If your year keeps getting lost in separate notes, calendars, and to-do lists, this is the simple version. You want to see 2027 in one place, then decide what matters before the weeks start filling up.
This post shows how to use a year-at-a-glance Google Sheet to set goals for 2027, add the big dates, and keep the whole year visible. At the end, I’ll show what Big Year Premium adds if you want more layouts.
TL;DR
- Big Year gives you 2027 on one page, so you can set 3 to 5 goals before the year fills up.
- Use the free BIG tab first, and add holidays and breaks in SETTINGS before placing deadlines.
- The common mistake is planning month by month first, which hides projects, vacations, and school dates across 12 months.
Who this is for
- Project manager: This helps you place launches, deadlines, and reviews across the full 2027 year.
- Operations manager: You can see shutdowns, holidays, and company dates before booking work around them.
- Small business owner: It keeps campaigns, launches, and yearly goals visible on one page.
- Teacher: The SCHOOL layout can match your academic year with custom start and end dates.
- Personal assistant: It helps you keep trips, birthdays, and family events in one yearly view.
Start with the whole year, not the first week
The basic problem with yearly planning is that it gets chopped into pieces. You look at January, then February, then the rest of the year feels far away. A one-page yearly planner fixes that by putting all 12 months in front of you at once.
That is the main idea behind Big Year. It is a free 2027 yearly calendar template for Google Sheets. You can edit it in Sheets or print it and put it on the wall. The free version gives you the BIG tab, which is the whole year on one page.
That matters because the year-at-a-glance view is where better goals usually start. You can see projects, vacations, goals, and events together instead of planning each one in isolation.
If you want a place to begin, do this:
- Open the 2027 yearly calendar in Google Sheets.
- Look at the entire year before filling in details.
- Write the big goals that need space across multiple months.
- Mark the dates that cannot move, like launches, trips, or deadlines.
That simple pass gives you a rough map before the calendar fills up.
Put your goals where you can see them all year
The best use of a yearly planner is not stuffing it with every task. It is putting the biggest commitments where you can see them next to the months they affect. Big Year is designed for that. It shows your whole year on one clear page, so you can place projects, vacations, goals, and events in context.
Here is a practical way to set goals in the sheet:
- Write 3 to 5 yearly goals first.
- For each goal, decide which months matter most.
- Mark the start month, the due month, or the month you want to review progress.
- Keep the notes short so the page stays readable.
This works well for business roadmaps too. The Big Year page is meant for annual planning, goal tracking, event scheduling, and business projects. If you are planning launches, campaigns, or OKRs, having the full year visible helps you avoid stacking too much into one month.
It also helps for personal planning. You can keep birthdays, family events, school terms, and vacations on the same page. That makes it easier to plan around real life instead of squeezing it in after the fact.
The free layout is blank, so there is nothing to delete before you start. You can just begin filling it in.
Add holidays and breaks before the calendar gets crowded
Before you set dates for goals, add the days that are already spoken for. Big Year includes a SETTINGS area where you can add dates, and those holidays highlight automatically on the BIG tab and on the Premium layouts that use SETTINGS.
That includes federal holidays, school breaks, and custom company dates. You can start with a blank global template, then add the holidays that matter to you. If your year includes school time, family time, or specific company shutdowns, put those in first.
This is a useful order of operations:
- Add holidays and breaks.
- Mark school terms or academic dates if they apply.
- Place deadlines and launches around the days that are already blocked.
- Use the remaining open space for projects and habits.
That keeps your plan honest. A goal on paper is easy to overbook. A goal placed next to holidays and breaks gives you a better read on how much room you actually have.
Big Year also includes a printable 2027 calendar PDF. It is landscape, fit to one page, and comes without gridlines. The free download includes letter and A4 for a desk or binder, plus tabloid and A3 if you want a wall poster. There is also an Excel (.xlsx) download if you live in Excel.
Use the free one-page view for clarity, not clutter
Big Year is built to stay simple. The free version is the BIG tab only, and it is a one-page year view. That means no flipping pages, no app to download, and no subscription to pay. You can edit it in Google Sheets or print it and hang it up.
That simplicity is helpful when you are setting goals for the year. You do not need a lot of moving parts to get started. You need enough structure to see the whole year and enough blank space to make decisions.
Here is what the free version gives you:
- 12 months on one page for an instant year overview.
- A printable calendar PDF for wall, binder, or desk use.
- An editable Google Sheets yearly planner.
- A minimal layout with weekend highlights.
- A blank sheet you can fill in by hand or on screen.
That makes it good for personal planning, family planning, and basic business planning. If you want one page that holds the whole year, this is the cleanest place to start.
If you want to see the free template directly, you can use Big Year. It is the free 2027 yearly calendar and planner template in Google Sheets.
Move from yearly goals to monthly planning
Once the year is marked, the next step is usually monthly planning. Big Year Premium adds layouts that are useful when you want more than the one-page view.
One of those is the PILLAR tab. It stacks a classic month grid on top of a vertical day list for the same month. That means you can scan the month in the grid, then write plans, deadlines, and notes in the day list. Weekends stay highlighted, which makes trips and rest days easier to spot.
There is also PILLAR-WIDE if you want more room across the sheet. And if you want each month to stand out more, the PILLAR COLOR version gives each month its own color.
Big Year Premium also includes:
- TALL, a vertical month layout.
- CHECK, with three checkboxes on every date for habit tracking.
- SCHOOL, for academic years with custom start and end dates.
- UNDATED, with 12 rows of 31 blank day cards for a year without dates.
- MOON, a full-year moon phase and lunar calendar.
- MINI and TINY, smaller formats for desk or binder use.
Those are not necessary for getting started, but they help if you want to move from yearly clarity into monthly detail.
What Big Year Premium adds for $10
If the free BIG tab is enough, you can stop there. But if you want the full set, Big Year Premium gives you all 10 templates for $10.
The premium layouts are meant for different kinds of planning. Some are better for habits, some for school, some for printing on smaller paper, and some for a different visual view of the same year.
Here is the main difference:
- Free Big Year, the BIG tab, shows the whole year on one page.
- Big Year Premium adds all 10 layouts, including PILLAR-WIDE, TALL, CHECK, SCHOOL, TINY, MINI, MOON, PILLAR, PILLAR COLOR, and UNDATED.
If you want a habit tracker, the CHECK tab gives you three checkboxes on every date. If you want an academic planner, the SCHOOL tab lets you set custom start and end dates, like July to June or any other cycle. If you want a year without dates, the UNDATED tab gives you blank day cards so you can reuse the sheet later.
If you want the premium upgrade, go to Big Year Premium.
The main point is simple. Use the free one-page calendar to set your 2027 goals. Then add premium layouts only if you need a different way to see the same year.
Common pitfalls
- Starting with January details first, avoid this by looking at all 12 months before filling anything in.
- Placing goals before holidays, avoid this by adding holidays and breaks in SETTINGS first.
- Stuffing every task into the year view, avoid this by keeping only the biggest commitments on the page.
- Writing too much text, avoid this by keeping notes short so the sheet stays readable.
FAQ
What is Big Year in Google Sheets?
Big Year is a free 2027 yearly calendar template for Google Sheets. It gives you the whole year on one page in the BIG tab.
How do I set yearly goals in Big Year?
Start with 3 to 5 goals, then mark the months that matter for each one. Keep the notes short so you can see the full year clearly.
Can I add holidays and school breaks?
Yes. Big Year has a SETTINGS area where you can add dates, and those holidays highlight automatically on the BIG tab and Premium layouts that use SETTINGS.
Can I print the Big Year calendar?
Yes. The free download includes a printable 2027 calendar PDF. It is landscape, fit to one page, and comes in letter, A4, tabloid, and A3.
What does Big Year Premium add?
Big Year Premium adds all 10 templates for $10. That includes PILLAR, PILLAR-WIDE, PILLAR COLOR, TALL, CHECK, SCHOOL, UNDATED, MOON, MINI, and TINY.
What is the CHECK tab for?
CHECK gives you three checkboxes on every date for habit tracking. It is useful when you want to track repeated actions across the year.
What is the SCHOOL tab for?
SCHOOL is for academic years with custom start and end dates. You can use it for cycles like July to June or another school-year schedule.
