UPDATE 12/24: Part 2: The Bullet Journal is now live!
I don’t have a minimalist, beige, “clean girl” planner life.
Instead, I’ve spent years trial-and-erroring a 2026 planning system that actually works for a brain with schizoaffective disorder–bipolar type. It also addresses PTSD and neuropathy. If you’ve ever felt the “shame spiral” of a half-finished planner, this hybrid approach is for you.
So for 2026, I built a hybrid system:
- A structured planner (Legend Planner)
- A messy, honest Bullet Journal
- A vision board that reminds me why I’m bothering at all
This post is the connective tissue of my 2026 planning system. If you want to see each piece in action, I’ll link the YouTube videos throughout. You can watch while you read.
📅 Why One System Wasn’t Enough
When I tried to use just a regular planner, it became a graveyard of good intentions. When I tried to use just a Bullet Journal, it became a dumping ground with zero structure.
I finally realized that my 2026 planning system needed each tool to have a clear job description:
- Legend Planner = The CEO
- Holds the hard dates, appointments, deadlines. Zero feelings, all logistics.
- Bullet Journal = The Therapist / Lab Notebook
- Tracks energy, symptoms, guilt, ideas, and the messy “what is my brain even doing?” stuff.
- Vision Board = Future Me
- Reminds me what I value, so I don’t build a life around other people’s expectations.
My power word for 2026 is Value: valuing my time, my energy, and my mental health—not just my productivity.
Part 1: Legend Planner – Structure For a Tired Brain
The Legend Planner is where anything with a date attached lives. It is the CEO of the operation—ruthlessly efficient and focused only on the schedule.
What goes in here:
- Appointments
- Deadlines
- Time-bound tasks (like “upload video,” “NAMI group,” “Cora’s vet visit”)
What does not go in here:
- Brain dumps
- Guilt lists
- “Someday maybe” ideas
Those live elsewhere on purpose so the planner doesn’t become emotionally loaded. When my brain is fried, I can open it and ask one question:
“What actually has to happen today so nothing catches fire?”
You can find out how I set up the CEO of this system. My setup is available on YouTube. It’s the 2026 Legend Planner setup. Pause as you read this section. I walk through the exact spreads I use and how I keep them realistic instead of “Pinterest-perfect.”
Next Week: The Therapist / Lab Notebook
This week, we’re establishing the structure with the CEO. Next week, I’ll update this post with Part 2: The Bullet Journal. This is where the real, messy work of energy-tracking takes place. Symptom-logging and the all-important “Guilt Dump” box also happen here.
Then come back here and tell me in the comments:
Are you more of a planner person, a BuJo person, or a “I’m barely holding on, please send coffee” person? ☕💚
Part 2: Guilt-free 2026 Planning System (BuJo)
If the Legend Planner is the CEO, my Bullet Journal is the Therapist and the Lab Notebook. It is the safe zone where I track my creativity without making productivity a punishment.
In 2025, I realized the thing I undervalued the most was myself—which often crippled my creative dreams. For 2026, my BuJo is designed to honor my reality (schizoaffective disorder, PTSD, and polyneuropathy) rather than demanding “perfect attendance.”
The “Lab Notebook” Layouts
Here is how I’ve structured this journal to work with my variable energy:
- The Yearly Overview: This isn’t for every tiny detail. It’s for the big milestones that keep me oriented when I’m in a low-capacity week. I’m tracking the big stuff: 1,000 subscribers by June, a Patreon launch in March, and 52 long-form videos. Seeing this reminds me that I am still moving ahead.
- The Monthly Capacity Tracker: Each month gets a simple bar graph where I rate my energy from 1 to 10. This is where I learn my patterns. I’ve already discovered that I can film three videos in one morning. Yet, I can only do this if I rest the day before [05:09].
- The Weekly “Gap”: Each day has three lines: Top 3 priorities, Actual accomplishments, and Energy level. The magic happens in the gap between what I planned and what I did. If there’s a gap, I don’t shame myself; I look at the data [04:10].
- The Brain Dump (Back of Book): These pages are messy, unstructured, and honest. It’s where video ideas, frustrations, and anxiety spirals go so they don’t live in my head [04:30].
My Bullet Journal is functional, not “Instagram perfect.” The data shows what my body can actually handle. This allows me to hit my goals without sacrificing my mental health.
Watch the full setup here: Your Bullet Journal Doesn’t Have to Look Perfect
[Coming Soon 12/31: PART 3! Vision Board – Keeping Future Me in the Room]