Today's Fresh Start
One page. One day. One thing.
A one-page daily planner for fast-brain leaders. Plan your day around one thing, then throw the page away.
Created by
Richard Russell
The Fast Brain Coach
Last updated:
A daily planner for fast-brain leaders who want consistent days without staring at weeks of “failed” plans.
Why a fresh start
If you’re anything like me, you’ve tried all sorts of apps and processes to plan your day. Getting Things Done. Bullet journaling, which was a lot of effort and quite hard work. Cal Newport’s Time Block Planner, which is great, except for one thing.
I’d plan a day, then forget to use it the next. Then the next time I opened it, I had to flick through the blank pages and feel bad about my plans before I got to today. Even on a good run, I’d see the previous days, everything I didn’t finish, and it demotivated me.
So I made a single page. You plan today on it. At the end of the day, you throw it away. The next morning, you get a fresh start.
No graveyard of unused pages. No broken promises staring back at you.
What’s on the page
Today’s One Thing. The one thing that would make today a good day, if it’s the only thing you get done.
Today’s Other Things. A few other things that truly matter today. Not your whole to-do list.
Clarity Score. Mood, energy and focus, each out of five. A ten-second check on how you’re starting the day.
Time Block Planner. Seven in the morning to seven at night, with your day blocked around your One Thing.
Two reflections. What went well yesterday? What can I learn from yesterday?
How to use it
Decide your One Thing for today.
Score your mood, energy and focus. Be honest. It changes what a realistic day looks like.
Capture a few other things that truly matter.
Time-block your day around your One Thing. Put it where your energy is best.
Adapt the day as you go, using the columns. Something always takes longer than you thought. Move it to the next column and replan the rest of the day. That’s how my day goes. That’s how your day goes.
End the day with the two reflections, then throw the page away. There are successes and failures on it, but you don’t need it tomorrow.
Tip: set up tomorrow’s page the evening before. Jot down anything you mustn’t forget, with a little box next to it. In the morning, decide your One Thing first.
Tip: print a page a day, or upload the PDF to a printing service and get it made into a pad. Mine’s from Vistaprint.
Print it. Fill it in. Use it. Toss it. Start fresh tomorrow.
Watch me plan a real day
Nine minutes: why the other planners didn’t stick, then a real day planned, replanned and thrown away.
The Planner
One page, one day. Print it, use it, toss it. Free PDF, no email needed.
Let’s meet
Book a 20-minute clarity call so we can get to know each other a little and explore your goals and what’s keeping you from them. We’ll finish with an invitation to work together, a recommendation to meet someone else, or simply a clearer next step.
