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JOIN EC INSIDERHow to Plan in a Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ + 10 Creative Planner Prompts
If you’re new to planning, love to plan in complete sentences, or prefer the familiarity of a traditional weekly planner layout, then the Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ is your best bet for getting (and staying) organized, week after week. Out of our collection of best planners, this is a favorite among new planner newbies, students, and traditionalists.
What Is a Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™?
The Erin Condren Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ offers wide planning spaces in a structured lined layout, unlike a vertical planner with stacked, long but narrow planning sections. With its horizontal two-page weekly planning spreads, the Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ is the most familiar planner layout (available in most planner sizes and binding options – from a standard 7”x9” to an A5 planner size, spiral-bound to softbound, and six-ring agenda) designed to maximize your writing space in a traditional lined planner format.
This layout gives you the best of both worlds:
- Structure: Lined writing space provides a foundation for detailed planning with complete sentences, similar to the layouts of our Focused Planner™ and Academic Planner.
- Freedom: Generous blank boxes within each day offer limitless possibilities! Use them for freestyle planning, highlighting important notes, adding decorative touches with stickers and washi tape – anything you can imagine!
It's the perfect combination for well-rounded planning that fits any style and schedule.
Pro Tip: Use the blank boxes to the right of each day in the weekly spread for a to-do list or to highlight your top priorities for each day.
Who Is the Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ For?
The Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ is a great fit for beginners and anyone who:
- Thrives on a visual approach: The horizontal layout allows for color-coding, time blocking, and visual organization of tasks, similar to our other planner layouts you might be familiar with.
- Needs more writing space: Lined sections within the open daily boxes provide ample room for detailed plans and notes, just like in our Daily LifePlanners.
- Enjoys creative planning: The open layout provides flexibility for incorporating stickers, washi tape, and doodles for a personalized touch. Habit tracking, memos, notes, decorations – anything you like! Just like in our other LifePlanners, personalize it to fit your style.
- Prioritizes time blocking: The horizontal columns are perfect for scheduling appointments, meetings, and other time-sensitive activities, mirroring the functionality of our hourly planner layouts.
Whether you're a visual planner, a busy professional, or simply someone who enjoys a creative approach to organization, the Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ could be the perfect tool to improve your time management and productivity! Now, let’s explore how to plan in a Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ + planner prompts provided by our team of planning experts.
How to Plan in a Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™
Step 1: Set Up Your 12-Box Spread.
Get creative with the 12-Box goal-setting section. This section offers endless possibilities! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Think about what you want to accomplish for the next 12 months. Break down your yearly goals into smaller, bite-sized monthly goals.
- Create a reading list. Plan out the books you want to read each month.
- Think outside the box. Don't feel limited to monthly topics! Use it as a visual map for meal planning, fitness tracking, content creation ideas – anything you can imagine!
Step 2: Fill in Your Monthly Calendars.
- Carry over recurring dates, events, and celebrations from your previous planner or calendar.
- Block in any new, upcoming dates, appointments, and events you need to remember.
- Assign different colors to different areas of your life (work, personal, health) for a quick visual reference.
Step 3: Set Up Your Monthly Productivity Dashboard.
- Add your monthly goals to this section to stay focused on what you want to achieve.
- Use the tracker space to track the habits you want to cultivate throughout the month.
- Set your monthly priorities to keep yourself on track.
Step 4: Use Your Weekly Spreads to Plan a Week Ahead.
- Pick your planning day. Ideally, establish a consistent routine where you plan your week ahead on the same day each week (Sundays are popular!).
- Fill out your weekly spread with all your to-dos, deadlines, meetings, and appointments for the week ahead.
- List your most important tasks first for each day – either in the lined space for each day, or in the blank box to the right.
- Break down large projects into smaller, actionable steps throughout the week.
- Block out designated time slots for work meetings, appointments, errands, and workouts.
Pro Tip: Get creative with washi tape, correction tape, and/or colorful writing tools to create columns and extra boxes within your horizontal planning layout.
Step 5: Use the Note Pages for Journaling and So Much More.
The lined note pages throughout your Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ offer a treasure trove of possibilities! Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Journaling: From gratitude journaling to work journaling to mindfulness journaling, use the blank pages to express yourself, reduce stress, get clarity, and quiet your mind.
- Notes: Take detailed notes during important meetings, appointments, and/or classes and keep them all in one place for easy reference.
- Quotes: Find a motivational quote that speaks to you and write it on a note page for a weekly reminder.
- Grocery Lists: Jot down your grocery list for the week on a note page.
- Travel Planning: Use a note page to plan your dream vacation or brainstorm ideas for your next weekend getaway.
Pro Tip: “Color outside the lines” of your note pages. Just because there are lines doesn’t mean you have to use them for writing and list-making. The possibilities are endless! Use the note pages for drawing, mood trackers, visual maps, and anything that helps you stay organized and productive.
10 Creative Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ Prompts
In addition to the prompts embedded in the five planner setup steps above, here are more planner prompts to keep you motivated and inspired:
- Daily Journal: You can also use the horizontal lines for each day in your weekly spreads for short, daily journal entries. In the end, you’ll have a year’s worth of inspirations, lessons learned, goals, growth, and memories.
- Self-Care Sunday: Schedule relaxing activities throughout the week for a stress-free Sunday (preceded by a more balanced Monday-Saturday).
- Brain Dump: Use a horizontal spread to free-write and brainstorm ideas for a project you’re working on, an upcoming event or vacation you’re planning, and more.
- Content Planner: Whether you’re an influencer, podcaster, blogger, social media specialist, content marketer, or any t ype of content creator, use the weekly spreads to map out your content for each day of the week.
- Gratitude Challenge: Choose a different theme for each day (e.g., people, experiences, objects) and write things you're grateful for.
- Weekly Action Steps for Monthly Goals: Divide your monthly goals into smaller, weekly tasks for a clear roadmap to success.
- Fitness Tracker: Track your workouts, steps, or active minutes for the week across the horizontal lines.
- Reading Log: Use a horizontal spread to log the books you read, including a brief synopsis or review.
- Weekly Budget Tracker: Track your daily spending or set savings goals using the horizontal layout.
- Weekly Meal Plan: Outline your meals for the week in the horizontal columns.
Pro Tip: Use planner accessories like tabs, wet-erase dashboards, and LifePlanner™ add-on pages to design your ultra-unique planner with enhanced organization.
With a little planning and creative thinking, your Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ can be your ultimate tool for productivity and a well-rounded life!
Customize your new Horizontal Weekly LifePlanner™ by choosing your cover design, then interior design, select the horizontal layout, your calendar dates, and even personalize it if you like!
Looking for multiple planners (for yourself or as gifts), or curious about other planner types and how to organize your planner? We’ve got you covered! Here are more helpful planning guides to empower your organizational journey: