In this post from a few days ago, I talked about a number of different book bound planner options. I had narrowed it down to two. Today I’m going to compare Clever Fox Planner and Panda Plannerand let you know which one was the winner!
Both have covers that feel sturdy and “leather like”. The Clever Fox and the Panda are the same size and have the same number of ribbon book marks. These two planners are attempting to address the idea of daily planning as well as long term goal setting and accountability. I thought it would be hard to pick between the two…but in the end the winner was clear. Let me break it down for you and do a direct comparison of the two. Read on as I compare Clever Fox and Panda planners… (panda is shown in the top of the photos and fox underneath)
monthly pages
Both of the planners had two-spread, undated monthly pages. I’m not sure how, but the squares are larger in the Clever Fox, even though the area to write on the bottom is larger too. I prefer the larger areas in which to write our daily schedules. Biggest problem here? The Panda planner only lasts 6 months…I can’t really fathom using a planner that in just six months I’d have to start over again.
daily/weekly pages
The Panda Planner’s daily/weekly layout was just not going to work for what I needed. I like to jot down a brief rundown of my day just before I go to bed. I can easily do that in the spaces provided in the Clever Fox but I’m not sure how I could have modified the Panda to fit the bill. The Panda’s daily area is really meant to be used starting in the a.m., with writing down your to-do’s and what not. There’s only a tiny section at the bottom for “daily reflection”.
monthly review and planning
Again the purpose here, with the monthly pages, is slightly different. The Pandas intention is to plan out the month ahead whereas the Fox wants you to reflect back on the month that just finished. Because the Fox planner already has areas to write down monthly goals, I like the idea of using these end of the month reviews.
note pages
Once again the Clever Fox planner came out way ahead! Not only do the “dot” pages lend themselves towards intricate bullet journaling (a fun creative outlet!) but there are tons of them….probably 10-15 pages total. The Panda planner had just 4 pages and the dot’s are just too far apart to create interesting bullet designs.
pages specific to the Clever Fox
At the beginning of the Clever Fox planner there are pages for self-reflection. To be honest I’m not sure if I will use these but I suppose it’s nice to have them in case I decide to.
I’m a big fan of setting goals (goals…never “resolutions”!). Although I will say the whole “where will I be in 10 years” kind of thing has never been my strong point. While I think it’s great to dream big and work towards those bigger life moments…peace…usefulness…harmony and all of that, I’m SO well aware how this thing we call life, can actually get really twisted around and eff’ed up! The biggest problem with this kind of planning is the fact that instead of motivating you it can actually lead you toward feeling like a big fat failure…having achieved nothing on your list can be quite demoralizing! So, while I think it’s great to dream…I would caution you to keep it broad and flexible.
One year goals…now these I love! There’s nothing better than an entire year stretching out in front of you, full of possibilities. The key here is to be sure you are making your goals realistic and specific. It does you no good to add “win the lottery” under the finance section! LOL! But something more along the lines of “pay off credit card bill in full each month”, is a lot more attainable. 🙂
and the winner is….(just in case you hadn’t already figured it out! haha!)
In the end, it was easy to compare Clever Fox and Panda Planners and it was quite clear that the Clever Fox Planner offers everything I need (and even a few things I don’t, but I’d rather have too much than too little). It really does tick all the boxes….
- book bound
- 8 1/2″ x 11″
- starts on a Sunday (technically this is an undated planner and you could make it start on whatever day you want)
- large monthly spread with large boxes to write in
- weekly pages with room to journal daily
- note pages at the end for all my many lists I like to make
If you missed my earlier post about book bound planners, look for it here. I gave brief run-downs on 8 different planners. If you are thinking The Panda Planner or the Clever Fox isn’t for you, perhaps you will find one here that is a better fit. 🙂
