Planning for The Perfect Planner

Can you believe that we are closer to August than June? The summer is flying by. I was running some errands last week and I noticed that stores like Target and Walmart already have their big back to school displays up.  

* Cue the anxiety here* Currently, anything back to school related just reminds me how I am still job-hunting for a teaching job for the school year. We're about a month out from school starting and I am still searching. Anyways, I'll spare you from my anxious thoughts for now and continue on with something more exciting to read about- selecting the perfect planner. 

My love for agendas started back in high school. Post concussion, I had trouble remembering my assignments so I started writing things down in the agenda that was issued to us by school.  It slowly began to have more use to me than solely just a hall pass. My freshman year of college is when I truly relied on an agenda to get me through each day.  It became the place I kept track of important dates, assignments, wrote to do lists, and kept important information like passwords and class schedules. Throughout the rest of college I continued my love for agendas. I began to color code items and events, which was incredibly helpful. 

Last year I actually had two agendas. One that I used for lesson plans and student teaching related items, and the other agenda I used for personal use to keep track of social events, bills, blogging etc. I used two different styles of Lilly Pulitzer agendas for these.  

Around July each year, I begin my research to pick out the perfect planner(s) for the upcoming school year.  Over the years, I feel like I have become quite the expert. I've used several different types of agendas and have researched a good number of others.  I thought it would helpful to breakdown each agenda for you to help you decide the perfect planner for you whether you are still in high school or college, a teacher, a mom, a business woman, or just someone who needs some extra help organizing their life. 

Lilly Pulitzer 

$22-$35

These come in several different sizes. It is a seventeen month planner with monthly and weekly planning pages.  Each month has a side bar that allows you to jot down any important reminders.  There are sections for notes, packing lists for trips, and important dates.  There is a pocket folder at the front. A unique feature to the Lilly agendas is that they are filled with gorgeous artwork and inspiring quotes at the beginning of each month. Each agenda also comes with a set of stickers to help you plan out your life. 

Kate Spade

$36

These only come in one size. They are fairly similar to the Lilly Pulitzer agenda. They have 17 months (August 2017-December 2018) and include both monthly and weekly planning pages. You get a set of fun stickers at the front of this agenda. Included are pages for notes, holidays, and dates to celebrate. A pocket folder is located in the agenda, and all of the monthly tabs are laminated. 

Lauren James

$28

This is a twelve month planner that comes in one size.  The layout is a little different. Each weekly outlook includes features such as a method to track how much water you have drank, fitness goals, and a meal planner.  A notes section is included at the back of the planner along with a smaller set of stickers to help keep you organized. 

Erin Condren

$55-$65

This company offers many different styles. They even have a customizable teacher planner. The traditional Life Planner allows you to plan for 18 months. It includes a mini month spread, quotes, goal setting pages, a monthly calendar, weekly calendars, lined pages, dot grid pages, coloring pages, four pages of stickers, a folder, and a pouch to store your agenda accessories. These agendas have lots of options to customize them however you wish. 

Target

$17

This is your basic academic planner. It has a monthly outlook followed by weekly pages for each month. There aren't many bells and whistles that come with this type of agenda, but it is great for basic organization. 

Day Designer

$49-$59

These have been really popular lately. I think partially because they have been sold in stores like Anthropologie. These are built to last you from May 2017 through June 2018. Included in each of the daily pages are scheduling from 5am-9pm, to do lists, what to make for dinner, gratitude spaces, and more. The actual agenda also has goal setting sheets, daily quotes, weekend pages with a weekly overview, monthly tabs, two page monthly overviews, and two page yearly overviews. 

 Happy Planner 

$20-$35 

This is an eighteen month planner ranging from July 2017 through December 2018. It has sturdy laminated front and back covers, laminated tabs, year at a glance pages, monthly, and weekly pages.  Each month includes goal setting pages. Included in the agenda are also notes pages. The neat thing about these agendas is that you can add and take out whatever you like. The company offers lots of different options. I saw these when I was in Michael's last week, and it reminded me of a scrapbooking agenda. I thought it was neat how you can change what you don't like. 

 As much as I rely on technology,  I don't think I will ever be able to digitalize my calendar. There is something about physically writing on paper that I just love. 

XOXO