I’m on the look out for a new planner…mine ends in June. Yes, I know it’s only March, but honestly it takes me a while to find one that is just right. I’ve been looking around and here are 7 book bound planners I’m considering.
This past year I’ve been using an undated Erin Condren. It’s pretty good as far as book bound planners go. Here’s what I like about it and what I don’t…
likes:
- it’s book bound, meaning it lays flat and is streamlined. I can’t stand spiral bound planners. The pages never seem to turn smoothly and they always seem super bulky
- pretty cover
- it’s the right size…8 1/2 x 11″, anything else is just too small
- starts on a Sunday…not sure why, but this is quite important to me
- 2 page, full spread monthly layout with large squares to write in
dislikes:
- undated. It wasn’t a huge problem having to add the dates myself but I know I would prefer an already dated planner
- journaling areas are facing the wrong way. I jot something down each day right before I go to bed. I don’t need huge areas to write in, so I typically just use what would be the weekly/daily/hourly calendar section but I would atleast like them to be top to bottom.
- not enough blank pages at the end. I like to keep lists, goals, ideas, etc. In the past I’ve kept lists of books I’ve read, vacation ideas and blog ideas.
So, why, you ask, don’t I just buy another Erin Condren planner? Well, like I noted above it wasn’t perfect. Plus EC is no longer offering the personalized hardbound planners so I’d have to buy a plain one off Amazon. If I’m going to spend a bit more on an EC planner I at least want it to have my name on it!
After digging around the internet for hours (!), I think I’ve narrowed down my options. Here are 7 choices for book bound planners.
snow & graham in blush
It’s no secret that I love the blush color, as evidenced by my purse, wallet, makeup bag, etc.! 🙂 This planner also starts the week on a Sunday, has large daily squares plus the area I would journal in is a decent size. One issue…it began in January of 2019 and ends in December, meaning I’d have to find something new for next year. I can’t tell if it has enough note pages at the end but based on the simple monthly format it’s a contender!
gallery leather
Shiny! I love the look of this one, and while it seems to have a good monthly formal and plenty of note pages, it seems to be lacking anyplace to journal. I could consider a separate journal but I do love having everything in one place. Also, it looks like this one started back in July 2018 and would end in December of this year so I’d have to find something new for 2020.
creative notebooks
Isn’t the cover pretty?? Very serene. Ok, so this one would take me through June 2020 which is great and it has a 2 page monthly spread AND journaling pages, BUT it’s only 6 x 9 and I really prefer something bigger like 8 1/2 x 11.
blue sky planner
hmmmm…..it’s the right size, right format (although I’m not sure if the week starts on a Sunday), it says it has “weekly” pages, so that would work for my daily thoughts, no mention on whether it has blank pages at the back. Oh and it would take me all the way to December 2020! Meaning I could spare myself all this searching, at least for a while! LOL!
mom agenda
Wasn’t there a Whitney Houston song that said something about almost having it all? This one almost has it all! 2-page monthly layout, weekly section for journaling, blank note pages along with the added bonus of password pages, areas for contacts and birthdays….so what’s the issue?? Well, two problems…it’s small 7 x 9 AND it starts the week on Monday! I can’t tell you exactly why this bugs me so much but I’m telling you I would have a hard time adjusting to the change…In my mind the first square would be Sunday, so I’d be entering our schedule on the second square of the week (which in my minds eye would be Monday, but in fact it would be Tuesday! Talk about jacking things up! Yes, I’m sure I could adjust but I’m hoping I don’t have to! 😉
panda planner
The “panda planner guarantees to get you organized”. Really? I could get behind that guarantee! ha! This one ticks off the following boxes…right size? check, 2 page monthly layout? check, book bound? check. Bonus features include loads of goal setting areas…monthly goals, weekly goals, even daily goals. At the end of the day it encourages you to jot down things you are grateful for and what went well and areas you can improve upon the next day. I’m all for self reflection, but this might be too much, if you know what I mean. Panda planner is undated which I know I said I’d rather not have but it would atleast allow me to start and end wherever I need to rather than being limited by most of the planners which will leave me stranded come December. Oh, I do have to say this quote included in the description cracked me up….
“YOU ARE AWESOME – You might not feel that way all the time, but if you could just find a way to stay on top of your sh*t, everyone else would recognize how badass you really are.”
clever fox pro
The Clever Fox…right size, right layout, has extra goal and vision pages, not sure about blank pages. It seems similar to the Panda one (not sure what foxes and pandas have to do with planning and organization but whatever!). From what I can tell, the fox planner has a more streamlined look, while the panda has more going on with each page than I might like. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed visually (at least for me!), so I typically take a “less is more” sort of attitude to the things I use in my day to day life. Bonus…not necessary but a nice addition…stickers! I’ll admit I do like a good sticker…and colorful pens, they just brighten things up and can make even the more mundane tasks seem more lively. 🙂 This guy is also undated which, as I’ve mentioned, has its pros and cons.
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As you can see, none of these were perfect but after careful consideration I decided to order the Panda and the Fox from Amazon. I figure I’ll know which one is THE one once I hold them and flip through and then I can simply return the loser. 😉 What do you think? Which one is going to be the winner? I will update with my thoughts once I’ve had a chance to check them out. 🙂
Oh, by the way…if I could just get on board with a spiral bound planner I’d have WAY more choices…seriously like 100’s more. But I’ve tried them in the past and always, always hate them. So there’s that. 😉
If you are looking for more goal setting ideas, you’re in luck! I did an entire post on realistic goal setting last year. 🙂
