With all the beautiful and perfectly decorated planners on Instagram and Pinterest these days,  trying to find the right planner to fit your needs can be a daunting process.

I have been utilizing paper planning for over 4 years now.and extremely active in the planner community as well as Instagram and Pinterest.  Though I still have not found Planner Peace ( if that even exists that is ). However I do have an idea of the type of planner that work for me.

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Most importantly I do notice a huge climb in my productivity when I am writing my tasks down in my planner. I go through many spells where sometimes I won’t really use my planner as much as I usually do and honestly find that I am way less productive when I am not in my planner.

Hopefully with writing this blog post I can guide someone out there reading this to get a better understanding of the planners out there, and maybe see one they think may work for them.  

Let’s Go.... Below are my 6 favorite planners in no particular order !

1- Erin Condren Life Planner

No matter how many times I switch my planner up,  I always end up back in my Erin Condren Life Planner.

In the beginning of the year I told myself I had to stay consistent in at least one planner even though I use a new planner weekly most of the time. My problem is I use so many different planners and if I need to look back on something have no clue where to begin .

I have been using the neutral vertical layout and is my favorite layout so far. The difference between the colorful and neutral style vertical layout is that the neutral has no header bars at the top of each column. Also it’s clean and elegant but with a pop of color. Along with the weekly layouts there is a two page monthly layout and goal pages between each month. This planner is completed with super sturdy laminated monthly tabs, a sturdy double sided folder, 3 pages of stickers coiled into the back of the planner and blank pages at the end of the year for lists, habits or anything your heart desires .   

I also love the fact that the Erin Condron Life Planner is so easy to customize, there are 4 different coil colors ( black, platinum, gold and rose gold ) and so many different styles of removable customizable covers that have a lined section on the back of each cover to jot things down with a wet erase marker.

*Note I say wet erase because the first page is a beautiful sheer velum page and the wet erase markers don’t come off unless you take it off unlike dry erase.

Also the paper quality is fantastic   ever since switching to Mohawk Paper! And for all you Krissyanne Designs #kaddicts out there, her stickers remove completely from the new paper Erin Condren uses. Win, Win.  

The Erin Condren Life Planner comes in neutral or colorful with the option of vertical layout, Hourly layout and horizontal layout. No matter what layout or color scheme you pick you will fall in love with this Planner. ​

The Erin Condren ranges anywhere from 50$ to 70$ depending of the customization you choose. ​

To Save 10$ off your first Erin Condren Life Planner,  follow the link here !

2- The Inkwell Press Planner 

The Inkwell Press Planner comes in Flex and Classic with dimensions of 9" by 7". The Flex is a horizontal layout and the Classic is a vertical lined layout. The Inkwell Press paper is 140 Gsm without bleeding. I absolutely love Inkwell Press and her paper quality!

Recently however,  you can only purchase the Flex (Horizontal Layout) On Inkwell Press site and the Classic ( Vertical Layout) On Office Depot.com or in any Office Depot / Max Store.

Inkwell Press Classic Layout has lined vertical pages without any time slots.  However Inkwell Press has a more wider spaced coil and the covers are not removable. However though there are many extra pages,  for example goal planning, yearly planning, movies to watch, travel plans and a bill tracker. Some other features are a double sided folder which I love and and gold foiled snap ruler. This planner costs 54$.

PS... The A5 inserts are absolutely beautiful and functional! 

You can purchase the Inkwell Press Planner and save 10$ with this link here !

3- The Day Designer by Whitney English 

The Day Designer is the ultimate daily planner for the busy mom or business woman. It has 90 gsm paper with a daily schedule on one side running from 7am - 7pm and a to-do list on the other side along with dinner prep, gratitude and Top 3.

The Day Designer comes in two different sizes , The Original Size Planner and The Mini Planner.

The original planner is a dated planner with dimensions of 9" by 9.75". The mini planner is also a dated planner with dimensions of 6.625" by 8.3".

Both Planners have a Monthly calendar with sturdy laminated tabs. Along with the Monthly and Daily pages this planner comes packed for productivity and includes goal , meal and note pages.  

My personal favorite is the mini size being it's just a tab bit more portable. The Mini and Original are practically identical except the size dimensions .

The mini planner costs 49$ and the Classic costs 59$ but Right now the 2017/2018 version is 50% off.

If you would like to purchase The Day Designer and save 20% , follow the link here:

4- The Simplified Planner by Emily Ley

I am a huge fan of The Simplified Planner. This planner comes in either a daily coiled planner or a weekly binded planner. Not only is this Planner beautiful it also makes you super productive. The Emily Ley Simplified Planner is a perfect size and not big nor bulky.

The Daily Simplified Planner has dated daily pages with time slots on one end and a to-do column on the other. I am in love with the paper ( I am a planner snob and can only use nice thick gsm paper.) and no bleeding.

The Weekly Simplified Planner is a dated weekly horizontal lined layout with monthly’s in between. Finishing off this planner are beautiful colored monthly laminated step tabs and a sturdy pocket folder with sticker sheet included. The Simplified Planner comes in 6 different cover options that are foiled, vibrant and sturdy.  The Daily Simplified Planner ranges at 59$ usd and The Weekly Simplified Planner ranges at 49$ usb. 

If you would like to purchase The Weekly Simplified Planner By Emily Ley click the link here 

If you would like to purchase The Daily Simplified Planner by Emily Ley click the link here  

5- The Happy Planner

The Happy Planner is a Weekly discbound system and extremely customizable. This planner comes in 3 different sizes along with additional stickers, discs, sheets and punches to make this planner highly customizable to your needs.

One extra I personally love is the home kit add on sheets. The home kit has everything you need to keep your home running in tip top shape from cleaning lists to meal prep lists. You can also buy extension packs in different layouts to start your planner exactly when you purchase it! 

The sizes are as follows :

1- Mini 6.625" by 8.3"

2- Medium 9.75" by 8.5"

3- Big 10.25" by 11.50 

This planner rages from 19$-34$ depending on which size you chose. It's a great planner with a reasonable price tag.

You can purchase all three planners below.

The Happy Planner Mini here  

The Happy Planner Classic here 

The Big Happy Planner here  

6- Kit Life Planner  

I have heard wonderful things about this planner. The Kit Life Planner comes in a coiled Daily Layout along with a Weekly layout. And the removable covers make switching your cover out a breeze.   Although getting things done is paramount to a successful life,  

The Kit Life Planner also incorporates gratitude, healthy eating, physical activity, goal setting, mindfulness and spirituality.

You can purchase the Kit Life Planner here:

Ok so there you have it. Just remember finding the right planner is a lot of trial and error. Sometimes what you think will work doesn’t and you have to move on to the next. 

And then sometimes they all may work and you will literally use them all. But remember your planner can be pretty and functional at the same time or the complete opposite, simple and streamlined. You have to find what works for you and not someone else.

One last tip before I wrap up this post, no matter what your spread looks like, it can be filled with planner stickers or just ink make sure you share your planner. Most importantly be proud of your planner. 

So wrapping up this blog post, I would love to know what you think of the list I created up above.

Also, would love to hear if you have any additional planners that you would like to add to my list.  

💜 Jackie