Today we are reviewing The ADHD Planner in green ($34.99), also available in black. The green is hard linen cover and definitely has a rougher texture, which may be an issue for some with ADHD and sensory issues. It looks like the black may be the same material. The planner is 6×9, a good size for portability and not too small for those of us with large handwriting! There are three (3) ribbon bookmarks that hang out about an inch at the bottom of the book. The paper is very smooth. There is no tooth or texture but it does seem thicker than average paper.
It is undated, which means you can start it anytime and if you don’t use it for a while you can pick it back up at any time.
The Amazon copy mentions that it is made by people with ADHD and was made for those with ADHD. The cover and spine are imprinted with The ADHD Planner in gold. I think it is quite noticeable so some people may not be comfortable using this planner at work. I am open about my ADHD but I know others do not like to share or don’t want their employers to know. On the back epic self is imprinted in gold along the bottom edge. I kinda wish this was on the cover and spine instead!
I was actually quite excited to test this one out. I did an initial flip through and it seemed like it would be really helpful!
So what all is in here that got me excited?
The first page is titled Intention Clarification and has seven areas of life/goals and asks where you are now, where you want to be, and why for each area. Next to that is a goals page with room for six goals. I guess you have to drop one of the areas. The next six pages are for really breaking down each goal (and it looks like the family was dropped. Guess it got lumped in with relationships).
Next up is a routines and rituals page where you can fill in a morning, get in the zone, and evening routine. Followed by a brain strategy place to jot down things like what motivates you. There are two pages for listing Master Projects with space for two personal and two business project lists. Lastly, before the actual planning pages are two pages for to-do, each to-do page has a spot for daily, weekly, and monthly personal and business to-dos.
Moving into the planning pages, we have a weekly overview, review, and preparation. The overview is more planner focused while the review and preparation feel more like a journal to me. Next is a brain dump and a weekly schedule. Each day of the week gets two pages. The first has tasks, chores, and checklists to make sure you did your routines and drank water. There is also a space to do time blocking. The second page is more journal-like with affirmations, notes, and accomplishments.
This pattern continues to the end of the book. The Q&A on amazon says there are 13 weeks. I did not count to confirm this. (I’ve got ADHD, do you really think I’d sit and count that?!)
In the end, you get two lined note pages and nine ways to get out of an ADHD rut.
I really like how the planner is set up and feels like a cross between a planner and a journal. On the surface, it feels like it would be helpful. But would I keep up with it? Would I stick with it?? I used it in September for the month before making my verdict.
The first thing I did was start at the beginning. The intention clarification and my goals pages were a little difficult with no directions. I had to sit and try to think about how to set the pages and how I would fill them in. Some of the spaces were small and awkward to write anything of substance in. I did like the individual goal pages. There was logic to working through the page. I wish the obstacles and solutions boxes were bigger or instead of being vertical were horizontal. I liked the three-month habit tracker as well.
I only partially filled out the routines and rituals. I am not a fan of the time because depending on the day it can vary. I also still don’t know what a “get in the zone” routine is. I also skipped the stuck and unstuck part of my brain strategy.
I ended up not filling out the master project and to do pages.
I started using it the week of 8/29. And I realized that it’s not a planner I can keep up with. I thought I would really like this one but it’s… ok. Even using a ribbon to mark the goals pages? I never go backward. I never check in on those pages and I never used the habit trackers back there.
It also became very redundant within itself. I did like the big 3 for the week on the weekly overview but the rest was worthless. I would write in the important events, dates, and deadlines there then re-write them on the weekly schedule AND the daily pages. It quickly became too much.
The weekly review and prep page was great and I enjoyed the weekly reflections. The habit tracker? I was always scrambling to fill it in at the end of the week, which isn’t really the point. I used the brain dump for one week. I liked the weekly schedule and preferred that to the review. I can see the week at a quick glance.
This brings us to the daily pages. I wish the big 3 and other tasks had check-off circles like the daily chores. I ended up using a highlighter or dot pens to make my own checklist. I need to check things off and I don’t like drawing a line through the task in case I want to look back and see what I did. I used the vitamin space to check off when I take my medication.
The daily affirmation got old after six days. Maybe a weekly affirmation would be useful.
The notes and accomplishment sections were helpful. It made me sit down each night (or the next morning) and really think about my day. I also jotted things in the note section I didn’t want to forget or wanted to schedule out
The ADHD Planner had some great things about it but other not-so-great things. Am I going to continue using this? Probably not. I mean I have it, so I might. But I’m no longer excited about it. My EC daily duo and Makselife goal pages work so much better for me. Would I recommend this one? No. I think it has potential but there is too much redundancy and it expects you to remember to go back and look at what you did previously.
I think it could be streamlined and the goals incorporated into the weekly overview. If it were me, I’d remove the important events & deadlines section and replace it with weekly goals. And maybe change the daily affirmations into some daily goal work.
Also, the price point for this is a little steep for a 13-week planner. For a year you would need four of these at $35 each. That’s $140 for the year.
What do you think about the ADHD Planner? Would you try it? What is your favorite or least favorite thing about the ADHD Planner?
Want to see the walk-through and how it worked out? Head over to YouTube for the video review!
