It would be a bit of an understatement to say that I'm obsessed with planners.
I love them! I'm always gawking over new styles, formats, and designs. But using a planner isn't about having a pretty accessory, it's about using a tool that will help you get more done, focus on what matters most, and live an intentional life. (But it sure doesn't hurt when it looks gorgeous too!)
If all of that sounds way too big and lofty for a stack of papers to accomplish, well… it's not! Just the process of writing things down helps us to feel less overwhelmed, eliminates the stress of our brain trying to hold onto every detail, and grounds us when we find we're flailing and not sure what to do next.
I get that you can “write things down” inside a planning app, but for me, it's just not the same. My phone and computer have way too many distractions on them for me to use them to keep myself organized. I need paper. I need anti-technology. I need something I can focus on that doesn't leave my brain feeling dizzy.
Now that we've established why planners are such a vital tool, we're stuck on the next step: How do you possibly pick the one that's right for you?
No worries, friend! I've done the heavy lifting for you and have personally purchased and reviewed 8 different popular planners. They each have awesome features, and some that need a little work. They each have a different focus and different tools to keep you organized.
So read on, and pick the planner that's right for you!
For the Brilliant Business Woman
The Brilliant Business Planner ($45) is perfect for any woman who's ready to turn her hobby into a business. It's the only physical planner on the market that not only allows you to plan out your goals for the year and your weekly schedule, but also plan out all the aspects of your business.
This is the planner that Sarah and I created! We created it because we had a problem and needed a solution: No one else was acknowledging the fact that simply planning out our days wouldn't cut it as business owners. There are so many aspects of our business that need written down and planned out too.
What's included:
- Goal-Setting and Mind-Mapping Pages
- Monthly Spreads
- Weekly To-Do Pages and Time Blocking Pages
- Editorial Calendar
- Stats Tracker
- Guest Post Planner
- Blog Sponsors
- Project Planner
- Giveaway Planner
- New Product Planner
- Product Pricing Worksheets
- Product Marketing Plan Pages
- Advertising Decision Matrix & Results Pages
- Habit Tracker
- Financial Summary
- Notes + Brilliant Ideas Pages
- Business Mileage Tracker
See my full video review of our planner, with pros and cons right here.
For the Goal-Setting, Girly Woman
Whitney English' Day Designer Mini ($49) is just lovely. She has many feminine designs to choose from, and the gold wire binding is delicious. (This cover is an exclusive design in collaboration with Belle and Blush.) Whitney starts the planner with a vision for the next 12 months. There are spaces to write down how you will help yourself, how you'll help everyone else, your attitude and academics (not sure why these are together!) and resources & finance. Then there's room to write down the little tasks required for each goal, along with a page to break your goals and big vision into 3 month tasks. Finally, there's a goal overview page to give yourself a deadline, list resources and obstacles, and track when you complete the goal.
I love Whitney's focus on goal-setting, but there's just not enough room to really break down a goal and make things happen on the small, thin pages. There just isn't. Her daily layout, however, is brilliant. Each day has an inspirational quote, today's top three (with check boxes to mark them as complete) due, dinner, dollars, don't forget, to-do list, time blocking, notes, and daily gratitude. There's a lot going on in a day, but it's a very helpful tool.
What's Included:
- 4 Unique Goal-Setting Pages
- Year at a Glance
- Notes Pages
- Monthly Spread
- Daily Page: includes inspirational quote, today's top three, due, dinner, dollars, don't forget, time-blocking from 7 AM to 7 PM, to do list, notes, and daily gratitude.
- Weekend Page: Includes glance at the week ahead.
For the On-the-Go, Intentional Woman
The Simplified Planner ($58) is just that: quite simple! It's really very lovely, and if too many slots and pages has you overwhelmed, then Emily Ley's Simplified Planner might be for you. It's compact (like the Day Designer mini) and with a hardcover, it can definitely hang out in your purse and come with you wherever you go.
Emily's daily layout is quite simple and clean, and I have to say there's something refreshing about that. There aren't too many places for my eyes to wander, and I'm really just focused on my daily schedule and my to-do list.
What's Included:
- The Process of Simplifying Page
- Year at a Glance
- Yearly Bucket List (with circles to check when completed)
- List of Holidays
- Monthly Spread
- Daily Pages: Time Blocking from 6 AM to 9 PM, To Do List, Dinner, and Notes
- Weekend Pages: Time Blocking + To Do with a spot to write down a memory from the week, plus weekly prep box with reminders on how to start the week off on the right foot.
For the Woman who Wants more Joy
The Happiness Planner by Mo Seetubtim ($59) is all about focusing on what makes you happy. I like to use the word joy instead, because happiness is quite fleeting. But I think Mo feels the same way. Essentially, she wants you to be intentional about eliminating the things that don't bring you joy and adding more of the things that do.
What I love about this planner is that it really has some unique ideas for tracking your happiness levels and being intentional about leading the kind of life you want to lead. Plus, I think the cover design is modern and beautiful. What I don't like – it's pretty self-focused. Yes, there's room for gratitude, but with so many unique lists and exercises, I would have liked to see more focus on serving others (that will make you so much happier than only thinking about yourself!)
What's Included:
- 10 Rules to Live by for a Positive Life
- List What Makes you Happy (along with where on the scale it falls and how often you'd like to do it).
- List What Makes you UnHappy (along with what you can do to change it).
- List Strengths and Weaknesses
- Gratitude Page
- Qualities or Habits to Improve On
- Who You'd Like to See More Often
- What Have you Achieved that you're Proud of?
- What are your Dreams?
- Yearly Goals
- Monthly Focus
- Year at a Glance
- Rate how you Feel each month (number scale for happy, excited, energetic, calm, and healthy)
- Monthly Plan – personal + work goals, happy things you'll do, and teeny tiny month at a glance
- Daily Sheets: what you're excited about, exercises, main focus, meals, schedule and to-do (not enough space in my opinion for these two) notes, good things about today, what I hope for tomorrow
- Monthly Reflection: Feelings score, happiest moments, struggles, how you overcame, what you learned, what you're thankful for, what you'd like to improve on, and a tiny notes box
- Yearly Review: Tally up Monthly “feelings scores”, List happiest moments, new skills learned, things you enjoyed most on a daily basis, personal qualities you developed, new things you discovered, how you went out of your comfort zone, how you overcame negative events, and what you're most thankful for
To see my full video review of The Happiness Planner by Mo Seetubtim with pros and cons, head here.
For the Practical, Budgeting Woman
The Living Well Planner ($49) was designed by popular blogger, Ruth Soukup. Her focus is on intentional living and making good choices with your money. Ruth's planner is quite plain and no-fuss – so it's perfect if you're not super girly and prefer a simple design. She has the most detailed budgeting sheets I have ever seen in a planner, so if tracking your finances on paper is something you like to do – this is the perfect planner for you.
What's Included:
- Yearly Goals
- Year at a Glance
- Important Info Page
- Master To Do List
- Notes & Ideas
- Monthly Goals (with focus on home improvements + people to connect with)
- Month at a Glance
- Monthly Budget (very detailed!)
- Weekly Horizontal Layout
- Meal Planner
- Password Tracker
See my full video review of the Living Well Planner, with pros and cons right here.
For the Busy, Practical Mom
Amy Knapp's Family Organizer ($10.25) (affiliate link) is a small, portable, affordable planner designed just for moms. At just $15 it's by far the cheapest option on this page. If you're on a budget and need something you can take on the go, her planner is quite nice.
There's a focus on grocery, meal and to do lists, along with organizing emergency information, activity information, and information for the baby sitter.
What's Included:
- Personal Info + Emergency + School Numbers
- Year at a Glance
- Monthly Spread with projects list
- Weekly To Do Page with Grocery List
- Weekly Horizontal Layout with Tear-Out Menu list (grocery list on the reverse side)
- 2017 planning spread
- Notes Pages
- Babysitter Information
- Babysitter + Playdate phone numbers
- Children's Activities Pages
- Address/Phone Pages
- Password Tracker
- Additional Phone Numbers
- Square, outdated stickers (just not super cute but they are functional!)
See my complete video review of Amy Knapp's Family Organizer with pros and cons right here.
For the Woman who Wants to Customize her Life
The Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas is a great disc-based planner. The disc-based system allows you to add and subtract pages at any point in your planner without messing with a binder.
You can grab your own levenger punch and discs right here (this is our affiliate link) and turn any printable planner into a fully customizable product. The best part is you could take bits and pieces from different planners and combine them together to create your perfect system.
What's Included:
- Monthly Dates, Events, Goals, and Don't Forget Page
- Monthly Spreads
- Weekly Vertical Spread (divides the day into morning, afternoon, and evening) with a Notes column
- Notes Pages
- That's pretty much it! But the laminated cover makes it durable. It's portable, and it's way more affordable than the Erin Condren planner which has a similar layout.
Note: You can buy the Brilliant Business Planner in Un-Bound form too and turn it into a disc-based system. Maybe you love our business planning sheets but you'd like to add daily planning pages. Awesome! Grab your Un-Bound Planner here, then head here to grab your punch, discs and cover to customize it to your liking.
See my complete video review of the Happy Planner + Pros and Cons right here.
For the Woman who Loves Vintage Details
Rifle Paper Co. has brilliant, vintage-inspired designs ($34). If you're looking for something a bit more artsy and unique, their products are the perfect fit. I love that their planner has wire binding that's covered so it won't get bent and ruined throughout the year. The planner also has a band attached so you can keep everything together.
If you're looking for a simple, portable, beautiful planner this one is it. Plus, the cover is hard but it's not nearly as heavy as The Simplified Planner or Day Designer.
What's Included:
- Year at a Glance
- List of Holidays
- Important Dates for the Year
- Notes
- Monthly Spreads
- Weekly Layout – it has a horizontal to-do list style – with 14 lines per day.
- Contacts Pages
- A folder pocket (with a ruler on the side – love this feature!) in the back.
So I'm curious, which planner is right for you?! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and what you look for when choosing a planner. What makes it work for your life and your priorities?
Happy Planning!
~ Beth Anne
