daily planner for only 2 days a week

March 28, 2024 5:21 PM

I need a paper schedule with the following characteristics: 1) preferably undated (I only need it 2 days a week) 2) appointment slots in half-hour increments 3) 1 day per page (less essential) For some reason it seems really hard to find this.

The back story to this is that the schedulers at the hospital where I work are both hugely overworked and deeply inefficient, and I keep scheduling follow ups with patients that don't actually get turned into appointments. So I need to start keeping my own back up paper schedule.

I only see these particular types of patients 2 days per week and they are mostly telehealth, 30 minute appointments, 8-5. I'd prefer an undated planner but am desperate and willing to work with one where I only use 2 days a week. I am so angry about having to do this that I am minimally interested in writing in any additional info other than the date

Hospital policy does not allow me to use something like Outlook for patient scheduling due to patient privacy issues. The paper planner I can keep in a locked drawer in a locked office.

Cute designs, etc don't matter so much as just being able to keep track of the dates and times.

posted by The Elusive Architeuthis to Shopping (13 answers total)

I searched for 6-ring daily planner pages and found this example. It comes in a variety of sizes so you can easily pick up a 6-ring notebook that will fit the paper. The pages are undated with room to schedule yourself from 7 am - 9 pm plus a half page for other notes. This particular one has 45 double-sided pages for $24.
posted by metahawk at 5:37 PM on March 28

I use a Standard Issue Planner. You can circle the date on the top. The inside is just 188 pages of lines with the date on the top. (Right page of the 3rd image, left page of the 4th image.) I use it to record appointments 3 days a week after they have happened, but have used it for appointment planning in the past. The little elastic on the side holds a pencil.

I often pick one with a light color because it is easy to find in my bag.
posted by mutt.cyberspace at 5:56 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You could probably do this yourself if you are so inclined (or pay someone on Fiverr, taskrabbit etc to design it for you).

In your preferred software (Word, Pages, etc) choose a page size, add a couple columns, add rows every 30 minutes from 8-5. Space for the date up top. And you can send it to a print shop (Officeworks, Office Depot etc) and have it bound however you prefer - spiral, booklet, notepad, with or without holes for a binder. You can put a cover on it, too.
posted by lulu68 at 7:33 PM on March 28 [5 favorites]

Is something like this not what you're looking for? This was one of the first few when searching "undated daily planner". There are zillions, on there and elsewhere.

"Undated daily schedule" works as a search term, too.
posted by stormyteal at 7:52 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]

Like this?
posted by praemunire at 8:42 PM on March 28

Would these pages work?
posted by notjustthefish at 8:43 PM on March 28

It sounds like a very simple/minimalist bullet journal setup could work if you’re not seeing anything that meets your needs. Just date at the top of each page, however much space you need for your half hour increments with a list of numbers representing the length of the workday. Since you’re using it two days a week you could set up both the days at once and it would probably take < 5 minutes to do once you got used to what you need to include.
posted by chives at 2:35 AM on March 29 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I make my own planner pages with exactly what I need. Normally I just print them and staple them into a "book", or use binder clips, but you could send it to Staples or an online print-on-demand shop to have bound as well.

I can crank you out a custom PDF in 15 minutes with just a couple of questions about format (size, mainly). Please MeMail me if I can remove this thorn from your paw - I find this stuff very satisfying.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:53 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Stalogy has a 365Days Notebook as well as a 1/2 year. So there are enough pages for the year but they are left undated. There is a place to mark the date on each page. It is a grid layout with "Hour numbers from 8 to 21 printed along the left margin, letting you use the pages as an hourly schedule."
posted by lolibrarian at 8:18 AM on March 29

Response by poster: stormyteal, I actually currently use that very planner and generally like it, but the height of the 30 minute lines is not large enough to write in all the information I need (last name and ID number). I think I need at least 1/2 an inch. I should have mentioned that in my criteria.

Lyn Never, that is a very kind offer. I may take you up on it if I can't find something readymade that will work for me. I am going to try the 365 Days Notebook first though.

I am so grumpy about having to do this at all (since we have a large scheduling department whose SOLE RESPONSIBILITY is to schedule appointments) that I absolutely refuse to put any time into making my own template/printing my own planner, etc, but that doesn't mean it's not probably the best answer here.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:05 PM on March 29

I think you're already covered with the above, but I enjoy the Emergent Task Planner--undated and untimed with lines for fifteen minutes (that is, both of those can be filled in with the right values). There'd be enough space on the left to note which patients had which half hour slot in the day (a half hour means you'd get two lines to write), and the right would let you note any other marginalia as needed (you wouldn't have to use it to actually list out tasks). The full page is free, but there's also a version you can buy that has two side by side on one page (landscape).
posted by foxfirefey at 12:10 PM on March 29 [2 favorites]

Best answer: The magic search term you're looking for is "appointment book". I think the undated ones like this are mostly meant for salons, where a stylist might not be in every day.
posted by yeahlikethat at 6:53 AM on April 8

Response by poster: My missing search term was "appointment book!" The one yeahlikethat suggested is perfect for me.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:50 PM on April 9