EllaneNov 19

At the end of 2025-09 I started a 2-week experiment: a fully text based #calendar. It was to be a temporary exercise in intentionality, but two months later I'm still here! Feeling centred, calm, and prepared for the future.

Frank Denegaar's text-calendar video captivated me in 2024-06, but it didn't stick. Things feel different now. I'm keeping my calendar in #Markdown, in #Obsidian, though it can work in any text editor.

In 1 year I'll update with how it went, long term.
#PlainTextPlanner

Show threadEllaneNov 19

FYI I still keep a digital calendar, for shared events and the like.

The key to making a text-based calendar work for personal time-based planning: referring to it EVERY day.

If you're not prepared to make it your sole source of truth for what you'll be doing, when, you're better off whatever style calendar you *will* check (and believe) every day.

My favourite part is adding other things I did, things that happened. Appointments are in bold, and get a checkbox. Other notes get dot points.

Show threadgeetduggalDec 4
@ellane I totally resonate. what i really like about keeping my calendar in (any) plain text format is that it has pushed me away from reminder and notification hell. I'd rather check my calendar often and with intent vs rely on alarms. It's also fun practice for my working and visual memory. i still use digital calendars to inform my plan but my plan is exactly that. its mine. i can keep it in my pocket and in my mind much more peacefully
Show threadEllaneDec 4

@geetduggal Yes, that is an important point! Checking a calendar often, with intentionality, improves our ability to remember what's on it.

We need a hashtag for what will hopefully become a worldwide movement: #plainTextCal, #textCalendar, or something similar. Open to suggestions!

Show threadgeetduggal
@ellane I dunno about you, but I feel like a #PlainTextPlanner
Dec 4 at 6:19pmWeb
Show threadEllaneDec 4
@geetduggal Sounds good to me! #PlainTextPlanner it is.