Daily Planner Template

Managing a daily schedule is tough. There’s so much to do and only so much time. This daily planner template helps you focus on what’s critical by the hour and use your time more efficiently.

Manage your time

Using a daily planner to organize your day lets you focus on what’s important. With this template, you block your time to work on specific projects, add appointments with ease, and make sure you stay on top of everything that needs to get done.

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Boost productivity

Making the most of your time each day starts with smart planning. With the daily planner template, you can add tasks, appointments, and reminders to help you be productive at work and home.

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Relieve stress

Productivity has a positive impact on your mood. You can use this daily planner to stay focused on getting stuff done. When you meet goals and deadlines on time, you can breathe easier and enjoy other parts of your life more fully.

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Make time for yourself

There’s so much stuff you have to do. Using an hourly planner helps you get it all done on time. This template also helps you set aside time to do the things you want to do. Using your time efficiently makes it easier to get things done.

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Stay in shape

It’s easier to exercise when you schedule time for your home workouts, neighborhood walks, or visits to the gym. You can use this free printable daily planner to block off time for fitness while ensuring everything else in your day is also getting done.

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Follow through with friends

Life moves fast and is filled with multiple priorities, all competing for your valuable time. Using this daily planner to schedule time with friends will ensure you stay focused on the people that matter.

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Gain a sense of accomplishment

It's hard to beat the feeling of checking things off your to-do list. Having a daily plan helps you stay on top of important tasks, so you can finish them and feel good. On the days you’re overwhelmed, this sense of achievement can help you push to the finish line.

6 steps to create a reliable daily schedule

Step 1: Consider the daily planner template layout

There are lots of planner layouts out there, but which is the best one for you? With the right choice, your daily planner can help you level up your day. 

Planners are designed for many types of people, ranging from busy parents to appointment-driven professionals. Consider what’s important to you and what will enable you to be as productive as possible. Do you respond better to simple, easy-to-follow layouts? Or do you like a few added layers? 

For example, this template offers a clear and easy way to organize your day. With lots of room for notes, you can easily keep track of your day (and add specifics) in a way that makes sense to you. Or perhaps you prefer a cute daily planner template with positive messages for motivation or images that inspire you to be creative. No matter what you choose, just remember that no daily planner template is better than another—it’s all a matter of what works for you.

Step 2: List your to-do items

To create a daily time planner, you’ll need to start with what you need to accomplish during your day. Begin with a simple list of the most important tasks, along with any other relevant pieces of information.

Step 3: Prioritize your to-do list

Whether you’re organizing your personal or professional life, the content of any daily schedule template should include the tasks that are most important to you. Your to-do list can quickly become overwhelming, but categorizing each item by its importance can make it much simpler to manage.

Avoid stress and make things simple with a  daily planner template that works best for you.

Step 4: Track deadlines

Use your daily planner to assign hard deadlines to each task. If you aren’t sure when the deadline is that week, make one up that makes the most sense for your schedule. You can always update the due dates later.

When deadlines are combined with a list of prioritized tasks, you’ll have all the information you need to organize your day.

Step 5: Order according to your preference

Once you have all of your items on your daily planner, you need to decide how to order them. People will have varying preferences regarding their schedule and will organize based on things like time, priority, or deadline. 

Find the system that works for you. If you tried organizing by deadline but were feeling stressed about high-priority tasks staring you down, try switching it up. You may also choose to organize your to-dos according to what’s going on in your life at the time. 

Evernote makes it easy to organize your day so you can focus on what’s important.

Step 6: Stay flexible

While your schedule is a reflection of your day, it should never dictate what you feel like you have the space to do. Daily planners are meant to guide you, not lock you in. Things change and your daily time planner can change with you when needed. 

Stay flexible. Whether your boss just added a last minute request or your sick child has to stay home from school, you need to expect the unexpected. Provide enough wiggle room in your schedule for surprises so that you can easily add new tasks as they pop up. 

Life happens, and the key to making any planner work is to allow for going with the flow when necessary. 

Figuring out a daily planner system that works for you can take time. But once you get it right, you’ll never go back. Take back your personal and professional life with a daily planner from Evernote.  

Want more? Check out this weekly planner template or this monthly calendar.