How to Get Back Into Planning (And Actually Stick With It This Time)
It’s March. Be honest…where is your planner right now?
If you started the year with a brand new planner and the best intentions and somewhere between then and now it ended up on a shelf — hi, I see you, and this post is for you.
I’ll be honest: I’m not someone who falls off my planning routine a lot. Not because I’m especially disciplined, but because I’ve figured out a few things over time that make it easy to stay connected to it. And I think those same things are what make it easier to come back to it when you do drift.
So instead of a pep talk, here’s just what actually works for me. Take whatever is useful.
1. Treat it like a habit first, not a system
The biggest thing that changed planning for me was stopping trying to do it perfectly (yes, that’s where Imperfectly Planned came from!) and just focusing on showing up to it consistently. Even for five minutes. Even if all I wrote down was two things.
Because here’s one thing I’ve learned about habits…they don’t form from doing something really well occasionally. They form from doing something regularly, even imperfectly. And when planning becomes a habit, it stops being something you have to remember to do and starts being something that just... happens.
What actually helped me build that consistency: reminders. Not because I’m forgetful, but because in the early stages of building any routine, a little external nudge goes a long way. I set a phone reminder for the same time every day (or every week/month, depending on whether it’s a daily, weekly, or monthly check-in) until it became automatic. Once I stopped needing the reminder, I turned it off. Simple as that.
If you’re getting back into it right now, I’d genuinely suggest setting a reminder before you close this tab. Choose a time that you know you’ll have some uninterrupted time to dive in to your planner. For me, it’s after the kids go to bed on the weekends. I switch up the day depending on my mood/energy. Once you pick your day/time, let the reminder do the heavy lifting until the habit catches up!
2. Make it something you actually want to do
I think a lot of people fall off their planning routine not because they don’t want to plan, but because sitting down with their planner stopped feeling good. And that’s worth paying attention to.
For me, planning has to have a vibe. That might sound a little extra, but I mean it practically. I’m way more likely to open my planner if it’s something I’m looking forward to, even a little. That might be a show I can turn on in the background, a playlist full of bops, or just making sure my planning space is clear and organized. It might be stickers. (It is often stickers.)
The point isn’t to turn planning into an elaborate ritual. It’s just to attach it to something that feels good so your brain starts associating the two. You’re basically bribing yourself into a habit, and I think that’s completely valid.
Your version of this might look completely different from mine. Maybe it’s a specific pen you love writing with, or a cozy corner you do it in, or listening to a podcast at the same time. Whatever makes you look forward to it, even slightly, is worth leaning into.
Check out my favorite Laurel Denise Planner!
KDigitalStudio’s Cyberry is so fun to plan in!
3. Get clear on what you actually want from it
This is the one I think makes the biggest difference, and it’s the one I think people forget the most. Especially with the number of aesthetic spreads on display on social media.
A lot of planning pressure comes from a vague sense that you should be doing more with your planner. Tracking more, organizing more, being more on top of things. But if you don’t actually know what “better” looks like for you specifically, it’s really easy to feel like you’re always falling short of some imaginary standard.
So here’s a question worth sitting with: what do you actually want your planner to do for you? Not in theory, but for your real life, right now.
Maybe you just want to stop forgetting things. Maybe you want to feel less reactive and more like you have a handle on your week. Maybe you want a space to dump what’s in your head so it’s not rattling around in there anymore. Maybe you want to actually follow through on a few priorities instead of just surviving. For me, it’s about feeling prepared. If I know what is coming, I have so much less anxiety as I go through the day or week.
Any of those is a completely legitimate reason to plan. And once you’re clear on your reason, you can build a setup around that instead of trying to build a setup around what planning is “supposed” to look like.
That clarity also takes a lot of the pressure off. If your goal is just “stop forgetting things,” a half-filled weekly page that captures the important stuff is a win. It doesn’t need to be more than that, I promise.
Hustle Sanely is the perfect place to start!
If you’re still trying to figure out what you actually want from your planning practice or you feel like no system ever quite fits, Hustle Sanely by Jess Massey is really good for getting grounded in that. It’s all about building a productive life that works around yours, not someone else’s ideal.
That’s really it
No elaborate system, no big reset, no starting over with a fresh planner (unless you want to, which, same because there’s no beating that fresh planner feeling). Just: build the habit with a reminder, make it feel good to show up to, and know what you’re actually trying to get out of it.
Planning doesn’t have to be a whole thing. It just has to work for you.
So if your planner has been sitting there waiting since January — maybe today’s the day you open it back up. No fuss and no fresh start required. Just wherever you are, right now.
And if you want a little accountability to actually open that planner this week, come follow along on Instagram @plannedimperfectly — I post my weekly spreads every Monday and it might be just the nudge you need.
If you’re looking for a simple, flexible place to land, the Imperfect Weekly Planner is one page with space for your priorities and a brain dump. Nothing fancy, and easy to pick back up after a gap. Shop all Imperfectly Planned products here!
