With the new year upon us, I have been seeing so many ads for calendars and planners. And of course after clicking on one for more info, I am getting bombarded with them! I actually don’t usually use a wall calendar, just the one in my planner, but I am curious about this new type I saw that has the full year on one big page!
I got this cheap foldable one from Amazon to test out…it just arrived so I have quick added an upcoming trip to Arizona using 1.5×2″ sticky notes to test it out. Each note takes 2 spaces.
I like that the weekends are color blocked and there is enough room to write a couple things in each space. You will definitely still want a planner for your regular daily stuff (at least I certainly do)! You could also use planner stickers to be able to fit more tasks per day.
I am thinking these type calendars will be especially helpful for acheiving goals, project planning, traveling and events more than day to day activities. I am going to feature a couple here that look good to me, but there’s all kinds and it wouldn’t be hard to make your own if you have time.
A common thing I have noticed with my clients is that they have lots and lots of lists all over the place, whether it’s random paper lists, notebooks with brain dump lists, sticky notes or a mix…there’s rarely one place for notes.
I am in the process of creating a system for myself that I think could be useful for anyone. These are the materials I used:
- cheap corrugated plastic board from Michaels (20×30″)
- 1.5×2″ sticky notes
- .6 x 2″ page marker sticky strips
- planner
I made columns with the following headings but these will vary based on your need:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Today (or ASAP)
- To do, to schedule, to research (this is essentially anything I need to do but not necessarily today)
- Projects (I can add these to my days as I have time)
As I work on my weekly calendar, I can move the sticky notes into my planner and check them off when they are done.
Daily tasks can can be moved from one week to the next when you finish each week. And you can make a “bank” of strips for regular tasks as well that you can add in when you are working on your schedule for the week.
You could also add bucket list items to this chart which I am sure I will do. I have just started this method and am still tweaking it. But I love seeing everything I have to do as well as things I want and hope to do all at once instead of hidden away in a list in a notebook (or 2 or 3).
And something else I love about this system, is when you have a bunch of errands to run, you can just pull the notes off the task board and put them right on the front of your planner and have it right with you so you don’t forget anything!
I really like this planner and the picture links to it in case you are interested in one. I like that it has the full monthly calendar with good size squares and the appointment style weekly layout.
I will post an update after I have had more time to streamline this sticky note system. Hopefully you guys have found this useful and if you have some ideas to add please leave them in the comments!
I hope you’re having a wonderful start to 2026!