ADHD Daily & Weekly Planner

When the timer ends, stop writing. If something else appears later, you can add it to the list. For now, use what’s already on the page.

Now mark each task with one letter:

• D - Due or time-sensitive today - I - Important to a current goal or responsibility - R - Required by someone else or blocking their next step - L - Later, optional, or useful but not needed today

You may use more than one letter for a task. The point is to notice why each item feels urgent.

Check Your List

Look at each task and write its letters beside it. When every task has at least one letter - or has been crossed off because it no longer belongs today - you’re done.

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

A task marked L isn’t a failure. It’s simply not competing for one of today’s three spaces. That distinction matters. ADHD brains often treat “not now” as “never,” which creates unnecessary pressure. You’re making a smaller decision: not today’s priority.

Choosing the Three Must-Win Tasks

Use the letters on your list to choose three tasks. Start with anything marked D. A real deadline usually outranks a vague feeling that something “should” be done.

Next, look for the task with the strongest effect on the rest of your day. Ask: if this gets done, what becomes easier, safer, or unblocked? That task may not be the loudest one. It may be the email that lets someone begin, the payment that prevents a fee, or the preparation that makes tomorrow less chaotic.

Your third choice should be important enough to count, but realistic enough to finish. Don’t choose three enormous projects. Choose three outcomes you can recognize as complete.

Your Turn - Select Three

Read your list once. Circle three tasks using these rules:

• One task may be the most time-sensitive. - One task may unblock another person or responsibility. - One task may reduce a problem that will otherwise keep following you. - Each choice must be possible to finish or clearly complete today.

Write your three choices below.

Priority 1: ______________________________________________

Priority 2: ______________________________________________

Priority 3: ______________________________________________

Now test each one. Complete the sentence for every priority:

I’ll know this is done when…

Priority 1 is done when _______________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Priority 2 is done when _______________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Priority 3 is done when _______________________________________

____________________________________________________________

You’re finished with this exercise when all three sentences describe a visible result. “Work on invoices” is not yet a result. “Send the three overdue invoices” is easier to recognize. “Deal with the kitchen” is cloudy. “Clear the dishes and wipe the counter” is visible.

Keep the wording short. Your future self should understand it at a glance, even on a distracted morning.

Checking the Size of Each Priority

A priority can be important and still be too large for one day. “Finish the website” may matter, but it can hide several hours - or several weeks - of work. If you can’t tell what finished looks like, the priority needs a smaller target.

This isn’t the place to build a full task breakdown. Make one quick adjustment: shrink the result until you can point to the finish line.

Your Turn - The Size Check

Read each priority and answer the question below it.

Priority 1: ______________________________________________

Can I clearly finish this today? Yes / No

If no, the smaller result I can finish is:

____________________________________________________________

Priority 2: ______________________________________________

Can I clearly finish this today? Yes / No

If no, the smaller result I can finish is:

____________________________________________________________

Priority 3: ______________________________________________

Can I clearly finish this today? Yes / No

If no, the smaller result I can finish is:

____________________________________________________________

Replace any “No” priority with its smaller result. You’re done when all three answers are Yes.

Be careful with the word “finish.” It doesn’t mean you must complete every related task. It means you’ve chosen a result that counts. Sending one proposal can count even if several proposals remain. Booking the appointment can count even if the appointment happens later. Choosing the right stopping point keeps the priority useful instead of turning it into a trap.

Testing Your Top 3 Against a Real Day

Your three priorities need to fit the day you actually have, not an imaginary day with unlimited focus and no interruptions. Give each priority a quick reality check.

Ask whether the task depends on a person, place, tool, or time window you don’t control. If it does, the task may still belong in your Top 3, but its finish line should reflect what you can control. “Get approval” depends on someone else. “Send the approval request” does not.

Also check whether all three priorities require your highest energy. If they do, the list may collapse when your focus drops. A practical Top 3 often includes one demanding task, one straightforward task, and one task that protects the rest of the day.

Your Turn - Reality Check

For each priority, complete the three lines.

Priority 1: ______________________________________________

The part I control is _________________________________________

The likely obstacle is _________________________________________

My workable finish line is ____________________________________

Priority 2: ______________________________________________

The part I control is _________________________________________

The likely obstacle is _________________________________________

My workable finish line is ____________________________________

Priority 3: ______________________________________________

The part I control is _________________________________________

The likely obstacle is _________________________________________

My workable finish line is ____________________________________

If a finish line depends entirely on another person, replace it with the action you control. If a priority is much larger than the time or energy available, make it smaller. You’re done when each priority has a controllable finish line and a realistic result.

This check prevents a common planning problem: choosing a task that can’t actually be completed by you today. Your plan should give you something to do, not something to wait for.

Recording the Top 3 Without Reopening the Decision

Once you’ve chosen your three priorities, write them in one place. Don’t keep reconsidering them every 20 minutes. Rechecking can feel productive, but it often becomes another form of avoidance.

Use the planner’s WEEKLY TOP 3 for larger weekly choices and the daily page for today’s three priorities. The daily Top 3 should stay small and specific. You don’t need a dramatic reason for each one. You need a clear finish line.

Apply It - Final Top 3

Copy your final priorities exactly as you want to see them today.

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

Choose the priority you’ll begin first by marking one box:

□ Priority 1 □ Priority 2 □ Priority 3

Write one sentence explaining that choice:

I’m starting with it because ___________________________________

____________________________________________________________

You’re complete when three priorities are written, each has a visible finish line, and one has been chosen as the starting point. After that, stop planning and begin. More sorting won’t make the list more correct.

A Short End-of-Day Check

Use this check only after the day is over. It takes 2 minutes. Mark one box for each priority.

Priority 1: □ Done □ Partly done □ Not started Priority 2: □ Done □ Partly done □ Not started Priority 3: □ Done □ Partly done □ Not started

If one was not done, answer this specific question:

What changed - the task was too large, the day changed, or the priority was wrong?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Write one adjustment for tomorrow:

____________________________________________________________

The check is complete when you’ve marked all three priorities and written one adjustment. No self-lecture required. The purpose is to improve the size and order of future choices.

Three priorities won’t control the whole day. They give the day a center. When everything else gets noisy, you know which three outcomes matter most - and that’s enough structure to move forward.

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters in the full book.