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Family organization and routines

Paper planner

A printed or handwritten planner, such as a bound book, a notebook or printed pages, used to plan days, weeks and months on paper.

What It Means

A paper planner is a planner you write in by hand: a bound book with dated pages, a plain notebook you set up yourself, or printed planner sheets. Most combine a month or term view for the big picture with a weekly or daily page for the details. UNC Chapel Hill's Learning Center treats a hard-copy planner and an online calendar as equally good tools for the same job, so the choice comes down to which one you'll actually open.

Try It: Pick a Weekly Layout for Your Days

Choose what your weekdays look like. The three layouts are the weekly planners UNC's Learning Center offers.

Try this layout

30-minute blocks

Small slots leave room for short appointments and the travel between them.

UNC's Learning Center notes that each layout serves the same function, so pick the one that suits you.

How It Sounds at Home

  • "Hang on, let me check my planner."
  • "I write everything down or I forget it."
  • "I buy a new planner every January."

The Breakdown

How to set one up (Buhata's own suggestion)

  1. Choose a format: a dated book, a notebook you lay out yourself, or printed weekly sheets. UNC's Learning Center offers free weekly planners to download and print.
  2. Start with the big picture: a month or term view with every fixed date, such as birthdays, school breaks, bills and trips. UNC's Learning Center calls this a semester-at-a-glance calendar.
  3. Pick a weekly layout that matches your days: 30-minute, 60-minute or morning-afternoon-evening blocks.
  4. Once a week, copy the coming week's fixed dates onto the weekly page and add the tasks you mean to do.
  5. Each evening or morning, look at the next day and choose what matters most.
  6. Keep it where you'll see it, and carry it if your day happens away from home.

Short version to try today. Print one weekly page, fill in this week's appointments, and leave it open on the kitchen counter.

Paper planner styles

StyleWhat it is
Dated plannerPages printed with dates; you fill in the days
Bullet journalBullet journalRyder Carroll's notebook method for tracking tasks, events and notes with short entries and symbols, organized into an index and daily, monthly and future logs. See moreA blank notebook set up with Ryder Carroll's method of logs and symbols
Printable sheetsWeekly or monthly pages printed as needed, such as UNC's free planners

Good to Know

A paper planner holds only what you write in it, so shared family dates need copying from wherever the rest of the household sees them. Buhata's daily planning page describes a short planning routine at the start or end of the day, and its time-blocking page shows how to give each block of the day a job, both of which work on paper. If you keep a separate calendar on your phone as well, pick one place as the master so the two don't drift apart.

FAQ

Is a paper planner better than a digital one?

Neither is better for everyone. UNC's Learning Center treats a hard-copy planner, a wall calendar and an online calendar as equally good tools, so pick the one you'll use every day.

What should I write in a paper planner?

Start with fixed dates for the month, then each week's appointments and the tasks you plan to do. UNC's Learning Center suggests a month or term view for the big picture alongside a weekly planner for the details.

How do I keep using a planner and not abandon it?

Buhata's suggestion is a set time to open it, such as Sunday evening for the week and a few minutes each morning for the day, and to keep it where you'll see it.

Do It in Buhata

Calendar and Tasks

Put the household's shared dates on the Calendar in Buhata so everyone sees them, and copy your own week from there into your paper planner each Sunday.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Digital planner

    A planner kept on a phone, tablet or computer, such as a calendar app, a task app or a planner file you write on with a stylus.

  • Bullet journal

    Ryder Carroll's notebook method for tracking tasks, events and notes with short entries and symbols, organized into an index and daily, monthly and future logs.

  • Weekly review

    A regular session, usually weekly, where you clear your inboxes, bring your lists and calendar up to date and decide what matters next.

Family organization and routines

Sources

UNC Chapel Hill Learning Center, "Calendars and College"; UNC Chapel Hill Learning Center, "Planners and Calendars"; UNC Chapel Hill Learning Center, "Weekly Planner: 60 Minute Intervals"

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