In a lovely B6-sized (12.5cm x 17.6cm / 4.9in x 6.9in) cahier-style notebook with 68gsm Tomoe River paper are an assortment of differnt weekly page layouts to try. Most weekly styles include two weeks of the layouts but a couple just have one week to try.  There are also a couple options for monthly overview pages as well to test out. Honestly, Yoseka, you had me at B6.

The monthly spreads include a month-on-two-pages (classic monthly view calendar), Vertical Gantt (based on Bushimen’s PAL), and Horizontal Gantt (based on Art Print Japan’s Visualife Planner). The Gantt style calendars blow my mind a little but find them useful for Habit Tracking. It’s definitely a different style.

The weekly spreads include:

• Vertical Schedule
• Horizontal + Memo
• Vertical + Memo
• Horizontal Quadrant
• Vertical Quadrant (Divided)
• Vertical Quadrant (Memo)

Of the weekly layouts, the horizontal + memo and vertical + memo are my favorites. I don’t use my planner for time keeping as much as task lists and logging activities from what and where I ate to activities I did and media I consumed. I like bbeing able to got back through the year and see what movies were watched, books were read and which podcasts were keeping my attention during different moments in the year.

Yoseka, then included a printed sheet with a chart of which planners they sell that feature each of the different styles of layouts as well as the sizes available. It’s a great cheat sheet for finding which planner aligns with your favorite layout at a glance. So efficient!

Since the notebook is undated, you can try all these different layouts right now and still have tie to find your perfect planner for 2024. With a full 10 weeks of weekly planner pages, that’s enough to get you almost to the end of the calendar year too.

I think, depending on feedback from customers, Yoseka should offer some of the most popular options as full undated planners. The size is great, the paper is great. Honestly, blank B6 Tomoe River cahiers would be amazing to offer too! Please!!!

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DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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Since the beginning of the year, the pockets of my planner have become filled with an assortment of stickers, postage stamps and washi tape. I’ve gotten into collaging on my daily pages so having a few stickers to add along the way is a great option.

I am still loving the B6 size for my planner. It’s not as small as an A6, which I often felt like I needed more than one-page-per-day, but not as intimidating as an A5 which always seemed like too much space and too large a notebook to tote around everyday. If you haven’t tried B6 yet, I highly recommend it as the Goldilocks of notebooks.

This image above shows that I’ve filled about 2/3rds of the Stalogy daily planner and evidence of collage-y bits can be seen from the edge.

I added the Midori pen clip to the back of the Stalogy at the beginning of the year and have managed to keep it for six whole months without losing it. Good news since my rare Sailor ProGear Slim Stargazer has been riding around in the loop all year.

I mark my place each month and each day with the Midori gold Chiratto Index Clips ($8.50 for 8 clips). It makes getting to my current spot fast and easy.

I’m getting some mileage with the monthly pages to keep track of silly holidays like Graham Cracker Day (July 5), travel, pen shows and birthdays and such but I am not using the week-on-two-pages like I thought I would.

I had thought I would utilize the page on the right of the week-on-two-pages in the Midori for work-related tasks and notes but I have ended up keeping a notebook at work for these tasks and the pages go largely unused. Its extra sad because I really like the paper in the Midori Pocket Planner and the little illustrations throughout are cheery.

The only creature in my house that uses the ribbon bookmark is Apple. He thinks it’s delicious.

In the Stalogy, on days without a lot of activities (like a Sunday when you discover you have Covid-19), I have started adding collage elements with washi, stickers and some rubber stamps. I also bought a Polaroid Mint mini-printer to add the occasional photo to my planner.

I often treat my planner more like a log book of what I did, what I ate, where I went, who I saw, what I read, watch or listened to, etc. so adding photos in is a good way to log activities. If you want to be able to add photos to your journal or planner, many people recommend the Canon Ivy which is currently available. The Polaroid Mint has been discontinued. Both the Mint and the Ivy use Zink 2″ x 3″ printer paper. The color output is not great but the printer uses instant film technology and the printers don’t need ink cartridges making it a little easier to use. So, it makes fun, little retro-looking images that add some much-needed personality to my planner.

Usually, on Sundays, I try to pre-decorate a few pages. Since I am doing a (sort of) page-a-day for my planner/journal/logbook I just add a few decorative elements to add some interest for the week but I am not locked into using a whole page for one day. Some days, I might use two or more pages. I’ve found this open method so much easier for me since there is no pressure from day-to-day. Some days are super busy and active, and some days I skip altogether.

I don’t know how to solve for the largely unused Midori Pocket Planner. I thought about removing the monthly pages and pasting them into the Stalogy but I would want the whole year’s worth of calendar pages so where doe I put them? In the back altogether? At the beginning of each month but what about later months?

I would like to streamline a little bit but I haven’t figured out the best way to do that. As it is right now, the book is quite chonky so I suspect I will try to reduce the bulk I carry on a daily basis a bit.

How’s your planning/journal/notebook set-up serving you? Have you needed to switch it up?

Bonus helper photo:

Apple insisted on hanging out with me while I photographed this post so he wanted to put his paw stamp on this post. It’s “Apple-approved.”

The post Mid-Year Planner Review appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I have two brands to show: MU Series Print-On Stickers ($3.35 per set of two sheets) and Midori Transfer Stickers for Journaling ($5 per sheet).

Each set includes instructions on the back in both Japanese and English which is helpful. Unlike regular stickers or washi, transfer/rub-on stickers are rubbed onto the paper and will not have any noticeable edges. They can be opaque or transparent which makes them fun for layering over collage or other elements in your journal or notebook.

Tools needed:

In order to use these rub-on transfer stickers, you’ll need scissors (I am using the Allex S-165F Office Scissors with non-stick fluorine coating, $16) and something to rub the stickers down. I used a bone folder but a coin, the side of a plastic card (like a credit card) or the end of a ruler would work too. You can also buy a wood tool like the MU Print-On Transfer Wooden Applicator ($1.95).

How to Apply Transfer/Rub-on Stickers:

Both sets include the sheet of stickers and a backing sheet. The backing sheet protects the stickers from sticking to the inside of the packaging. I recommend keeping the packaging to store the sheets after using to keep them protected. When applying the stickers, remove the protective sheet from the back of the sticker.

For best results, cut out the sticker you want to apply so that you do not press on the other stickers and accidentally apply them.

With the backer sheet removed, place the sticker where you want it on the page. I found it helpful to put a pencil board or other stiff board under my page as it made it easier to rub down the stickers. In the image above, I am using my bone folder to rub down the sticker. Work around the image in a methodical way to be sure you’ve rubbed all the details down.

Peel up a corner gently to make sure all the elements have been applied. You can put the transfer back down this way and rub a bit more if all the art did not apply to the page.

Once done, remove the transfer film. In the case of the Muji transfer stickers, some of the art did not transfer. I think more pressure or a harder under-surface would have made the transfer apply more cleanly.

Even with the tiny bits that didn’t transfer, the art looks really bright and pretty on the page.

I walked through the same process with the MU stickers as well.

After I cut out the art, I removed the backing sheet and I placed it in the position where I wanted to apply it.

I rubbed it down using the same technique as the Midori transfer stickers.

Then I removed the transfer film. In the case of the MU stickers, the artwork applied completely with no residue.

Based on my overall results, I am more inclined to recommend the MU transfer stickers over the Midori as they seem to apply more easily and also the cost less for more stickers. Of course, for you, the designs will be a deciding factor. There are more playful, whimsical designs available from Midori transfer stickers as well as metallic gold transfer stickers which look SO COOL! The MU transfer stickers are available in more nature-themed and watercolor-style designs.

Are you going to try these out for yourself? Which styles do you like better?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens and Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Sometimes, I browse through the new items over at JetPens and find a real quirky treasure. The Iconic Diary Stamps are just that sort of item. These are self-inking stamps that feature very quirky art work. There are 26 different designs available ($6.50 each). I purchased three to try and as soon as they arrived, I knew I would probably decide to order the other designs.

From right to left, these designs are: “I don’t know”, “Save me” and “Lazy”. Clearly, not your average planner stamps!

I tested these on my Stalogy planner paper and depending on how much pressure I apply, the stamps performed light to a little too dark. Lighter pressure seems to be better but I haven’t quite mastered the technique. I think a pencil board under the page I’m working on would help to create a firmer surface on which to stamp.

From the back, there is a bit of show through but no bleed through.

I also tested the stamps on 120 gsm smooth sketchbook paper and got similar stamping results.

Because the paper was thicker and more opaque, there was less show through on the back of the sketchbook paper.

I pretty much love the irreverent style of these stamps and the designs I chose speak to my lackadaisical attitude these days. I might have to pick up a few more of these — maybe the “Cheer Up” and “Don’t Give Up” — I’m not always this bleak.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I grabbed a copy of the Paperblanks Midi Planner ($6.88 on sale, $22.95 USD/$24.95CAD at full price) recently when I was ordering even more of the heavyweight paper Midi notebooks which have become my go-to notebook these days. I wanted to give the thinner 80gsm paper Paperblanks make another chance and the sale price made it hard to resist. The design is called the Floralia and it is so riveting.  The matte black cover features a beautiful print of flowers and some shimmer and sparkle accents on the flowers. As the light catches the art on the cover, the flowers look like they are popping off the cover.

The cover is a soft flexi with two ribbon bookmarks (sealed so they don’t fray!) and the Midi size is B6-ish at 4.75″ x 6.75″. B6 is 4.9 x 6.9 in (12.5 x 17.6 cm) so the Midi-sized notebooks will fit into any B6-sized notebook cover (another bonus for me since my daily carry notebook cover is B6).

Before the monthly calendars is a two-page year-at-a-glance spread with 2022 and 2023 and a key for the symbols used through the planner which include the first day of spring, first day of autumn, the moon phases and when daylight savings starts/ends (though it was not accurate to the US. Paperblanks is a Canadian company).

I bought the “horizontal no closure” version of the planner, which is essentially a standard week-on-two-pages design with a month-on-a-page in the front. The edition I got was an 18-month version that started in July 2022. The 80gsm paper means the book is not overly bulky and the 18-month model would be great for anyone who is in academia or who might be looking for a planner switch-up mid-year. The paper is acid-free, sustainable forest paper.

In the back of the planner are:

• international holidays for dozens of countries
• year-at-a-glance calendars for 2024 and 2025
• international dialing codes (so retro!!)
• some time zone clocks
• clothing conversion size charts
• quick glance measurement conversions for imperial to metric
• travel planning and important dates page
• 14 notes pages, lined
• 14 pages for address keeping

The paper is a creamy ivory color and has a slight tooth to it. In my usability test, I wasn’t expecting the paper to be fountain pen friendly because its so lightweight but I often grab whatever pen is handy to write in my planner so I want paper to be at least tolerant of fountain pens. There was a bit of showthrough on the reverse of the page but its not terrible and I think the ink I have been using is particularly wet and inclined to bleed.

I have started adding some daily events and notes. I know not everyone loves lines in the notebooks but for some reason, I don’t mind the lines in the Paperblanks planners. There is a slightly wider line between each day making a clean delineation between all the lines.

When you look at the reverse of the weekly page, the olive ink had some show through but the purple ink (I am pretty sure that’s Monteverde Birthday Cake in a Sailor ProGear with a H-MF nib) did not show through at all.

I used the notes pages to do some pen testing. I really like when planners work well with a lot of different kinds of pens because I just never know when I need to jot down an event. I might have been sketching and had a pencil in hand or I just grab a gel pen out of the cup on my table. The Paperblanks 80gsm paper really isn’t terrible. There is minor show through but very little bleed through. For a thin non-Japanese paper, its beyond acceptable. I would compare it to Leuchtturm 1917 for being a good all-around paper. If you are inclined to use super broad, juicy fountain pens, these 80gsm notebooks from Paperblanks might not be for you.

But if you, like me, has a rainbow of felt tip, gel, rollerball, pencils AND fountain pens, these planners might be a good option. And at the clearance prices, it could be worth giving them a try.

I realize that I am a bit biased about Paperblanks but I think they don’t get a lot of props from the pen community and the books are really good quality. No, they are not Hobonichi, Tomoe River or Midori MD paper but they are better than so many other options at reasonable prices (even when they are not on sale).

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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The Trigg Life Mapper is an A5-sized, hardcover book with ribbon bookmark and vertical elastic closure. The book contains over 365 pages including one-day-per-page for the work week, Saturday and Sunday are half pages and then additional pages for monthly reviews, monthly goal planning and more.

The exterior of the book is a faux leather with a bit of texture and debossed design on the front, back and spine.

Each month is delineated with a color along the edge making it easy to find quickly.

The binding is sturdy and the pages are all stitched into the book in a way that allows the book to lay flat and remain pretty duarble.

The paper is a warm white overall with lots of color accents throughout. The front piece has a quick summary of the goal of the planner as well as a place for personal contact info and a mission statement of sorts. I’m not sure I’d want my mission statement next to my contact info. Should I misplace the book I would hope someone would flip to the first pages and find my contact info but not necessarily need to read that “I want to be retired by age 60, a fully trained flamenco dancer and published author” — that feels a little personal. So, I would recommend if you fill this out, don’t misplace your planner.

There are several pages in the front of the planner to help explain the system that has been created and also what various symbols mean and how they can be used. First, are the icons relating to the most common categories one might try to plan and organize. The colors associated with each icon are the same as the colors used to color code the months. As I dove into the planner, I discovered that this color coding also allowed for each month to be a chance to focus on a specific aspect of your goals. I.E. In January, the prompts at the beginning of the month suggest focusing on personal goals like health, wellness, etc. Since January is often the month that we set goals for ourselves like “exercise more” or “eat less junk” it seems like a good match. Each month rolls through each of the monthly goal focuses.

I really like this set-up. It makes it a little less intimidating. As I looked through the planner, I was encouraged that I would not have to tackle ALL the goals every month. You certainly could but, by focusing on one specific area in your life, the likelihood that you build an achievable goal seems far more attainable.

On each daily page, at the top is the grid. In the front of the planner the diagram above explains how or what sorts of tasks could be assigned to each section. I like that they made the main area the same size as a sticky note so that it would be possible to just move those “must do” tasks to the next day as needed.

The start of each month is a one-page spread that includes some prompts for thought around goal setting and space for a single goal for each life category and two or more actions that could be taken to achieve said goal. Again, one goal per month per category and a maximum of two actions seems doable. For self, the goal could be walk 3 days a week. The action item might be to get up an hour earlier to make time or buy new sneakers. Relationships goal could be “plan Madeline’s birthday party” and the actions are “order cake” and “make her a new scarf”. You get the idea. The goals don’t always have to be the 10,000 foot goals.

So, here is one of the daily pages above. One each weekday, there is an inspirational quote at the top. Then there’s the grid and then a half a page to list appointments or other notes.

At the beginning of the planner, in the middle and at the end are opportunities to reflect on the bigger goals and also prompts to help you focus and clarify your goals.

I’m surprised how much I like this planner from a content standpoint. I was initially inclined to be a little judgy about it. I often get a little salty when things feel to woo-woo or verge into “The Secret” territory of “you can do anything if you set your mind to it” nonsense. The writing in the planner is positive without being toxic. It’s uplifting without making me wretch from the saccharine. (See my Grievance Journal review for my dark heart revealed.)

Now for what you’ve all been waiting for, the paper and ink tests:

The paper is pretty lightweight so I was expecting average to sub-par test results with fountain pens. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the paper didn’t feather but there was some bleed through with wetter inks.

There was also so bleed through dots from the liquid ink rollerball pens I tested. The most unusual thing I discovered when testing the paper is that the paper is very soft and so some extra fine pens caused some indentions in the paper. I write with a very light hand and still got some indents in the paper so a writing board or guide sheet in between pages would definitely help mitigate dents to the next page.

Despite the less-than-fountain-pen friendly paper, I really like the Trigg Life Mapper planner. I normally prefer blank or minimal planners but the Life Mapper has just the right combination of structure and inspiration to make me want to keep up with a more thoughtful, well-planned life.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Think Trigg for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I had been trying to do all my planning freeform in a B6 Stalogy notebook but I realized I had not built in any “future planning” for myself.  I don’t mean lofty 5-year goals or anything as grandiose as that. I mean I didn’t have those month-at-a-glance pages in my Stalogy unless I drew them all out myself. Color me lazy but I realized a small pocket diary/planner could be added into my notebook cover that would provide me with a place for those planning pages. Things like birthdays, holidays, trips and other events that are not happening today. My Stalogy is for tracking the daily to-do’s — go to post office, print outs for meeting today, etc. But the sort of bird’s eye view pages weren’t there. The “I have X weeks before this project is due and I’ll be out of town for these days so….” view that a monthly calendar or a week-on-a-page can provide.

So, I went searching for planner/diaries that were still available. Trust me when I say by the middle of January the pickin’s get pretty slim. I lucked out (pun intended) when I found the Midori B6 Pocket Diary.

First, it fits into my leather cover and is the same size as my Stalogy so I can corral both books together and flip back and forth between my daily page in the Stalogy and the weekly or monthly view in the Midori.

Second, the paper quality is excellent. I know the expectation with Midori is that the paper will be fountain pen friendly but because of the size and cute graphics, I thought the paper quality might have been skimped on. Nope. Lovely paper. The paper is slightly ivory colored and the right hand page on the weekly pages is lined with light grey lines that don’t bother me too much.

The paper works well with my finer nib fountain pens which are appropriate for the small spaces available to write notes. I’m not going to use a big fat nib to try to write holidays and birthdays in the boxes on the monthly calendar but the paper withstood the ink just the same, if I needed to.

Third, the die cut tabs for the months is super convenient and makes flipping around to different months fast and efficient.

Finally, I am actually kind of charmed by the graphics. I bought the Clover designs because I like the color green but was worried that the graphics would be too busy of cutesy. After using the planner for a couple weeks, I actually like the designs. Each month has an animal featured. January is a pig, May is a deer. I am not sure what that means but I find the artwork cute and adds a bit more color to the largely green pages.

I would actually consider purchasing one of the other designs. The Birds design or the Vehicles design are particularly fun.

Should you decide to use the Midori Pocket Diary without a cover, it does ship with a plastic slipcover over the softcovers to provide durability. Overall, I think the Mirodi Pocket Diary is a good value with a lot of great features. If you miss out on ht remaining stock of 2023 editions, be sure to put a 2024 on your wish list.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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This tip actually came from an unusual source, a book called The Scent of Lemon & Rosemary by Raechel Henderson, about caring for your home using earth magic. While most of the book isn’t applicable to my lovely readers, Chapter 11 deals with creating your own “Wheel of the Year”.

In this practice, instead of relying entirely on the bog-standard national holiday calendar for your country, or just your work holidays, Ms. Henderson recommends that you fill your planner with holidays and events that are important to you. First, what holidays do you and your family celebrate? Maybe you have specific heritage holidays or religious holidays that are overlooked on regular calendars. Go through an input them on the right days if you’re using a daily planner or add them to the monthly calendar pages. Then add in birthdays and anniversaries for family and friends. Maybe you like to know when the full moons are, those Mercury retrogrades occur, or if any asteroid or stars are particularly visible in the night sky? Google these astrological events and add them on the correct day.

Then, and this is the real jewel of the hack, go find one of those There’s a Day For That calendars and scroll through the months. There’s are hundreds of special observance days for everything from social causes to favorite foods and everything in between.

Are you a lover of donuts? If so, be sure to add National Donut Day to the appropriate page in your planner. It’s on June 2, which is also Leave The Office Early Day, coincidentally. I found all the cat appreciation days (there’s a lot of them!), International Gin & Tonic Day (Oct. 19) and Left Hander’s Day (Aug. 13 — of course its on the 13th! So unlucky!)

As a stationery aficionado, you may want to find National Pencil Day (March 30), Rubber Eraser Day (April 15), Global Handwriting day (Oct. 15) and, of course, Fountain Pen Day (Nov 3 this year).

This is a great way to add dates to your calendar that will remind you that everyday can be special and to help alleviate some of the endless blank pages.

As today is National Rubber Ducky Day, I hope you get a chance to float a rubber duck and bring a little joy into your life. Happy Ducky Day!

What special dates are you going to add to your planner or calendar?

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this post include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

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This is probably the hardest category of planners to comprehensively discuss. There are literally hundreds of options available on the market including both dated and undated options. There are themed planners for moms, flower lovers, effin’ bird lovers, people with ADHD,  planners that focus on productivity, planners that focus on goal setting and some that are just pretty. If you have a particular interest, there’s probably a planner designed with your interest in mind.

These all-in-one planners often feature an overview calendar for the year, weekly or monthly pages and then some feature daily or weekly spreads. If you like the compact nature of having all the year neatly bound into a book, an all-in-one planner may be a good option.

Fountain pen compatibility is not the main focus for many of the all-in-one planners on the market so I am attempting to focus on options that are more likely to be fountain pen-friendly. There are so many all-in-one planners on the market that I needed a way to streamline this post or it would have gone on FOREVER.

That said, sometimes you just want the planner you want and, fountain pens be damned! So, where noted, I’ve included planners that might not be as fountain pen-friendly. These will give you a chance to put that stash of gel, brush, ballpoint and rollerball pens to use. Most planners include a few sheets of note paper in the back. Be sure to use a page to test the pens you want to use before starting to use your all-in-one planner.

I am dividing up our recommendations into hardbound/softbound options and spiral options and just featuring our best recommendations.

Hard Cover Options

The advantage of a hard- or softbound planner is the compact quality. If you commute back and forth, go out on job calls, travel for work or need a planner to occupy the least amount of space, a hard- or softbound planner is a great option.

The most Fountain Pen Friendly: Hobonichi Techo and Jibun Techo

By far the most talked-about planner in the fountain pen community is the Hobonichi Techo (starting at $42). Available in A6 and A5 sizes and a pocketable Weeks format, this fountain pen friendly daily planner includes monthly calendars in the front. The A5 also includes weekly planning pages. While the Tomoe River paper is hotly debated as the stock has been updated/changed over the last couple years, the Hobonichi is far and away some of the best paper for fountain pen ink.

Hobonichi also offers a wide array of cover options to personalize your A6, A5 or Weeks planner. The simple black softcover is classy and can be used without a cover if you prefer.

The Kokuyo Jibun Techo (starting at $35) is available in A5 and A5 Slim versions. The DAYS edition features a page-a-day while the standard versions are a vertical weekly planner. The covers are soft but a plastic cover protector is available to improve durability.

The DAYS version (starting at $6) is a page-a-day planner and is a good competitor to the Hobonichi Techo.

The A5 Slim standard version does require tiny writing to make use of the layout to its full effect. The paper is Kokuyo’s own lightweight paper, similar to Tomoe River. If what you’re looking for is fountain pen-friendly paper and portability, you can’t go wrong with the Jibun Techo.

Runner up: Stalogy

While the Stalogy Editor’s Series 365 (starting at $25) feels more like a notebook with undated pages, many consider it a planner for the calendar at the top of each page and the 365 pages included. The Stalogy notebooks with the date options at the top of the page are available in A5, A6, B5 and B6 with a softcover. In the US, A5 is the easiest size to find.

I tend to use the  Stalogy for journaling or meeting notes as it offers little in the way of pre-printed pages for year- or month-at-a-glance pages. The Stalogy website provides some templates and tips for making your own calendar page à la bullet journaling but if you’re looking for some of that work to be done for you, then the Stalogy is not for you. The paper is fountain pen-friendly.

The Classics:

When I think of all-in-one planners, my brain immediately goes to the classic Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 daily and weekly planners. For many years, these were the go-to for a simple all-in-one planner. But the market has exploded and while these both continue to offer their original layouts, for many fountain pen enthusiasts, the paper just isn’t friendly enough.

The New Classic: Endless Recorder Planner

When it comes to the classic hardcover planner, there’s a new sheriff in town: The Endless Recorder Planner ($27.50 with black or beige cover) features their new flagship Regalia paper and a page-a-day layout as well as a year overview and monthly planning pages.

The Most Fun Planner: Brass Monkey Perpetual Late Show Planner

Color me biased but the folks at Brass Monkey (formerly the brains behind Easy Tiger here in KC) are witty with a serious dash of snark and an impeccable design aesthetic. That’s the perfect recipe for me. Their Perpetually Late Show Planner ($20) carries on the tradition of a planner packed with trivia and entertaining facts with space leftover for daily to-dos. The planner measure 6 x 9″ (slightly little larger than A5) with a fabric cover and is set up to be an undated planner so while the pages start in January, they leave it open for you to select the day of the week.

I can’t guarantee how fountain pen-friendly the paper is. Our previous tests with an earlier version of their planner was pretty good with a standard array of pens so I’m holding out hope for the Perpetually Late Show Planner to perform decently. Especially since I’m planning to order one for myself. Whether I start it this year or next — this is a planner I am going to need to own.

Runner-Up: Ink + Volt Goal Planner

The Ink + Volt Goal Planner ($49) focus on setting goals for the year, month and even a focus for the week.  Aesthetically, I find the simplicity and clean lines of the Ink + Volt planner a great starting point, whether your goal is to keep it simple or add your own creative embellishments. In the past, we’ve tested other Ink + Volt notebooks so the paper should be equally fountain pen friendly.

Spiral Options

One of the best things about a spiral bound planner (whether coil or spiral) is the ability to fold the planner in half. This will make these slightly bulkier planner fit more easily on your desk.

The Queen of Spiral Planners: Erin Condren

If you have been in the stationery community for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the name Erin Condren. The Erin Condren LifePlanner (starting at $60 for the original 7 x 9″ version) took the world by storm several years ago and practically single-handedly reinvigorated the planner industry. From Erin Condren came Happy Planner, Emily Ley, and many others. The Erin Condren planners and her competitors create bright, colorful planners that tend to cross the line between planner and scrapbook with stickers, washi and lots of decorative plusses.  Erin Condren offers licensed cover designs from Hello Kitty, Disney as well as beautiful painted options. There are customizing options like adding your name to the cover to choosing from three weekly layout spreads. The paper is 80# text so it should handle most pens. Our previous experience with Erin Condren was the Focused Productivity Planner and the paper quality was not great. I am not sure if the latest iterations have improved paper but the appeal of this planner collection is the layouts, color and the cult of Erin Condren more so than the paper quality.

Most Customizable Options: Agendio and Golden Coil

We have been long-term friends with the folks at Agendio (starting at $47) and now there is Golden Coil (starting at $70). Both companies offer an array of customizing options so if a bound planner appeals to you but you’ve like to build it yourself, its definitely worth spending some time on both of these sites to decide which system might work best for you. Agendio offers three different paper weights. The thickest is 120gsm/80# text which is the only paper weight option available from Golden Coil.

Both Agendio and Golden Coil offer options to add custom events and dates (you can pre-load your pages with birthdays, recurring events and holidays) as well as dozens of page layouts for monthly, weekly and daily pages. Agendio offers editable fields to further customize sections within the planner and even offers inserts to fit a Filofax or other binder.

Spiral Runner Up: Get To Work Book

This hefty Get to Work Book planner ($55) is aesthetically stunning and includes all the monthly and weekly pages as well as action-oriented goal planning in a sturdy, simple black cover. This is less blingy than the Erin Condren-style planners and perfect for the minimalist with maximal plans. There are no specifics on the paper stock, hence, the runner-up position.

Conclusion:

By no means is this all, or even some, of the all-in-one planners currently available. Did I forget your favorite all-in-one planner? If so, leave it in the comments.

For more planner recommendations, check out The Strategist, Marie Claire and SPY for even more recommendations.

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

The post A Deep Dive into All-In-One Planners appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

If you’re not familiar with Effin’ Birds, it started as a Twitter account where author Aaron Reynolds paired “vintage black-and-white bird illustrations with sayings that, more often than not, rely heavily on the F-bomb and other curse words.” The Effin’ empire grew to include other social media platforms, a book, and associated merchandise (stickers, shirts, mugs, posters, etc.) As long as you’re not averse to cursing, it feels like there is an appropriate Effin’ Bird for every occasion.

I’ll admit that during the pandemic, Effin’ Birds could always be counted on for a laugh, or a snort, and brightened my days several times. So I couldn’t resist the siren call of a planner that would give me new things to laugh about weekly!

The planner itself is a sturdy soft cardstock cover, with a sewn binding. This give the cover a bit more of a sturdy feel, but the pages open and lie flat, meaning you don’t need to break the binding to use it. The pages are “printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink” and have a sturdy feel as well. Closed, the calendar measures 7.25″ x 9.25″ (18.5cm x 23.5 cm). When opened, it expands to 14.75″ (37.5cm) wide. It weighs in at 1 lb., 1oz. or  485gm.

The planner is divided into sections. At the front you have 12 month’s at a glance in 2 page spreads. Then come the weekly spreads with illustrations on one side, and daily sections on the other. Finally you have a few pages entitled 2024 planning, a few years at a glance and a section for notes. A ribbon bookmark, helps you keep your place.

I have to say I’m super pleased with the paper. I tested various fountain pen inks and nib widths and the paper behaved beautifully. I thought it might feather or bleed, but it didn’t! And there was zero show through.

While I know there are many of you that are die-hard Hobonichi afficionados, I tend to choose thicker papers, and something a little arty in my planner. I guess Effin’ Birds doesn’t qualify as high art, but I think it’s going to keep me amused (and organized) in 2023.

DISCLAIMER: I purchased this planner with my own funds from Amazon.com. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Another Effin’ Planner: Effin’ Birds 2023 Monthly/Weekly Planner Calendar appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.