I created The Daily Page out of frustration after attempting to make major changes in my life and the way I was living. I struggled to find a planner that would help me keep my health and wellness front and center alongside my to-do list, and decided to design a planner that could organize both my work and wellness in one place.

So what is The Daily Page? What are the different sections for? What’s the best way to utilize it? How can you make it part of your daily routine? In this post I’m going to walk you through it all!

WHAT IS THE DAILY PAGE

The Daily Page is a one-page design that aligns your work + wellness. It’s available as an instant download + printable, a 50-page notepad, a 6-month planner, or a digital planner for the Goodnotes App.

HOW TO USE THE DAILY PAGE

The basic “instructions” for The Daily Page are simple. Fill out the page, and allow it to guide you through your day. Although the page is thorough, it doesn’t take that long to fill out — just 3-5 minutes is all you need. It’s more about establishing a routine and sticking to it. So, start by deciding when you’ll fill out the page (at night? early in the morning?) and commit to it. See below for suggestions on how to make this a long-lasting habit.

MAKING IT A HABIT

I’ve got news for you, friend: planners only work if you use them. We can purchase as many planners as we want — fancy ones. Beautiful ones. Expensive ones. Customized ones. But the bottom line is that it won’t benefit us sitting on a shelf. So how do you ensure that you’ll find time to use your Daily Page Planner? Simple. Make it a habit.

Is that easier said than done? Not if you understand Habit Stacking, which is a way of “hacking” the neuron paths in your brain that have already been created through your everyday habits (brushing your teeth, taking a shower, walking the dog, making coffee, dropping off the kids, etc.). Using your planner every day could be as simple as saying “When I start brewing a pot of coffee I will sit down and fill out The Daily Page.” If you want to learn more about Habit Stacking check out this blog post I wrote with all the steps: How Habit Stacking Will Change Your Life.

RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF WELLNESS

A big part of succeeding with The Daily Page Planner is recognizing that wellness is vital to success in every other aspect of your life. It has to be important. It has to be a priority. Who cares if you make 6 figures this year if it means a devastating diagnosis next year? Who cares if you land your dream client if you don’t have the energy to deliver incredible results? Who cares if you’re going to leave your 9-5 to work from home if that means still procrastinating, battling fatigue, and struggling to find your creative groove? Every aspect of your life will change once you start to make wellness part of your work.

Not to mention, taking care of ourselves mentally and physically directly impacts the quality of our work: we have more energy, better ideas, and improved cognitive function when we are healthy and hydrated! Taking care of yourself has to be your most important job, everything else can fall in line behind it.

USING THE SECTIONS

The Daily Page designs have various sections and are designed to help you organize your day and maximize your productivity while also keeping your health front and center.

For the most part, the sections are straightforward. You’ll find space for creating a to-do list, space to schedule your events, appointments, or meetings, and space for adding notes, creating shopping lists, or tracking unique metrics.

The top of the page has a section for identifying your Top 3 Goals. I recommend using this section to list the things that are most important to you that day, and they don’t all need to be work-related. How you use this section is really up to you, but I like to ask myself “At the end of the day, what 3 items will make me the happiest to put a checkmark next to?” It might be a big project that I’d love to have completed, optimizing SEO on a recent post, or spending 30 minutes outside reading. This section is a great way to make sure your to-do list isn’t always driven by what you have to do, but also by what you want or get to do.

The other section I get asked about is the tracking section. This is the 3 little boxes that appear in the hydration area. These are meant as a way to track medications, supplements, or new habits. I went into depth about this in this blog post, so head over there if you want a more thorough explanation about this section.

THE DAILY PAGE SYSTEM

One of the great things about The Daily Page is that you can integrate it into almost any system you are already using. Really into Trello? Asana? ClickUp? The Daily Page works great with these systems — they provide a digital space to organize the “big picture” and The Daily Page helps you parse that information out and prioritize it on a daily basis, while also tracking and completing it in a tangible way – on paper – and aligning it with your wellness.

Everyone has their favorite systems, but if you’re curious this is what I do:

I use Google Calendar to track meetings, events, and appointments, as well as things like scheduled vacations and holidays.

I use Microsoft To-Do (formerly Wunderlist) to create a master to-do list for my business, clients, blog, Etsy Shop, Podcast etc. I’m able to put the items into To-Do, add a due date, and attach any necessary files or notes.

In the morning, when I sit down to fill out The Daily Page, I simply open up Google Calendar and To-Do on my computer and parse out the information I need for the day. To-Do has a wonderful feature that allows you to simply click on “My Day” and it automatically shows you what tasks you should complete that day based on priorities and deadlines. Any events or meetings go from Google Calendar in the events section on The Daily Page, and tasks from To-Do get added to the list section of  The Daily Page.

Both of these services also have apps for your phone, which I love. That way if I think of a blog post I want to write while I’m out on a walk, or I get a meeting request while I’m away from my desk, I can easily grab my phone, open Google Calendar or To-Do, and add it digitally so that the item makes it onto The Daily Page.

This routine only takes a few minutes each morning but is a really valuable practice for me. Not only does it allow me to get that information onto paper, so that I can close out of those internet-based programs for the entirety of my day and minimize distractions, but writing the tasks down creates a physical connection in my brain that makes me feel more responsible for completing the task.

At the end of the day I open these two apps again and reconcile them with the paper version (check items off as completed, adjust deadlines, etc). I then like to start filling out The Daily Page for the following day. I avoid going in-depth about what I need to complete and instead add a few fun things such as which podcast I’ll listen to on my morning walk, what I’m eating for lunch, or what I’ll do with any free time. This helps me wake up feeling motivated and excited to get started.

If you want to hear more about how I plan and organize my day check out the Plan Podcast Episode 006 (just keep in mind that Wunderlist is now called To-Do List by Microsoft).

HOW TO GET STARTED

You can find The Daily Page in my Etsy Shop. You can take 10% off your purchase with code HONEY at checkout. It’s available in several formats, and you can choose between:

The Daily Page Notepad ($19.99): These high-quality notepads contain 50-pages and are padded at the top. They are great for keeping on your desk or keeping in a padfolio.

The Daily Page Planner ($54.99): This spiral-bound 6-month planner contains 6 double-page calendar spreads, along with 183 copies of The Daily Page for the ultimate planning experience.

The Digital Planner ($24.99):  A digital version of The Daily Page that allows you to open the planner within Goodnotes on an iPad and digitally plan using a stylus or Apple Pencil. Check out this video of it in action.

A Printable PDF file ($12.99) – Purchase it once and print it forever! You can get a standard or a 3-hole punch format, and best of all, you can start using it right away.

Make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter. I send out free organizational printables, tips, and The Weekly Page — which includes suggestions for things to read, watch, or listen to along with recipes, workouts, and tons of ideas for ways to use The Daily Page in your life.

Subscribe to The Plan Podcast, where you’ll find episodes covering topics ranging from wellness and organization, to travel and nontoxic skincare.

Check out my private Facebook Group, where you can connect with out Daily Page users and get additional support and accountability.

If you purchase The Digital Planner be sure to check out this post, where you can find a video that shows it in action using the Goodnotes App on an iPad.

Got additional questions? Leave a comment below or reach out to me through the Contact Form. Happy Planning!