So You Want to Buy a Planner…

It’s my favorite time of the year, aka, Planner Season, where products get announced and line-ups are proclaimed. It can be overwhelming to decide The One for Next Year, especially if you are new to this community or haven’t found a system that works for you. I mean, where do you start?

Well, as Mrs. Doubtfire would say, “HELP IS ON THE WAY DEAR!”

Helping people find their perfect planner/system, whether it’s a notebook and pen or a full ring bound system, is one of my most favorite things to do. Why? Well, I truly believe that there is a system for everyone. Yes, even you. 

But let me clarify, because I can hear the comments of why planners don’t work for you and I agree, they probably don’t…if we’re talking about a dated book. They really don’t work for everyone. But to me, a planner is any tool that you can use to make your life easier. It can be note cards, sticky notes, a task list in your phone, a scratchpad by your fridge, a dated book, a digital planner, or an eight-planner line-up. They are all valid ways of planning. Why? Because the planner needs to work for YOU and not the other way around. For me, planning just isn’t about recording dates and tasks. It’s about getting all of the chatter/thoughts/ideas out of our heads and into a place where we can rest assured knowing that they are somewhere safe and we don’t have to worry if we remembered everything or not because we put it there for later. 

Okay, so, again, where do you start? 

When someone asks me for help finding a planner, I always start with the same seven questions. Based on the answers, there are usually a second (and sometimes third and fourth) round of questions. Yes, it can get tedious, but with each round, we’re narrowing down the giant pile of possibilities to the handful of options that might work for them. In the end, all the questions are because I don’t want people spending tons of money if all they need is a dollar notebook and a pen. 

So, here are the first seven of questions I would ask if you wanted me to help you find a planner system. Hopefully, these might help you when looking at everything coming out this Planner Season.

1. Thinking about your day-to-day life, is it more appointment based or more task oriented?
2. When you think of future days, how would you like to track your time? Monthly, Weekly, Daily, or a combination of the three?
3. Do you need space to take notes and/or journal?
4. Do you want to be able to customize and/or add pages freely whenever you need to?
5. Does it need to be portable? 
6. Do you use specialty writing instruments such as fountain pens, gel pens, and/or a lot of highlighters? 
7. Budget? Be realistic about what you would like to spend. Planners can range from $1 notepads to hundreds of dollars for leather covers and inserts. 

Once you have these questions answered, you will be one step closer to finding the planner/system that works for you. You can view potential planners and see if it lines up with your answers. I mean, it’s fun to see all the new items and designs, but knowing what you are looking for in terms of using a planner as a tool might help in staving off the FOMO and overbuying. 

What would be your ideal planner?