How to Choose the Best Agenda/Planner for You

So you want to get organized, but can't seem to find the right planner for you?

Here are 5 questions you need to answer to find the perfect planner for your life.

Question 1: What range of the calendar year do you need?

Academic planner: These planners usually start in August/September and end in July/August of the next year.

Calendar Year planner: These planners will always start on January 1st with some starting earlier such as December of the previous year for a better transition into the coming year.

Undated planner: These planners are great if the first 2 options do not meet your needs. Daily planner versions of this have all the days of the year written (including Feb 29th), but no details on what day of the week or the year, so important dates and holidays such as Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day, etc would have to be written out by hand. Weekly planner versions are completely blank, leaving it up to you to write the month, day, and day of the week.

Question 2: Do you need a daily or weekly planner?

If you're the type of person who tends to schedule a day or two in advance, then a daily planner would be your choice. Daily planners are also great if you just want to focus on one day at a time. If you're the type that needs to see your week at a glance, like most students, then a weekly planner would be best.

Question 3: Do you need an hourly planner?

If you're in high school, you most likely won't need an hourly planner because you're at school for a fixed block of time, and all the subjects you take are also at fixed times. The basic agenda planner provided by the school with several lines for each day of the week is usually sufficient. 

If you're in college or university, an hourly planner is handy since your time at school differs from day to day, and being able to visualize breaks between classes is essential for scheduling in time to study and for other activities.

Question 4: Do you need a monthly overview?

School agendas usually have a monthly calendar included. These are great to see what events, exams, etc are happening in that particular month.

Not all planners offer this, but if you like this setup, there are planners dedicated to the monthly view.

Question 5: Do you need space for notes?

Sometimes, you need space to write down ideas, notes or reminders. Not all planners offer this type of space, so if this note space is something you use regularly, check for planners that have this.

Once you've figured all that out, the rest is aesthetics: colour, size, type of binding, etc.

Still not sure what kind of planner to use?

Here are some links to try different kinds of planners for free! If it works for you, then go buy the product.

Day Designer (daily planner)

Passion Planner (weekly planner)

Additional Resources

Blueline

Eric Condren

Etsy 

Quo Vadis

Excel sheet categorizing some planners from Blueline and Quo Vadis: download here.

Happy planning!