lucylou
Platinum
Posts: 2,362 Likes: 6,677 
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Post by lucylou on Feb 17, 2024 11:40:43 GMT -6
I’ve never done a planner before, but I’m trying to get my life together. Is there such a thing that exists for an adhd, stay at home mom of 4, that is tired of flying by the seat of her pants?
I normally make to-do lists on scratch paper just to stop everything from swirling around in my head, but it doesn’t actually help me get things done because I just misplace the list, or I start brain dumping and it’s not realistic to get done in a day.
I’ve also run into scenarios where I’m making various kid’s appointments and the date on my phone calendar is clear, only to find out I’m pulling them out of school twice in a week or something like that. If I could easily see the whole week, that kind of stuff wouldn’t happen.
I would like a daily/weekly/monthly planner but that maybe also has a spot for meal planning notes (which I also need help with). Maybe something with prompts that helps me be more organized. I’m not looking for goal setting and motivational quotes.
I was hoping there would planners aimed at moms/household managers but I’m not finding it.
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Post by Sweetjane on Feb 17, 2024 11:50:11 GMT -6
I'm a SAHM of 3 and my H splits his time between WFH and the office. I prefer a paper planner but still use digital calendars for Dr & Hair appts. If I book something while I'm out of the house I add it to my phone calendar and then write it in the planner when I get home.
Two of my kids are still too young for phones and I like everyone to have access. The calendar sits open flat on my counter and has space for everyone to write stuff.
It's personalized and has a space for all our names, events, dinner & notes. I think I've been using this one for about 6/7 years, maybe more.
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daisy
Gold
Posts: 504 Likes: 589
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Post by daisy on Feb 17, 2024 11:52:57 GMT -6
I am also a stay-at-home mom of four who suspects I may have a touch of ADHD. I have no perfect solution. I use a Blue Sky weekly/monthly academic year planner book. I write everything in there and I always think I should keep a calendar on my phone or use an online app but none of those have worked for me. So I just keep it old school for now with the book.
I use the space on each individual day not usually to plan for each day, but rather just as note-taking space/making the to-do lists/etc.
I also use the Notes app on my phone a ton now, too, and the Alexa app for things like shopping lists. I have lists for Costco, Target, TJ Maxx, Grocery, etc, so I can say things when I think of them and then check when I am at the store.
I have also found it works for me to have one dedicated notebook sometimes for a specific task, so I keep info in one place instead of all over. But I have to really keep track of it and make myself not just start taking notes anywhere. For example, I have one dedicated notebook right now for planning our spring break road trip.
Lastly, I have a big white board in my laundry room and I have found that writing the schedule for the week on the white board often reminds me of something I may have forgotten. I makes me sit down and look at the entire week and plan ahead better for things like, "oh, yeah, Kid 3 has to bring juice boxes to school on Thursday" or "We have 80s day at school on Friday" or whatever it is.
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Post by Sweetjane on Feb 17, 2024 11:57:31 GMT -6
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lucylou
Platinum
Posts: 2,362 Likes: 6,677
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Post by lucylou on Feb 17, 2024 12:43:01 GMT -6
I'm a SAHM of 3 and my H splits his time between WFH and the office. I prefer a paper planner but still use digital calendars for Dr & Hair appts. If I book something while I'm out of the house I add it to my phone calendar and then write it in the planner when I get home. Two of my kids are still too young for phones and I like everyone to have access. The calendar sits open flat on my counter and has space for everyone to write stuff. It's personalized and has a space for all our names, events, dinner & notes. I think I've been using this one for about 6/7 years, maybe more. This sounds great. Do you have a link for it? |
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lucylou
Platinum
Posts: 2,362 Likes: 6,677
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Post by lucylou on Feb 17, 2024 12:46:18 GMT -6
I am also a stay-at-home mom of four who suspects I may have a touch of ADHD. I have no perfect solution. I use a Blue Sky weekly/monthly academic year planner book. I write everything in there and I always think I should keep a calendar on my phone or use an online app but none of those have worked for me. So I just keep it old school for now with the book. I use the space on each individual day not usually to plan for each day, but rather just as note-taking space/making the to-do lists/etc. I also use the Notes app on my phone a ton now, too, and the Alexa app for things like shopping lists. I have lists for Costco, Target, TJ Maxx, Grocery, etc, so I can say things when I think of them and then check when I am at the store. I have also found it works for me to have one dedicated notebook sometimes for a specific task, so I keep info in one place instead of all over. But I have to really keep track of it and make myself not just start taking notes anywhere. For example, I have one dedicated notebook right now for planning our spring break road trip. Lastly, I have a big white board in my laundry room and I have found that writing the schedule for the week on the white board often reminds me of something I may have forgotten. I makes me sit down and look at the entire week and plan ahead better for things like, "oh, yeah, Kid 3 has to bring juice boxes to school on Thursday" or "We have 80s day at school on Friday" or whatever it is. I just googled the Blue Sky and am liking it. Pretty covers and they’re having a sale are nice bonuses too! |
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lucylou
Platinum
Posts: 2,362 Likes: 6,677
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Post by lucylou on Feb 17, 2024 12:47:43 GMT -6
This is really cool. So many options to customize. Thanks! |
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Post by starrynight on Feb 17, 2024 15:24:22 GMT -6
I used to order Plum Planners. I loved the personalization and all the cover options. Ultimately, I realized I preferred a slimmer planner and switched to the 18mos moleskine. The one I buy has the week on one side and a lined page on the other. I use the lined side for dinners and my weekly to-do list.
I still switch once a year, but I like that I have those extra months to record future appointments, reminders, etc. I'm not juggling the schedule of 4 kids though. Just mentioning it as an option. It might take a year or two to figure out what works best! If you have a paper source near you, they have a lot of options so you can look at multiple layouts and see what speaks to you.
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lucylou
Platinum
Posts: 2,362 Likes: 6,677
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Post by lucylou on Feb 18, 2024 12:03:30 GMT -6
I used to order Plum Planners. I loved the personalization and all the cover options. Ultimately, I realized I preferred a slimmer planner and switched to the 18mos moleskine. The one I buy has the week on one side and a lined page on the other. I use the lined side for dinners and my weekly to-do list. I still switch once a year, but I like that I have those extra months to record future appointments, reminders, etc. I'm not juggling the schedule of 4 kids though. Just mentioning it as an option. It might take a year or two to figure out what works best! If you have a paper source near you, they have a lot of options so you can look at multiple layouts and see what speaks to you. I do have a Paper Source not too far. Thank you! |
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FlightView
Sapphire
Resident Alaskan
Posts: 4,459
Likes: 18,244
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Post by FlightView on Feb 18, 2024 14:39:22 GMT -6
Still rocking my happy planner!
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Post by coffeandnaps on Feb 18, 2024 21:50:43 GMT -6
I do a combo of a paper Bluesky weekly/monthly academic planner and my phone calendar for times when I’m out and need to check the schedule. The paper planner is color coded for people. I do a whiteboard calendar in the kitchen so the rest of the family can look at it. The kids don’t have phones and MH wouldn’t remember to check a shared Google calendar.
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klw
Opal
Posts: 8,732 Likes: 21,493
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Post by klw on Feb 19, 2024 6:43:40 GMT -6
I have had a happy planner for a few years. I have the vertical layout, so the weekly page has 3 blocks. The top I use for activities happening at work or the kid's schools, the middle is for my personal appointments or other things on my to do list, then the bottom is my meal plan. I also use the bottom block to remind me of any food prep for the upcoming days meals.
I do use a phone calendar for things I need to share with my H: doc appointments, kids school events, etc.
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Post by sweptaway on Feb 19, 2024 9:19:21 GMT -6
I am also a stay-at-home mom of four who suspects I may have a touch of ADHD. I have no perfect solution. I use a Blue Sky weekly/monthly academic year planner book. I write everything in there and I always think I should keep a calendar on my phone or use an online app but none of those have worked for me. So I just keep it old school for now with the book. I use the space on each individual day not usually to plan for each day, but rather just as note-taking space/making the to-do lists/etc. I also use the Notes app on my phone a ton now, too, and the Alexa app for things like shopping lists. I have lists for Costco, Target, TJ Maxx, Grocery, etc, so I can say things when I think of them and then check when I am at the store. I have also found it works for me to have one dedicated notebook sometimes for a specific task, so I keep info in one place instead of all over. But I have to really keep track of it and make myself not just start taking notes anywhere. For example, I have one dedicated notebook right now for planning our spring break road trip. Lastly, I have a big white board in my laundry room and I have found that writing the schedule for the week on the white board often reminds me of something I may have forgotten. I makes me sit down and look at the entire week and plan ahead better for things like, "oh, yeah, Kid 3 has to bring juice boxes to school on Thursday" or "We have 80s day at school on Friday" or whatever it is. I just googled the Blue Sky and am liking it. Pretty covers and they’re having a sale are nice bonuses too! I use a Blue Sky planner at home and another one at work. I put appointments in both the monthly and weekly spots, then use the notes section in the monthly area to write out longer term to-do items. The daily spots are enough for me to write down appointments as well as specific to-dos for the day. I have a larger one at work and a smaller version at home |
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Post by beenthere on Feb 19, 2024 9:30:35 GMT -6
I have had a happy planner for a few years. I have the vertical layout, so the weekly page has 3 blocks. The top I use for activities happening at work or the kid's schools, the middle is for my personal appointments or other things on my to do list, then the bottom is my meal plan. I also use the bottom block to remind me of any food prep for the upcoming days meals. I do use a phone calendar for things I need to share with my H: doc appointments, kids school events, etc. I use a vertical layout happy planner too, I put my cycle tracking and med tracking in the top box, other appointments/school events in the middle, and meal plans in the bottom. I bought a disk hole punch so I can add things into my planner and it's been super nice. |
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klw
Opal
Posts: 8,732 Likes: 21,493
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Post by klw on Feb 19, 2024 11:23:57 GMT -6
I have had a happy planner for a few years. I have the vertical layout, so the weekly page has 3 blocks. The top I use for activities happening at work or the kid's schools, the middle is for my personal appointments or other things on my to do list, then the bottom is my meal plan. I also use the bottom block to remind me of any food prep for the upcoming days meals. I do use a phone calendar for things I need to share with my H: doc appointments, kids school events, etc. I use a vertical layout happy planner too, I put my cycle tracking and med tracking in the top box, other appointments/school events in the middle, and meal plans in the bottom. I bought a disk hole punch so I can add things into my planner and it's been super nice. Oh yeah, I have the hole punch too. I will punch appointment cards or other papers and stick them in the appropriate week. I also like the accessories like folders and paper they have. |
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STP
Diamond
Posts: 43,336
Likes: 314,832
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Post by STP on Feb 19, 2024 12:04:03 GMT -6
I’ve also run into scenarios where I’m making various kid’s appointments and the date on my phone calendar is clear, only to find out I’m pulling them out of school twice in a week or something like that. If I could easily see the whole week, that kind of stuff wouldn’t happen. To be fair, you can set your phone calendar to week or month view. I have recently transitioned off of paper planners to a Google calendar, and it's really prevented double booking. My dog sitting app, our doc offices, even our hair place auto load the appointments. It's synced to our school district calendars. I use One Note app for shopping lists, meal planning, and the like. It's nice to bc I can put links there too. I like that my family can input/view from their devices. |
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