How to Use Your Planner During Christmas Week (Without Ruining the Holiday)

Gentle Planning • light lists • margin notes • grace-filled planning

Christmas week is different. You already know that.

Normal routines are off. Plans change. People are home more. Emotions can be a little closer to the surface.

And if you’re not careful, your planner can start feeling like one more thing asking something of you. So this week, I like to do something I call gentle planning.

Gentle planning = using your planner in a soft way so you feel helped, not pressured.

Your planner has a different job this week

This is not the week for:

• packed schedules
• big goals
• trying to “catch up” on everything

This is the week for:

• light lists
• simple reminders
• lots of grace

1) Keep your lists short

If your normal day has a long to-do list, cut it way back this week. I like to write down two or three “musts” and stop there.

My gentle list for the day:

• One thing that truly matters
• One thing that helps the day run smoother
• One thing I’ll be glad I did

If you get more done, great. If you don’t, that’s fine too. Christmas week is not a productivity contest.

2) Use the margins for memory-keeping

One of my favorite things to do this week is use the margins for little notes instead of tasks.

• who stopped by
• something funny someone said
• a quick prayer
• something I don’t want to forget

3) Don’t over-schedule your days

Trying to plan every hour this week usually backfires. Instead, I write down only the anchor points—the things that really matter.

Anchor points might be:

• church
• family plans
• travel times
• one important errand

Everything else can flow around that. Less pressure. More room to breathe.

4) Make one catch-all page

If your brain feels full, give everything a place to land. One page for errands, gift reminders, food notes, and anything you’re afraid you’ll forget.

This isn’t a list you have to finish. It’s just a way to get things out of your head.

5) Let some pages stay blank

This part matters: blank pages during Christmas week do not mean you failed.

They might mean you were present. Talking. Resting. Laughing. Worshiping. That’s not a problem. That’s the point.

6) Write yourself a little grace

I like to write a simple note at the top of my page this week—just to reset my expectations.

Try one of these:

“Gentle week.”

“Do what you can.”

“Grace over pressure.”

Gentle planning still counts

You don’t have to stop using your planner during Christmas week. You just don’t have to use it the same way.

Light lists. Margin notes. Lots of grace.

That’s more than enough for this season.

Quick question: What’s your “gentle planning” move this week—short lists, margin notes, or anchor points?

If you try any of these, I’d love to hear what helped you the most.