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The Best Day Planners [A Complete Review!]

November 15, 2017

By:

Erin Schrader

I will never, ever quit my obsession with all things Day Planners. I know that there is this thing called “technology” and “apps” and all that jazz, but I will always be a write things down kinda gal. If it doesn’t get written down, it will never happen. There’s also something deliciously gratifying about scratching something off of a list once complete that I don’t want to give up. I fear I will never feel accomplished in my life again if I do [that’s actually a true statement]. For years I have been using a planner meaning I’ve tried a few along the way. This year the LIY team thought it would be fun if we ordered several of the hottest planners on the market and reviewed them ourselves to see what we think! We also just all really wanted to place an order for planners for 2018 and needed to know which one was the VERY best so we could rest peacefully at night knowing we made the right selection for ourselves. All very important things, obviously.

This year we chose to order and test five different planners that our readers had recommended to us – The Day Designer, Erin Condren LifePlanner, Plum Paper ME Planner, May Designs Agenda and the Emily Ley Simplified Planner. On a personal note, when I started getting into this whole day planner craze, I started off with the Erin Condren LifePlanner and then the past three years have devotedly used The Day Designer. I couldn’t imagine ordering something different than that baby because, well I’ve been obsessed, but maybe, just maybe, I’m going to go a different route for 2018. Stay tuned for the rest of the post to find out. I’ll be sharing each of the five planners and our thoughts that go along with them. You’ll get to see the inside photos, learn a few tips/tricks and hear if any of the team decided to make the commitment to that particular one! Let’s get this planner party started! 

First up, we will start with the Erin Condren LifePlanner.

Here are the facts:

  • The average cost is around $55 for the LifePlanner which measures 7×9 [a little smaller than the others]
  • 12-month planner covering January 2018 – December 2018
  • This planner is available in a TON of different colorful cover options (all of which are laminated which means spilled coffee doesn’t become an issue!) and does have the ability to be customized and personalized at no additional cost which is awesome.
  • On the page styles, you get to choose if you want vertical, horizontal or hourly. We chose vertical which groups the day into morning, afternoon and evening. It does have a monthly overview every month and then Monday – Friday is covered in a two-page spread (see below). There isn’t a clear distinction between where you would write down appointments vs to-do’s so it would be at your discretion how you would want to do that.
  • At the back, there is a notes section complete with a couple note pages, coloring pages and stickers to use throughout the planner!
  • The coil on this seemed great and durable like it would hold up all year without a problem!
  • The paper is very nice and thick – almost like cardstock! When writing, it doesn’t show through on the following page which is nice!

While it’s a cute planner and I love the smaller size, I personally didn’t love the page layout as I love having each page be an entire day itself with both the hourly laying out AND a section to write down that day’s to-dos. None of the LIY team decided to go with this one for our needs! One thing to note – Erin Condren does also sell Teacher Planners and Wedding Planners!

Next up, the May Designs Agenda

Here are the facts:

  • Prices start as low as $20 which is the lowest priced planner we reviewed! With our customization, our final cost was $28.
  • Several sizes are available – we went with the largest at 7.5 x 9.75
  • 12-month planner covering January 2018 – December 2018
  • There are an insane amount of adorable cover options! You can then personalize your cover for an additional $5.
  • On the page layout, you do have the option to choose which style you would like from regular lines (free) to composition, appointment book, 2018 agenda, teacher planner, blank or dots (all an additional $3). We did elect to have the 2018 agenda.
  • Again, the whole week is on a two-day spread.
  • I did like at the beginning of the notebook was a page for 2018 goals and the first of each month had a page to write down goals, celebrations, and notes.
  • There are no tabs on this notebook or page markers so finding your page every day could be a little bit of a task.
  • The binding (stitching) feels good and like it shouldn’t have problems with use and wear.
  • The thickness of the paper isn’t too thick and does show a little through on pages when writing.

This planner is perfect if you are looking something very lightweight to throw in your purse. The amount of writing that you could do for each day is minimal [at least for my personal liking] so I didn’t go with it. None of the LIY team opted to purchase this one, however, if you are looking for a simple planner this could be a great cost effective [and very cute!] option!

Next up, I was probably most excited to see what this planner was all about –  the Emily Ley Simplified Planner.

Here are the facts:

  • The average cost is $58 which measures 7 x 9.
  • 12-month planner covering January 2018 – December 2018
  • This planner is available in four different pattern options and doesn’t have the ability to be personalized.
  • At the beginning of the planner, there is a folder page to hold things, a page of stickers and a 2018 Bucket List page which is fun!
  • Every month is tabbed a different color and there is a monthly overview at the start of every month. For the daily pages, each day is its own page with an hourly agenda from 6 am – 9 pm, a to-do list with 16 lines, a section to write down your meals for the day and a section to write notes. Saturday/Sunday does share a page and on Sunday it has a weekly prep checklist for the week ahead of consisting of reminders to plan meals for the week ahead, tidy up for a clean slate on Monday, write tasks/appointments for the week and fill your “tank” enjoy what matters most.
  • The coil on this seemed great and durable like it would hold up all year without a problem!
  • The paper is nice and thick! When writing, it doesn’t show through on the following page which is nice!

This planner is the most similar to The Day Designer that I have been using for years. The biggest difference to me is the size and weight [this one smaller and lighter] which is nice for carrying around and the pages are thicker on this one. It doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles as The Day Designer, but it has everything I need. This is the planner I decided to order for 2018! 

Next up, we have the Plum Paper ME Planner, which ended up being the MOST popular planner of the LIY team.

Here are the facts:

  • The average cost is $42 which measures 8 1/2 x 11 [the largest of all of the planners]
  • This planner is the most customizable planner we came across! You can choose the format of the planner [original, teacher, homeschool, hourly layout, etc] along with the start date of the planner, how many months you want it for and so on. We opted for a standard 12-month planner in hourly layout covering January 2018 – December 2018.
  • This planner is available in a crazy amount of different cover pattern options and can be personalized on the front free of charge! Another awesome option with this planner is that you can add sections (ie: budget, meal planning, blog planning, fitness planning, etc) We added the meal planning section for $5.50.
  • At the beginning of the planner, there are a few pages to write down special dates and ideas, plans or goals.
  • Every month is tabbed a different color and there is a monthly overview at the start of every month. There is also a page every month to write down three goals, birthdays, events and things to remember. For the daily pages, the entire week is on a two-day spread. There is an hourly list from 7 am – 9 pm and a to-do list with 4 lines.  At the very back there are two folder pages to hold papers and notes.
  • The coil on this seemed great and durable like it would hold up all year without a problem!
  • The paper isn’t as thick as Erin Condren or Emily Ley and the writing does show through a tiny bit through pages, but nothing distracting.

Because this planner is SO customizable, it’s hard for it not to be a great contender. Three of the LIY girls chose this one as their planner for 2018, however, I think for me personally it is a little large and I need more than 4 lines to my to-do list every day!

Last but not least, my dearly beloved, The Day Designer.

Here are the facts:

  • The average cost is $59 which measures 9 x 9.75.
  • 12-month planner covering January 2018 – December 2018
  • This planner is available in ten different pattern options and doesn’t have the ability to be personalized.
  • At the beginning of the planner, there is folder page to hold things along with several pages on goal setting for the year. It also has pages where you can plot out what your ideal month and week would look like.
  • Every month is tabbed and there is a monthly overview at the start of every month. For the daily pages, each day is its own page with an hourly agenda from 5 am – 9 pm, a to-do list with 17 lines, a section to write down today’s top 3 to-dos, a spot to write down anything that is due, dinner, dollars (take that as you will – maybe it’s a goal of how much money you want to make that day, how much you can spend that day, etc) and a don’t forget box. Additionally, it has a spot to write down notes each day and a little box to write down something you are grateful for that day. Saturday and Sunday do share the same page and at the bottom of that page, there is a section that says “Next Week” and has boxes for each day of the week for you to write something in.
  • The coil on this is my least favorite of all of the planners. For the past three years, the coil has come undone around November which makes the last month or two of the year a pain to use.
  • The paper isn’t as thick as some of the others, however, the writing doesn’t show through on the pages.

I know one of the LIY girls is ordering this one for this year. It pains me a little bit to say that I don’t think I am ordering this for 2018, however, I am excited to try something new for a year. We will see if I go back to ole faithful in 2019!

Well friends, that’s a planner wrap! If I missed anything or you have any particular questions – ask away and I’ll be happy to answer! Are you going to give any of these planners a try this year?! I’d love to hear your feedback! Cheers to a year of organization in the chaos 😉

photos shot by tina herschberger photography

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