A family planner Buying is often the easy part. The real challenge? Actually using it. Week after week, month after month. Without it gathering dust after three weeks or turning into a chaotic jumble of half-filled appointments and forgotten lists.
Fortunately, it doesn't have to be complicated at all. A good family planner can actually give you air, bring overview and bring your family closer together. Provided you use it in the right way.
In this article, you will discover 7 smart, practical and proven ways to make your family planner an indispensable part of your daily lives. Real tips for real families. And no: you don't have to be a perfectly organised parent to do it.
1. Choose a central location in your home
A planner no one sees will not be used. Simple but true.
The location of your family planner largely determines whether it will really become part of your day. Therefore, choose a place where everyone will visit several times a day. Think about:
- The kitchen door or refrigerator
- A wall by the dining table
- The corridor next to the coat rack
- An inner door in the hall
Always hang it at eye level and make sure it doesn't disappear behind a cupboard door or coats. Visibility = engagement. And the more often you see it, the faster it will become a habit to fill in or read something.
Bonus: Use a whiteboard marker with magnets or sticker sheets in that spot, so you don't have to keep looking for writing utensils.
2. Give each family member their own colour or symbol
Colour coding may sound simple, but it is surprisingly effective. Especially in busy families where several people have appointments, hobbies and obligations. With colours, you keep an overview without having to keep reading who needs to be where.
A few ideas:
- Red = parent 1
- Blue = parent 2
- Green = child 1
- Yellow = child 2
- Orange = shared moments
Not a fan of colours? Also works perfectly with small stickers, initials or symbols (e.g. a football for training, a book for homework). Most importantly: keep it consistent. That way, everyone recognises at a glance what belongs to whom.
Tip: Let children choose their own colour. This makes it more personal and encourages engagement.
3. Schedule a set time during the week
The key to a successful family planner? Rhythm.
Choose one moment a week when you take a moment together as a family to review the week ahead and update the planner. Many families do this on Sunday evening or Monday morning. But any day is possible, as long as it is recurring.
If necessary, make it a regular part of the week:
- Sunday night = tea, snacks and planning
- After dinner check for 5 minutes
- Every morning to see who has what
By making it a ritual, it feels less like a task and more like a shared moment. And that increases the likelihood that you will keep doing it.
4. Keep it simple (and stick with it)
A common mistake: using the family planner as a to-do list, diary and weekly menu at the same time. Then it quickly becomes too much, too cluttered, too messy. And then you drop out.
Use your planner for its intended purpose: overview. Write down only what is important:
- Appointments away from home
- Schooling, sports, childcare
- Work schedules and meetings
- Joint family moments
Prefer to leave shopping lists, household schedules and emotional notes elsewhere. The power of a planner lies in the peace it offers. Keep it light-hearted, clear and manageable.
Extra tip: Try working with pictograms or abbreviations. For example: "16:00 - Daan to BSO" or "19:00 - dinner J+M".
5. Involve your children (even if they are young)
A planner only becomes really powerful when everyone can identify with it. Even the littlest ones.
Children who contribute ideas, co-write or are allowed to fill in the blanks feel more involved in planning. They understand better what is coming, learn to plan and take responsibility for their own arrangements more quickly.
What you can do:
- Let children choose their own colour or sticker
- Give them 1 thing to write down each week
- Use a pictogram or drawing for younger children (e.g. a puppet at sleepover)
- Have them check off or tick off after the event
Even toddlers enjoy seeing their name back or helping fill in something. And the younger you start it, the more natural it becomes.
6. Make it part of your routine
A planner does not work on its own. It becomes useful only when it becomes part of your daily rhythm.
And it doesn't have to be big or complicated. A few examples:
- Every morning: taking a quick look at the planner over breakfast
- Every night: a minute check before bedtime
- Every Friday: ticking off what's over
Also useful: combine the use of your planner with other habits. Hang it next to the coffee machine or on the cupboard by the lunch boxes. That way you will be automatically reminded.
Note: you don't have to keep it perfect. Better to have a planner that is 80% correct than one that is perfect but never used.
7. Combine with your digital tools (but rely on the board)
Many parents are used to putting everything in a digital diary. And that makes sense: notifications, access from your phone, sharing appointments - super convenient. But a planner on the wall does something no app can do: be visible to everyone, without having to reach for your phone.
The best combination:
- Digital calendar for details (time, location, participants)
- Family planner for overview (who, what, when)
This gives you control over your agenda, but keeps the family involved in the big picture. You don't have to explain everything over and over again - they can just see it.
And that is exactly what a good family planner does: make sure you have less to think and arrange, and more to live together.
In conclusion: it doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it works
The biggest pitfall among family planners? Thinking it has to be perfect. Completed every week, in tight lines, with pretty colours and fully tracked.
Let go of that.
Use your planner the way it works for you. Sometimes that's with colour coding and set routines. Sometimes it's just a quick note on Sunday evening. Either is fine.
The goal is not to plan perfectly, but to bring calm and overview. To forget less, stress less, and do more together.
So give yourself space to try, adapt, and most importantly: to do it your way. Because that's the only way a family planner really works.
And the great thing is: once it works, you'll never want to be without it.
Want to know more about a whiteboard family planner that helps families keep it simple? Discover The Wallplanner and see how big a difference oversight can make.
