The administrators at my small middle school had no idea what they were doing when, on the first day of 6th grade, they handed me my first academic planner. 25 years and vast sums of money later, I have gone through so many planners I couldn’t remember them all if my life depended on it. The planners given to me throughout middle and high school were used religiously. During the summers, I actually missed having them to write in. *insert my husband yelling NERD*
You can imagine that having tried so many planners and planning systems, I consider myself somewhat of an aficionado or at least a moderate devotee. Planning keeps me grounded and prepared for (almost) anything. Life happens and if you have a plan, you can tackle it head-on. That’s what I want for you dear reader. And in that vein, I want to introduce you to a few planning systems, give you their pros and cons, and an idea of what you might expect to spend on each.
Dated Planners
First up, we have dated planners. These are the traditional planner, with calendars to mark out your events and appointment. Dated planners really only come in three varieties:
Monthly – this only includes the monthly calendars
Weekly – this will give you (usually) a 2-page spread for all 52 weeks of the year and sometimes the monthly calendars as well
Daily – you’ll get a page for every single day of the year and sometimes the monthly calendars
These are great for people wanting to dive into planning without having to do a lot of set-up or decorating. Their structured pages mean you don’t have to fuss with a bunch of different layouts. They also make it easy to plan ahead. Also, you don’t have to go on a scavenger hunt for them. They come in a variety of sizes, designs, and price points, and can be found at all kinds of stores from Target and Walmart to CVS and the local grocery. The price point doesn’t have to be expensive if you’re just wanting to try one out. I’ve found many cute and functional ones at Target for between $10-$20.
Unfortunately, having so many options can be a hindrance here. It’s overwhelming when you start looking into dated planners online and see the absolutely endless amount of choices. Also, if you’re not somebody who is going to use a planner everyday these might not be right for you. With the structured design if you go days or weeks without using it, that’s just wasted space. And if you’re in the market for a daily planner, keep in mind that they can get rather thick if the paper used isn’t super thin.
Some of my faves include:
Passion Planner
Day Designer
Blue Sky
Moleskine
Hobonichi Techo
The Bullet Journal
Next, we have the planning method that has been all the rage for a few years now. You can’t tiptoe through a planner group on Facebook without hearing the bullet journal mentioned. If you don’t have the first clue what I’m talking about I’m going to refer you to THIS VIDEO to explain the basics of the system. I’ll wait right here while you watch that. *hums and pets dog* Got it? Good!
The main advantage that I’ve found with the bullet journal method is that it’s easily the most flexible of all planning systems. Whether you’re doing one thing today or twenty, you have all the room you need to list those tasks out. Need to make a grocery list for the week? You can make a page for that. Want to keep track of the gifts you received at your baby shower? Yep, you can make a page for that, too. And keeping an index helps you find it all when you need it. Don’t want to do anything for a day or two except Netflix and chill? That’s fine, you can pick right back up where you left off. And if you don’t want to commit to buying an expensive notebook before you try out the system, don’t. A simple $0.50 notebook and Bic pen are seriously all you need.
A major drawback here can really be all the “inspiration” that can be garnered from Pinterest, Instagram, etc. For those who are artistically inclined or who have mastered the basics of bullet journaling, these can be great sources for ideas of what to try next. For someone just starting out, it can be an overwhelming mess that will end a bullet journal journey before it even starts. That’s why you should always start with the basics before going crazy. Also, if you’re someone who enjoys a weekly layout or a traditional style monthly calendar, it can take a bit to draw these out in a bullet journal.
For the beginner bullet journalist, I highly recommend skipping all the expensive stuff and going as basic as you can. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, step up to a better notebook and pen. Only when you’re comfortable with the system do you want to start adding in outside elements like drawings, stickers, etc.
My favorite supplies (for a more moderate level) are:
Leuchtturm 1917 notebook
The Bullet Journal Leuchtturm
Faber-Castel PITT Artist pen in size S
The Frankenplanner
This last category of planners is not as scary as the name may suggest. It’s a hodge podge of written and/or printed pages thrown together in either a binder or disc-bound notebook. Note: making my own planning pages used to be my absolute jam. I’ve still got binders littering my office shelves full of them. If I had known about Canva back then (if it even existed), I would probably still be making my own. It was time-intensive but cost-effective.
Etsy has a plethora of shops that sell pre-designed pages to keep you on track with EVERYTHING in your life. You can print out calendars, grocery lists, birthday reminders, maintenance reminders, literally anything that you can think of, there’s probably a printable ready and waiting for you. And if you can’t find it, you can either write it out or make it yourself.
Having so many options, though, can be a hindrance. It can be a major timesuck to look through all of those options in sizes, designs, and layouts. Also, when I would find a shop I liked, I found myself buying more than I needed. I was convinced I needed a freezer inventory sheet to keep track of chicken strips, frozen peas (for injuries), frozen fruit, and a couple of pounds of ground beef. (It was just me and my husband back then, don’t judge.)
While I don’t have a ton of experience with different binders and disc-bound notebooks here are some I’ve tried and really liked:
Better Binder from Staples
ARC disc-bound planner system
Martha Stewart for Staples disc-bound planner system
So, What Do I Use?
At the moment, I’m using the bullet journal (sorta) method. While I stay true to some elements of the original method such as the index, future log, and daily rapid logging, there are some things I’ve added or left out. Instead of the monthly view of the bullet journal, I use a traditional style calendar layout and I also include a version of a weekly spread to break down my Sunday to Saturday.
My best piece of advice is to start with the system that appeals to you and that you think will fit the best in your lifestyle. Use it for a little while. Make it a part of your routine. Once you have a feel for what is working and what isn’t, tweak one or two things. Continue with those tweaks for a bit, then rinse and repeat.
