by Brooke Forry

The Balance Bound Planner layout is structured based on four sections — Work, Self, Others, and Home — so you can divide your days by the different roles you play, and prioritize your self-care amidst taking care of everything and everyone else.

It is also flexible and customizable for anyone, with free space on every page to work for your life and needs. We’ve created a detailed overview of the weekday spread’s anatomy:

On the weekends, the layout is similar, but with fewer lines for Work, and more lines for the Self, Others, and Home sections. This allows flexibility for those who work on weekends, and more space for social commitments that also tend to happen on Saturday and Sunday. The column for reminders and lists is perfect for a running list you might keep throughout the week, like groceries or household items to stock up on, and the blank page on the right provides ample space for more detailed notes throughout the week.

Below is an example of what my planner looks like on a typical week:

• My to-dos are detailed in each section, with any time-specific appointments or commitments highlighted. I include volunteer responsibilities in my Work section (for instance, Tuesday evening’s FARE meeting), but add these at the bottom of the section to separate them from the to-dos related to my job.

• My workouts, self-care practices, social engagements, doctors appointments (and reminders to schedule those doctors appointments) go in my Self section. If this section is empty, it’s a reminder to make time to do something that fills me up or keeps me healthy.

• In the Others section are not just reminders of things that my kids need or activities I have planned with them, but reminders to send birthday cards, reach out to loved ones, do things for neighbors, etc.

• The Home section includes the things I need to do around the house or errands I need to run to keep our household running smoothly. At the bottom of this section is a space to note that evening’s dinner plan. (Dinner need not be fancy — pizza, takeout, or leftovers are totally valid choices here!)

• The bottom section of the page is filled with miscellaneous notes, phone numbers, etc. that don’t fit in elsewhere. If you tend to have a lot of appointments, you could also use this area to write out your appointments chronologically for easier at-a-glance reference.

My weekend spread includes more of the same on Saturday and Sunday; in the Reminders & Lists column, I may jot down groceries I want to add to our master list, or lists of printing prices that I’m collecting for future products. And, on the blank right-hand page, I write notes from any meetings I’ve had that week.

Other ways you may like to use your free space and/or blank page:

• Gratitude lists

• Mini journaling (similar to a one-line-a-day format)

• Weekly goal tracking

• Track/review books you’ve read

• Fitness journal

• Mind mapping

• Sketching

Above: For any notes that are particularly important that I don’t want to lose track of, I use the Notes Index (p. 7) to jot down the page number and a quick reference so I can easily find it later. Facing this page is a place to keep track of Goals throughout the year, and note a Word, Phrase, or Theme of the year.

Above: Each month includes a full Calendar spread, with room for monthly goals and priorities in the same format as the weekday spreads. I like to use the calendar grid to visually map out my social media and content planning for work.

There are so many ways to use the Balance Bound Planner. How do you plan to customize yours and make it work for your life?