• How to Choose a Planner
• Planner Recommendations
  • Monthly Planner Recommendations
  • Weekly Planner Recommendations
  • Daily Planner Recommendations
• Planning Strategies
• More Resources
• Conclusion

Undated planners are easy to personalize around your goals, while dated planners offer structure.

Since undated planners are mostly blank, it is very easy to personalize them around your goals and work rhythm so that they feel more like companions rather than lists of obligations. These planners stay evergreen even if you do not use them immediately. Additionally, if a day ends up being more action-packed than expected, you can use extra pages without filling up space meant for other days. In dated planners, each passing day becomes obsolete if you skip it. For some, the growing number of blank pages can be an anxiety-inducing experience, which may lead to abandoned planners.

One major benefit to dated planners is that they offer structure and keep you accountable to planning. With undated planners, you may put off filling in daily events. Most dated planners still offer enough space for you to write out tasks in detail.

Planners, like notebooks, come in a range of sizes. Compare the A4 Midori MD Thin Diary (left) to the A6 Hobonichi Techo Planner (right).

Most planners come in A5 or A6 size. Your ideal planner size depends on a variety of factors, such as your handwriting style, the level of detail in your planning, and the size of your bag. An A6 planner allows you the space to put in a fair amount of detail but takes up no more room than a small paperback. If you need something a little bigger than A6, try a B6 planner.

A5 planners are the size of a typical hardcover book. They offer more space to work with than an A6 planner since you get twice as much surface area per page.

Many A5 planners are slim and take up more vertical space than horizontal space, such as the TRAVELER'S COMPANY TRAVELER'S notebook Planner. If you prefer ample room, B5 planners are about the size of a composition notebook.

Twin ring, stitched and glued, and stapled bindings have different benefits.

Consider if you want a planner with a stapled, stitched and glued, or twin-ring binding. Planners with stapled covers tend to be lightweight since they are usually made out of chipboard or cardstock. Though they are heavier, planners with stitched and glued bindings feel more personal and luxurious. Their sturdy bindings hold everything in place and are often paired with leather or leatherette covers. Some planners with stitched and glued bindings are the Stalogy Editor's Series 365Days Notebook and Hobonichi Techo A6 Planner.

Other planners sport twin-ring bindings, like the Maruman Mnemosyne N197A Today's Act Notebook. This binding makes it easy to flip through the pages. The N197A Notebook has perforated pages, which gives you the flexibility to tear out sheets to store elsewhere or discard. This feature is not present in most planners due to binding constraints.

The Kokuyo Campus Diary Free Schedule is a great option for students.

The Kokuyo Campus Diary Free Schedule is a budget-friendly option that is especially suited for students. Its fourteen calendar spreads are undated, so it can be filled in for each month without the guilt of skipping pages over breaks. The first two pages include a compact, full-year calendar that works perfectly as a project management tool for long-term assignments. In the back, there are seventeen blank memo pages for additional notes. The planner is made of high quality Kokuyo paper—the same found in standard Campus notebooks—that is pH neutral and FSC-certified.

The planner has a cardstock cover that can handle a little wear and tear, but we recommend pairing it with a sturdy Kokuyo Systemic Cover Notebook. It has pockets and an elastic closure strap.

The Hobonichi Techo Planner includes many features that make it convenient to use.

The Hobonichi Techo Planner includes many features that make it convenient to use. The stitched inner pages are made of thin, bleed-resistant Tomoe River paper that works well with fountain pens. The daily pages feature the date, a timeline, and the current moon phase. The pages are faintly gridded and have a subtle vertical axis. The Hobonichi also includes extra helpful features, like monthly calendars, blank memo pages, and fun reference sheets. The daily Hobonichi Techo comes in two sizes: A5 and A6. The A5 Cousin is larger, and also includes weekly vertical pages at the beginning of the planner.

No matter which size you choose, the planners are available as stand-alone books or as Book and Cover sets that come in new and charming designs every year. Most covers come with a pen loop, two ribbon bookmarks, card slots, and pockets. Learn more about the Hobonichi in our in-depth guide.

The Stalogy Editor's Series 365Days Notebook is a minimalist planner.

The Stalogy 365Days Notebook is a minimalist planner designed for editors. It sports a soft, flexible cardstock cover and has thin, bleed-resistant paper. The ruling is printed in a subtle gray that can be used to keep notes orderly or ignored for sketches. The graph notebooks have the hours of the day marked on the vertical axis, and the month and day at the top of the page that can be marked as needed. Since the pages are not date-specific, you will not waste paper if you do not plan some days. The dot grid and blank notebooks do not have these hourly and dating features, but they are still great to use as free-form planners.

If the notebook's 368 pages weigh down your backpack too much, consider picking up the slimmer 1/2 Year Notebook.