Is there anyone else out there who has so much to plan but a tiny little paper planner just doesn’t work out for her? That’s me, for sure. When I plan my day, I get SO MUCH done! But the little paper notebook planners don’t have enough of what I need and those huge planners are too many pages and way too overwhelming!

So, what I decided to create is a dry erase planner. Depending on the day, I either plan everything out the night before or the morning of. My To-Do List is where I always write anything that needs to be done. When I plan, I look over the To-Do List and decide on five things that must get done that day and write them in my Top Five. As I go throughout the day, I check-mark the circles next to them when I get them done. Occasionally I’ll write in my Daily Routine when I’ll get certain Top Fives done.

Now, I like my day planned out, but not by the minute. That’s why this planner is a little more broad- Morning, Mid-Morning, Afternoon, etc. For instance, I know I need to go grocery shopping in the morning, but it’s not like I will die if I don’t arrive at the store at exactly 10:00. It’s more of, “breakfast, get ready, groceries, tidy up, kids’ nap” and then while the kids nap in the afternoon, I write, “Get Top 5 done, fold laundry, start dinner.” You get it? So there’s not a prompt time, but it gives me an idea of what time during the day I can get my things done.

Obviously for the meal plan section, I wrote the letters B, L, and D. I think we all know those stand for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. I find that when I meal plan, I save money at the store (rather than wandering around, buying a bunch a food I may or may not use) and know when to start cooking each meal.

The Exercise and Health section is where I plan and write what type of exercise I’ll do for the day and for how long. Some days I anticipate will be very busy or chaotic, so sometimes, I count my trip to the store as my exercise for the day. Haha! I not only walk all around the store, but I sprint after my toddler several times and carry the heavy groceries and the baby carrier from the cart, to the car, then into the house. I’d say that’s a workout for the day!

We are required to drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I am TERRIBLE about remembering to drink my water. In fact, when I was pregnant, I was hospitalized due to dehydration. That’s when I decided things needed to change. So that’s why I have 8 circles to check off each day so I can know that I drank my water! Make sure you do the same! As a man said when I passed him on the Las Vegas strip, “Don’t Hate, Hydrate!”

As my husband always tells me, it’s important to physically write down your goals. I have a spot where I have my goals written on my Daily Planner. Seeing my goals each day helps me to remember to work toward them. So when I have done something to get closer to my goal that day, I check-mark the circle. For instance, if my goal was to study my scriptures every day and I did my daily scripture study, I can check it off.

I keep appointments un-erased until the appointment is past. It’s so nice to be on the phone and write it in on my daily planner and have it there as a reminder! Depending on how many appointments you have in the week, you can write doctors appointments, hair cut appointments, parent teacher conference times, etc.

I strongly recommend laminating the download and using Expo Vis-à-vis wet erase markers. After I laminated mine, I put sticky-back magnet strips on the back and stuck it to the fridge! My sister has roommates and would rather her Daily Planner not be on the fridge, so she just keeps hers at her desk or in her backpack. I hope this Daily Planner helps you with the stresses of the day, but isn’t too uptight to keep you from having a good day!

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