“Lists simplify, clarify, edify.” — Tom Peters
Physical planners and journals have made a huge comeback in recent years. If you’re like me, you’ve realized the benefits of carrying one wherever you go. Now that it’s become a daily habit to track my schedule, habits, goals, and prayers, I am continually looking for new ways to use my journal planner to support my personal development and sense of wellbeing.
Oh The Places We Could Go - There are Lists For Everything
From tracking your fitness, water intake, spending habits, etc., the options for ways to use your journal planner are endless. Early on, I decided to focus on one key area at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed and burnout, and this has become a lifesaver for me.
Below I am sharing a list of 96 ideas (not exhaustive) from each of the ten key areas of life. I like to choose a few lists to focus on when setting up my next 12-week journal planner to support my goals. Take a look through the lists and pick the ones you want to try out that will help you move closer to where you want to be.
By the way…before you get started you’ll want to clarify what matters most for your next 12 weeks? Download this free What Matters Most personal assessment! ⬇️
Lists, By Key Life Areas, to Track in Your Daily Planner
One: Love & Romance
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track intimate growth your romantic relationship.
- Date night ideas
- Couples Bucket List
- All the places you’ve kissed
- Ideas to surprise your partner
- Movies or shows to watch together
- Things that made you laugh together
- Argument patterns (when each month, and around what subjects do you commonly argue?)
- Things you have in common
- Things they do that make you laugh with joy.
- Shared core values
- Ideas to resolve conflict
- Ways to bless your partner
Two: Family & Friends
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan and track ways to grow your relationships with your family, kids, & friends
- Gifts/Wish List Ideas
- Birthdays
- Anniversaries
- Baby Eat/Sleep Tracker
- Elf on a Shelf plans
- School Information
- Each Child’s Information
- Family night ideas
- Family Bucket List
- Your shared vacations
- Movies or shows to watch together
- Things that made you laugh together
- Chore charts
Three: Mission - Purpose - Career
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track growing in and expanding your mission, purpose, and career.
- Brainstorming
- Logins & Passwords
- Tracking Blog Stats,
- Business Stats
- Social Media Followers
- Business Income/Expenses
- Mileage Log
- Business/Blog Trips
- Upcoming Blog Posts
- Business/Blog Meetings
- Marketing Trends
- Vision Board
Four: Physical Health
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track taking care of your health.
- Weight Loss Tracker
- Exercise Tracker
- Tracking Steps
- Food Diary
- Daily Water Intake
- Body Measurements
- Headache/Symptom
- Tracker
- Period/Fertility Tracker
- Medicine Tracker
- Meal-Master List
- Grocery lists
- Self-care routine
- Suspected food allergy tracking
Five: Mental-Emotional Wellbeing
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track caring for your mental/emotional well-being.
- Gratitude Log
- Daily Affirmations
- Journal or Diary
- Mood/feelings/emotions
- Brain dump
- Daily wins – celebrate the little things!
- Step tracker
- Self-care routine
Six: Restoration - Joy - Experiences
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track ongoing restoration, joy, and life experiences.
- Packing List
- Photos to get
- Family Activities
- TV Shows you’re watching
- Books you’re reading
- Funny Things your Kids/Family say
- Books to Read
- Movies/shows to watch
- TravelVacation bucket list
Seven: Spirituality
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track caring for your spiritual well-being.
- Daily Scripture
- Daily Praise
- Daily Request
- Daily Answers
- Message Notes
- Favorite Scriptures
Eight: Environment
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track how to create your most peaceful environments. Such as your bedroom, office, car & overall living environment.
- Cleaning Cycles
- Maintenance Lists
- Time Capsule Wardrobe
- Household projects
- Things to declutter
- Areas to clean
- Areas to redecorate
Nine: Finances
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track managing your financial resources & creating a healthy relationship with your finances.
- Savings Tracker
- Pay Off Debt Tracker
- Track Due Dates for Bills
- Payday Tracker
- Budget
- Expense list
- Account balances
Ten: Personal Growth-Learning
Lists in this category involve ideas to help you plan for and track your ongoing growth.
- Quarterly Goals
- Where I want to be in 10 years
- What I made happen vision
- Daily Habit Tracker
- Inspirational Quotes
- Goal Tracking
- Podcasts to listen to
- Personal Development Book reviews
What Things Will You Track in Your Planner Next?
Well, if you’ve ever wondered, “what would I put in a journal planner,” you now have a great reference to springboard your efforts. As you can see, there is much more available than simply keeping track of your calendar or birthdays and holidays. Utilizing all that a journal planner can do for you is empowering and can take a huge load off of your mind.
What stood out to you? What will you track in your planner next? Let me know in the comments!
Don’t forget to get started making the right lists for you by assessing what matters most right now!
