Letting Go of the “Perfect Planner” Myth

Why the Right Planning System Begins with Self-Understanding

Have you ever bought a planner full of hope—certain that this one would finally be the answer—only to abandon it weeks later, untouched?

Many writers search for the perfect planner, believing it will make them more productive, more consistent, and more successful. We assume that if we just find the right system, everything will fall into place. Yet, time and time again, those systems fail us, leaving behind frustration, guilt, and the sense that maybe we’re the problem.

But what if the issue isn’t the planner—or you? What if it isn’t a lack of discipline, motivation, or commitment? If you’re like me, you want to throw your hands up in defeat, believing you’re not productive or can’t meet your goals.

Why Planning for Writers Often Fails

Planning isn’t separate from writing—it’s an extension of our creativity and how we move through the world. For writers, planning only works when it reflects how we think, create, and manage our energy—not when it forces us into someone else’s system. And just as there’s no single right way to write a story, there’s no single planning system that works for everyone.

Once we know ourselves, we can let go of the myth of finding the “perfect planner” that fits everyone, and find the system or planner that’s right for us. If we know our strengths, we can look for the system that works with those rather than fight them.

It took me a long time—and a lot of abandoned planners—to really understand this for myself.

Understanding Your Energy and Strengths as a Writer

Over the years, I’ve tried many types of planners. I kept trying to find a system that worked for me to keep on track not only for my writing goals but also for my business goals and plans. Most work for about a week, if that. It wasn’t until I learned about my Human Design and Clifton Strengths that I found a system for my business, my writing, and my personal life.

Until recently, I believed goals didn’t mean anything to me, especially my own. I’d beat myself up because I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be—or thought I should be.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that my struggle wasn’t about motivation or discipline—it was about energy.

Human Design — Understanding Your Energy

In Human Design, the Generator type makes up 70% of society. Generators are like the “Energizer Bunny” that keeps going because they always have consistent access to “doing” energy. However, I’m what is called a Projector, which means I don’t have consistent access to that energy. I’m not designed for long, sustained work.

Knowing this now, it’s easy to see how much the expectations of others shaped my goal-setting in ways that didn’t fit me.

Due to societal conditioning, I tried to work as a Generator. I believed I could work long hours without resting, then wondered why I’d burn out or get sick. It also influenced how I set my goals.

When I made my goals, I tended to put too many things on my lists of what I wanted to accomplish. And because I didn’t understand my energy system, I believed I could finish things faster than I could and would set ambitious deadlines. Then, when I didn’t meet them, I believed I’d “failed” and something was wrong with me. I didn’t think I ever met my goals.

That belief started to unravel once I stopped judging my progress by someone else’s standards and took an honest look at my own achievements.

But upon reflection, and learning my strengths, I realized I do achieve my goals. I usually accomplish what I set out to do, just not within the time frame I think I can do it in. Learning about my Human Design has helped immensely by being aware I need to pare down my long list (I’m still working on this!).

Human Design helped me understand my energy. Clifton Strengths helped me understand how my mind works.

Clifton Strengths — Understanding Your Mind

Clifton Strengths is more than a personality test. The comprehensive test gives you insight into the areas where you excel and are strong, and the ones where you’re weak or have problems.

We’re all wired differently, even as writers. Perhaps you’re someone who creates an exhaustive outline, or you’re on the other end of the spectrum and fly by the seat of your pants. Neither one is right or wrong. It’s simply our individual way of writing.

When we discover how our brains work and how we’re designed, we can focus on our strengths and do things to supplement our weak areas. This helps in our writing, our book production, and our marketing. Instead of forcing ourselves to follow something “everyone does,” we can do what’s right for us.

This kind of self-understanding shifts writer productivity from pressure and burnout toward sustainability and trust.

Instead of asking what I should be doing, I started paying attention to what actually supports me and is right for me.

My number 5 strength is Achiever, and my number 3 is Input. This means I like making lists and checking things off them. I like plans and systems to organize my plans and data.

Understanding Myself as a Whole Writer

I’m a slow writer, and I admire (and a bit jealous of) the writers who write 10K words a day. Although I’ve tried following their path, I couldn’t do it. Finally, I realized nothing was wrong with me. It’s just something I’m not designed to do. My slowness isn’t because of my writing speed—it’s how I’m wired. Ideation is my number 2 strength, and I have an open head center in Human Design. For me, that means I usually have a dozen projects going on at the same time. 🤣

All of this pointed to the same conclusion: I needed a system that worked with me, not against me.

Between my Human Design and Clifton Strengths, I’ve discovered that when I have a good system, I can meet my goals. I need something that helps me plan, tracks my progress, and keeps all my ideas and projects organized.

Choosing a Planning System That Supports Your Writing

With this information in hand, I tried a new system that at first was a bit scary and daunting: Notion. So far, it’s working for me. It’s a database system that many authors and businesses use, combining project management, task lists, and notes.

The process of making a list of projects, with all the sub-tasks, helps me focus my energy. Notion not only allows me to make lots of lists, but I can check off tasks as I complete them. My Achiever side is very happy with this system! I love that I can use different boards to view my data.

I use Notion for tracking my writing progress and book production. But beyond that, it helps me stay on track with my business plans. I use Pinterest for my marketing and write essays as content marketing. For my Pinterest pins, I plan them for the quarter and create them in one big batch. I set up a Notion database for them, with all the data I need for pinning. I can quickly copy and paste my pins from the database and stay consistent in my marketing.

My Notion database organizes the essays I’ve written and gives me a place where I can track which ones I’ve shared on Pinterest.

I’ve stayed with this system for almost a year now, which for me, is a long time!

I want to emphasize here that this isn’t about the tool you use, but the relationship between the tool and your unique design.

This is the system that works for my individual design and strengths. However, this might not be what you need or what’s right for you. Evaluate your own strengths and what’s important to you. I love the flexibility of playing with the data Notion gives me; however, that might stress you out. Voice notes, a paper planner, or a whiteboard might work for you. I know someone who uses a huge full-year wall calendar, and that would freak me out to see everything all at once. I’d go into overwhelm and shut down.

Planning Without Punishment

When we stop forcing ourselves into other people’s containers and expectations, something opens within us. We can honor ourselves.

Letting go of the “perfect planner” myth isn’t about giving up on goals or structure. It’s about releasing the belief that you’re failing because you haven’t found the right system yet. Planning for writers works best when it’s grounded in self-trust, energy awareness, and personal strengths—not productivity rules.

When we understand our energy, our strengths, and how our minds naturally work, planning becomes less about forcing productivity and more about creating support. We can stop beating ourselves up for doing something others say works but doesn’t fit our energy, design, and strengths.

You don’t need to plan like anyone else or keep trying systems that leave you exhausted or ashamed. You’re allowed to choose tools that work with you, not against you. When you ground your planning in self-understanding instead of self-judgment, it becomes something entirely different—not a test you keep failing, but a relationship you’re learning to trust.

Resources

If Human Design or Clifton Strengths seems like something you’d like to explore further, these resources* will help you get started.

Free Human Design Chart from Human Design Hive

Take the Clifton Strengths test. This requires a fee. At the time of writing this, it’s $25 for your top 5, and to receive your full 34 strengths, it’s about $60. 

Becca Syme has a couple of great YouTube videos talking about planners and author productivity  

*These links are not affiliate links. I don’t get anything if you choose to get your Human Design body graph or take the Clifton Strengths test. I simply believe these are amazing tools we can use to understand ourselves and our writing better and want to share them with you.

As writers, we often try to plan from the outside in—adopting systems before we understand ourselves. These reflection questions invite you to turn that process around. Use them to notice what actually supports your energy, focus, and creative rhythm, without pressure to change anything yet.

1. What planning systems or tools have I tried—and abandoned? How did each one make me feel while I was using it?

2. How do I naturally work when I’m not trying to meet anyone else’s expectations? What patterns emerge when I pay attention to what actually supports me?

3. What would planning for me look like if it were an act of self-trust instead of self-control? How might my relationship with goals change?

I invite you to join the conversation on my Substack, Lunar Ink & Alchemy, to share your experience and insights from doing this exercise.