Plan Week: Planners 101

In case you missed it, we have started the second annual Plan Week. This week you have learned more about bullet journaling, set up some healthy habits for the new year, and so much more! As promised, I’ve got a free e-book for you. This e-book will give you the tools you need to set up your year for success. You can download it here. Now, let’s close this week out by figuring out what planner you need for 2020.

Planners 101

I remember getting planners throughout my school years. I never thought much of them besides having a place to write my homework so I don’t forget it.They were given to us, so I might as well use them, right? It wasn’t until college when I fully realized how necessary having a planner was. With so many different planners out there, it can be hard to figure out which one is right for you. After today’s post, it’s my hope that you will have a better understanding of which planner you need.

Weekly Planners

These planners are most likely the ones that come to mind when you think of planners. Each month starts out with a monthly calendar, Then it goes to the weekly layouts. Each day has space to write your daily tasks. There is usually a notes section after the days of the week as well. 

Weekly planners are best for students as well as those who have a busy schedule and need to jot everything down. Depending on how busy, or organized, you are this section can be broken down even further. There is the typical weekly layout that I just described, then there are planners that have each day of the week broken down hour by hour. The Happy Planner has a lot of these layouts to choose from. This is the planner I’m considering for 2020.

Monthly Planners

If you don’t have a lot of tasks throughout the week or don’t like to write things down, monthly planners are for you. These can be wall calendars or in typical planner form. When you get a monthly planner each month you’ll have a month overview and note pages. I like using this style of planner for my blog post planning. You could also use these to document events, birthdays, etc. 

Bullet Journals

I discovered the art of bullet journaling a few years ago. 2020 will be my third year having a bullet journal. What is great about this type of planner is that you can fit it to your schedule and personality. Are you artistic? Your bullet journal can double as a sketchbook as you decide on monthly themes. Like the more minimalistic style? Bullet journals are perfect for that as well. There are many different bullet journal brands to choose from. I’ve tried the Leuchtturm1917 and Scribbles That Matter. I’m going back to Scribbles That Matter this year because I loved it so much my first year. If you’d like to know more about what bullet journaling is, check out this post.

Specialty Planners

This category has a variety of options. Anything that you can imagine really. There are fitness planners, business planners, habit tracking planners, the list goes on. These planners are suited for people that like to have everything in one place. For example, in a fitness planner, you’ll have a weekly planner set-up, but the weekly layout may also include a meal prep and exercise section as well. 

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Now you know a little more about planners, now it’s time to choose. It doesn’t just stop at deciding on the type of planner, now you get to decide the design of the planner. Are you a fan of cute and inspirational? Or simple and functional? Have fun trying to decide between them. I can usually find two or three every year that I have to decide between.

What type of planner is your favorite to use? Let me know in the comments below.

This post is a part of the Plan Week series. Catch up on posts you may have missed here:

• Intro
• Words That Shape Me: 2020 Reading List
• Healthy Habits
• Budgeting Tips For The New Year
• Meal Prep
• Planners 101 (you are here)