School is almost here so if you haven’t already picked out a planner for the school year, this is the perfect post for you! I can’t live without my planner so I’ve become extremely particular as to the kind I get. During college I’ve tried out all different brands and types of agendas, and this past summer I really did my research on some popular agendas. So based on my own experiences and some advice from some friends, here are the advantages and drawbacks of some of the most popular planners for college students. Hopefully this will help you pick out which planner is best for you!
Disclaimer: None of these are sponsors or ads. All are my thoughts on these planners are my honest opinions, or what I talked to my friends about. Just saying; I would use any of these planners, but each one has some perks and disadvantages that should be discussed.
Lilly Pulitzer: I used this planner my freshman year of college. I love the color prints on the inside and cover. Lilly prints are so cute and the planners always include stickers and little phrases before the start of a new month. They change up the agenda prints every year. I think the large agenda is the best size for a busy college student. This pretty much set the bar for what I like in the planner. I need to be able to look at an entire month at a glance so I can keep track of due dates, events and birthdays. I also need to have the horizontal weekly spread so I can write down what I need to do that day and see whats coming up that immediate week. I like to think of this as your basic planner layout. Price: $30
Kate Spade: This is the planner I’m currently using. Kate Spade is my absolute favorite brand and this is my second time using their planner in college. It has a very similar set up to the Lilly planner, as far as the monthly and weekly spreads. What I love about this particular agenda is the concealed spiral and the illustrations inside by Ferolla. I’m big on zodiac signs and horoscopes so I basically fell in love with the designs. I also was in desperate need for a planner that finished out 2017 and had all of 2018 so this planner was a God send. There are other classic Kate Spade designs that you can get (with cute little sayings too) on their website. Price: $36
Erin Condren: I was literally soooo close to buying this planner this year. The only thing that stopped me was the price tag. You can literally customize everything about this planner: the cover, the spiral color, the layout and more. The options are endless. Personally, I would have done the watercolor design or “life in little squares”. You can get a vertical, horizontal or hourly layout and even get your name on it. (I like the horizontal layout personally.) The only catch is that each customization is like $5 each. When I am no longer a broke college student, I will probably be more willing to drop $70 on a planner, but not right now. Price: $55-$70
Simplified Planner: Last year, two of my best friends and I all ordered simplified planners and we were so excited! We all got different designs and thought the hourly schedule and to-do list were genius. This also has a monthly spread which I think is crucial. I ended up using my planner until the end of this past July when the pages ran out, but my friends switched to other planners halfway through the year because they felt the quality wasn’t good. I loved the to-do list section of this planner the most. I didn’t end up using the hourly schedule that much because I was in class most of the time and I didn’t like that I couldn’t see the whole week on one page. It was a little pricey but still a good planner. Price: $58
Inkwell: This summer, the ongoing joke at my work was that I was always looking online for a new planner. One of my coworkers had recently bought this planner from OfficeMax and I thought it had a lot of unique features. There aren’t many cover designs to pick from, but at the beginning of each month you can fill out your monthly goals, a mission board and keep track of habits on these little charts. I have never seen a planner like this and I think that is so great. I decided not to get this planner because I didn’t think there was enough room for me to write down my daily and weekly tasks, but I would not rule this planner out. This is sold out online, but you can pick one up from OfficeMax. Price: $49-$55
Ban.do: I think this is such a fun company! I have a pencil case from Ban.do and I love their “I am very busy” saying. One of my good friends used this tiny planner last year. She said it was a little too small for her because she was really busy and could have used more space to write things down. The small size was convenient because she could carry it around in her purse. It has monthly and weekly spreads but there are no lines in the weekly spreads which I’m not sure I could do because my handwriting is trash. If you’re just starting to use an agenda for the first time and don’t know if its for you or not, try a small and fun one like this. Price: $20
Hope you found this helpful! Comment what your favorite planners are below!
Thanks for reading!