Three Forward Planning Printables to Add to Your Planner

While I was making my list of what printables to make for the Coastal Dreams collection, I discovered a problem. There are too many I want to share to give them each their own post. So, I decided the best course of action was to combine them into groups and share them that way.

Today’s group is what I’m calling the forward planning printables. They include a yearly overview, yearly planner, and special dates log. Each one is separate, so you can choose which ones will work for you.

The forward planning printables are wonderful for getting a snapshot of what’s going on for you this year.

The forward planning printables in this post are all focused on planning for the whole year. They allow you to see your important events, tasks, and dates at a glance and allow to get them out of your head and on to paper.

The Benefits of Forward Planning

When it comes to planning, having different stages to your system is always a good thing. Forward planning gives you the opportunity to get your important event tasks down on paper so you can plan for them accordingly.

Think of the items you include in your forward planning as your big rocks. These are the important items that you’ll plan your year around, such as birthdays, vacations, exams, school breaks, etc..

If you’re not familiar with the Pickle Jar Theory, this post over on A List Apart does a great job of explaining it.

By getting them out of your head and onto paper you no longer have to try to remember them all. When it comes times to plan out your month, you’ll have the priority items already listed out for you.

Some suggestions for what to include in your forward planning are:

• birthdays
• anniversaries
• doctor’s appointments like yearly exams or a reminder to book them
• dental appointments or reminders to book them
• home maintenance tasks
• organizing projects
• vacations
• school breaks and no school days
• work deadlines
• project deadlines
• big goals or major milestones you want to reach in your goals
• routine monthly tasks that you know you need to make time for

Chances are you probably already forward plan quite a bit. I know many people just use their monthly calendars for that. The forward planning printables I’m sharing today are meant to help supplement your system, not replace it.

The Forward Planning Printables

As I mentioned above, there are three different printables in this post. There is a yearly overview, a yearly planner, and a special dates log.

You can use all three together or choose the one/s that fit your needs best. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

Yearly Planner Printable

The yearly planner printable is a simple printable designed to help give you a snapshot of what your year looks like.

The main part of this planner page is the dated grid. Here you can block off vacation time, school breaks, and other chunks of time.

I like to use different colour highlighters to mark different things such as birthdays, holidays, no school days, and vacations.

You could also use the dated grid as a year-long tracker. Whether you’re tracking a habit, your mood, or something else.

The bottom two sections offer room for writing down important dates, your top three goals or priorities for the year and a small notes section.

In addition to the planner page, the file also comes with a lined notes pages. You can print the two pages back to back and use the extra note area for more planning if you need it.

The full-size version is in landscape orientation. This layout made it easier to create the dated grid so that it wasn’t too small and hard to read.

The half-size version is a two-page layout because I couldn’t fit the dated grid on the pages any other way.

Yearly Overview

The yearly overview was designed as a way to plan your big tasks and events month by month.

It features one space per month with room to note your top three priorities for the month. As well as a space for noting other tasks and events you need to remember or writing notes and reminders to yourself.

You could also use the yearly overview as a goal planner. Put your top three monthly goals in the priorities box and use the notes section of each month for the details or steps you need to take to reach those goals.

Both the full and half-size versions of these printables are two pages each and come with notes pages that are designed to print on the back of the overview. This way, when you have them open in your planner you can see the whole year in a two-page spread.

The notes pages also give you room to write reminders, brainstorm ideas, or add some additional notes and tasks to each month.

If you would rather not have the notes pages, simply print pages 2-3 of the full-size version and page 1 of the half-size.

Special Dates

The special dates log is a printable that was designed to give you a space to note special dates each month. There is a space for each month with a lined area under the title that you can write the day and description of why it is important.

The full-size version is a single page and the half-size is a two-page spread. Unlike the other printables in this post, I opted to leave the notes pages out of these ones.

Other Printables You Might Like

All the printables in this post were designed for the Coastal Dreams Collection and match the dated 2020 calendars. If you haven’t had a chance to check those out and grab a copy for yourself, you can check them out by clicking the image below.

In addition to the calendars, I’ve also included a few other printables you might find handy for your planner.

I’m working on more planner printables in the Coastal Dreams collections. Daily planners, special dates, and more are on there way. They’ll be up on the blog in time for the new year, I hope you’ll come back to check them out.

I’d Love to Hear Your Thoughts

What do you think of these forward planning printables? Are they something you can see yourself making use of? What would you change about them?

Drop me a line in the comments below and let me know your thoughts.

And remember, if you share a picture on social media, I’d love to see it. Be sure to tag me or use the hashtag #scatteredsquirrelprintables and I’ll make sure to hop over and check it out.

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