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It is probably no surprise that we consider ourselves organization nerds with strong feelings about our daily planners.
We love to try things to increase productivity—like bullet journaling or implementing the tips on this list or using these uncommon to-do lists. We’re always on the search for the best ways to organize our work lives and personal lives.
There’s no doubt that organization increases productivity. You have to be organized to keep track of the projects you’re working on, the emails you need to send and respond to, the meetings you’ve scheduled—the (to-do) list goes on and on.
For many of us, a solid organizational system relies heavily on a functional planner. Business Coach Sara Sabin explains in Entrepreneur that keeping a clear planner can help you block off time to dive into deep work, and it can be essential in helping you take time off.
Need to skip ahead to the good stuff? Go ahead:
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The Best Planners
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Best Daily Planners
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Best Calendars
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Best Organizers for Personal Life
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Best Weekly Planners
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Best Hourly Planners
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Best Digital Planners
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Best Student Planners
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Best Target Planners
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Best Personalized Planners
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Miscellaneous Planning Items
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Quick Organization Tips
We’ve learned that keeping a detailed plan for both work and life is key to, well, a lot of things.
To that end, we thought it was high time that we rounded up our very favorite planners. There are a ton on the market, and it can be hard to weed through them all to find the good stuff. Here are our tried-and-true favorite planners (including team favorites) for all of your needs.
The Best Planners
We don’t think there’s one true “best planner” since “best” is in the eye of the beholder. Depending on how you prefer to plan, you may prefer a plain notebook, a digital planner, or an old-school hardback planner.
With that said, we’ve recommended planners we’ve used and enjoyed as well as those that are highly recommended. Here are a few of the standouts:
Day Designer: People l-o-v-e Day Designers—and we are included in that group of people.
They’re offered in both academic planner and yearly planner formats, and they include a ton of cool features. If you prefer an hourly planner, Day Designer provides that with spots from 5:00 AM until 9:00 PM.
They also include more general planning options like monthly and yearly overviews. Plus, they come with goal-setting worksheets, journaling prompts, meal-planning space, and more.
Moleskine Planners: There’s something really simple and appealing about Moleskine planners. They’re sleek, and an ideal size to toss into your bag when you’re on the go. They also include a monthly calendar before each month, but they’re different in that they provide one full page per day, which is preferable if you seem to have a never ending to-do list.
Sugar Paper Planners: They’re popular for a reason. Sugar Paper’s planners contain a monthly calendar at the beginning of each month and ample space to write tasks on the weekly pages. They also include thoughtful details like inspiring quotes and a place to list birthdays and notes.
Plus, they have a section at the beginning of each month for goal setting, including personal goals, work goals, health goals, and financial goals—a helpful reminder to regularly reset throughout the year.
Best Daily Planners
The planner you prefer will depend heavily on how you like to block off your time. If you prefer to have a spot to write every to-do item or meeting per day, a daily planner is your best bet.
Some daily planners come with time slots while others have unmarked lines for daily to-dos. Plus, most of them come with a weekly or monthly overview included so that you’re able to create general plans for the more distant future as well.
Simplified Planner by Emily Ley: The Simplified Planner by Emily Ley is the ultimate daily planner. It features a page for yearly bucket lists, monthly calendars, and a notes section. But the daily planning pièce de résistance is the fact that each date has its own separate page. Each daily page is divided into two sections: an hourly list as well as a general to-do list.
This means you can block off sections of time for meetings or deep work on one side, while writing down the specific project you’re trying to complete on the other. We like that it keeps everything separated but still on the same page.
Erin Condren Life Planner: The Erin Condren Life Planner is sleek and professional-looking, with a vegan leather cover and gold accessories. It lives up to its name as a “life planner” because it has sections for almost everything you can think of.
It contains pockets (pockets!) for stamps, credit cards, a place for grocery planning, monthly overviews, yearly overviews, and a daily section that includes an hourly list and a to-do list. Plus, there’s a spot in the back to include a blank notebook.
We like that you could essentially keep everything you need organization-wise in one place with this option.
Best Calendars
If you tend to operate with a more zoomed-out view of your time, you might prefer to have a calendar in addition to (or instead of) a traditional planner.
There are about one million calendars on the internet, but here are some we think would make a pretty addition to your desk or office.
Karen Adams Designs Desk Calendar: It’s a little pricier than some of the other options, but we can’t help but love the Karen Adams Designs Desk Calendar. Each month has a seasonal or festive drawing at the top that would make us smile to see every day.
Anthropologie Desk Calendar: Don’t sleep on Anthropologie’s organization section—it has interesting and appealing options like this desk calendar. We like its bold designs that border each month.
Rifle Paper Co. Calendar: If you prefer something bigger that doesn’t take up your desk space, might we recommend this Rifle Paper Co. calendar that you can hang on your wall? It’s just happy—and it has plenty of spots for you to include the dates or plans that make you happy.
Best Organizers for Personal Life
Few things in life provide as much satisfaction as marking things off a to-do list (is that just us?), and not just at work—but in our personal lives too.
Whether you prefer to contain everything organization-wise in one spot or you like to have one planning system for work and one for play, we like these options for organizing your personal life.
BaronFig Strategist Index Cards: You could use the Baronfig Strategist Index Cards for work items or personal items. We like the idea of having an overall planner for work and then keeping up with your at-home or personal goals using these to-do cards.
Plus, you write in the dates, so you can start and stop it as you need.
Field Notes Notebooks: Our Content Director Caileen, swears by Field Notes notebooks for organizing her personal life in a more customizable way.
It lays flat, is light and portable, and looks cool.
Best Weekly Planners
Some of us thrive when planning for our week instead of planning for each day. If you can’t seem to get that one to-do list item off of your list and it keeps rolling to the next day, this might be you.
If that’s the case, go for a weekly planner like one of these.
Appointed Co. Weekly Planner: The Appointed Co. planners are sleek in design both inside and out. They have dotted graph lines for each day and feature a two-week view that is different from many of the other weekly planner options.
They do include monthly and yearly sections, but the two-week view lets you plan for the immediate future without getting too into the daily to-do weeds.
Lavendaire's Weekly Reset Planner: This Weekly Reset Planner helps you design a full and balanced life—on a weekly basis. Each week you can use this planner to start off with your priorities and intentions in mind.
Once the week ends, you reset with a comprehensive reflection to feel refreshed for the week ahead. It's your tool to live a more intentional life, one week at a time. This planner is a great way to keep track of your biggest wins and your growth! *It also comes with stickers!
Smythson Diaries: Smythson's collection of diaries is on the pricier side, but their elegant and thoughtful details make it stand out. First, it’s bound in cross-grain leather (in a variety of bright colors) and its thin paper has gilded edges.
It has perforated corners that you tear off when you complete each week, and it gives our weekly planner people a great on-the-go option. Plus, it just feels fancy. We think this would also make a great gift for someone you know who loves organization.
Purpose Planner: The Purpose Planner includes monthly and daily options, but its weekly section is where it’s at. Here’s what makes this one different. It contains time sections to block off each day while showing you the weekly view.
It also contains space for meal planning and a tiny water droplet to color in as you drink water throughout the day, which is strangely motivating. You can also use it to track habits, sleep patterns, and more.
This option also allows you to write in the dates, so you don’t have to commit to starting or stopping at any specific time.
Sweetzer and Orange Weekly To-Do List: Its simplicity is what makes this one a winner in our book. The Sweetzer and Orange Weekly To-Do List is a larger pad to keep on your desk so that you can easily see your weekly overview, take notes, and cross items off your list in one spot.
You can write in the dates for this one too, which is ideal for holiday weeks, vacation weeks, or those times when you just need some time off.
Best Hourly Planners
If you’re hyper-organized and prefer an hourly option, some of the daily planners may work for you. But we found some great planners that feature plenty of space to write down tasks by hour.
See It Bigger Planner: The See It Bigger Planner is—you guessed it—really big. It features a large page for every single day so that you should have ample space to write down appointment times and other pertinent items.
Ponderlily Planner: The Ponderlily Planner provides a weekly view, but it breaks each day down by hour as well. It has a pretty linen cover, monthly check-in sections, space for goal setting, and space to record notes and positive habits. If you thrive off of using time-blocking to complete tasks, this is a solid option.
Best Digital Planners
If you are not great with writing things down and prefer to keep things allll digital, there are planner options for you too.
Zinnia: The Zinnia app is fun because you can personalize how it looks and how you use it. You can choose the organization system that best suits your style, the color scheme you like, and more. And they have digital washi tape and stickers (!).
GoodNotes: GoodNotes is more of a digital notebook than a planner, but you can create your own planner or organization system within it. It’s easy to organize, syncs with all your devices, and allows you to have the feeling of handwriting without having to keep up with paper or a physical planner. This one is popular for good reason, and it’s a great solution for students.
Google Calendar: Career Contessa’s founder Lauren uses Google Calendar for just about everything organization. She color-codes her Google Calendar and puts everything on it—even walks or phone calls with friends. This is how she stays super organized and can see her daily tasks and week ahead with one glance.
Best Student Planners
Most dated planners are available in an academic planner option. But, there are some that are better than others—these include aspects that are more specific to students than just the months of the year in which school’s in session.
Some include a place to list exam schedules, study trackers, and more. Here are our top picks.
Erin Condren Academic Planners: The Erin Condren Academic planners include a standard planner layout with space for daily tasks and monthly overviews. What makes them ideal for students, however, is that they include a section for project and exam planning and a place to record your course schedule, classroom locations, and teacher names.
At a Glance Student Planners: At a Glance Student planners are super durable and a bit larger than some of the other academic planner options. This means you’ll have plenty of space to record your class projects, meetings, and due dates. At a Glance planners are a straightforward choice without a ton of bells and whistles, if that’s more your style.
Ban.do Academic Planners: We love the selection of planners at Ban.do, including this one. They’ve got great cover designs, and they’re filled with fun “extras” like a priority page for each month, where you list your priorities for “something fun, something calming, something important, something healthy,” and more.
They include cool art, fun stickers, and other details that make the organization process more exciting. If you do like bells and whistles, this one’s for you.
Best Personalized Planners
If you prefer to create your own adventure planner-style, there are options for that. Since we all have our own nuanced organizational techniques and preferences, we understand wanting to create a customized planner option that is perfect for you.
There are companies that allow you to select what you like the most, down to important dates, birthdays, layouts, extra pages, and more.
Golden Coil Planners: Golden Coil planners are an amazing option if you’re looking to create a totally customized planner. You can choose your cover (they have prints, different colored linen options, or leather), and then you can include the type of layout you prefer and the number of pages you need.
Plus, you can integrate your contacts so that you have a printed list of them. You can add birthdays, dates that are special to you, extra lined pages, and more.
Plum Paper Customized Planners: Plum Paper planners are also totally customizable. You can select your preferred layout, binding, color scheme, start month, and more. They’re available in three different sizes, and their cover designs range from monograms to flowers to bold prints to motivational quotes.
Agendio Planners: Agendio planners come in professional-looking synthetic leather and colorful, coiled options. You can create a completely personalized design, down to selecting details like recurring tasks, color schemes, and even fonts.
Miscellaneous Planning Items
We’re betting that if you like planners and organization, you geek out over school supplies in general. Us too. We couldn’t leave our favorites off of our ultimate planning list.
Lined Notebooks
We love a good notebook, especially cracking open a brand new one. If you’re a “paper” person and you’ve used a less-than-stellar notebook, you know that they’re not all created equally. Pretty and functional notebooks inspire creativity and productivity—it’s science!
Moleskine Notebooks: Moleskine notebooks were apparently used by Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh and are maybe the most “classic” and versatile notebooks out there. They’re sleek—and good for everything from jotting down grocery lists to taking notes in a business meeting.
Decomposition Notebook: Career Contessa’s Graphic Designer, Aliya, swears by Decomposition notebooks. They feel like an old-school composition notebook that we used in middle school, but they have interesting cover designs, and they’re made with 100% recycled paper.
Simplified by Emily Ley Blue Legal Pad: If you’re more of a legal pad gal than a notebook gal, these Simplified by Emily Ley blue legal pads look chic and functional with that extra little unlined spot to jot down thoughts or doodles.
Dotted Notebooks and Graph Notebooks
There is a whole niche of cool, creative people out there who prefer to write on a dotted notebook or graph notebook rather than a lined notebook. If you’re one of them, here are the ones we’ve tried and liked.
Rhodia Graph Notebooks: The Rhodia Graph Notebook is a straightforward, classic graph notebook. It’s got lines for labeling at the top, margins around each page, and perforated pages for ease of use.
Leuchtturm Dotted Notebooks: The Leuchtturm Dotted Notebook definitely has a Moleskine-inspired feel, but with dotted, rather than lined, pages. Plus, they come in fun, bright colors, which is always a plus in our book.
Plain Notebooks
We’ve added one huge option and one “pocket” option here. Whether you use them to draw or sketch or to jot down ideas or lists, a good old plain notebook just hits.
Wit & Delight Sketch Pad: Looking for a huge unlined notebook for sketching or just brainstorming? Look no further. We like the bold and inspiring cover design and the size of the Wit & Delight Sketch Pad.
Muji Recycled Plain Pocket Notebook: Or for a smaller option, the Muji Recycled Plain Pocket Notebook is simple, unlined, throw-in-your-bag-and-go perfection.
Sticky Notes + Stickers + More
We couldn’t create a planner list without some of the fun accouterments, right? If your desk or organizational system needs a little zhuzhing up, here are some fun options.
- Erin Condren Sticky Note Ball
- Antiquarian Stickers (our content director loves this book filled with strange, interesting, and fun stickers!)
- Three-Hole Punch
- Stapler + Tape Dispenser
- Paper Clips
Pens, Pencils, and Highlighters
Most people have an absolute favorite pen type or brand. If you like to write things by hand (which you probably do if you’re reading this planner round-up), you want your pen to have the right “feel.” Here are the ones that we find do the trick.
Ellen’s Pick: Le Pens are great for addressing letters (or thank-you notes) and writing plans and Pilot Acroball Pens are great to have around in the car or in your bag for jotting things down since there’s no loose cap to keep track of.
Caileen’s Pick: These PILOT Frixion Pens glide like no other—and they are erasable, too!
Aliya’s Pick: When a designer shares her favorite Zebra Pens, you take note (ha).
Quick Organization Tips
And finally, we’ll end with our team’s favorite quick organization tips that deal with daily planning. We’ve also got a ton of productivity and organization tips here, here, and here.
- Caileen’s Tip: I use different colored pens to zhuzh things up and to organize by importance. I also love using stickers just to make my planner seem...happier?
- Aliya’s Tip: I add very small tasks to my daily to-do list so that I get the satisfaction of crossing them out!
- Lauren’s Tip: I list out my weekly to-dos with their due dates next to them. I also use a post-it to write down the top three work things I need to complete and the top three life things I need to complete for that day. When I finish, I crunch up the post-it note and throw it away—very satisfying!
- Ellen’s Tip: I use my planner for larger-goal planning and due dates, and a Moleskine notebook for my daily to-do list. I date the beginning and end of each notebook and save them for a year or so, in case I need to look back at anything important.
