Mom’s Favorite Planner For Your Most Organized Year Ever

Happy New Year! Are you ready to rock 2021 with a new planner? There is something about starting a new year and a new planner. Maybe because it’s a clean slate and the possibilities seem limitless. It’s just you and your plan.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on my links and buy a planner, I may earn a small fee at no additional charge to you.

Well, about five years ago I came across the Day Designer daily planner and had the most organized year I had ever had. Since then I have tried a couple of their other planners, but I keep coming back to the Flagship Daily planner.

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What I Like About This Planner

I love that there are multiple calendar views. I start off planning in the front with the 12 month overview. This is a great way to see all your family vacations and school holidays in one place. (Here’s to hoping there will be some of those this year!) Sometimes I can get bogged down with details and this is a nice way for me to see the big picture.

Each month is tabbed and easy to turn to with a full month on two pages so you can see the whole month at one time. Then you have a page for each day. This page has a large space for your schedule and another large space for your to-do list. I used to keep my to-do list and my calendar separately, but I love having them side-by-side. At the bottom of the page, there is room for notes. So, I quit with the Post-its that I couldn’t keep up with! This planner just keeps it all together in one place.

Some days I have more to write than others, but it’s so helpful to have the space when I need it. I have thought that maybe I didn’t need as much space and I could get by with a smaller area, so I tried a weekly planner. I came straight back to the daily planner. There is nothing wrong with white space every once in a while.

I also use the ruler that comes with this planner. It attaches to the spiral and marks the day you are on. It is super helpful and one of my favorite features.

Check out this video for more details about the page layouts.

The beautiful cover designs will probably be the first thing that attracts you. I always find it hard to choose and I look forward to getting a new design each year.

Other Features

The Day Designer offers other features that I don’t necessarily use, but that you might enjoy in your planner. At the front of the planner there are pages to help you set goals and plan priorities for the year. I tend to skip that get down to business right away.

There are also other areas on the daily page for things like daily gratitiude, and dinner plans, etc. Mostly these areas do not get used in my planner or they become space for notes if necessary. At the top of the page is an area to list your top three things to do that day. I don’t always use that area either. I tend to write things like people’s birthdays or other important things I might need to remember in that spot.

Where to Buy

This planner is best purchased online. Please feel free to use my affiliate link! There is also a version of this planner at Target that you can find when they stock up on their planners. I have looked at these and considered purchasing them, but decided the ones you get online are just better. The Target version doesn’t have the sturdy cover or the inside pocket that comes in so handy and the paper seems to be much thinner. It’s okay, but the one online is better. The button below will take you to the website.

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Why I Use a PAPER Planner

Okay, fine. That all sounds great; but, why wouldn’t you just use your phone or a calendar app or something better than paper? First, it’s just easier for me to write it down! I have tried to put everything in Google Calendar and I do set reminders and alarms on my phone to help remind me of appointments and birthdays, but it’s just easier for me to use a pencil and paper. The process of writing things down on paper helps me to remember as well.

Second, I am pretty visual and being able to flip back and forth from yearly, monthly, or daily view by turning pages is helpful for me. To me it’s easier than looking at my phone or computer screen. This planner stays on my desk, so it doesn’t really matter how big it is. And it is always open to the day and I can just glance at it anytime or jot down a note or a thought for something I need to do.

I do organize some work details electronically. Too see how I organize all my Christmas decor with an app, read How To Organize Your Christmas Decor With An App. I also use this app to help organize content ideas and other things for my blog, but my day, appointments, family activities, to-do lists, etc., all go in the planner.

The Academic Year Planner

For the first time this year, I bought the Day Designer Academic Year Planner. It is the daily planner from July through June instead of January through December. I had been using a smaller planner by the inventor of the Day Designer at the beginning of 2020 and when COVID shutdowns began, I quit using it all together. I wasn’t happy with the smaller pages and around August I decided it wasn’t worth finishing out the year with that planner. So, I decided to go back to my original Day Designer Daily Planner. I was willing to just buy a planner that I would only use half of, but I was excited to see they were offering the Day Designer Academic Year Planner, so I snatched it up.

Having the academic year as opposed to the calendar year has really worked well for me. Everything revolves around the kids and school, so it is helpful to have the years divided in that way. I plan to stick to the academic year, so I hope Day Designer Shop This Post Online