#AskSCB: I seriously need to get my ish together. Which planners do you suggest?
There’s nothing like a good planner to make you feel like your shit is together even when it’s all over the place. I’m a huge fan of writing down stuff by hand because paper never fails me like technology does, plus it’s nice to get everything out of my head and do a data dump and make lists of what needs to get done.
I’ve tried two new planners over the last two years, both of which are great and I’d recommend checking out. First, I used the Erin Condren planner in 2015… Now I’m using the Design Love Co. planner and really like it – more so than the EC, but there are a few differences that I’ll point out in case you’re organizationally as psycho as I am.
What I love about this planner is the structure of the monthly calendar schedules – for each week, there’s both a task based and time based format so you can keep track of both your to-do lists and meetings, in a flexible way. There are cute empowering quotes at the top of each month that are nice to look at before I look through my endless to-do lists – this one is the most aesthetically pleasing planner I’ve found for keeping my shit together.
I love this one because it has such a thoughtful organization strategy – I have so much going on in my life that I need that depth to keep it all together. If you’re an entrepreneur or just a busy boss ass betch, this may be an ideal choice as it gives you organizational flexibility and funcationality.
The other planner I’d recommend to get your shit together is the Life Planner by Erin Condren – I used it in 2015 and it was life changing. I used to work between a monthly and daily standard planner, but EC combined them in a way that was functional and so much more efficient for me to use. It kinda feels like one of those agendas you got in middle school – there are stickers and stuff to decorate so your overwhelming months and to-do lists don’t seem so scary.
Highly recommend this one if you’re just looking to gather all your random ish in one place and keep track of where you should be when, and what you need to get done. It’s prettier/cuter/more fun to work with than the DL Planner, which can track more info but is mostly just blank lines and grids for doing so. Totally personal preference as to which will keep you on track, on task, and on time.
One thing I love about the EC planner is that you can customize it – both the cover, and the inside design. As you can see in the photo, I chose to get a vertical week layout vs. horizontal, and went for the floral theme. You can customize it more than the Design Love Co. planner, but I prefer their format and design.
However, the EC planner is much sturdier and the plastic spiral held up much better over the year than the metal spiral binding on mine this year – its biggest downfall, IMO. I also wish there was more free space to write random notes in the weeks, as there is in the EC – I get a bit scrambled trying to add in new tasks to a list or day I’ve already organized in the Design Love Co. planner.
Besides a planner, I also use Todoist premium and Evernote (also premium – you have unlimited storage to clip as many articles as you want!!!) to keep all of my tasks, work, and notes in a single place where I can access them digitally from any device. Check them out and see if they might be of use :) here are the planner links:
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STONECOLDBETCH 
I just bought an Erin Condren planner today actually because she came out with new summer ish stuff and she now makes it so you can plan hourly!!! I def needed that little extra tid bit to make me organized AF and feel like a real adult!
I might have to get that one to try it bc I do need hourly blocking and also the binding on the EC is just soo much better and sturdier than the one I use now, it’s sad :(