How to Choose Your Next Year's Planner

You may be looking at the title of this post, and you may be wondering, "Don't most planners start in January?"

Yes, a lot of them do...but some start as early as July or August. Such an early start can help people who are students or teachers looking to plan out their school year, or those who are ready to plunge into planning into the next year (since many of these early planners are 18-month planners, as opposed to 12 months), just to name a few. I'm also saying this because the new Erin Condren planners launched this week.

Now, before I get into this post, I want to say that I'm talking about layouts here. You can purchase any layout in nearly any format these days - ring-bound, coiled, inserts for a Filofax, etc - so it's become easier than ever to find the planner that's right for you. Because of this, keep in mind that your agenda needs may be suited for a smaller or larger-size planner. Just browse around and see what's right for you.

Also, these are just my opinions, so again, please check any planner out for yourself before you dive in financially.

So, with this in mind, what kind of planner should you choose? Let's talk about that.

You might want to consider a Horizontal/Academic style planner if:

• You are a student and only need one or two lines per subject or class
• You use to-do lists primarily
• You want room to decorate with stickers

Planners include: Erin Condren, Paper Source, Kate Spade, Rifle Paper Co., Filofax, Kikki K, May Books

You might want to consider a Vertical layout (days aligned in columns) if:

• You need to categorize your day into to-do's, work, housework, any of your children, etc.
• You need ample space to write everything you need to accomplish, but not necessarily on an hour-by-hour basis
• You want ample room to decorate with stickers

Planners include: Erin Condren, Plum Paper, Paper Source, Sew Much Crafting vertical inserts (found on Etsy), MAMBI Happy Planner

You might want to consider an Hourly/Daily layout if:

• Your work is very time-sensitive
• You work in a field where you book appointments well in advance by the hour (I can see this being great for teachers, some students, photographers, wedding/event planners, etc.)
• Your planning is primarily functional (but you can still add stickers if you so desire...I've seen hourly layouts decorated extremely well)

Planners include: Erin Condren, Day Designer

So, the bottom line is...purchase the planner and/or agenda that works best for your needs. There are SO many out there to choose from, but go with the one that will help you actually plan the best. After all, you can take on the world, one step at a time...or at least pen stroke by pen stroke. :)

What planner are you using this year? Let me know in the comments below! :)