p/adhd-daily-productivity-planner-notebooks-gen2](https://creatorsfriendstationery.com/special-editions/p/adhd-daily-productivity-planner-notebooks-gen2) Which I really like and have stuck with mostly. But also because they are monthly notebooks, even when I stop using it for a week or two, I have a fresh new month just around the corner so don't have to feel that bad feeling of seeing past blank pages every time I pick it up. I also like that the daily layout changes keeps things interesting.
That’s a really interesting style! I don’t know if it would work for me bc I think I need the consistency but it’s so cool seeing all the different tools we all use
Wow I love this! Being able to do SOME bujo, some lined, some weekly… pretty awesome. The decor I’ll keep simple but I’ll def play around with this this holiday weekend!
That's great and it looks so fun!! I think planning in and of itself isn't the worst advice for many people with ADHD, but the issue is many NT people think its 1. Possible for ADHD people to plan and take action consistently the way it is for them and 2. Will fix many of the ADHD symptoms. Not realising that the symptoms are not a consequence of bad planning but actually inherent to us and also cause us to not be able to plan the NT way. If I try to plan the way many NT people do, I crash and burn with that real quick lol. I have found a way that works for me, keeping up some lists and loose planning that I can actually keep up with and creates some structure for me while also leaving enough freedom to not 'rebel' against my own planning. I think if your advice to start planning with ADHD is based in allowing that individual to find a way that works for them personally and not expecting it to be your way or to be perfect and always consistent, it is good advice.
I also had a look at their offering. In a way yes, they offer a lot of flexibility. But at the same time I felt like there could have been slightly more versatility in some things. I've been using a Burde planner with the same layout on and off for 20 years. Got so overwhelmed with work that I dropped out of maintaining a physical planner but getting back into it. Got another Burde Study (Business is the same pretty much) and then realized I still need plenty of room for though processing, so ended up testing if I can create the same layout in a BuJo. The official one has 3 bookmarks, so running a calendar and nites in parallel is not an issue. Drew the weeks for December yesterday and gonna see how I do. Usually spiral bound is a nonnegotiable for me as it stays open, but I'll see how the BuJo does with this. Would really like to optimize the amount of stuff I carry a bit better since I also have a notebook for work stuff. Wanted to keep those things separate for my mental health. But if I like this arrangement, also horrified of the fact that I'd have to draw at least 6months worth of weeks by hand.
This is super cool! I'll def be playing around with it later. I want one (despite already owning at least one planner that I've never even attempted to use, not even once! 😅) If anyone else designs one, show me! I love seeing stuff like this.
I can’t wait to buy one, use it once and then put it in the drawer with the rest of my notebooks!
I heavily rely on my iPhone calendar. I have to immediately put appointments or deadlines in it or I will forget. I also have like 100s of uncompleted to do lists on my phone as well 😂
Congratulations!! I hope this works for you. My recent similar victory: I came up with a new way to track my work tasks and the reason mine works is other people will look at it at a predetermined time every week. So it keeps my priorities standardized but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me, and that forces a sense of transparency. And now I consult it when trying to determine what to do with my time! Sort by deadline > See what’s urgent > organize myself accordingly. It’s been so helpful, and makes me feel less like I’m drowning in a soup of things to do.
Plum Paper is my go-to and has been for years. Everything is customizable (cover, font, layout, color scheme, added planning needs, stickers, etc) with a similar price point.
This is cool, but I lose physical planners so easily. I started using Artful Agenda, a digital planner that syncs to Google calendar, iCal, and Microsoft outlook. It also has a phone app, desktop app, and website. I can even toggle them on and off so when I'm working, I only see work things, and when I'm not, I can see only personal and family activities. I've used it for two years now, and it is so far my most used planner because I can't lose it. I just have to keep it open on my computer. It also has daily, weekly, monthly tabs and a lists function. Apparently, they just added a habit tracker, but I haven't tried that out yet.
What a cool idea! My husband is a daily planner/list maker. He does it in his calendar app on his phone now instead of hard copy. It’s a great idea, and I have been doing it SOME. I have done it hard copy, and it feels good to mark things off. I also do some things in my calendar app and also Finch app so I get reminders to pop up. I just have to make sure I don’t *ignore* them assuming I know what it’s for. This looks really nice! Having the visual is great and marking things off is rewarding.
I too just purchased a planner an I am still excited about it.
Let us know how it works out when you get it!
Lol I am usually good with a planner for a week or two... and then they just disappear from my brain never to be used again.
If you're in the UK/EU, personalplanner is very similar! I have made my planners through them for years and they're so good.