A free, private worksheet · no account needed
How much room does today have?
Add the commitments already in your day, choose a little buffer, then see how many minutes remain for flexible tasks. The worksheet updates in this tab as you edit.
Editable worked example
Shape a day with room to breathe
Change the sample or replace it with your own estimates. The totals update in this tab.
Your minute budget
A small plan for this day
12 hr in the window
- Fixed commitments
- 7 hr
- Flexible time available
- 5 hr
- Flexible tasks planned
- 2 hr 45 min
- Buffer target
- 1 hr
- Time left open
- 2 hr 15 min
Your flexible estimates fit within the time left, with your chosen buffer still available.
Time left open includes your buffer target plus any room beyond it. This is a minute budget, not a clock-by-clock schedule.
PlanGentle · a small-day worksheet
A plan for this day
Local day window: 08:00–20:00 · 12 hr
Fixed commitments: 7 hr
Flexible time available: 5 hr
Buffer target: 1 hr
Time left open: 2 hr 15 min
Fixed commitments
- Travel and transitions1 hr
- Work or study4 hr
- Meals and rest2 hr
Flexible tasks to consider
- One focused task1 hr 30 min
- A small errand30 min
- Email and admin45 min
Your flexible estimates fit within the time left, with your chosen buffer still available.
Estimates are a guide, not deadlines. Leave room for what the day brings.
The calculation
Start with the time you actually have.
Day window − fixed commitments = flexible minutes available
Flexible minutes available − buffer target = buffer-aware planning room
Flexible estimates are compared with both the time left after commitments and the room left after your buffer. If a total does not fit, the worksheet names the overage instead of hiding it.
Worked example
A twelve-hour window, with room left over.
From 08:00 to 20:00 is 12 hr. The sample commitments use 7 hr, leaving 5 hr for flexible tasks. After a 1 hr buffer target, the three sample tasks use 2 hr 45 min and leave 2 hr 15 min open.
The example is editable. Choose “Reset example” in the worksheet to bring it back.
Assumptions
Local clock times, manual estimates.
- Start and end are local wall-clock times from the device. If the end is earlier than the start, it means the following day; equal times mean a zero-length window.
- Durations are your estimates in minutes. The worksheet compares totals and does not assign tasks to clock slots.
- Enter commitments yourself. This worksheet has no calendar connection or calendar sync, and it does not adjust for daylight-saving clock changes.
What the result means
A check, not a score.
- Commitments exceed the window
- Fixed durations are longer than the chosen day window; flexible time is set to zero.
- No flexible time
- Fixed commitments use all the available window. It is fine to leave the flexible list empty.
- Flexible work exceeds the window
- Flexible estimates do not fit even if the chosen buffer is used.
- Buffer below target
- The tasks fit, but would use some or all of the buffer you chose.
- Fits with buffer
- Flexible estimates fit while leaving at least your selected buffer open.
Limits and privacy
Useful for a first pass.
A minute budget cannot predict interruptions or decide what matters most. It is not a calendar, a booking, a promise, or a measure of productivity. Change an estimate or leave a task out whenever the day calls for it.
Labels, times, and estimates stay in this page’s browser memory. They are not saved between visits, sent to our server, or sent to AI. If you accept analytics cookies and print, the optional usage event contains only its fixed event name; it includes no labels, estimates, totals, or buffer value. You can use and print this worksheet without signing up.