Lists to Keep in Your Planner That Are Sure to Keep You Organized!
Do you have trouble remembering “the little things”? If your answer was even a tiny bit “yes”, then you need to know what lists to keep in your planner to help organize your entire life!
Get more tips for calendar ideas for the home and organization here.
Life can get a little bit busy. When it does, it becomes really challenging to stay on top of all the things you have going on.
A fail proof method to help you remember details is to write ‘it’ down!
But, unless you are diligent about having one location to write important details, chances are good you won’t even refer back to your list.
This is why I’m a firm believer in using the blank pages at the back of your planner for important lists. Today, I’m sharing my top lists to keep in your planner for improved organization.
It will likely get your wheels turning for list ideas in your own life!
Favorite Planner Accessories
- Adhesive sticker sheets (customize a page, print, cut to fit planner if needed, and put in your notes section)
- Staedtler Triplus Fineliner (great pens for colored ink that has minimal to no bleed through)
- Pilot Precise V5 RT (my personal favorite ink pen)
- Ruler that fits in planner to use as needed
- Washi Tape (makes everything prettier!)
Lists to Keep In Your Planner:
1. When Did I last…
I’ve been keeping a “when did I last” page in my planner for several years.
I first saw it when I was introduced to the bullet journal world. It’s a very common bullet journal spread, but I think anyone could benefit from it regardless of what daily planner you prefer.
The idea is to have a list of things you need to keep track of periodically. By penciling in ‘when you last’ did something, you are less likely to forget.
For example, I struggle to remember when I change the air filters in our HVAC system.
By taking a couple of minutes to write it in my planner, I am much more likely to stay on top of it later!
Inspiration for “When did I last” list from Bohoberry.com
2. Medical / Doctor Visits
(I omitted names of my kids and doctors. You know, HIPAA and all;-)
As a speech pathologist, I see patients that go from doctor to doctor with various medical situations.
A common issue is that people forget specific recommendations or suggestions their doctor’s make. They also regularly lose track of when they’ve seen a medical professional.
Doctor’s visits can be a bit stressful, so writing down the details as soon as you learn them will save you from forgetting important recommendations!
In the middle of a visit, you may feel you have a perfect understanding of everything the doctor or specialist mentions.
But, it is really easy to neglect to schedule a future appointment that is recommended or follow up with all the details if you don’t write it down.
Since we do not make regular visits to doctors, I can get away with having only a one-page log to keep track of all of our family doctor visits.
I like to track the date, specialist seen, family member, and ANY recommendations or suggestions from the visit.
3. Car Maintenance Log
A simple log to track oil changes, general car maintenance, new tires, etc. is all that is needed.
When I get any car service done, I like to write down the mileage as well.
4. Books to Read
I love a good book!
If I hear someone I trust recommend a ‘must read’ book, I take note. As soon as I get a moment, I jot the title and author in my planner.
When I have time to check out a book, I refer to my list to see if anything sparks interest!
5. Movies / TV Shows to Watch
The same with movies and television programs – If a friend mentions a fantastic movie or television series, I try to write it down.
Jason, my husband, and I love to unwind at night and watch a show together.
If we are struggling to find something good, it’s nice to have a recommendations list to guide us!
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6. Birthday / Anniversary Tracking Log
I created this birthday and anniversary tracking log a couple of years ago and love it! Plug in the special dates of your friends and family and you are set!
What works best for me is to print it on a full size adhesive label, trim it to the size of my planner, and stick it write into the NOTES section of my planner.
Grab a copy of my birthday and anniversary calendar printable!
7. Gift Ideas
Who doesn’t love a thoughtful gift, right?!
Unfortunately, when someone’s birthday or Christmas comes around, most of us are lost and unable to come up with any creative ideas.
A solution is keeping a list of gift ideas for important people in your life!
If a fun or meaningful gift idea pops up, write it down! Then when their special day rolls around, you are prepared with thoughtful ideas.
8. Vacation Ideas
I’m not the best vacation planner.
So, when someone mentions a great place they’ve visited, I get as many details as possible from them so it makes my research a little easier.
Part of the fun of the vacation is the anticipation.
If I have several ideas, then I can dream about fun destinations that my friends and family have suggested while researching our next trip.
9. Fun Weekend Ideas / Rainy Day Ideas / Summer Break Day Trips
Have you ever wasted a day off because you couldn’t think of anything to do?
Keeping a running list of fun things to do in your area is a great way to give you interesting ideas of family adventures should a rare free-day pop up!
My favorite way to come up with ideas is by searching in Trip Adviser.
There are SO many neat things in our own community that we didn’t even knew existed.
Pretend you are a tourist and plan a fun day trip adventure in your own city!
10. Home Projects
Do you have a list of home projects at your house?
Keeping a running list is a great way to prioritize what you are hoping to update as you get time.
One thing I find after making my list, is some of my projects aren’t as necessary as I once thought. Getting it all out on paper really helps to see what we need to do first!
11. Continuing Education Log
If you have a profession that requires continuing education, it’s nice to keep a list of the courses you attend.
Nothing fancy, just a page you can write down the name of the course, location, date, and how many hours you earned.
12. Savings Goals / Spending Log
For whatever reason, budgeting has always been kind of fun for me.
Putting our savings goals on paper is a way for me to feel more accountable with my spending.
Being mindful of purchases is also a fantastic way to stay on target with your savings goals.
At least once every year, I keep track of every purchase for an entire month. No matter how many times I do this, I’m always shocked by the nickel and dime purchases!
Related: Printable Password Tracker Logs
13. Goals for Year, Quarter, and Month
If you struggle a bit with focus, setting goals really helps you to hone in on the WHY you are doing certain things in your life.
For a little nudge setting goals, refer to my post Worksheets to Set Your Goals for the Year, Quarter, Month and Week.
15. Meal Master List
Do you find it difficult to be creative with meal planning for your family?
Keep a master list of your family’s favorite meals in your daily planner!
It is a great way to remind you of meals you haven’t had for a while.
Update the list any time you find a new “favorite” meal!
Freeorganizingprintables.com has a great holiday menu planner you could also print off and add as an insert into your planner!
Don’t forget to pin these ideas to improve your productivity to your favorite Pinterest board!
I hope you found some helpful ideas for lists to keep in your planner!
If you are looking for the perfect daily planner, I rounded up several suggestions in my post: 11 Top Picks for Daily Planners.
Have a wonderful week!
I’m a list maker and I always look at these lists of lists to put in your planner, only to wrinkle my nose and close the tab because they are unhelpful or busywork.
But I’m clipping this one…
I’m so glad it was helpful! Have a great week!
Great read thank you. I bought a planner this year for the first time so l will definitely be using the notes section as per your recommendation. My favourite here is the keeping tracks of courses and when did l last list.
Enjoy your planner! I’m a bit obsessed with mine.
. I love to be organized, and it’s essential for us all. Fabulous Ideas that I can use. Thanks.
I’m so glad you found something that was helpful! Have a wonderful week!
Oh, I love these! I love making lists and usually keep them on sticky notes until they get lost. I especially love the when did I do this last list. We have kids in college and trying to keep track of the car maintenance and dentist and dr. appointments for everyone gets rather confusing. I’m going to go add these lists to my calendar right now.
I totally get the issue with losing sticky notes! I’m glad you find some ideas you can use. Have a good weekend, Karen!
These are great ideas! I haven’t thought of keeping “the last time I”, I’ll be adding that to mine now. I need all the help I can get, haha.
I’m so glad you can use some of the ideas! Have a great week, Leslie!
You have some great list ideas going on here. Now I am adding some of these to the back of my journal.
Yay, Candy! This makes me smile!
I love lists and fill my notebook with lots of them – which my family finds amusing! I don’t have ‘when did I last’ lists though, that is such a simple and brilliant idea I’ll be scribbling later, thanks
That is a super helpful list! Enjoy your list-making, Sarah!
I love a list! I always add extra pages to my planners so I can keep track of all types of things too, but I don’t have a “when have I last” list yet. I’ll need to make a list of new lists now!
I’m glad it’s helpful, Meredith! Enjoy your week!
This is a great list! I waffle back and forth between paper planners, but most of my lists (like this) are on cloud services. I started using Notion.so more than Evernote and all these lists are easily tracked in that. I do, however, use Airtable to track usage of things (like how long it takes us to go through a tube of toothpaste) and track things like cost and how much we should save for personal care and household items.
I love your ideas, Colleen!
I need to start utilizing my planner more. I have an Erin Condren planner to keep me organized but I often forget to use it. This might just be the motivation I needed to here today.
Erin Condren planners are beautiful! I’m glad the list ideas ideas were helpful!
These are some great list ideas! I love making lists, but tend to keep them all in my head. Of course, they get very jumbled and the result is that not a lot gets done. I love the idea of seeing all of our home improvement projects or adventures we want to have this summer all in one place. Thanks for sharing such great ideas!
Thanks, Natalie! I’m so glad it was helpful!