The Planned Life

Topic

Planning

Weekly, monthly and semester planning systems for weeks that don't repeat.

Planning advice usually assumes a calm, identical week. These are the systems I use and write about for the other kind: irregular hours, exam periods, a month where everything lands at once. Start with the weekly routine — it's the one that makes the rest work.

Start with this one

The 15-minute Sunday planning routine

The core system on this site. Everything else assumes it.

Articles

3 in this section

01
2026-07-08

Digital vs Paper Planners: Which One Fits Your Brain?

This debate has tribes, and both tribes are insufferable. The truth is less dramatic: digital and paper are good at different jobs, and the right answer depends on which

02
2026-07-08

How to Plan Meals for the Week Without Hating It

Meal planning has a branding problem. It sounds like Sunday afternoons lost to cookbooks, color-coded containers, and a fridge full of sad identical chicken. No wonder pe

03
2026-07-08

The 15-Minute Sunday Planning Routine That Makes Monday Boring (in a Good Way)

The point of planning your week isn't to control it. It's to stop re-deciding the same things every single morning. A 15-minute pass on Sunday evening means Monday-you wa