Can an ADHD Planner Actually Work?
Usually no, unless you have help. And I’m just the help you need.
The Usual Reason an ADHD Planner Doesn’t Work
Sold to us, but not made for us
Most ADHD planners are designed, and marketed by people who know planners. And already have a planner that they wan to sell as an “ADHD planner.” They shoehorn the features they already have as ADHD focus, or ADHD time tracking tools. But they were never designed for people who have ADHD. They were designed for people who are already good at using a planner, REMEMBERING to use a planner, and good at building a habit. That’s not us, and that’s why they usually don’t work.
I’ve tried literally every ADHD planner out there, and some do have a good feature or two (which I have “borrowed” here and there) but most of the time I’m just angry about how much time and money we spend on every planner, journal, and system out there. So I’ll save you some time by separating the worst from the best!
Some of the Worst Offenders
Erin Condren
Erin Condren is one of the most popular online stores for planners, journals, and stationary. While they do offer three or four planner layouts. Some of them do have the helpful feature of keeping the to do list, and the calendar on the same page. But, most of the planners they offer as an ADHD planner are customized covers and…stickers. That’s it. You’re on your own to devise a workable system, sort the stickers into patterns that are meaningful for you, and find a way to use it consistently.
Planner Pad
This is the ADHD Planner most recommended by the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) , which makes it the most disappointing, It also has one good idea. The planner has a “to-do” section at the top, a daily calendar in the middle, and a timed schedule at the bottom. It could be a great visual tool to walk someone with ADHD through random notes and “brain dump” sections, to a more organized and planned day. Unfortunately the calendar and schedule sections record the same information twice, requiring more work, with little real benefit. Even worse, aside from this one good idea, the rest of the planner seems to have been decided by committee (or AI), if it was a decision at all. The design elements of the pages are wildly distracting, and the physical planner is such low quality the yearly planner tends to fall apart completely after about a month.
A Decent ADHD Planner
Laurel Denise
This is a fairly new planner company that was creating by a designer and handwriting expert. Although they don’t specifically have an ADHD planner, her attention to detail, tools, and use of space have resulted in a variety of layouts that actually are useful as an ADHD Planner. The one I found most useful before I created the Obvious Books ADHD Planner is called The Jo. (The literary references are fun, too!) It has a monthly calendar with four quarter page sheets that can be turned over weekly. The best part is this planner stands up on it’s own similar to a book stand.
It’s very helpful when you need to look at it as a reference while doing something else. It’s also very impressive that they didn’t base the layout on standard page sizes and printing formats. It was created differently from the very beginning, so it works differently. If you decide the Obvious Books ADHD planner isn’t for you, this is an option that could work. Or if you use the Obvious Books system to get started, this is a great planner to continue with after step two.
The Best ADHD Planner
Of Course It’s Obvious Books ADHD Planner
This is the only ADHD Planner on the market designed by people with ADHD, to help people manage ADHD. (And just to make sure we weren’t “the blind leading the blind” several therapists who specialize in ADHD, and a neurobiologist also helped us out!) Not only do we offer several layouts, to address your specific needs for ADHD, our planners also walk you through the system to help you learn which features will help you the most!
And We Offer Even More
Of course you’ve heard the best planner is the one you’ll actually use. And we’re not good at that. So, Obvious Books also offers support tools (some are even free!) accountability programs, ways to “gamify” goal setting and consistency, even they way we ship our planners are designed to keep your interest, and keep you focused!