The best undated planners, along with monthly planners, make you more productive by giving you room to think on paper and shuffle your workflow like a deck of cards.
Table of contents
- You May Wonder Why Anyone Needs an Undated Planner
- What is an Undated Planner?
- Benefits and Features of Undated Planners
- Some People Can “See” Time
- And Some of Us Have “Time Blindness”
- This Is Where Blank Planners Help
- We All Work Differently
- Choosing the Right Undated Weekly Planner
- Some of the Best Undated Planners
Undated planners might seem counterintuitive to people who bill time in seven-minute increments, but a blank planner could make you more productive than a dated one. Not because you’re a crazy hippie weirdo, but because you’re already doing minute-by-minute scheduling in Outlook with 900 other lawyers and clients. Undated planners aren’t about that. Undated planners are about talking to yourself.
You May Wonder Why Anyone Needs an Undated Planner
I get that. A new planner can provide a fresh start and enhance organization, helping you take back control of your schedule. It feels redundant, and it would be if you were just repeating the schedule you’ve already created in Outlook.
An undated planner isn’t so much about ordering your schedule as ordering your thoughts.
You can’t just accept a meeting with Carol from acquisitions to go over interdepartmental audits, then show up with your hands in your pockets. You have to prepare. You have to sketch outflow charts. You have to write “I AM NOT THE ENEMY, CAROL” in the margins. It’s thinking on paper. However, this thinking thing can get weird.
Using a new planner can help in organizing thoughts and tasks more effectively, offering a fresh start and flexibility in time management.
Not everyone thinks in a straight line, and not everyone sees time the same way. While your computer keeps your calendar tidy, you still have to develop ideas and list materials before your meetings and work in that temporal space, and maybe the way you do that is … unnatural.
What is an Undated Planner?
An undated planner is like the Swiss Army knife of the planning world. Unlike traditional planners that bind you to a specific start date, an undated planner gives you the freedom to start planning whenever you darn well please. Whether you’re embarking on a new job in March or deciding to get your life together in October, an undated planner is ready when you are. This flexibility means you can plan at your own pace, without the pressure of pre-printed dates staring you down. It’s perfect for those who want to create a personalized planning system that fits their unique needs, allowing you to jot down your goals, to-do lists, and progress without any constraints. So, if you’re someone who likes to march to the beat of your own drum, an undated planner might just be your new best friend.
Understanding the basics and purpose of undated planners.
Benefits and Features of Undated Planners
Undated planners come with a host of benefits that make them a favorite among planning aficionados. First and foremost, they offer unparalleled flexibility. You can start planning at any time of the year, which is a godsend for those of us who tend to procrastinate or have unpredictable schedules. No more wasted pages or feeling guilty about skipping a week (or three).
Another standout feature is customization. With an undated planner, you can tailor your planning experience to suit your needs. Want to focus on goal setting one week and self-care the next? Go for it. These planners often come with blank pages, allowing you to create your own layouts and designs. Add stickers, washi tape, or even doodles to make it truly yours.
Quality paper is another hallmark of a good undated planner. Look for planners with thick, high-quality paper that can handle your favorite pens and markers without bleeding through. This ensures that your notes, to-do lists, and plans stay neat and legible.
Lastly, undated planners are great for keeping track of your progress. Without the constraints of pre-printed dates, you can easily see how far you’ve come and adjust your plans as needed. It’s a dynamic way to stay organized and focused on your goals.
Some People Can “See” Time
It’s called calendar synesthesia. (If you are one of these people, Marvel comics would like a word because superheroes are a commodity.) When people with this phenomenon think of a year, they see the entire year in their mind’s eye. Not like a cloudy, amorphous concept of a calendar but an actual detailed calendar just floating there in the middle of the room. An article from New Scientist explains it perfectly:
Heidi, another calendar synaesthete, sees the year as a backwards C hovering before her, with January at one end of the horseshoe and December at the other. When she thinks of a date she feels herself travel along the calendar to the right spot. She has a separate, hoop-shaped calendar for days of the week. Both have been part of her life for as long as she can remember.
And Some of Us Have “Time Blindness”
We are to time what Roseanne Barre is to the national anthem. I am one of these people, and let me tell you; it can be a problem in an industry that runs on concrete deadlines. I don’t conceptualize time the way other people do. In my mind, the period between the beginning of a monthlong task and the last day is the same, every day, until the last day. Then I use the overwhelming power of pure panic to produce in six hours what I had eight weeks to accomplish. (I sure hope my editors don’t see this.)
This Is Where Blank Planners Help
If you have a mind that Disney would animate as a meth-addled squirrel, your planner notes probably tend toward the creative end of the spectrum. Still, the squirrel needs wrangling. You might think to yourself, “Well yeah, a structured day planner is perfect for that.” And you might be right. But in my experience, it is far more productive to work with the squirrel than against it.
The squirrel will not be tamed.
For years I tried to manage my time using one of those expensive pre-formatted seven-ring daytimers. I loved that thing. It was luxurious. It was bound in embossed leather, had an easy-to-read light green print, was designed by angels, and even had a plastic shuttle with a pre-formatted card I moved day by day.
This planner held the promise of order. It came with a book and classes and a philosophy, and it was amazing. Or it would have been if I’d used the damn thing right.
Instead, I would linger on Tuesday’s page all the way to the following Monday, and I still wouldn’t have everything done. By Tuesday morning, the page would be covered in doodles, phone numbers, and notes to myself like “Send Fred proofs/don’t yell.”
Which is fine. Your planner is personal. It’s not your work.
Your planner isn’t your work. It’s your brain talking about your work. It turns out some people organize better with ranged pages instead of dated pages, so spending $100 on a Franklin Covey system is a waste of money.
We All Work Differently
Creative professionals — not just people creating art, but professionals who work creatively — love creating planning structures. I can nerd out on AirTable or Excel, building a content calendar with remarkable automation, interconnectivity and reach, and then … forget to use it.
I keep coming back to my cheap legal pads and undated planners because nobody makes a daytimer called “The Bull Garlington Time Blindness-Based Mostly Doodling Planner and Coloring Book™.”
Maybe detailed time management tools are your jam. Maybe you have a three-tiered system of apps and an executive daily planner as thick as a dictionary. Maybe you use highlighters and index cards and page points and a running footer. Maybe you’re the most organized person who’s ever very purposefully strode across this verdant sphere.
Allow me a moment while I applaud.
And allow me another moment to suggest you might need to mentally detach from the bracken of your project priorities tree and let your brain spin its wheels for a minute.
Using an undated planner to fan your thoughts out on a page like you’re playing bridge will free you to shuffle and reprioritize without breaking the rigid cage of your other systems. Monthly planners can also help you stay organized and effectively track your goals and tasks over time, offering both undated and dated options for customization and accessibility. It’s a little freedom in your day — the blank space that makes the music better.
Choosing the Right Undated Weekly Planner
Selecting the perfect undated weekly planner can feel like finding a needle in a haystack, but fear not! Here are some tips to help you choose a planner that fits your unique needs:
- Consider Your Planning Style: Are you a daily, weekly, or monthly planner? Choose a planner that aligns with how you like to organize your time. If you’re a weekly planner, look for layouts that give you a clear overview of your week.
- Think About Your Goals: What do you want to achieve with your planner? Whether it’s goal setting, managing to-do lists, or keeping track of your progress, make sure the planner you choose supports your objectives.
- Look for Quality Paper: A good planner should have high-quality paper that can withstand heavy use. This is especially important if you like to use colorful pens or markers. No one wants to deal with ink bleeding through the pages.
- Check the Layout: The layout of your planner should be intuitive and easy to use. Look for planners with clear sections for different types of planning, such as daily tasks, weekly goals, and monthly overviews.
- Consider Customization Options: If you love adding personal touches to your planner, choose one that offers customization options. Stickers, washi tape, and other embellishments can make planning more fun and engaging.
By keeping these factors in mind, you can find an undated weekly planner that helps you stay organized, focused, and ready to tackle whatever comes your way. Happy planning!
Tips for selecting a planner that suits your unique needs.
Some of the Best Undated Planners
Here Are the Best Undated Planners | ||||
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Leuchtturm 1917 | Moleskin Classic | Stalology Editor's Series | NotePro | Perfect Planner |
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$23 | $24 | $19 | $18 | $19 |
Image © iStockPhoto.com.
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