College life and adult life, in general, is busy. I used to be the kind of person that could keep everything straight. I never had to write down homework assignments, appointments, or my work schedule. By some miracle, I just knew where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing at all times. Those were the glory days, but I’ve moved on to a place in my life where I don’t remember to eat lunch if I don’t have it written down. This week a faithful reader reached out to our chapter and asked us to write an article about planners because they’re struggling to find a new one. As someone who’s planner’s days are numbered (literally), I felt this would be the perfect topic. After all, if I don’t start looking now, my life just may fall to pieces when my planner runs out of days December 31st. Here are 3 of the best planner options I found while searching the web.
1. The Passion Planner
This is the first search result when you Google planners, so it has to be good, right? No worries, I actually looked into it a little deeper and this is way more than just a planner. This planner is marketed as “the one place for all your thoughts” and that seems to be true. Aside from typical weekly and monthly spreads, the Passion Planner is designed to help you reach all of your life goals. There are pages for monthly and yearly reflections as well as cute categories for organization throughout ranging from “Places To Go” to a “Not To-Do List.” The Passion Planner comes in a variety of colors and sizes, dated and undated and ranges from $30-35 on their website. I also found a great review here.
2. Erin Condren LifePlanner
I currently have a small hardback version of this planner (Thanks Her Campus!) and it has everything you could ask for in a planner. While aesthetically, it’s super cute, the features in comparison to the Passion Planner are pretty basic, but if all you want in a planner are cute covers and monthly and weekly planning spreads, this one is definitely for you. There are so many options on the website that I honestly didn’t know where to start. Custom covers are hugely promoted on the site and you even have the option to customize the pages inside. Granted that all comes at a price as steep at $65. The dated, hardbound version I have is cheaper though at $25-30 depending on the size you select. For a better breakdown of the options and features, I recommend going here.
3. Ashley G Planners
This is definitely the most cost affordable of the planners I found and had recommended to me by friends. This planner is available through Target, Walmart, and Amazon and has a wide variety of colors and designs. From what I can tell, they are dated, academic planners that span from July to June. They have monthly and weekly spreads and even tabs to keep your months separate and make it super easy to always find the day you’re looking for. This planner is simple, but definitely the most cost-effective. Unfortunately, you do sacrifice the freedom of design and dating the planner yourself, but it’s still a solid option.
Obviously, this is in no way a comprehensive list of the best planners, but I would say this list covers a wide range of styles and customizable options. If I learned anything at all from this experience, it’s that there are tons of people out there buying and reviewing planners on their blogs and Youtube channels, so if you’re ever unsure of whether a planner is right for you, there are ways to find out before you buy. Happy planning!