My Current Planner Recommendations

I’m a little bit of a planner nerd and constantly review planners as I find them. Here are my current planner recommendations in the each of the major categories.

I used to post planner recommendations annually when the newest versions came out. After several years of that, I realized that even though some of the details of each of the planners changed, my recommendations very seldom did so I decided to just have a single post of my current recommendations and update it as needed. While some of the photos may not be of the most recent version, I assure you that I’ve reviewed any changes as of June 2021.

If you need help choosing which category of planner will work best for you, read this post on How To Choose A Planner.

 

One-Page-Per-Day, Spiral Bound

I have been completely amazed by the daily Simplified Planner by Emily Ley. As the name says, this planner has a very simplified layout. This makes it perfect for almost everyone because you can customize it to your needs. In addition, the quality of this planner is outstanding.

I would highly recommend this planner to anyone looking for a one-page-per-day, spiral-bound planner system. This planner also is a good middle point to try for anyone who can’t figure out what type of planner would be best for them.

 

See a complete review of the Daily Simplified Planner in this post, Simplified Planner by Emily Ley. This is the planner that I am currently using personally.

The calendar year Simplified Planners are now available. They’ve already sold out of all Weekly Academic Simplified Planners and have very few Daily Academic Simplified Planners left so I advise you to place your order early. You can order your planner here.

 

Weekly Horizontal Format, Spiral Bound

The Living Well Planner is a weekly, spiral-bound planner. It is very customizable and has goal setting and budgeting pages in each monthly section. It also has extra notes pages in the back.

This is a great option for anyone who wants a weekly, spiral-bound planner system in a horizontal layout. This is the planner that I used last year for our family household planner.

 

 

These planners are available starting in July or December, in 12 or 18 month books. You can order your planner here.

 

Weekly Vertical Format, Book Bound

The Weekly Simplified Planner by Emily Ley is a weekly planner with a horizontal layout. As the name implies, this planner has a very simplified layout. This makes it perfect for almost everyone because you can customize it to your needs. In addition, the quality of this planner is outstanding.

I would highly recommend this planner to anyone looking for a weekly, book-bound planner system with a vertical layout.

This planner is great for people who don’t have a lot of appointments or tasks, or who have larger tasks that they work on all week. This is the planner that I am currently using.

 

These planners sell out regularly, so I advise you to place your order early. The academic year versions are released in April each year and the calendar year versions are released in September. You can order your planner here.

 

Ring Bound Planners

While a planner’s most important job is usually the task list and calendar, Franklin Covey ring bound planners have plenty of room for anything you can think of. And Franklin Covey is the best I’ve found in the ring bound planner market.

 

 

The Franklin Covey planners come in four different sizes: pocket (3.5” x 6”), compact (4.25” x 6.75”), classic (5.5” x 8.5”), and monarch (8.5” x 11”). In addition, they come in a variety of styles to fit any personality. This gives you lots of options to meet your specific needs.

Franklin also has a variety of forms, accessories, and decorations available in their store. In addition, they have hole punches in each of their sizes so you can create your own pages and add them to your planner.

Franklin Covey planners are what I recommend for people who want a two-page-per-day, ring-bound planner system. Go to this post, Franklin Covey Planner Review, for a complete review of their two-page-per-day planner. This is the planner I have used most of my life. I try a new planner for a year now and then, but I almost always come back to the Franklin Covey classic size planner.

 

Most Franklin Covey planners have start dates at the beginning of each quarter (January, April, July, and October) making them the most flexible planner to get started with. In addition, Franklin Covey planners are cheaper in the long run because you only need to invest in a binder when you start using a new size. You can order your planner here.

Specialized Planner

Daily Greatness has a wonderful collection of specialized planners to help with just about any area of your life. From standard journals to planners for business, parents, yoga, wellness and many other topics I highly recommend these planners as a supplement to your daily planner to help in tracking and planning the individual areas of your life.

 

 

Printable Planner

I don’t really recommend printable planners because they end up costing more than the produced planners. However, if you really want a printable planner, I would recommend checking out what Laura has at I Heart Planners. She has several printable options.

What planner are you going use in 2018? Let me know in the comments below or send me an email at janet@alifeofbalance.com.