The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Planner

I am shamelessly addicted to my planner. I have approximately twenty million things going on and that I have to do on a daily basis, and if I didn’t write it all down I would be lost. I began my quest to find the perfect planner with the free student planner I was given in fifth grade, and since then have been back and forth between many different layouts and brands.

With my years of experience and self-proclaimed “planner expertise,” I am going to walk you through the pros and cons of several collegiate favorites as well as hopefully introduce you to a few new brands.

1.)  ERIN CONDREN LIFE PLANNER 

The Erin Condren Life Planner is a cult classic among planner addicts and for good reason, too. I used a Life Planner for about three years before switching to another brand, but there are many who still swear by it. It is a definitely a top contender in the planner market.   

I LOVE:

• The planner itself is very well made. It is made with high quality lamination and will easily last the entire year without much damage.
• There are many cover options to choose from. Erin Condren offers different designs with the ability to customize colors, add personal photos, and even text. She even more recently offers the ability to interchange covers is you can’t decide on just one design.
• The inside layout is colorful. This depends on the user, but I personally love the color schemes and felt like they made using the planner more fun.
• The layout design is phenomenal for time-based users. Each day is spilt into a morning, afternoon, night layout with space for to-do lists and goals. I felt like this was a great way to plan out activities and classes to keep from overbooking myself.
• Plenty of extras. The back of the planner includes lined and blank pages for notes, label stickers, and two types of pockets for loose papers.
• Plastic monthly tabs. I am constantly planning ahead so having sturdy tabs to flip between months was incredibly helpful.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• Although I did love the layout, as I progressed with my college career, I realized I needed more space for each day. I ran out of room for to-do’s and homework/assignments.

Overall the Life Planner is a great way to keep track of your time. I ended up using it as a supplement to another planner to keep track of assignments and to-do’s.

2.)  LILLY PULITZER AGENDA 

The Lilly Pulitzer Agenda is a definitely favorite at UConn. You can see one no matter what class or floor of the library you are in. I used one for most of high school when my planner was heavily homework/assignment based, but found that it wasn’t broken down enough for college.

I LOVE:

• The inside is very colorful. Lilly does what she does best with these agendas. She uses her iconic prints to make each day look playful and fun.
• Lilly also offers her agendas in a variety of sizes and patterns to fit your aesthetic and convenience preferences.
• Reinforced monthly tabs to flip between sections.
• Thick cover and durable pages. This planner has lasted being carried with me EVERYWHERE when I was younger and there’s always minimal wear and tear.
• Lots of extras. This agenda includes a reinforced pocket, an elastic band closure, and a Lilly sticker sheet.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• Layout is very basic and only offers a few lines per day for the weekly view.
• I ran out of room and had a very hard time organizing between assignments and appointments since there was no designated space.

The Lilly Pulitzer Agenda is great for very simple needs. I used mine for a year in college in addition to my Erin Condren to keep track of assignments and it worked great, I just needed somewhere to write out to-do’s and appointments. [Kate Spade, another popular planner, is almost identical in terms of layout and design.

3.)  PLUM PAPER PLANNER 

Plum Paper Planners are customizable as well as affordable. I used one my sophomore year of college to keep track of assignments. They offer fitness and meal planners as well.

I LOVE:

• They offer four different planning page options.
• Many different custom covers, similar to the Erin Condren Life Planner.
• Pages for notes are included at the beginning and end of each month, and you have the option to add more.
• Add-ons are endless. In addition to adding note pages, you can add contacts, checklists and more.
• Daily checklist of the top three things that you need to get done
• Customizable length so you can buy one for just a semester.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• Not very structured. I needed more from each day.
• Not very durable. My planner had some serious damage by the end of the semester.

Plum Paper does a great job for simple needs, I just felt as though I needed more from my planner.

4.)  PASSION PLANNER 

The Passion Planner is another one of my favorite planners. This is what I use for project planning for classes as well as for my sorority and at work.

I LOVE:

• The whole layout of this planner is dedicated to helping you reach your goals via goal mapping and monthly goal check-ins. I love this concept for project planning and helping me focus on what I want to accomplish.
• The weekly view has so many great features. There’s an area to note your weekly and daily focuses, a section of weekly to-do’s, an area for notes/drawings/brainstorming, a place to journal the good things that have happened this week and my favorite; daily planning with half hour notations to plan your time efficiently.
• The monthly view has a calendar for each month, with space for monthly goals and action items to meet these goals.
• There also pages at the end of each month to for monthly reflections.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• There is no space for daily to-do lists, so I had trouble fitting in assignments. I also had trouble figuring out when to do my weekly to-do’s without being able to break them down.
• The Passion Planner has full-sized pages. Even though it isn’t bulky or heavily, the size was just too large to carry around with me everywhere.
• The entire planner is black and white and lacks color. It’s a very small issue, but I would’ve enjoyed some more color.
• There are no monthly tabs. I added my own so this wasn’t a huge deal, but I would’ve like to have them already attached and in the cover.

The Passion Planner is wonderful for achieving goals (whether it be minor or major) and project planning.

5.)  EMILY LEY SIMPLIFIED PLANNER 

Emily Ley’s Simplified Planner is one of my all time favorites. She offers her planners in daily and weekly versions and both have an effortlessly simple design.

I LOVE:

• The touch of color in the design. Although the pages themselves are black & white, the laminated monthly tabs add a pop of color.
• I love daily layouts because of the hourly time slots to go along with the list of daily to-do’s.
• The pages are very durable and the hardcover has gold corners for reinforcement.
• Pocket on the inside cover.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• Cover and coil were difficult to turn pages. This wasn’t a huge issue because I didn’t find myself flipping back and forth through days very frequently.
• No space for monthly goals and no pages for notes.

I love the Emily Ley Simplified Planner; she really does break it down so you only need the basics and feel as though you can tackle everything. I can see myself using this planner again in the future, I am just a little too goal-oriented as of right now.

6.)  DAY DESIGNER 

The Day Designer has just recently become extremely popular.  It is what I am currently using for school. I absolutely adore it.  It has all the space and I need to keep track of things and is great quality.

I LOVE:

• Each day is on its own page, so there’s tons of space to write everything down.
• There’s a section with hourly time slots on each daily page as well as a sections to note daily to-do’s.
• There is also additional space on each day for three main tasks that need to be completed, dinner plans, money notation and other notes.
• Durable monthly tabs.

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• The design itself is extremely bulky. I love the design but I hate carrying it around with me everywhere.
• Each day is on it’s own page is also a con. The weekends share a day; it’s a LOT of pages to go through so there are no extra pages.
• Lack of color.
• The pages are a little thin (because there are so many pages needed) so my pens will sometimes bleed through.

Although the size isn’t ideal for a constantly moving college student, the complete layout is definitely worth it. Since I am transitioning into the real world (a moment of silence, please) I have loved using mine.

7.)  [NEW!] THE COLLEGIATE DAYBOOK 

The Collegiate Daybook is the newest contender in the hunt for the perfect planner. It started out as a Kickstarter Campaign this past summer, and since has gained overwhelming support. Specially made for college students, this planner has everything a college girl could need.

Although I haven’t personally used the Collegiate Daybook (yet) I absolutely love a lot of the features they have. The daily breakdown is exactly what I would personally put together for a college student and I can’t wait to hear how it does. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to implement it into post-grad life next year.

And there you have it. Each of these planners served me well for the duration that I used them and I highly recommend every single one of them. Even though they didn’t necessarily fit my needs, they may work perfectly for you. Good luck & happy planning!

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