2017 Life Planner Comparison & Review

I’m a sucker for a good planner, y’all. I’ve been using some form of planner/journal to keep my days and tasks organized since “back in the day”, all the way back to high school. Heck, I used to get agendas to “play school” and “play office” when I was little.

Planners come in all different sizes, styles, paper weights…and each one serves a purpose. Now that I work full-time from home, both as a blogger and as a coach working with clients, I’ve had to try a few different kinds of planners to figure out what I like best and what has the features I need.

To get you organized as we get closer to 2017, I’ve put together a Life Planner Comparison & Review to take you inside, under the cover of three of the most popular planners on the market.

*This post contains affiliate links. Your purchase helps support Sweet Tea & Saving Grace but does not increase your purchase price. Thank you!

For the past four years now, I’ve been an Erin Condren fan. I’ve tried all different styles of her Life Planners, I have several notebooks, tons of accessories…I’m a fan.

However, when I started working from home, particularly with clients, I had a lot more to keep up with than would fit in one little block in my Life Planner, so I went on a search for something else.

The end result? I use two planners everyday. Weird, right? But I’ll explain why as we go along. First, let me introduce you to the three planners we’ll be comparing today:

From left to right, they are: Emily Ley’s Simplifed Planner, Whitney English’s Day Designer, and Erin Condren’s Life Planner. Let’s dive in.

SIMPLIFIED PLANNER BY EMILY LEY

Specs:

• 6.75″ x 9″
• Weekly and daily versions available
• Metal binding
• Full month views
• Colorful monthly tabs
• Daily pages have hourly space and to-do space
• Cost: $58

What I like:

• One page per day with lots of lines to write out all my goings-on
• Colorful tabs
• Month at a glance
• It’s pretty (it matters to me)

What I don’t like:

• I write rather large, so there wasn’t enough room for me to write one to-do per line
• The paper quality was thin in this issue (NOTE: Apparently they’ve improved in newer issues.)
• The binding wasn’t super sturdy. I’m rough with my planners – throwing them in my purse and car. They need to be durable.

BOTTOM LINE: If you want a compact planner that pretty much lives at home, but gives you one page per day to keep up with everything you have going on, this is a great one to try. I personally don’t use this one anymore. Buy it HERE.

DAY DESIGNER BY WHITNEY ENGLISH

Specs:

• 9″ x 9.75″
• Weekly versions available
• Metal binding
• Full month views
• Gold monthly tabs
• Daily pages have hourly space and to-do space
• Cost: $59 (affiliate link)

What I like:

• One page per day with lots of lines to write out all my goings-on
• Large size so I can fit everything I need to on the lines
• Month at a glance
• It’s pretty

What I don’t like:

• Medium weight paper – not quite as heavy as I’d like it but it’s fine.

BOTTOM LINE: I use this planner every single day, but it lives on my desk. All of my appointments, meetings, to-do’s, etc. go in here, so it basically serves as a giant, bound to-do list and task management system. It’s pretty big, so I don’t travel with it, and the binding is the same as on the Simplifed Planner, so it’s not super sturdy but good enough for my desk. Click HERE to purchase. (affiliate link)

LIFE PLANNER BY ERIN CONDREN

Specs:

• 7″ x 9″
• Vertical weekly, horizontal weekly, and hourly versions
• Four coil colors
• Full month views – 12 or 18 month versions
• Laminated monthly tabs
• Cost: $55 + (affiliate link)

What I like:

• Heavy paper
• Strong coil binding
• Fully customizable with interchangeable covers, custom color palettes, personalization, etc.
• It’s pretty 🙂
• Lots of cute accessories available

What I don’t like:

• No daily option (It would be sheer perfection in a daily format.)

BOTTOM LINE: There’s a reason why this has been my planner for 4 years – it’s awesome. I take this planner with me everywhere I go. I write times for appointments and meetings, family events, reminders, etc. in here. The only thing I don’t write in here is my daily to-do list – that goes in my Day Designer. Click HERE to purchase. (affiliate link.)

In case you’re curious, the format I have is: 18-month, vertical, Blossom, black coil, with neutral color theme.

Because Erin Condren Life Planners are my absolute all-time favorite, I have gobs of accessories, too. So let’s look at those:

Pictured: My Life Planner with complimentary perpetual calendar, Carry-All Clutch ($32), Party Pops Markers ($10/set)

Pictured: Sticker books ($15 each), Party Pop Marker Set ($10), Multi-color Bright Highlighter Pack ($10), Classic Notepad ($15)

Pictured: Notebook in Luxe Gold ($50), Party Pop Market Set ($10), Carry-All Clutch ($32), Snap-in Stylized Sticky Notes ($10)

Pictured: Snap-in Travel Dashboard ($6), Gemstone Wet Erase Marker ($10/set), Elastic Band ($7/set of 3)

Are you drooling all over your keyboard yet? Grab your planner today & get ready for an organized 2017!

Shop Erin Condren

Shop Whitney English

Shop Emily Ley