If I need to see the whole year at once, I do not want twelve tabs, a bunch of fluff, or another app to learn. I want one page where I can put goals, projects, vacations, and deadlines in front of me.
This post shows how to plan 2027 in a Google Sheets yearly calendar, and how the free Big Year template works. I also close with what Big Year Premium adds if you want more layouts.
TL;DR
- Big Year shows all of 2027 on one page, so you can plan goals, trips, deadlines, and projects at a glance.
- The free version is editable and printable, but it starts blank, so you must add the dates that matter.
- Most people make the mistake of planning month by month first, instead of marking fixed dates and crowded weeks first.
Who this is for
- Project manager: Helps you map launches, deadlines, and busy weeks across the full year before you commit.
- Small business owner: Lets you place campaigns, projects, and OKRs on one yearly view in Google Sheets.
- Teacher: Makes it easier to track school breaks, exams, and deadlines on a single page.
- Parent: Gives you one shared calendar for birthdays, vacations, school terms, and home maintenance.
- Content creator: Helps you spot launch conflicts and spread work across the year instead of clustering it.
Start with one year view, not twelve separate months
The free Big Year template is a 2027 yearly calendar in Google Sheets. It is built to show the full year on one page, so you can see January through December at a glance. That matters when you are trying to set goals, because the big picture shows you what is already crowded and what has room.
Big Year is editable, printable, and free. You can use it inside Google Sheets or print it and hang it on a wall, desk, or fridge. The point is simple, one sheet, one year, total clarity.
If you want the source page, it is here: Free 2027 Yearly Calendar & Planner Template (Google Sheets).
Big Year is not a month-by-month planner. It is a year at a glance calendar for projects, vacations, goals, and events. That makes it useful when you are planning around school breaks, launch dates, family trips, or work deadlines. Instead of moving between pages, you can see where the pressure points are before you commit.
Put your goals on the calendar first
The easiest way to use a yearly planner is to start with the big stuff. Big Year is built for annual planning, so I would begin by placing goals, launches, trips, and fixed dates before filling in smaller tasks.
- Open the free Big Year template in Google Sheets.
- List your 2027 goals on the sheet or next to it.
- Mark the dates that cannot move, like birthdays, vacations, school breaks, launches, or deadlines.
- Look across the year and group related work together.
- Leave open space around heavy weeks so you do not stack everything on top of one another.
This is where the one page format helps. If a goal needs a lot of time, you can see that right away. If a month is already full, you can move work earlier or later instead of finding out too late.
The template is blank when you get it, so you are not deleting old events or clearing clutter. You start with an empty annual planner and add only what matters for your year.
Use the free template for projects, family, or school
Big Year is set up for more than one kind of planning. The template page calls out annual planning, goal tracking, event scheduling, business roadmaps, family calendars, and big picture clarity. That makes it useful whether you are planning work, home life, or school.
For business use, it helps with campaigns, projects, and OKRs. You can map launches and deadlines across the year, then spot roadblocks before they hit. For family use, it gives you one shared calendar for birthdays, school terms, vacations, and home maintenance. For students, it is a simple way to keep exams, deadlines, and breaks on one page.
If you plan content or products, the same year view helps you see when launches might conflict with other commitments. You can spread work out instead of clustering everything into the same season.
Big Year is designed as a free 2027 calendar printable and editable spreadsheet template, so you can use it digitally or as a wall planner.
Add holidays in SETTINGS when you need them
One useful part of Big Year is the SETTINGS area for holidays. You can add dates there, and they highlight automatically on the BIG tab. The template page says those holidays also carry into every Big Year Premium layout, including PILLAR, MINI, CHECK, and SCHOOL.
That is helpful if you are planning around federal holidays, school breaks, or custom company dates. You do not need to build a separate calendar just to mark important days. You can start blank, then add the breaks that matter to your year.
Because the template is editable, you can use it as a global blank yearly planner first, then layer in local, school, or company holidays later. That keeps the sheet flexible without making it feel crowded from the start.
If you want a calendar with holidays added, the source page also links to a 2027 holidays guide from Big Year. That is useful if you want to understand how the highlighting works before you start planning.
Print it when the digital view is not enough
Big Year is made to print. The free BIG year view is a clean one page calendar, and the page says you can export it to PDF from Google Sheets, then hang it on a wall. It is also meant for binders, desks, and fridges.
The print options are practical. You can use tabloid or A3 for a larger wall planner, or Letter and A4 for smaller spaces. Google Sheets print settings let you scale to fit paper, and the page notes that BIG works in landscape while TALL, which is in Premium, works in portrait.
The nice part is that you do not have to commit to one format. If your plans change, edit the sheet and print it again. No white-out, no rewriting the whole year.
That makes Big Year useful if you want a wall calendar for quick visibility, but still want the spreadsheet version for edits and sharing.
What Big Year Premium adds
The free version gives you the BIG tab, which is the whole year on one page. Big Year Premium adds 10 layouts for $10, and that is the main upgrade if you want more ways to look at 2027.
Here is what Premium includes:
- TALL, a vertical year layout.
- CHECK, with three checkboxes on every date for habit tracking.
- SCHOOL, for academic years with custom start and end dates.
- TINY, a smaller box layout with 3 letter weekday names.
- MINI, a smaller printable desk version.
- MOON, a full-year moon phase and lunar calendar.
- PILLAR, a month grid with a vertical day list.
- PILLAR COLOR, the same pillar layout with each month in its own color.
- PILLAR-WIDE, a wider version of the pillar layout.
If you are only after a yearly overview, the free version is enough. If you want habit tracking, academic planning, moon phases, or more compact print layouts, Premium adds those options in one purchase.
Big Year Premium is listed here: Big Year Premium.
The school year layout is especially useful if your planning does not start in January. The page says SCHOOL can start and end on custom dates, so you can use July to June or another cycle. The moon layout is for people who want the lunar calendar right inside their yearly planner, and the check layout is for daily habits and streaks.
If you want more than a single year-at-a-glance sheet, Premium gives you those extra views without leaving Google Sheets.
How I would use Big Year for 2027
If I were setting up 2027, I would keep it simple. First, I would copy the free Big Year template into Google Drive. Then I would place the fixed dates, holidays, and major deadlines on the BIG tab. After that, I would look for crowded months and spread out the work that can move.
From there, I would decide whether the free page is enough or whether I need one of the Premium layouts. If I wanted one sheet for habits, I would use CHECK. If I needed academic timing, I would use SCHOOL. If I wanted more room for monthly notes, I would use PILLAR.
That is the real value of a yearly planner like this. It helps you see the year before the year starts filling up. That is a lot easier than trying to clean up a mess in the middle of it.
If you want to start with the free version, go to Big Year. If you want the extra layouts, the Premium page is Big Year Premium.
A goals tab with quarterly milestones
Make a new tab called GOALS with these eight columns in row 1:
- Goal. One sentence, written as a result. "Publish 24 newsletter issues", not "write more".
- Why. One line. You'll read this in July when you want to quit.
- Measure. The number or yes/no you'll check. Issues published, kilometers run, dollars saved.
- Q1 milestone (by Mar 31).
- Q2 milestone (by Jun 30).
- Q3 milestone (by Sep 30).
- Q4 milestone (by Dec 31).
- Status. A dropdown with On track, Behind, Dropped. Data, then Data validation, then Dropdown.
Then one row per goal. Three rows. If you're tempted to add a fourth, add it to a "later" list on a separate tab.
At the end of each quarter, write the actual number next to the milestone, set Status, and look at the next quarter on the BIG tab. If a trip, a busy season or a school break is coming, adjust the milestone now, not in the middle of it.
Common pitfalls
- Planning one month at a time, avoid this by starting with the full year and placing fixed dates first.
- Filling every open space, avoid this by leaving room around heavy weeks so work does not stack up.
- Ignoring holidays and breaks, avoid this by using the SETTINGS area to add them before planning around them.
- Choosing a format too early, avoid this by editing the sheet first and printing it after your plan is clear.
FAQ
What is the Big Year template in Google Sheets?
It is a free 2027 yearly calendar in Google Sheets. It shows January through December on one page so you can see the whole year at once.
Is Big Year free?
Yes, the Big Year template is free, editable, and printable. The free version includes the BIG tab with the full year on one page.
Can I print the Big Year calendar?
Yes, you can export it to PDF from Google Sheets and print it. The page says it works well for walls, desks, fridges, and binders.
How do I add holidays to Big Year?
You add them in the SETTINGS area. They highlight automatically on the BIG tab, and those holidays also carry into Premium layouts.
What does Big Year Premium add?
Premium adds 10 layouts for $10. Those include TALL, CHECK, SCHOOL, TINY, MINI, MOON, PILLAR, PILLAR COLOR, and PILLAR-WIDE.
Can I use Big Year for a school year that does not start in January?
Yes, the SCHOOL layout can start and end on custom dates. The article says you can use it for cycles like July to June.
What is the best way to start planning with Big Year?
Start with goals, launches, trips, and fixed dates. Then look for crowded months and move flexible work earlier or later.
