Create your monthly get-done task calendar in 5 simple steps

Arta Citko
Dec 28, 2017
2 min read

Updated: Oct 6

Planning gets fun when you have the right tools. Here is the most simple technique. Just pen, paper and a bit of attention. I use this to create action plans for my own projects. Benefits?

it takes an hour
saves me lots of hours later
keeps me on the path
keeps procrastination away

5 steps to create your ultimate get-done task calendar:

0. Prepare paper & colour pens 1. Redraw or download & print the calendar template 2. Add dates (it does not need to stat with 1) 3. Mark the special day (a.k.a. deadline) 4. Add major milestones 5. Fill the rest of the days in between

Here are the steps examplained in more detail:

0. Prepare paper & colour pens

You might prefer good-old-whatever-brand-regular-pen and make it all one colour. But if you want to go PRO this time 2-3 colours are the best. Why? Easier to navigate when the calendar is filled. Choose one colour for dates, second for main task every day, third for extra notes.

1. Redraw or download & print the calendar template

(Mon-Sun or Sun-Sat view, 5 or 6 rows)

There are 5 pages in the PDF:

Page 1-2 has 5 rows in the calendar, pages 3-4 has 6 rows. Why 6 rows? For example, when 1st starts on Friday and there are 31 days on the month then there need to be 6 rows.
Pages 1 and 3 are Mon-Sun view, pages 2 and 4 are Sun-Sat view.
Page 5 is an optional template you can use to break down bigger milestones into smaller tasks.

2. Add dates

I prefer the top right corner for the date. Why? Well, if you're reading this in English you probably write form left to right, so you want the top left corner to be free of any obstacles.

3. Mark the special day

a.k.a. deadline, due day... or whatever special thing or event you are planning for.

4. Add major milestones

a.k.a. the big rocks. Whatever significant things you need to get done in order to make the special day successful.

4.1. (optional) The short Get Done List brainstorm

On a separate sheet note down the major milestones & add smaller rocks that will be done between the major milestones. You can download & print my template. Spend no more than 5-10 min for this. Mark priorities, add symbols. Whatever you need. Here's how it looks.