Last Updated on August 7, 2024

Planners are a fantastic way to schedule your time, and work on your to do lists. However, there is so much more that you can add to your planner to make it the best organisational tool for your life, and one of these ways is by using it to store lists.

There are so many planner list ideas that you can try if you’d like to be more organised, and keep track of everything and anything that you have going on in your life in one place.

If you’d like to start using lists in your planner but aren’t sure where to start, then here are 10 planner list ideas that will help you to become more organised, and in control of your life and time.

TO DO LISTS

As the primary function of a planner is to plan out your days, a to do list is one of the first planner list ideas that many of us think about creating in our planners.

You may decide to have longer term to do lists such as yearly or monthly ones, or get more specific and list out your to do’s over a shorter time period such as weekly or daily.

There’s no one right way to create a to do list, the best thing to do is work within a time frame that’s comfortable for you.

Here are some to do lists that you may like to consider trying when using your planner.

• Annual to do list
• Monthly to do list
• Weekly to do list
• Daily to do list
• Master to do list / brain dump

Related posts:
10 benefits of to do lists
How to do a brain dump to help manage mum life

FAMILY LIFE LISTS

The things we want to do as a family, and the commitments each individual family member has, can become hard to remember.

Therefore, having lists in your planner that detail family related things is a necessity for busy family life.

Here are some family related planner list ideas to help you stay on top of family life.

• School run times
• Homework due dates
• After school activity schedules
• Lunchbox ideas
• School holiday dates
• Back to school checklist
• Family day out ideas
• Activities to do at home with your kids
• Date night ideas

GIFT IDEA LISTS

Sometimes it’s so hard to think of gift ideas when you’ve left gift buying too late, or you can’t remember what someone told you they like.

Here are some gift idea lists that you can keep in your planner to make gift buying easier and quicker.

• Birthday gift ideas
• Anniversary gift ideas
• Christmas gift ideas
• New baby gift ideas
• Father’s Day gift ideas
• Mother’s Day gift ideas

HOME MANAGEMENT LISTS

There are a lot of things to remember relating to the running of a household, which means there are a lot of planner list ideas relating to home life.

The lists associated with home life range in size from small things like weekly meal planning, to larger things such as home renovations.

If managing your home life is something you’d like to do better, then here are some home management planner list ideas to help you stay on top of home life.

• Meals to try
• Meals you like to cook on repeat
• Staple grocery items
• Food inventory list
• Cleaning schedule
• Rooms to declutter
• Home projects to do list
• Moving home checklist

HEALTH RELATED LISTS

Remembering health related appointments, and developing healthy habits, are great things to add to your planner.

Here are some health related planner list ideas to try if improving your health is something you’d like to work on.

• Upcoming dentist, optometrist, and doctor appointments
• Exercise schedules
• List of the medicines you and each family member take
• Healthy snack ideas list
• Daily water intake goals

IMPORTANT DATES

Having a list in your planner with important dates on it means that you’ll never forget a special occasion again, and you can plan to get any gifts that you need well before the date arrives.

Here are some important date lists that you may like to include in your planner.

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Weddings
• Baby showers
• Engagement parties

 WORK AND CAREER LISTS

There are quite a few planner list ideas that you can try if you’d like to be more productive at work, would like to work towards a promotion, or may even like to start working smarter, not harder.

If writing lists for work is something you’d like to be better at, then here are some work and career planner list ideas that you could start.

• A list of projects you’d like to be included on
• Logins and passwords
• Meeting dates
• Job evaluation dates and things you’d like to discuss
• List of positions that lead to the position you’d like to finally reach
• Courses you’d like to book into

HOLIDAY LISTS

Going on holidays is a great way to unwind, learn about the world, and create memories.

If holidays are important to you, then some holiday planner list ideas that may appeal to you include. 

• Countries to visit
• Countries not to revisit
• Monuments to visit
• Hotel wish list
• Packing list

SELF IMPROVEMENT / SELF CARE LISTS

Sometimes we are so busy that we put ourselves and our needs last, and in order to be happier as a person, a mum, or any other role that you fill, it’s essential that we take time for ourselves as often as we can.

If taking time out for yourself is something that you need to do, and you’d like some ideas on what you can do when you do find yourself with time that you can use on yourself, or in fact when you actively schedule time for yourself into your planner, then here are some self improvement / self care planner list ideas that you will benefit from. 

• Goal ideas and steps on how to achieve them
• Movies and TV shows to watch
• Books to read
• Restaurants to try
• Routine schedules
• Self care to do list
• Clothing wish list
• Product wish list

Related posts:
How to make time for things that matter
Goal setting when you’re short on time
10 morning routine ideas to start your day off right

FINANCE LISTS

If you’d like to be better at keeping track of your finances, or want to save for something, then some great planner list ideas to do with your personal finances include.

• Bill due dates
• Savings goals
• Bank account details, usernames, passwords
• Income and expenses tracking

There are so many different types of lists that you can start in your planner, but even just trying one or two of these ideas to see if they work for you is a great way to get motivated to try more. The more you do, the more organised and in control of things you’ll feel.

What planner list ideas do you think you’d like to try?
I’d love to hear them in the comments below.