What’s inside
- Top three — the tasks that make today a good day if nothing else gets done.
- Hour column — 08:00 to 18:00 in 30-minute rows. Meetings go in first, then your top three, then smaller tasks.
- Quick list — five-minute items (replies, a call, a form) to batch into one slot.
- Shutdown — what got done, what moves to tomorrow, and the first task for the morning.
When to use it (and when not)
A daily planner fits days with a mix of meetings and open time — most knowledge work, studying, running a small shop. It is the right tool when the week is roughly clear but each day gets eaten by small things.
It is the wrong tool for planning across days. If Monday’s plan keeps spilling into Thursday, start with a weekly planner and use this page only to place today’s share.
How to use it
- Write in today’s meetings with their exact times.
- Pick your top three. At least one should move a project forward, not just clear a deadline.
- Place the top three in your longest free stretches, hardest task first if mornings are your best hours.
- Batch the quick list into one 30-minute slot, usually after lunch.
- Leave one empty hour. Something will run over.
- At the end of the day, fill the shutdown box and write tomorrow’s first task.
If you want the five-minute version, read plan your day in five minutes.
How Needt fills it in
Needt’s Home view is this template, filled in. Today’s events come from your connected calendar. Tasks with estimates get placed into free slots by auto-scheduling, with high-energy tasks in the hours you marked as high-energy. You mark a task done, or drag it, and the rest of the day adjusts.
When a 10:00 meeting runs to 11:15, Needt rebuilds the afternoon and shows what moved before you confirm. Or ask:
Re-plan my afternoon. The client call ran long and I still need to send the Lumen invoice today.
For the shutdown, ask “What’s overdue?” and move anything left with one confirmation.
A worked example
Alex’s Tuesday, Oct 13. Top three: revise homepage copy, invoice Lumen, prep the client call.
| Time | Plan |
|---|---|
| 08:30 | Read the plan, check inbox (15m) |
| 09:00 | Revise homepage copy (90m) |
| 10:30 | Invoice Lumen (20m) |
| 11:00 | Prep client call notes (30m) |
| 13:30 | Quick list: 4 replies, book courier (30m) |
| 14:00 | Client call (60m) |
| 15:00 | Buffer |
| 16:00 | Spanish flashcards (30m) |
| 17:30 | Shutdown (5m) |
