Let me guess.
You’ve installed at least five productivity apps this year.
Two are sitting untouched on your phone.
One of them buzzed you five minutes ago, reminding you to “breathe” or “drink water” or “organize your soul.”
Meanwhile, your real to-do list is scribbled on a sticky note stuck to your monitor.
Or worse: floating somewhere inside a sea of emails titled “Re: quick follow-up.”
Yeah, same.
So here’s the deal—we’re going to figure out once and for all:
What’s the best way to plan your life without losing your mind?
Spoiler: there’s no winner. But there is a right answer for you.
Let’s break down the top contenders in the weird, wild world of calendars.
🧩 Google Calendar: The Default Dad of Digital Planning
You didn’t choose Google Calendar. It chose you.
It’s there when you open your Gmail.
It adds events without asking.
Sometimes it invites your entire contact list to your dental cleaning.
But honestly? It works.
What Google Calendar Gets Right:
- Ubiquity.
Syncs with… everything. Seriously. Your email, phone, smart fridge, yoga app—yes. - Ease.
Click. Type. Done. You don’t need a manual. - Sharing.
Add guests, assign colors, make a shared calendar with your team, your family, or your dog’s walking group.
What It Totally Botches:
- Boring UI.
Feels like you’re planning a funeral. Every time. - Lack of depth.
If you’re looking to track tasks, goals, or your descent into burnout—it’s not the place. - One-dimensional reminders.
“Event starts in 30 minutes.” Thanks, but what about prepping for the event?
Crickets.
Google Calendar Is For You If:
You want something solid. No frills. No setup. Just a calendar that shows up and doesn’t crash.
🔧 Notion: The Fancy Overengineered Swiss Army Knife
Ah yes. Notion.
The tool that launched a thousand YouTube tutorials.
And destroyed at least a hundred attention spans.
Here’s what you need to know:
Notion isn’t a calendar.
It’s a blank page that whispers, “Build me into something beautiful.”
So you do.
And then you stop using it because it took five hours to set up.
Notion’s Superpowers:
- Total freedom.
Weekly planners. Linked databases. Habit trackers. Meal plans.
You can literally build a second brain. - Aesthetic.
Drag, drop, and decorate like you’re prepping a Pinterest wedding board. - All-in-one.
Notes, tasks, reading lists, CRM systems—if you dream it, it can be built.
Its Hidden Traps:
- Analysis paralysis.
So many templates. So many decisions. You’ll spend hours “preparing to be productive.” - Not plug-and-play.
Want to integrate your phone calendar? Or get a notification? You’ll need workarounds. - Glitches and lag.
Especially on mobile. It’s like trying to sprint through mud.
Notion Is For You If:
You’re the architect of your own mental universe.
You like control. You don’t mind the time investment. You want pretty.
And you never—ever—miss a journaling session.
🗒️ The Notebook: Analog and Proud
You didn’t expect this one to make the list, huh?
But hear me out. There’s something oddly powerful about writing things by hand.
No pop-ups. No algorithms. No 14-tab distractions.
Just ink. Paper. Focus.
Why People Swear By It:
- It slows you down. In a good way.
Writing makes your brain process tasks differently. It sticks. - Zero noise.
No pings. No updates. Just quiet planning. - No friction.
Flip open. Write. Done.
The Major Downsides:
- It’s a one-person show.
Try sharing a page of your notebook in a Zoom meeting. I dare you. - No backups.
Lose it, spill coffee on it, leave it on a train—it’s gone. - No reminders.
If you forget to look at it, tough luck.
The Notebook Is For You If:
You hate tech. Or you’re just nostalgic.
Maybe you love doodling next to your deadlines.
Or you want fewer screens in your life and more deliberate focus.
🚀 The Hybrid Life: Because One Calendar Is Never Enough
Here’s the ugly truth nobody likes to admit:
Most productive people use more than one tool.
Real humans don’t function inside one app. They improvise.
Real-life combos that work:
- Google Calendar + Notebook
Digital for events. Analog for priorities and reflection. - Notion + Google Calendar
Build your weekly roadmap in Notion. Use Google Calendar for execution. - Notebook + Post-Its + Whatever’s on the fridge
Hey, whatever keeps the chaos under control.
There’s no one-size-fits-all here.
There’s only “what you’ll actually stick to.”
🎯 So… What Actually Works?
Let’s get painfully honest.
You don’t need another app.
You need a system you’ll come back to tomorrow.
That’s the whole trick.
No productivity guru, no AI tool, no app-of-the-week will fix your schedule if you ignore it by Wednesday.
Ask yourself:
- Do I want reminders?
- Do I share plans with others?
- Do I need structure or flexibility?
- Am I allergic to clicking through 5 menus just to make a to-do?
Choose based on how you operate. Not how someone else edits their YouTube videos.
And hey, if you’re still figuring it out—start with something dumb and simple.
A notebook. A calendar app. Anything you’ll look at twice a day.
❓One Last Question
Which team are you?
Team Google?
Team Notion?
Team Retro Notebook?
Team Chaos with No Plan At All?
Let me know. Or don’t.
Just make sure you add “read this blog again” to whatever calendar system you’re testing next.