Does the Living Well planner work for someone with ADHD?
When first checking out the Living Well planner I was very excited. It seemed like it had everything, monthly and weekly spreads, space for goals and meal planning, plus budgeting! How awesome! You can have everything in ONE planner already laid out for you! You no longer need multiple planners. This is great!
But was it great?
The Living Well planner had potential and I think the calendar part would work well but the goal section needs more to it while the budgeting became overwhelming while still needing to catch up. Confused? Yeah, that’s how I was trying to figure out goals and budget here.
First, be sure you read the information at the beginning. I know, I know. Usually, you skip that stuff huh? It does offer some insight into the goal-setting pages. It also tells you to go to the website for more help… really?!?
The planner contains no real help in setting goals. You get a page to write out your long-term goals and two pages a month for goals. Each month you will pick your big three and a top goal. The top goal is your main focus. You will use the goal crushing page to break down your top goal. And that’s it. I guess even though you have a top three you are only supposed to do the one? It really doesn’t make sense.
The goal section is followed by a project planning page. I didn’t use this but I could see it being helpful if you have an event coming up or are doing some work around the house.
Then you move into the planning pages. You start with the monthly spread. I liked how this was set up. There is plenty of room on each day and they are lined. That might be the best part. It was easy to write in events. There is also a wide notes column and a spot for six big days. I didn’t use this but I could see it being handy to write down birthdays or events!
Then you get your weekly spreads. The layout is great but the hourly section does not allow for anything then on the hour appointments. The hourly section does go from 6 am to 10 pm which is more than most but you sacrifice half-hour spaces.
Below the hourly section, you get your three must-do, and under that is a box for meal planning. You also have a notes column and big days on the side. There is room for six big days which seems a little silly as there are only seven days in the week. This made more sense in the monthly spread to highlight dates.
The weekly layout is fairly flexible.
You can use stickers and washi to section off the hourly or meal plan boxes if you need to add other categories or tasks. You can also use stickers to make items stick out. And the paper will hold up to highlighters with only slight ghosting.
I could see myself using the planner parts of the Living Well planner.
Now you move to the budget pages. I tried to fill these in. I started. But I couldn’t do it. First, there are too many categories. Second, they have decided what ALL the categories are and where you will want them. I’ve found I need to keep my categories fairly simple or I get overwhelmed and give up on my budget. I would have rather they had left the expense columns blank and allowed you to fill in what you use.
On the budget spread, they have the income minus expenses equation but they give you zero space to enter your income. We get at least three or four checks a month, depending on where paydays fall. If you get paid once a month I guess this would work? Or maybe if you don’t have any variable income and get the same amount every month then maybe this would be ok.
On the next page, you get a spot for monthly expenses and money goals. You get 32 lines for expenses but they do not have a spot for categories. If you don’t make a note and then try to fill out the budget page you won’t know what category the expense goes to. It’s bizarre.
I used the money plans and goals to list out our income. Or at least I started to. I never finished any of the budget pages. They didn’t make much sense to me. The budget pages were overwhelming but the monthly expenses page was underwhelming. It was missing a spot for categories. And there was nowhere to enter your income!
Does anyone understand this budget section and can you explain it to me like I’m five?
Next up there is a thoughts and thank page. I didn’t use this but it is two columns with seven sections in each column (14 total) to record your gratitude. Since it is a fairly blank space you could use it for other things. It is next to the monthly expenses page so you could use it for budgeting. You could make it your cleaning schedule.
Last, there is a line notes and idea page before you move into the next month.
My final verdict? The planner pages would work pretty well for someone with ADHD. The only issue is the hourly section. I used stickers or wrote 7:30 if I had something that wasn’t on the hour. It’s not perfect but it can work.
The goals and budget section? Nope. I need more space on goals to do action steps for more than one goal. And the budget section was just a hot mess that made zero sense to an ADHD brain.
Interested in getting the Living Well Planner? Head over to YouTube and enter the giveaway by 12/23/2022.
