Planner System Analysis

Kaitlyn Robinson

4 min readApr 30, 2023

I am going to share with you my thoughts on my current planner system: what’s working, what’s not, etc.

See more planner photos on my instagram. Find these section cover printables in my etsy shop.

Current Planner System

This is a very brief overview of my current system. I am currently in personal rings, one planner only.

My sections are:

Calendar — yearly overview, monthly, weekly

Inbox — running to-do list

Work — meeting notes / reference

Wellness — health, notes, journaling

The Brand — PrintsbyKaitlyn material

Finance — expenses, budgeting, event planning

Odds & Ends — misc info / notes

To see flip-throughs of my planner, check out my instagram.

What’s Working:

One thing that has been working really well for me is having a running to-do list in my inbox, and then prioritizing those tasks into my weekly spread. I use the same weekly for work / personal items, so breaking down my list and prioritizing is a must. This helps me keep track of deadlines but also not be overwhelmed by a super long list of tasks.

Having just one planner also work really well for me. The thought of not having all of my information in one place causes major anxiety, so I would spend lots of time making sure all my planners contained duplicate information, which seems very inefficient. My planner holds a lot of information, so having only one planner helps me streamline the contents and make sure I am keeping track of the essentials, instead of filling my planner with lots of unused inserts.

Vertical weekly layouts work really well for me because my planning style is to make lists, which doesn’t work as well with a horizontal layout.

Having a few trackers on my weekly layout also works really well because I see it on a daily basis, so it reminds me to complete the task and to check it off.

What could be changed / added:

I want to make a master list of my weekend reset tasks to keep in the front of my planner for reference. I won’t have to rewrite them in my weekly spread if I don’t want to. I also used to have a breakdown of my planning routine and would like to incorporate this back into my planner somehow. I keep my planner updated throughout the day, so I usually don’t have a lot of planning or updating to do in one sitting. But it would be nice to have a reminder of monthly, quarterly, or yearly things that need to be done. I don’t use my miscellaneous section very much, so I need to think about how to utilize this section more fully.

My Go-To Planner Aesthetic

Neutral coloring and simple layouts are always my go-to. When I’m super busy and stressed, I don’t want a ton of bright colors or flashy, distracting deco in my planner. Having a minimal layout and color palette helps keep my eyes and mind focused on my task list.

Find these journaling card printables in my Etsy shop, here.

Other Considerations

While having only 1 planner works super well for me, I have considered setting up a less-structured planner that I could use on-the-go for scribbles and sketches. I like the idea of having another creative outlet that is less confined to an insert. I like the idea of filling it with photos, memories, journaling, sketches, ideas, etc. I may test this out and will post updates on my instagram.