The SIMPLE Weekly Planning Method My ADHD Brain LOVES: Alastair Weekly Log

If you’re someone who gets overwhelmed by complex weekly planning systems, color-coded calendars, and 27-step workflows, I’m so glad you’re here. If your ADHD brain loves the idea of planning but finds traditional methods take forever and you abandon them by Monday afternoon…Tuesday morning at the latest? This is for you.

You see, so many of us think we need more structure to simplify our chaos, but usually, what our ADHD brains actually need is less friction. We need a light, supportive overview that doesn’t feel like a second job to maintain.

The approach I’m sharing today is called the Alastair Weekly Log. It’s quick. It’s flexible. And it gives you a clear snapshot of your week without bogging you down in the details.

Listen to the episode below or stream it on your favorite podcasting app. Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for a summary of key takeaways.

In Episode 342, we’re exploring:

• Why complex planning systems often fail our ADHD Brains
• The simple “split page” setup you can do in under 5 minutes
• How to use the “dot method” to handle tasks when life inevitably goes off the rails
• Why this visual approach helps curb over-scheduling
• 5 specific reasons this method is a game-changer for ADHD brains

What Is the Alastair Method for ADHD Planning?

The Alastair method originally began as a bullet journaling approach by Alastair Johnston. The Alastair method actually has tons of different strategies and planning techniques within it, and today we’re zooming in on the weekly planning approach that’s become a game-changer for my ADHD time management.

This isn’t your typical planning approach with complex time blocks or rigid schedules. Instead, it’s a beautifully simple system that gives you exactly what you need: visibility into your week without overwhelming your already-busy brain.

How the Alastair Weekly Log Works

Before I start, I want to mention that I have a free weekly template for using this planning approach. It’s designed specifically with our ADHD brains in mind with a few extra features, and you can grab it at imbusybeingawesome.com/weekly.

For those of you who prefer video, I also have a YouTube version of this guide where you can see the method in action. But I’m going to do my very best to describe this ADHD planning approach in words since I know most of you are reading this blog post.

The Basic Setup

Here’s how the Alastair weekly planning method works:

First, imagine you have just a regular piece of paper or notebook. I’ve recently fallen in love with grid or graph paper notebooks. I don’t know where they’ve been all my life. I probably intentionally forgot about them after whatever year in math class we needed graph paper, but that’s a story for another day.

You can use whatever type of paper you like, or grab the free template I created and print it out or use it on your tablet.

Take that piece of paper and divide it in half lengthwise (we’re looking at the page in portrait mode).

On one half of that page: Write a list—one item per line—of all the things you want to do that week. These are your tasks for the week.

On the other half of that page: Create seven columns corresponding to the days of the week. So you have seven skinny columns: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The page is doing two different jobs at once. One half holds the tasks, and the second half has those seven columns, one dedicated to each day of the week.

The Dot System for ADHD Time Management

Here’s where the beauty of this ADHD planning process comes in: you write down all the tasks you want to do, and then you assign these tasks to specific days of the week by simply placing a small dot in the column of the day that you anticipate working on that task.

Let me give you some examples from my actual planner. If I look at my week of January 12th, I have tasks like:

• Podcast Topic
• Write outline/transcript
• Record
• Edit
• Shownotes
• Newsletter
• Update workbooks
• Record welcome videos
• Work on module content

If I think I’m going to outline my podcast on Monday, I put a dot next to that task in the Monday column. If I want to write my newsletter on Tuesday, I put a dot in the Tuesday column next to that task. If I’m doing a project that I think will take several days—like updating a workbook—I might put dots on Thursday and Friday of that week.

In other words, some rows have multiple dots across the week because I think that project needs multiple days to complete. Though I try to make the tasks small enough so that I can complete that part of the task with one dot per day.

Just to make sure this is super clear: the page is divided in half. One half of the page has the tasks, one line at a time. The other half of the page is divided into seven columns, with each column representing Monday through Sunday. The dots show when you anticipate working on something.

5 Reasons Why the Alastair Method Is Perfect for ADHD Brains

Now that we have a general idea of what this ADHD weekly planning log is, let’s talk about the five reasons why I love it and why I think your ADHD brain might love it too.

1. It’s Ridiculously Simple

The planning process itself is ridiculously simple, which is fantastic since a lot of us with ADHD brains can get lost in the complexity of over-planning and over-complicating things.

All you do is get a piece of paper or download my template, write down the tasks on one half of the page, and indicate with a dot on the other half of the page when you’re going to do that task, Monday through Sunday. That’s it.

2. It’s Incredibly Fast (Perfect for ADHD Time Management)

Building on that simplicity, the second reason why I love this ADHD weekly planner so much is that it’s incredibly fast. I often hear from clients and people in the I’m Busy Being Awesome community that one of the things that holds them back from planning is that it just takes too long. They don’t have time to plan. They don’t have time to map everything out. And then, as I mentioned, if they do spend the time, and the plan is totally off by Monday, they see it as a waste of time.

Doing this weekly log takes essentially the amount of time it takes to write your to-do list plus draw some dots as you decide which day you want to tackle those tasks. We’re talking maybe five to ten minutes, max.

For ADHD brains struggling with time blindness, this speed matters. You’re not losing precious working memory capacity trying to maintain an elaborate planning system.

3. It’s Remarkably Flexible for Different ADHD Planning Styles

Now reason number three is all about flexibility, and I especially love this planning method for two different groups of people.

For Brains Who Need Looser Structure

The first group is for the brains who like a much looser or lower level of structure. If you have more of a rebel brain that comes out when you’re faced with tight time blocks or having to decide specifically what time of day you’re going to do your tasks, this works so well. It gives you a much broader level of structure where you can decide, “I’m going to do this at some point on Wednesday,” and that’s where the task is held. You have the structure of knowing it’s a Wednesday task, but you have total freedom in how and when you approach it that day.

For High-Structure ADHD Brains

The second group this works really well for is people who like to do both a weekly plan and a daily plan. This is where I fall. I’m actually more of a high structure person. I like to know specific times of day for my tasks, but I don’t like to do that level of detail in my weekly plan.

Instead, I find it really useful to do this quick overview of the week to be able to see all the tasks that I want to do and to put dots onto the days that I want to do them. And then when I do my shutdown routine the night before, that’s when I do a more thoughtful daily plan of when I want to do my specific tasks and what time blocks they’ll fit into.

I find that this approach gives me the level of structure I need, and it also allows me to flex. Because I don’t spend hours mapping out my entire week only to find that something took longer than expected or something unexpected came up and I need to reinvent the whole plan again.

This ADHD planning method allows me to pivot so easily. In fact, that brings me to another layer of flexibility that I love about this method.

The Pencil-and-Pen Trick

I’m not sure if you can see this in the picture that I shared of my weekly plan, but I like to write my original plan in pencil. So it’s especially flexible. I can simply erase the dot and move it to another day if I need to. Of course, if you’re a pen person, that’s not a problem either. You can just write a little arrow or indicate to yourself that you’re moving it to the next day or to a different day. Not a problem.

But it really is so simple because the only thing you need to adjust is one little dot. You don’t need to erase big time blocks or reassess your color-coded calendars or redo your highlighting or anything like that. You’re just moving one dot.

Color-Coding for ADHD Time Tracking

I’ll mention one of my little tips here too. I like to write my anticipated day that I’m going to complete a task with a dot in pencil, and then I indicate the day that I actually complete it in a different color pen. That way I’m starting to learn at the end of the week during my weekly review how long things actually take, how overly ambitious I tend to be, and I can start calibrating my planning to reality.

4. It’s a Visual Heat Map for ADHD Time Blindness

Speaking of which, that brings me to reason number four, which is this planning approach essentially provides a heat map for those of us who struggle with ADHD time blindness and overly ambitious scheduling.

You can think of this planning method almost like a heat map. If the tasks are all filled out on one day or two days, you’re going to have an incredibly (perhaps unrealistically) busy couple of days, and it becomes this quick visual indication for your brain that you might want to spread things out.

The example that I shared in the image is actually just that situation. For those of you reading this, I have tons of dots on Monday and Tuesday in my January 12-18 week. Now, this is pretty typical for me because Monday and Tuesday are my get-work-done days, and Wednesday through Friday are client days. So seeing more dots on Monday and Tuesday is normal for my workflow.

But I actually have more things than usual on this particular week. And so what I did is I went in and I starred the non-negotiables. You can see in my planner I have little stars next to certain tasks like “Podcast Topic,” “Write outline/transcript,” and “Record.” Those stars tell me without a doubt that those are the ones I need to get done, and if I don’t get the other ones done, I can migrate them to the next day or later that week.

This visual is so great for those of us who are super time blind or overly ambitious. We can look at our schedule and go, “Huh! All 27 things that I have scheduled for Wednesday probably aren’t going to happen, especially since I know that most of these are multiple-hour projects.” I think we want to reassess. Let’s move some dots.

This method gives us that quick gut check, that quick visual assessment, to see how packed each day actually is.

5. Weekly Review Is Incredibly Easy with This ADHD Planner

And then the final reason that I personally love the Alastair weekly planning method is that it’s so easy to do a weekly review at the end of the week. You can scan the list and see what’s left, which dots remain unchecked or however you indicate that they’re not done.

You can see in my planner I have a little space where I get to check the box and fill it in when something’s complete. And then I also like to use that different color-coded pen to indicate which day I actually completed the task, like I mentioned earlier.

So when you’re doing your review, you can easily see:

• What went well
• What did I complete
• What’s left to move to next week
• What can I leave undone
• What do I no longer need to do
• What might I delegate

It becomes this clear indication of where your time went and what you accomplished. And as you’ll see in the template that I created, I also have some reflection questions that you can use to help do that check-in at the end of the week if you want to.

ADHD-Friendly Features in the Free Template

I also want to mention a couple of features I built into the template that I think make it even more ADHD-friendly.

Weekly Non-Negotiable Section

At the top, there’s a section for your “Weekly Non Negotiable.” This is that one thing that you absolutely want to make happen this week. Sometimes when we have a long list of tasks, it helps to identify that one anchor task that everything else revolves around.

Getting Started Sequence

There’s also a “Getting Started Sequence” section, which is where you can write out the first five tiny steps to get started on your most important or most challenging task. Because sometimes we know we want to “update the workbook,” but our brain freezes on where to even begin. Breaking it down into micro-steps like “1. Sit down at computer. 2. Open the file, 3. Read through first section of current version,” makes it so much easier to actually start.

How to Get Started with the Alastair Weekly Planning Method

Ready to try this ADHD planning method for yourself? Here’s how to get started:

1. Download the free template at imbusybeingawesome.com/weekly or just grab a piece of paper and divide it in half
2. Write your tasks on one half of the page—one task per line
3. Add your day columns on the other half (M, T, W, T, F, S, S)
4. Place dots next to each task in the day column when you plan to work on it
5. Review and adjust as the week progresses

There are so many benefits to this method. I love its simplicity, its speed, and its flexibility for both rebel brains and high-structure brains. I love how it serves as a heat map to help us schedule more realistically, and also how easy it makes the weekly review process.

Why Traditional Often Planners Don’t Work (And Why This Does)

Many traditional planners fail because they:

• Require too much time to set up and maintain
• Use rigid time blocks that don’t account for time blindness
• Involve complex systems that overwhelm already-taxed working memory
• Feel punishing when plans inevitably change

The Alastair method succeeds because it:

• Takes 5-10 minutes to set up
• Provides structure without rigidity
• Works with ADHD time blindness instead of against it
• Makes pivoting feel easy rather than like failure
• Gives you a visual snapshot of your week at a glance

Try the Alastair Weekly Log Today

If this approach resonated with you, I really encourage you to give it a try! Pop over to imbusybeingawesome.com/weekly and grab the free template. You can download it and print it out, or use it on your tablet. Or if you prefer, just use a piece of paper and divide it in half.

If you give it a try, I’d love to hear your experience! You can find me on YouTube, Instagram, or leave a comment below and let me know how it goes.

Of course, it’s no secret that I think this method is brilliant for ADHD brains, but I think many different brains could benefit from it. So if you know somebody who might benefit from this planning method, would you be a rock star and share this post with them? Maybe send them a text or share it on your Instagram stories.

Thank you for helping me get these strategies to even more busy awesome brains who need them.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the Alastair Method for ADHD

Q: Is the Alastair method only for ADHD?
A: No! While it’s particularly effective for ADHD brains dealing with time blindness and executive dysfunction, anyone who wants a simple, flexible planning method can benefit from it.

Q: Can I use this method digitally?
A: Absolutely! While many people love the tactile nature of paper planning, you can easily recreate this in a digital planner, spreadsheet, or note-taking app. The free template works great in apps like Goodnotes or Notability.

Q: What if I don’t complete all my tasks?
A: That’s completely normal and expected! Simply move the dot to another day or decide if the task is still necessary. The flexibility is the whole point—this method adapts to reality rather than making you feel like you’ve failed.

Q: How is this different from regular bullet journaling?
A: The Alastair method is a specific adaptation within bullet journaling that uses columns and dots rather than traditional daily logs. It’s faster to set up and gives you a week-at-a-glance view that’s particularly helpful for ADHD time management.

Q: Do I need a special notebook?
A: Nope! Any paper works. Grid or graph paper is nice, but regular lined or blank paper is totally fine. You can also use the free printable template.

Resources From This Episode:

• Get the Alastair Weekly Template Here
• My favorite Grid Notebook
• Check out the YouTube video here

More ADHD Resources:

• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Learn my Top 10 Tips to Work With Your ADHD Brain
• Get the I’m Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Free course: ADHD Routine Revamp

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