My functional planner stack has changed since the beginning of 2024. I always intend to stick to the same planner all year, but sometimes things change. I did simplify and streamline my planning system to keep things simple and functional.

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Functional Planners Help Me Stay Organized
I have realized that the best way to stay organized is to have a couple of dedicated books to plan out my life in. They all serve different purposes and work well together. As always, keeping it simple and keeping it functional is the key to maintaining my planning system!
4 Functional Planners that Organize my Life
- Monthly and Weekly Overview Catch All Planner
- Annual Goal Planner
- Daily Task Planner
- Brain Dump Journal

Monthly and Weekly Overview Catch All Planner
I use an Erin Condren LifePlanner to keep my whole life together. Everything that I am responsible for, from my kid’s schedule, our menu plan, and cleaning routine, to my goals, fitness routine, and hobbies. It all goes in here! Right now my LifePlanner is frankenplanned – meaning I took it apart, added, removed, and rearranged pages to make it a more functional planner for me.

Annual Goal Planner
My Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets goal planner is the only planner that has stayed the same for the whole year! I have never stayed in a goal planner for very long, so I think it’s safe to say I have finally found a winner for goal planning. Check out my PowerSheets Quarterly Goals Refresh to learn more about how I will use this planner in quarter 4.

Daily Task Planner
I have noticed I am using a daily notepad more often than not, so I decided to incorporate an actual daily planner into my functional planner stack this quarter. Since I already had a Fresh Start Daily goal planner that I purchased to review for my YouTube channel, it made sense to use that! And the Prep Work included in that goal planner meant that I could break out some of my more robust goals this quarter. So I’ll use the Tending List in the Fresh Start to zoom in a little more on goals related to my Community and Work + Learning categories.

Brain Dump Journal
The Refresh Brain Dump Journal is a little bit of a bonus, because I could totally do a brain dump on any old piece of paper. But there’s something about having a dedicated book to do a brain dump that makes it feel more productive. I used to think that to keep it simple, I needed to just use what I have. And while I do that most of the time, it is nice to not lose my list because it was on the back of a random piece of paper that I already used for something else. My brain dump list forms the basis of the weekly to-do list that I add to my catch all functional planner, so it’s important to always know where I can find it.
Functional Planner Stack Video
For lots of chatter and discussion about these functional planners and how I’ll use them, please watch the companion video!
Finish 2024 Strong with a Functional Planner Stack
It is so tempting to start planning out my planner stack for 2025 along with the rest of the planning community, but I really want to finish 2024 strong. So even though planner stacks are trending, I have mine figured out for now. My current catch all planner, goal planner, daily planner and brain dump journal will get me through 2024. I’ll reassess my 2025 functional planner stack situation as I get closer to the end of the year. I know I’ll be using the 2025 PowerSheets, and most likely the Brain Dump Journal, but the rest is still up in the air and I’m okay with that!
