Everything You Need to Know About the Dapperdesk Planner 2020 Before You Buy – FAQ
Not sure if the 2020 Dapperdesk Planner by Emily Ley is right for you? Answers to all your FAQ plus find out if the Dapperdesk Planner will help you get more done in less time.
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What is the Dapperdesk Planner?
The Dapperdesk Planner by Emily Ley is a calendar year, bookbound, daily planner. With a day per page (even weekends), a leather cover and a minimalist design inside, the Dapperdesk Planner is a great choice for professionals, working moms, work at home moms, mom bloggers and moms who like a minimalist style. The dark navy cover would even be a great planner for working dads too!
My Dapperdesk Planner Review
I answer a lot of questions in my Dapperdesk Planner review about the planner itself, so I’ll list them for you here so you can head over there to find out more.
- what are the features of the 2020 Dapperdesk planner?
- what does the inside of the 2020 Dapperdesk look like? I’ve got 10 pictures for you to be able to zoom in and check it out.
- why is the Dapperdesk Planner the best planner for working moms and dads?
- what are the pros and cons of the Dapperdesk Planner?
- Any good Dapperdesk sales or coupon codes? Yes!
- Who is the Dapperdesk Planner best for?
What’s new in the 2020 Dapperdesk Planner?
Besides the color of the keepsake box, the 2020 Dapperdesk Planner is the same as 2019.
What are the Best Pens to Use in the DapperDesk Planner?
I have it on my list to do a whole other post about the best pens to use in the Dapper desk planner but I thought I’d give you the quick answer here. In my opinion, the best pens to use in the Dapperdesk Planner are the Emily Ley Pilot Precise v5 pen set. I like the fine tip point and they write very smoothly. There is hardly any shadowing on the other side of the page because of the high quality Mohawk via vellum paper.
I have been using the Emily Ley Pilot Precise v5 pen set since 2018 when I got my first daily Simplified Planner. I usually just use one color at a time. But here are some other pens that have earned an honorable mention in the best pens to use in the Dapperdesk category.
- Emily Ley’s Gold Dot Pen – I like this one because it’s a hefty pen with a wide barrel and looks so gorgeous with the Dapperdesk. The gold dot pen and Dapperdesk would make a perfect gift idea for working moms!
- the Pentel energels – I like the black in needle tip but the colored set with the metal point is nice too and they are very smooth!
- Papermate inkjoy gel pens– I love the wide variety of colors in the inkjoys, they are inky and bold and vibrant.
Does the DapperDesk Lie Flat?
Yes, the Dapperdesk Planner does lie flat once the planner binding has been stretched a little. At first, it didn’t seem to lie flat much but after repeated use and leaving it open more, it does lie flat now. It probably just takes a day or two to break it in.
Here’s a comparison of my 2019 blush Dapperdesk on top and the 2020 sky blue Dapperdesk on the bottom as soon as I took it out of the box. As you can see, the one on the top does lie flat much better.
Some more pictures of how the Dapperdesk lies flat once broken in. These are from my 2019 and I tried to show you how it lies flat when you are using the beginning of the year pages, the middle of the year pages, and end of year pages.
How Well Does the DapperDesk Hold Up to Daily Portability?
How well the Dapperdesk Planner holds up to daily portability really depends on how rough you are with it. I am a work at home mom so I only occasionally need to take it with me. So it has stayed in great condition.
I have the pink for 2019 and the sky blue for 2020 so they are light colors and tend to show more smudges, and the back cover tends to get more smudged than the front. The cover can be easily wiped with a slightly damp cloth and then wiped dry. That seems to do the trick well enough.
Pictured below: the back cover of my 2020 Dapperdesk.
I have seen others whose covers have more wear and tear on the corners from daily use. To me it’s the sign of a well loved (and used) planner.
If you want to protect it better, you could put the Dapperdesk in a planner folio before you throw it in your purse or laptop bag.
How Do You Mark Monthly Calendars and Monthly Pages since there are no tabs?
There are a couple ideas I’ve seen to mark your monthly calendars and pages since there are no tabs in the Dapperdesk Planner. I’m not a big fan of the texture of the ribbon bookmark on the a Dapperdesk. I like the texture of the ribbon on the weekly Simplified Planner much better.
- I like to use the magnetic page markers to mark the current month and the current day . I like the page markers because they slide on and off easily without damaging or creasing the page.
- Use washi tape to make tabs and stagger them so that the monthly calendar color and placement matches where the month’s daily pages are.
- Use adhesive monthly tabs for the monthly pages and to mark where the month’s daily pages start. You’ll need 2 sets of tabs to do this.
- Use a cute paperclip on the current month.
What if I need extra notes pages for my Dapperdesk?
If you need extra notes pages for your Dapperdesk Planner , I recommend getting a cute mini notebook which is easily attached with a stretchy band to the front so you can carry it easily. The mini notebooks have smooth, high quality paper and come in coordinating covers to the Signature planners so you are bound to find one in a design you love.
Here are my 3 favorite mini notebooks paired with my sky blue Dapperdesk.
- Sky Blue Dapperdesk with Navy Dot Mini Notebook and Gold Dot Pen
2. Sky Blue Dapperdesk Planner with Navy Blooms Mini Notebook
3. Sky Blue Dapperdesk Planner with Mint Tile Mini Notebook
What are must have accessories for the Dapperdesk Planner?
I am a pretty minimalist planner and mostly just use the Emily Ley Pilot Precise pens and Zebra Mildliner highlighters.
I occasionally use stickers and really like these:
Functional Stickers
Fun Stickers
What are the Differences Between Emily Ley’s Dapperdesk Planner vs. Daily Simplified Planner?
I thought I’d highlight for you the differences between Emily Ley’s Dapperdesk Planner vs. her Daily Simplified Planner.
Pictured above on left, the Daily Simplified Planner:
- has a hard board cover with gold reinforced covers
- is coil bound (wire-O)
- has “Prep Work pages” including a letter from Emily Ley, how to best use the planner, simplicity tips, a simplicity challenge and more
- has pops of color on the inside, including a different Happy Stripe color for each day
- the monthly calendars are spread throughout and right with the daily planning pages
- monthly laminated tabs
- a daily planning page for every weekday, Saturdays and Sundays share a page
- 4 notes pages in the front
- Sundays have preprinted weekly tasks to get ready for week ahead
Pictured above on right, the Dapperdesk Planner:
- has a soft leather cover
- is bookbound
- has no color on the inside, it’s all black font – minimalist style
- all the monthly calendars are in the front
- no monthly tabs
- a daily planning page for every day, even Saturdays and Sundays!
- 17 notes pages
How do You Use More Than One Planner?
I explained my work and motherhood history a little more in detail in my Dapperdesk Planner review but in a nutshell, I’ve been a working outside the home mom, a stay at home mom with littles at home and now a work at home mom and online entrepreneur. Motherhood isn’t easy at any stage but what I struggled with most was focusing on what I needed to at the moment. I always had only one planner and wanted EVERYTHING to fit in it. That would make for a pretty hefty planner.
If I was at work, I worried about what I needed to do or wasn’t getting done at home. If I was at home, I stressed about work. Sound familiar? I felt like I couldn’t win…or focus…or get done what I needed to.
Part of the problem was that in my “it needs to hold everything” planner, I would see both my home and work tasks. And I realized that was part of my problem with getting distracted chasing squirrels, the ones in my planner and the ones I’d see every time I turned around.
I started using more than one planner in September in an attempt to help me focus on work when it was work time and home/family when it was home/family time. Since it is so professional and I really wanted a daily business journal/diary to help me see my progress and how far I’d come in a year, I turned my Dapperdesk into my blog and business planner.
I’ve been loving it, with more space to record my todos, goals, routines and a bit of journaling, it truly helps me focus to ONLY see my blog tasks when it’s time to work and the the daily Simplified Planner helps me focus ONLY my home/family tasks when it’s time to dedicate to them. It’s helping me be present and intentional and focused…FINALLY!
Truth be told, I’ve actually been using 3 planners! The third planner is a weekly Simplified Planner which is my “next actions” planner, if you’re a GTDer, you’ll know what I mean. It has my weekly overview of appointments, top 3 priorities by day and the specific tasks I want to get done for my blog, home/family, self care, and my weekly menu plan. It helps me work through getting the goals from my Powersheets scheduled into my week and then I can select the “best” task to work on each day and each moment given my time and energy.
Pictured below (top to bottom): weekly Simplified Planner 2019-2020, blush pink Dapperdesk Planner for 2019, and daily Simplified Planner 2019-2020
Where Can I Buy a DapperDesk Planner?
Dapperdesk Planners are only available for sale on Emily Ley’s website. They do sell out usually before the calendar year starts so grab your 2020 Dapperdesk here if you’re interested. They do not restock planners so once they are gone, you have to wait for the next calendar year to get one.
Are there any Dapperdesk Planner Coupon Codes or Sales? When is the Best Time to Buy a Dapperdesk?
Yes, if it’s your first order, you can get a $10 off coupon here.
They seem to always have FREE shipping off U.S. orders over $100 (which is enough to get one of their great bundle deals).
They usually have a Black Friday sale so I hope that will be the next one (and I bet at least one of the covers will sell out then if not before). The Black Friday sale is the best time to buy one since these planners have already launched and are available for sale.
I’ve got a 2020 Dapperdesk and accessories bundle up for grabs over on my Planner Giveaways page. So head there to get all the details and to enter to win!
Well I hope that has helped answer your questions about the Dapperdesk Planner by Emily Ley. It truly is a beautiful, professional and minimalist daily planner that is perfect for working moms, no matter what your job, and the navy blue cover makes a great choice for working dads too.
