I started with a dotted Moleskin. This gave me a guide but also the room to draw what I wanted. For me, I sketch out just the weekdays and put any weekend plan in the notes. In the first column, I put the monthly calendar. Obviously I am not nearly as fancy as many, but I don't need to be! This is a schedule.
I add in anything going on during that week, any reminders that I need.
My next row is my Meal Planner, where I write down dinner. Having it here helps me arrange appropriately: no corn on the cob after dental work, stick dinner in the CrockPot if the day is hectic.
On the right hand page, I write notes. I keep anything for this week above the weekend or next week, so I know what's coming. I log my grocery spend here, too. When I'm running, I log my runs along the side.
The left hand page is for an Eisenhower Square. These grids are so helpful to organize your tasks by priority! The top categories are Urgent and Not Urgent, and the side categories are Important and Not Important. Any time you have a task that you will not do immediately, you would put it on the square. You ask yourself 2 questions: Is it Urgent? Is it Important? Sometimes, I consider "time sensitive" to be under the Urgent category, even if it is in the relative future. So if the answer to both important/urgent is yes/yes, it goes in the top left square. If it is important but not urgent, it would go top right. If something is not important but needs to be done soon, that would go bottom left. Not important/not urgent goes bottom right - but why would you do anything there? Instead, I use that square for projects that I want to get done but have no deadline, like cleaning out a closet or organizing the pantry.
In the back of my planner, I keep a number of pages for reference = a tally of groceries, emergency phone numbers and the like. They are the things I need to track or keep reference of, but not on a daily basis. The first page is Emergency Numbers; if my phone dies or someone else needs the kids' doctor, there it is. Then I have a list of all our favorite meals, so I don't have to wrack my brain for dinner ideas. After that, I keep a project list. Owning a home, there are always projects to be done, and writing things down helps me prioritize them. On the next page is my grocery tally, so I measure my grocery bill (and groan loudly when I blow way past my budget).
I keep a page I call "Annual Tracker" which holds notes for tasks that don't come up often, I note when I need to change the vents in my house to keep the air flow better, when I should grease the springs on my garage door, and the amount to pay for monthly cleaning.
Lastly, I draw out a year ahead. How often do you see something that happens six months from now and then completely forget? This gives me a place to notes future events or tasks. I know I need to schedule the kids' doctor in November. We figured out the perfect time to go to a holiday light show when it wasn't busy - so I noted that in there. If someone is coming to visit or a vacation is scheduled way in advance, you've got it right there.
This isn't to say that I don't use wall calendars or an app on my phone - I totally do! My weekly planner helps ground me to what is happening this week. When things get hectic, I feel in control of my week and sometimes that make a big difference!
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