From Skepticism to Spark: Why I Made My Own Planner
I have always been a list person (see Blog Post #1 for my 6:00 a.m. SEAL-team-style morning routine). But even with shelves full of planners, calendars, and productivity apps, I still felt like something was missing.
So, like any stubborn dreamer, I decided to make my own.
The Perfect Planner That Didn’t Exist
I scoured the internet. I flipped through notebooks at Target, clicked through endless Etsy listings, and watched more “Plan With Me” videos than I’d like to admit. There were so many beautiful planners out there — minimal ones, colorful ones, goal-focused ones, habit trackers. While they all felt like hope and potential, none of them felt just right for me.
So I opened my laptop and started drafting one, just for myself. No business plan. No big idea. Just me, a cup of coffee, and the outline of the planner I actually wanted to use.
Enter: Mom
Of course, right in the middle of my creative flow, the phone rang. Mom.
I told her what I was working on — “I’m making my own to-do list. And I love it. And, um, I think I might turn this into a business.”
Cue maternal skepticism. (If you’ve ever pitched your mom on a big idea...)
“Okaaaay,” she said slowly. “So… what makes your list different from all the others?”
Word Vomit & Aha Moments
That’s when I started to spill.
“Well, I was laying in bed thinking about life and what kid of a life it’s going to be. So my to-list sorta starts there, at the end — the very end — and then I work backwards. It’s about asking, ‘When I get to the end of today, how do I want to feel?’ And then building the list around that. Not just chores, but meaningful things. Not just busywork, but the steps that actually move you closer to the life you want.”
Somewhere in my word-vomit monologue, I heard her voice shift. Skepticism turned into curiosity. Then curiosity turned into excitement.
We started brainstorming together. What if this tool could help other people like me? Other parents, professionals, busy humans who keep rewriting the same to-do list and wondering why nothing really changes?
The Beginning of The Tackle List
That was the moment the gears started turning. The planner I thought was just for me became the seed of The Tackle List — a way to help people stop treading water, break down the big stuff, and actually feel good about the days that make up their lives.
It all started with a little skepticism, a lot of talking it out, and one simple idea: start at the end, then work backwards.
