How I Built My Ultimate Digital Planning System (And Why I Switched to Notion)
I can’t believe January is just about over. Time is flying, but we are still at the perfect point in the year to refine our systems.
Over the years, I’ve tried every planner under the sun. I’ve used Alex Charfen’s Momentum Planner, Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Planner, and even the Rocketbook Panda Planner. I even tried creating my own digital planner for a while. While I still love the feeling of pen and paper, I eventually realized that I needed something more accessible and searchable. That’s when I moved everything, my business, my content creation, and my planning, all into Notion.
The beauty of a digital system is that it’s with me everywhere, on my phone, tablet, and laptop. More importantly, it allows me to look back. I can compare my progress in 2026 to where I was in 2024. Seeing how my tasks and goals have evolved over two years is incredibly motivating. Today, I want to break down the “Daily” part of that system and show you how I set myself up for success every single morning.
Setting the Intentional Morning Mindset
Starting your day in the right mindset is the difference between being proactive and being reactive. I actually plot out my entire week every Sunday and time-block my major tasks then, but the “Daily” plan is where the magic happens. Every morning, I physically rewrite (type) my tasks in Notion. This keeps them fresh in my mind so I don’t miss a single beat. It only takes a few minutes, but it ensures I am the one in control of my schedule, rather than my inbox controlling me.
Before I even look at my tasks, I ask myself three specific questions: What are my intentions for today? What am I grateful for? And what is my affirmation? Writing down your intentions helps you define what a “good” day looks like before the chaos starts. Gratitude and affirmations get your brain into a positive state, which makes it much easier to handle the stress of meetings and calls later in the day.
Frogs and Highlights: Managing Your Energy
Once my mindset is right, I move into my task list using two systems: “Eat the Frog” and “The Daily Highlight.” The “Eat the Frog” method involves picking your top three hardest or most important tasks and tackling them first. We all have those big, scary projects we want to procrastinate on. By labelling them as your “frogs” and finishing them early, the rest of your day becomes significantly easier and less stressful.
I’ve also added a concept from the book Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky called the “Highlight.” This is one specific task that you choose to be the centrepiece of your day. It could be your hardest task, but it could also be the one you’re most looking forward to or something that brings you joy. If I get my three “frogs” done and hit my “highlight,” the day is a total success, even if I didn’t get through every single minor item on the list.
The Evening Review: Learning from the Struggle
How you end your day is just as important as how you start it. At the end of every day, I fill out three sections in my planner. First, I write down my Top 3 Wins. It is so easy to focus on what we didn’t do, so taking a moment to celebrate what went right is vital for long-term consistency. Whether it was a successful client call or just getting out for a walk, those wins deserve to be acknowledged.
Next, I get honest with myself about where I struggled or where I felt uncomfortable. Not every day is going to be perfect, and pretending they are not helping you grow. By identifying where things went wrong, I can answer the final prompt: “What could I do to make tomorrow better?” This simple one-sentence description helps me troubleshoot my life in real-time. It clears my head and puts me in a much better mindset to wake up and try again tomorrow.
If you’re ready to stop “winging it” and start planning, you can grab my All-In-One Notion Planning System right here. It includes the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly templates all in one place.
Are you ready to win your day?
This Week's Quote
"Either you run the day or the day runs you."
