I don’t use a day to a page spread very often but when I do, I prefer to do an untimed spread. A schedule with everything planned to the hour is too restrictive for me. I prefer to do things when I’m motivated and I don’t like the feeling of being ‘behind’ if I’m unrealistic and a task runs overtime (which it usually does because everything seems to take longer than I think it will). If you operate the same way, here are some daily spreads for you to try.

Things to track in your daily planner

• Most important tasks (which tie back to one of your goals)
• Water intake
• Exercise
• Cleaning
• Homework / study
• Pomodoro (focused time periods)
• Kid’s activities
• Little things
• Reminders

I don’t recommend planning these things on a daily spread, save them for your weekly and monthly spreads

• Budgeting and bill paying
• Goals steps / breakdown
• Meal planning
• Habit tracking (otherwise you’ll be re-writing the same stuff on your daily spread all the time and it wastes too much space)

Related posts:

• 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)
• 10 Different ways to do a monthly goals review in your planner
• Using blank pages: 50 useful lists to add to your planner
• Choosing sections for your planner: what to keep in your weekly planner versus a household binder 

7 Daily planner layout ideas for your bullet journal that DON’T include a timed schedule

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1. Boxes, boxes and more boxes

If you’re going to use a highlighter for your border like I did, use some dual tip highlighters like the Zebra Mildliner, Milkliner or the UniPropus window.

Related post: Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear

I have more time tor hobbies and this blog on weekends so I usually just merge those days onto a separate page and do weekend tasks in a list format similar to #2 on this list, or the boxes format below.

While the boxes take longer to set up, I like the structure and how one task per box keeps everything organized and easy to see, especially when I color code by priority. Having a limit on how many boxes fit on the page is ideal, otherwise I’ll just keep adding and adding to the list.

2. Priority 1, 2, 3

I often use this layout for weekly planning but you could do it daily too. Perfect for brain dumping then you can work out what the priorities are afterwards instead of trying to remember to write everything down in the order it needs to be done.

I find it works better to have the open-ended page instead of dividing the page into 3 sections as I might need more space for priority 3 and less for priority 2.

3. Tasks by time

An alternative to a traditional scheduled day, try time blocking tasks by duration instead:

• 14 x 15 minute tasks = 3.5 hours
• 7 x 30 minute tasks = 3.5 hours
• 5 x 45 minute tasks = 3.75 hours

Total = 10.75 hours

Which leaves say 5 hours for commuting, eating, relaxing etc. and 8 hours of sleep.

You can of course adjust how many tasks for each time increment to whatever works best for you.

I used this thin rainbow washi tape for this spread <— obsessed with this washi

Read more: My all time favorite washi tapes and how I organize them

4. Appointments & To Do’s

If you can’t part with a schedule section, try an appointment section instead. You can jot down things that need to be done at a certain time, then brain dump all of the other things that need to be done around those times.

5. Morning, Afternoon & Evening

If you need more structure than the appointments section in the spread above, try splitting your day into morning, afternoon and evening.

I used journal in the example below but you could use this 4th box for meals, exercise, homework and study, kids activities, work to do, reminders etc.

6. Or just do an AM and PM list

Sometimes the simplest layouts work the best…

7. To do list, appointments, meals and notes

A simple spread and easy to set up if you cheat and use a stencil like I did!

The flag banner and circle checklist are from Zicoto.

I created a summer color scheme using the Pilot frixion erasable highlighters.

More bullet journal layout ideas

• 50 Themes for your planner or bullet journal spreads
• 30 Minimalist Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads (set up the week in 10 minutes or less)
• 12 Bullet journal annual planning page layout ideas

Planner supplies

• How to use the Helix Circle maker
• 7 Tips to keep your bullet journal neat
• 7 Cheaper alternatives to popular (but expensive) planner supplies

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