ONE Tool to Change Your Life This Year 📝
When I hit rock bottom and what actually helped...
I know for a fact that this ONE tool could change your life, because it changed mine.
The year was 2010, I was a grand total of 25 adorable years old, and I found myself struggling with both my mental and physical health.
I had anxiety. Didn’t sleep well. My energy was non-existent. I struggled with headaches most days and my mood was allllllll over the place.
I knew the fatigue I felt wasn’t normal, so I met with a nutritionist hoping it might help — but ended up feeling even more overwhelmed. She wanted me to be drinking more water, eating more whole foods, and making time to take care of my mental health.
I was young, living on a budget, just starting my career in publishing, planning a wedding, and moonlighting for a local magazine in my spare time. I had a lot on my plate and those extra “suggestions” nearly made me unravel.
And although I think a quick trip to Target can solve most problems, in this case, it did not. I went there in search of a planner to support me through this…but couldn’t find anything close to what I was looking for.
So, I made my own.
And that, my friend, is the origin story of The Daily Page — a simple, one-page design that I first created nearly 15 years ago and have been using practically every day since.
Aligning Work and Wellness
My goal was to create a tool that would help me plan my days intentionally and prioritize both my work and wellness in one place. Instead of competing with the digital tools that I loved and found helpful (Google Calendar! Microsoft To-Do! Google Drive!), I wanted a design that complemented that technology and didn’t make it feel redundant.
I wanted something that would remind me to connect with the people I love (because otherwise, what’s the point?!). Something that would remind me to take meds or vitamins. Make time to breathe. Eat. Drink. Be grateful.
My days didn’t have to be a rushed blur of productivity — they could be productive, intentional, and supportive. I could create a planner that wasn’t all work and no play or self-care. I could make one that was all those things and so much more…
How to Use It
You won’t be surprised to learn that I have an entire method for organization. I call it PIES, and I will write more about it in the months to come!
But for now I wanted to leave you with a few of my best tips for integrating a tool like The Daily Page into your routine:
📅 Embrace the Undated: First thing you’ll notice is that my design is undated. You can add the date yourself at the top of the page. Benefit? You never waste a page or feel guilty for taking a day (or week! or month!) off. Plus, you can start using it any time throughout the year AND we don’t create waste with expired products.
🕰️ Schedule: Instead of writing down the meetings and appointments you have today, open up your digital calendar (iCal, GoogleCal, etc) and write down your AVAILALBE blocks of time. Then identify what specific task or type of work you want to work on during each of those openings.
☀️Power Up/🌑Power Down: I have a daily routine of sitting down in the morning, opening up my digital systems (calendar, task manager, etc.) and parsing out the information I need onto The Daily Page. I keep my focus there during the day, rather than going in and out of various apps/tools that can be a distraction and a time-suck. At the end of the day I open everything again and use The Daily Page to reconcile the information in my digital systems. Works like a charm for making consistent progress each day!
3️⃣Top Three: This section can help you zoom in on your priorities by identifying your top three tasks for the day — and that’s a great way to use it. But I also love to use this for some “brain hacking”. Instead of 3 “top priorities” I choose 3 simple tasks I can do right away. This helps overcome procrastination and create momentum to carry you into more complex tasks.
✅ To-Dos: Instead of an endless list, The Daily Page encourages you to select up to ten tasks for the day — which is a reasonable amount for most people to focus on. If you get all ten tasks done, you can always add more under Notes + Ideas. Another tip for this section — learn different ways of denoting progress beyond just a checkmark, like this:
Sure, put a checkmark when you complete something — but don’t hesitate to use an arrow for things that need to be delayed, fill the bubble halfway in if you make partial progress, add initials if you delegate it to someone else, or an “X” if it can be deleted. I have an entire blog post about this right here if you want to see more.
Try The Daily Page
Over the years, thousands of people have discovered The Daily Page and found that this approach to planning works for them, too.
And The Daily Page has come a long way, especially in the last couple years! From a simple PDF that I offered on my old wordpress blog, to a 6-month Planner, a 3-month Planner & Journal, a mini planner, a 50-page notepad, and even an interactive digital planner that can be used on your iPad, Remarkable, or other tablet.
Seeing the entire collection compiled like that makes my heart swell. I wish I could say the process was easy — but it was absolutely a labor of love. It took a lot of trial and error, research, and learning but I eventually found my dream production partner — a woman-owned printing press in my home state of Minnesota. Their team is incredible, and were supportive of my goal to create high-quality products made with Earth-friendly, sustainable materials 🧡
Eventually, I launched an online course called The Daily Method that shows you how to integrate The Daily Page (enroll here!), and last year started holding Monthly Review Days on the first Monday of each month to offer gentle support for people trying to make incremental change throughout the year (RSVP to our next one!).
If someone had explained all of this to twenty-five year old Dani, she’d have laughed and run away! But wow, it really does mean the world to me that something I created to help myself, has helped so many others, too.
The Daily Page hasn’t made my life perfect. There have been ups and downs. Hard days, weeks, and months. There are still things I struggle with when it comes to both my physical and mental health…
…but The Daily Page has helped me navigate it all. Helped me keep my sh*t together. Kept perspective. Kept me hydrated and nourished. Kept me moving. Kept me smiling. Kept me focused. Kept me grateful.
I’d love for you to try it out, so I’ve provided the printable PDF below for free. It’ll remain here for the next week, then it will slip below a paywall for paying subscribers only. If you’d like to try one of my planners or notepads, you can take 10% off your order using the code HONEY at checkout.
🗯️Any questions about my products, The Daily Page, or how I integrate it with digital organization? Head to the comments section or hit reply and let me know how I can help.