Hi friends, I’ve been wanting to do an updated planner post for awhile and am finally sitting down to write it. I have two planners that I love and use regularly. So today I’m going to write about both of them. Everyone loves options, right? And both of these paper planners are pretty fantastic. I’ll do a little review of both and tell you how I use each of them and let you decide if either might work for you. And believe me I know digital planning is all the rage and it definitely works for some however I love having a paper planner open beside my desk ready to help me to tackle the day. And it really helps because I keep track of everything and can glance down frequently to figure out what comes next.
I write everything down that I want to accomplish in a day including work and household tasks. I love to tick things off…tick, tick, tick. Listen I’ll be fifty this year, I don’t remember yesterday, nevermind what I’m suppose to be doing today. Need to wash face masks? Write it down. Need to clean the sink? Write it down. Do you need to call Gramma to wish her a happy birthday? Write it down. Need to pluck your eyebrows? Write it down. Okay maybe that’s only me on that last one but that’s not something a girl wants to forget.
I will absolutely tell you that I get more done when I make a list. And of course you don’t need to have a fancy planner to do this but the structure of one helps. Once I start tracking, I hate to see a blank day. So it motivates me to keep on planning. And all that planning and checking off keeps me organized and moving forward.
There are HUGE planner/planning communities out there that will sticker their planners to death. That is what motivates them and I think that’s awesome. I’m a less about the decorating of my planner and just get the jobs done kind of girl. However even I can’t resist a sticker or two sometimes. The color it adds to the white pages is just fun. And that’s the beauty of it, you can do whatever works for you.
Both of these paper planners mentioned here today are beautiful. They are not flimsy planners. Instead they both have strong durable covers so you don’t have to be too careful with them. You’ll also notice that both of these awesome planners have a coil binding which is a favorite of mine. And they both are approximately the same size around 7″x9″ which is another requirement for me. Anything bigger is too big to sit comfortably on my desk and additionally I don’t personally need the extra space that some bigger planners offer.
So what are these two paper planners that I highly recommend? Let’s get into it!
Please note: while both of these planners were provided to me by the companies, all opinions are entirely my own. Affiliate links are included below.
Simply Yours Day Planner:
I’ve actually mentioned the Simply Yours Day Planner many times before. It’s been a favorite for awhile. In fact I first wrote about it back in 2016 on this post about two very important tools for planning & organizing your day. The planner has changed a bit since then. I have the horizontal layout on this one and I love how Shea (the owner!) has now incorporated a checklist right into each day. Check, check, check!
There is also quite a big section at the front of the planner devoted to short term and long term goal setting.
I have the Brush Strokes cover and it is so pretty. In fact all six of their covers are just gorgeous. Love the gold protectors on the corners too. Such a fun yet functional detail.
You can even have it personalized.
The dated Simply Yours Day Planner that I have runs from January to December. The good news is (since we are already into March!) is that just today they released undated planners, yay! So now you can purchase one and start it on any month you’d like.
Shea has kindly offered my readers a discount on her planners which is awesome. Use the code SHEPLANS at checkout for 10% off.
Hopefuel Hope Planner:
The Hope Planner is more new to me. This one is a faith based Christian planner created by Heather Vreeland. I contacted the company last year after seeing it online somewhere. At the time I was thinking that it might be super useful to be able to combine my prayer/bible study notebook and daily planner into one. It turns out that I like to devote all the space to prayer and bible study and not share it with the daily task household/work planning. However you can certainly use it to encompass everything if you like. There are no rules.
I really enjoy having one dedicated spot to record all this type of information and keep track of it all. Basically anything pertaining to my Christian walk gets recorded in this planner. What I’m studying, what I’m learning, who I’m praying for, etc. It’s incredibly helpful! Especially as I can track it by the day making it easier to stay intentional about it all. The Hope Planner also comes undated with monthly tab stickers for you to add. So you can start in any month with this one too.
Here’s a look at the inside of the planner. I have the weekly layout similar to the one below. You can also get a daily version.
This is not my planner below 🙂
I love the notes section on the bottom of every week especially the devotion habits habit tracker box to keep me accountable. So good! If you’d like to purchase, use discount code ORGJUNKIE10 to receive 10% off at checkout.
So yes I’m using two planners to manage my life. The Simply Yours Day Planner stays in my office and the Hope Planner lives in the dining room where I most often do my daily devotions.
My long time blogging friend, Marcia from Organising Queen, wrote this on Instagram today and it really resonated with me.
“If we’re not intentional about our time and how we spend it, I promise you others will fill it up with their priorities. Interestingly, these two things are almost never the same.”
A planner is an excellent way to keep us focused on what matters most in our lives which then in turns helps us establish boundaries to protect those priorities. However please keep in mind that while planners are amazing tools, they only work if we are disciplined in using them. You might find this post on creating habits helpful.
Have a great weekend y’all!
Laura
PS: I’m currently having trouble with my ads covering parts of the blog post and we are currently working on fixing this. I’m so sorry, thank you for your patience.
Donna Morris says
I, too have been using a planner for years to make my daily lists It keeps my brain from overload as I can make that list and concentrate only on those things for the day. Several years ago I went through a period of high anxiety and seemed to be completely immobile. Having a (sometimes) very short list of very simple things helped me to function.
Laura Wittmann says
Yes that definitely helps me too!
Marcia (OrganisingQueen) says
I smiled so big when I saw you linked to me, Laura! Thank you for saying that my words resonated with you!
And I love your planner with the blocks to tick off your tasks.
I had an Ashley Shelley planner a few years ago that is the same and LOVED it!
Laura Wittmann says
You’re welcome Marcia! Planners definitely help to keep me on track, I’d probably be lost without one 🙂
Laura