Day Planner Debate: Which Should You Choose?

Paper day planners. Pretty old school, right? Today, most people I know keep their day planning on the calendar in their phone. I tried that and it lasted all of two seconds. I don’t know what it is, but in order for me to stay organized, I have to physically write things down. For me, there is nothing better than a pretty blank page and a fabulous pen. Not to mention that writing it down kinda cements an event in my brain where a phone note does no such thing. I’m not alone here, am I?

All that to say, I love me a good paper day planner. I get a new one every year and it’s one of the most exciting purchases I make (nerd alert!). And there are quite a few good ones out there, it turns out (so I must not be alone in my writing-things-down obsession). In fact, there are so many great choices that I’m just not sure which one to go with this year. I seem to have whittled my options down to four finalists.

LifePlanner

LifePlanner by Erin Condren

Pros: If you like a personalized planner, you can’t get better than this. Every year, there are a ton of options for colorful, fun covers that you can personalize with a name or initials or photos. On the inside, this planner is jam-packed with colorful planner pages. I can choose how I can plan and see my whole week at a glance. The monthly tabs are wide and durable. The planner comes with a lot of fun extras like stickers and a plastic “bookmark” to keep your place. The cover and coil are super durable.

Cons: All the color in this planner is getting to be too much for me. A little too childish, I guess. Also, all the extras, like the stickers, are useless. I just don’t have time or inclination to be decorating my weekly planning pages with stickers. Although I love seeing my whole week at a glance, I feel like there’s not a whole lot of room to write down to-do’s and notes, which I do a lot.

Day Designer

Pros: Pretty simplified planner. The designs are really beautiful. You can choose either a daily or weekly planner. There’s plenty of room to write my schedule, to-do’s and notes. Simple tabs separate the months. Apparently, there are some type of life-coaching and goal setting pages in the front to help plan long term. I love the sophistication of the design and that it’s not plastic.

Cons: I’m not a huge fan of the daily planner version. It is harder for me to look at my week at a glance. Also, I don’t really need to schedule every single day since I rarely go to meetings or have conference calls. There are also several boxes in the daily page that I know I’d never use (like “Dollars,” “Daily Gratitude,” and “Due”). The weekly planner version is more my speed, but there is less room to write down my To-Do’s (and I have a lot). Still, the extra life-coaching pages in the front are not really useful to me.

Simplified Planner

Simplified Planner by Emily Ley

Pros: Very simple–down to the nuts and bolts. They offer a daily or weekly planner version. Colorful tabs separate the months. Very pretty covers and a small pocket in the front to keep loose paper or a small notebook. I’ve read that the pages are thicker, which is good because I like to use pretty colored pens and I don’t want them to bleed through the pages. Mostly, I love that it’s exactly what I need and nothing more.

Cons: As pretty as these are, they’re still a bit too loud for me. I’m just not a fan of an overly colorful planner. Plus, there really isn’t a whole lot of space to write lists and reminders.

Whitney English Planner

Pros: There are only a few designs, but they are gorgeous! The format is a week-on-one-page with the facing page left lined and ready for lots of lists (hooray!). There’s a pocket in the front for me to keep any notes I might need handy. All the months are separated by tabs and the color scheme is much more subdued.

Cons: Honestly, the only cons I’ve seen in this one are the front few pages. There’s a lot of that life planning, goal worksheet nonsense that I’ll never use. But overall, this planner looks like exactly what I am looking for!

I hope this little comparison helps you make your choice!