My Planning Stack: The Tools That Help Me (Almost) Have It All
I’ve always been on an ongoing quest to “have it all”—a fulfilling career, a loving family, meaningful hobbies (like this blog!), and space for creativity and personal growth. Balancing it all can feel like a constant game of juggling glass and rubber balls—figuring out what can bounce and what absolutely can’t drop.
While my systems aren’t perfect, I’m always evolving them to better support my priorities and bring more harmony to the chaos. In future posts, I’ll dig into each tool and system I rely on, but today I want to share a high-level look at the core elements of my planning and productivity toolkit—my personal “stack.”
Inspired by the Best Laid Plans podcast by Sarah Hart-Unger (highly recommend if you're a planning enthusiast like me!), I’ve built a hybrid system of digital and physical tools that help me stay grounded and organized through life’s many moving parts.
Here’s what’s in my current planning and productivity stack:
Microsoft Loop – My go-to work productivity hub. I use Loop for weekly work planning, 1:1 meeting notes with my manager, project tracking, and documentation from scrum ceremonies.
Notion – My personal digital command center. From vacation and activity planning to grocery lists and recurring tasks, Notion keeps my personal life running smoothly. It also houses my annual goals and a growing collection of helpful references.
Outlook Calendar – My main digital calendar. I track both work and personal events (excluding most weekend activities) and sync it across my phone and work computer for full visibility.
Makselife Horizontal Weekly Planner – My favorite paper planner. I use this for weekly and monthly reflections, quarterly goal-setting, and habit tracking. I jot down key non-work events here and even sprinkle in some creativity with colorful pens and stickers. It’s where planning meets joy.
Whiteboard Calendar (Two-Month Spread) – These reusable fridge calendars are my family’s central hub. I use them for big-picture scheduling and family-wide reminders, keeping everyone on the same page—literally.
Let me know your setup and how you manage it all!
