A planner setup for software developers
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Your team's issue tracker already holds the work tickets. What it does not hold is your day: the focus blocks, the follow-ups you promised in review, the dentist, and the side project you never get to. That is what a personal planner is for.
Block deep work for tomorrowPlan the day in time blocksOpens in your browser — no install or sign-up needed.
Where a developer's day leaks
Meetings scattered across the day leave gaps too short for real work. Code reviews, chat questions and incidents interrupt focus. Small promises — “I'll check that log”, “I'll send you the link” — slip because they are too small for a ticket. And personal life admin piles up because the work day has no slot for it.
Step by step
- Choose your deep-work hours. Pick one or two 90-minute blocks a day and keep them at the same time all week.
- Capture from the keyboard. Every “I'll do that” becomes a one-line task immediately, with a date if it has one.
- Prepare the stand-up the evening before. Yesterday's progress, today's plan, blockers. Two minutes in writing saves rambling.
- Batch reviews and messages. Two review windows a day respond fast enough for most teams and keep focus intact.
- Give side projects a weekly slot. A small, recurring session moves a side project further than an occasional weekend.
- Close the day with a short shutdown. Write the next step for unfinished work so tomorrow starts without reloading context.
Type these lines into Pladay
Each line below was read by the same parser the app uses. The task, date and repeat rule are what you get when you type it.
| You type | Task | Due | Repeats | Try this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Review open PRs every weekday at 11am ~30m | Review open PRs | Fri, Oct 9 → Mon, Oct 12 → Tue, Oct 13 · 11:00 AM | Every weekday | Try this |
Send Kim the log link today | Send Kim the log link | Fri, Oct 9 | — | Try this |
Side project session every saturday at 10am ~2h | Side project session | Sat, Oct 10 → Sat, Oct 17 → Sat, Oct 24 · 10:00 AM | Every week · Saturday | Try this |
Update dependencies on the last friday of every month | Update dependencies | Fri, Oct 30 → Fri, Nov 27 → Fri, Dec 25 | Every month · last Friday | Try this |
Protect two blocks of deep work
Most developers do their best work in uninterrupted stretches of 90 minutes or more. Reserve one or two such blocks a day, ideally at the same time, and treat them as meetings: status set, chat closed. Cluster meetings on the other side of the day where you can.
Keep a personal list next to the tracker
Do not put everything into the team tracker. Keep tickets there, and keep your personal layer — follow-ups, learning goals, review reminders, admin — in your own list. Link to the ticket from the task if you need to, but keep the list short enough to read in a minute.
How Pladay fits a developer's day
- Keyboard-first: press `n` or `q` to add a task, `/` for the command palette, `j` and `k` to move through the list and `x` to complete (quick add).
- Estimates in the same line (“Review PR ~30m”) feed the time blocks and the focus plan.
- With Slack connected, “/pladay call Kim tomorrow 3pm” adds a task to your inbox, and you can get a daily brief in a channel or DM.
- Signed webhooks can send events to Zapier, Make, n8n or your own server.
- Side projects get a goal with milestones in the Goals module, so they move a little every week.
Templates for this
- Project kickoffDefine goals and roles, run the kickoff meeting and review the first milestone.9 tasks
- Weekly work reviewEvery Friday look back on the week; every Monday morning reset your priorities.7 tasks
FAQ
Can Pladay replace Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues?
No. It is a personal planner without team assignment. Keep tickets in your team tool and use Pladay for your own day and follow-ups.
Is there a desktop app?
There is a Windows app; on a Mac, Pladay installs from Chrome, Edge or Safari as an app with offline support. It also runs in any browser, and data syncs when you sign in.