The Best Day Planner Reviews to Help You Achieve What Matters
Don’t buy another planner until you see these super detailed planner reviews that give you the best features, pros and cons, who the planner is right for and the honest truth so you can be confident that the next planner you buy will be right for you.
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I have a passion for planners and trying them out in different ways to get more done so I can achieve the goals that are most important to me. Rheumatoid Arthritis gives me less energy and more unpredictable health days, so I rely on my planners to have all my to dos organized so that I can maximize my efficiency and productivity and get more done in less time with whatever energy I have.
I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing these planners and my planner reviews include:
- Planner specifications
- Tons of pictures walking you through the planner
- Examples of how I used the planner
- How I color code and time track in the planner
- How I use the planner to achieve my goals
- How the planner compares to its competition
- Best pens to use in the planner / favorite supplies used
- Free printables that the planner company offers (if applicable)
- Sales and coupon code info (when possible)
- Where to buy the planner
- The bottom line review (who the planner is good for, what makes it unique, what I like, what I don’t like, whether I recommend it)
Ok, so ready to see all the planner reviews I’ve done so far and the ones I’m working on? Let’s dig in and find your perfect planner to help you crush your to do list and achieve your goals!
Daily Planner Reviews
By daily planners, I mean that they have a monthly layout and a day on a page (most planners have Saturday and Sunday share a page unless otherwise noted).
- The 10 Best Daily Planners 2023 for Busy and Often Overwhelmed Moms
- The Best Daily Planners to Organize Your Life
- Erin Condren Daily Petite Planner Review – The Best Portable Daily Planners
- Full Focus Daily Planner – this is a 13 week planner with 2 pages for every day including Saturdays and Sundays.
- Daily Simplified Planner by Emily Ley: Clean and Coloful Planning to Simplify Your Home, Life and Mind _
- Dapperdesk by Emily Ley: The Best Daily Planner for Working Moms (and dads) – classic, minimalist and professional. Only available in calendar year versions but Saturday and Sundays have their own daily planning page!
- Day Designer Planner Review: Manage Your Busy Life and Get More Done
- Day Designer vs Simplified Planner (daily version)
Other daily planners worth checking out, full reviews coming soon!
- Clever Fox Planner Review – undated, great for those on a budget
- Passion Planner Daily
- Franklin Covey Planners – day on 2 pages are my favorite
- Hobonichi Techo Cousin – monthly, weekly and 1 page per day for an entire year. on Japanese Tomoe River Paper
- Amplify Planner
Weekly Planner Reviews
These weekly planners have a monthly overview layout and one week on 2 pages format.
The 10 Best Weekly Planners 2023 for Moms to Organize the Chaos and Have a Fantastic Year
- Erin Condren Hourly Planner Review
- Erin Condren Life Planner Binder Review
- Erin Condren Hourly Life Planner Review
- Weekly Simplified Planner Review – Simplify Your Life AND Your Schedule
- Wonderland222 Planner Review – best planner for ADHD and hybrid bullet journal
- Passionate Penny Pincher Home Planner Review – best planner to clean, organize and maintain your home
- Living Well Planner Review – undated all in one planner to manage your goals, schedule, and budget.
- Passion Planner Review – best planner for students, hybrid bullet journal
- How I Bullet Journal in a Passion Planner
- Plum Paper Planner Review + How to Bullet Journal in a Plum Paper Planner
Other weekly planners I have that are worth checking out, full reviews coming soon!
- Silk and Sonder – gorgeous, thin monthly self care and wellness journal and planner
- Clever Fox Planner Review for those who like undated planners and want the most bang for the buck
- Inkwell Press Planner Review – see #5 in the ultimate planner comparison for a summary.
- Hobonichi Techo Weeks – slim, wallet sized planner with thin Japanese Tomoe River Paper
Goal Planner Reviews
These goal planners help you pinpoint goals that are important to you and break them down into manageable steps so you can achieve them. The Powersheets and Erin Condren goal setting journals are companions to daily or weekly planners. The Best Self Journal and the Full Focus Planner have daily and weekly spaces to incorporate your goal tasks into your schedule.
- Best Goal Planners 2023 to Set and Achieve Meaningful Goals
- Simple Goals Planner PDF to Achieve Your Most Meaningful Goals Despite Low Energy
- Full Focus Planner Review – best weekly review process and goalsetting/planning in one planner
- Powersheets intentional goal planner – by Cultivate What Matters (shown above)
- Erin Condren Goal setting journal
- Clever Fox Achiever’s Planner – 13 week planner which is great for 12 week year fans
Other goal planners I have…full reviews coming soon!
Budget Planner Reviews
These are the best budget planners I have reviewed so far:
- Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner review – 6 ways it can help you gain control of your finances
- Small Victory Planners Simple Budget Planner – this is a printable budget planner I created and it’s in my Etsy shop! it’s the best budget planner for beginners since you can print just the pages you need
other budget planners I have that are worth checking out…full review coming soon!
- Erin Condren budget planner – great to track your budget and expenses on the go
- Clever Fox Budget Planner and Bill Organizer – i love that this one comes with monthly folders to keep receipts and bills in one place.
- Budget by Paycheck workbook – printable budget planner that is great for paying off debt
- Plum Paper Budget Planner
Best Blog Planners
Digital Planner Reviews
I’m an avid paper planner but lately I’ve been trying out these digital tools to plan and manage tasks. Here are some of my favorite digital planning resources and apps:
- Google Calendar – for keeping track of appointments that I can share with my family and time blocking my days/weeks
- Trello – for my massive to do lists and checklists. I love being able to create boards with different topics nd check things off! As I complete them.
- Asana – for project management especially for a team of people who need to work on the same project
- Notion – an incredibly powerful database especially for people building their second brain
Specific digital planners that are compatible with notetaking apps like Goodnotes or Notability worth checking out:
Best Planner Reviews by Brand
in alpahbetical order by brand name
Clever Fox Planner Reviews
- Clever Fox Planner Review (featuring the Clever Fox Achiever’s Planner)
Day Designer Planner Reviews
- Day Designer Planner Review (Updated for 2022-2023)
- Day Designer vs Simplified Planner: What You Need to Know
- 8 Beautiful Planners Like Day Designer
ErinCondren Planner Reviews
- Erin Condren Planner Reviews – I got em all in this one page for you!
- 6 Teacher Planners Similar to Erin Condren to Organize a Great School Year
- 13 Awesome Planners Like Erin Condren
Franklin Covey Planner Reviews
Full Focus Planner Reviews
Hobonichi Planner Reviews
Living Well Planner Reviews
Passion Planner Reviews
Passionate Penny Pincher Planner Reviews
Simplified Planner Reviews
SmallVictoryPlanners on Etsy
These are the details about the planners in my Etsy shop, Small Victory Planners:
- The Best Simple Goals Planner PDF to Achieve Your Most Meaningful Goals Despite Low Energy
- Simple Productivity Planner + 7 Things Your Productivity Planner Should Do For You
- Simple Budget Planner
Wonderland222 Planner Review
Why You Need a Planner for Stress-Free Productivity and to Get More Done in Less Time
In Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity* by productivity expert and best selling author David Allen, he teaches us that in order to be stress-free, we need a planning system where we can capture all of our ideas, tasks, and projects in one place. Only then can we efficiently decide what the next action is we should be taking at any given time and not have to worry about what we’re forgetting.
Whether it’s a paper or digital planner, he advocates fine tuning the planning system that works for you. A planning system that can:
- Process information as it comes in (whether via email, papers, or learning from books, articles)
- Split up your to do lists by time frame so you know what needs to be done next and what can be saved for later
- Split up your current to do lists by context (calls, computer work, errands, etc) so that you can batch together similar items and get more done in less time
- Make lists for future projects and ideas so you don’t lose them and can find it when you need it.
- Setting up a weekly review process so you can see what went well during your week and what needs improvement
I feel more focused when I follow his guidelines and less worried about forgetting something important with all the gazillion things running through my head that I want to do for my health, my family and my blog. Getting Things Done* is a fantastic productivity resource and one that I reread so that I don’t lose sight of its valuable lessons.
Best Pens for Planning
I belong to lots of planner Facebook groups and follow lots of planners on Instagram, and one of the most popular question is what are the best pens for planning? Pens and planners go hand in hand. I bought all these pens just so I could find the answer (and it gave me a totally awesome excuse to buy all. the. pens).
Here are what I think are the best pens for planning depending on what you’re looking for:
Best Black or Blue Overall: Pentel Energel RT Liquid Gel with a Needle Point Tip
The Pentel Energel pen writes so smoothly, is refillable and comes in 3 different tip sizes: the bolder 0.7mm (shown above), a 0.5mm or a fine 0.3 mm. I like the needle tip because it does not bend like the flexible tip Sharpie pens or Staedlers and for heavy handed writers like me, I need that stable tip so I don’t ruin the pen.
I LOVE that it’s refillable and if you don’t need a gazillion colors to choose from, the Pentel Energel’s are my favorite.
Best Colored Pens: Papermate Inkjoy Gel Pens
If you like an inky, bold, vibrant look to your writing, then Papermate Inkjoy Gel Pens are worth checking out. Some people say their pens skip, but mine never have. I have the 10 pack and the colors coordinated well with my Powersheets goal planner colors (shown above).
Because they are very inky, there may be some shadowing on the other side of the paper, which means you can tell there is writing on the other side. The pens don’t bleed completely through the paper but if shadowing annoys you, then you might want a less inky and finer tip pen.
Best Fine Tip Pens: Pilot Precise v5
I love fine tip pens, especially for smaller planners. The Pilot Precise extra fine 0.5mm tip is what I have been using with my Simplified Planner which is on the smaller side. I mostly just use black or blue, but they do have some color variety also if you like to color code your writing. This Pilot Precise v5 pen set matches the Simplified Planner color scheme* and are the pens I was using, but you can find other Pilot Precise pen sets on Amazon. The turquoise pen is my favorite color!
Subscribe to Get my FREE Ultimate Planner Comparison
If you want to see how the planners compare to each other, pros and cons and what makes them unique be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and get a free Ultimate Planner Comparison chart to download. Then I send you periodic planning and productivity tips and tools to manage your busy life in my newsletter.
I truly believe that planners are an essential tool for managing your busy life, health, work and family. Take the time to figure out which of these planning systems will work for you so you can get more done in less time and without stress! I hope these planner reviews help you decide which will work best for your lifestyle. As always, leave me a comment or send me an email at tanya{at}momssmallvictories{dot}com if you need help deciding which planner is best for you or need a first time buyer coupon code (available for some of these)!
Which planner are you currently using?
Hi Jessica! I am using a combination and i tend to switch things up as needed. The Wonderland222 is my daily, weekly and planner I carry around and journal/bullet journal in. The Passionate Penny Pincher home planner is on a stand in the kitchen and is our family calendar overview and our home chores and maintenance checklists. I created a budget planner in my Etsy shop that I use for budgeting. And I still use the Full Focus Planner for my weekly review/preview for the next week. I usually share on my Instagram what I’m currently using so you can see my planners in action. Hope that helps!
My dream is to write a book! I currently use a planner to block out writing days! I would absolutely love the Happy Stripe Simplified planner to keep important writing teaching days and writing goals! 💗💙💛🤍💚 I hope I win!! 🙏🏼
Great review! Pinned for future reference.