Do you guys remember the beautiful rainbow mug that I’ve been showing a few times on this blog already? It’s so colorful and pretty and always puts a smile on my face.
Well, it’s from Natural Life1 and they have a whole lot of other fun and colorful products (from clothing to decor items to little gifts and stationery), so I wasn’t surprised when I found out that they offer a beautiful (spiral-bound, hooray!) planner. Of course, it caught my attention.
The cover is colorful and very sturdy, which is nice because the planer can double as a writing pad on your lap. The layout is pretty similar to the Fringe planners I’ve been using for the last few years (two-page, two-column weekly layout), and love the whimsical illustrations, so I thought I was going to give it a try for 2024.
The actual planner layout inside is just black and white. As you probably know by now, I prefer a simple layout like that over overly colorful layouts. I’d rather use highlighters and stickers on a black-and-white design.
Every month starts with an inspirational “quote”, which I enjoy. What I do miss a little bit from my Fringe Planner is a monthly planning page (with boxes for anniversaries, birthdays, and to-do lists), but I guess you can write this all down in the monthly overview.
I appreciate the monthly tabs to quickly flip between months, but I usually leave the planner open on my desk. That is why I love the spiral binding which makes it so easy to flip over the pages only use one page at a time.
There are also little quotes on the top of each planning page. For week 1 of 2014, “The move you’re scared to make might be the game changer.” How true.
The paper is just ok. A small complaint is that the printed design bleeds through the pages a little bit – as you can see above – but it’s not a big deal to me. My pen doesn’t bleed through ( FYI, I write with a regular ballpoint pen, not with gel pens or fineliners) and that’s more important to me.
A redeeming feature: there are two pages of cute, coloforul stickers in the back! Who doesn’t like stickers?
And finally, it has a double-sided pocket insert at the back (which I always appreciate because I keep a geometric template ruler and other little pieces of paper in there).
Stay tuned for another planner-related post. I’ve enjoyed Sarah’s, Birchie’s, Julie’s, and Kae’s recent posts about planning (and I even listened to Sarah’s podcast interview with Kae!, which is a big deal because if you know me, I don’t listen to podcasts much), and I definitely have more to say on that topic.
- #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have purchased the item(s) with my own money and have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites. ↩︎
Elisabeth
February 8, 2024 at 11:24 amPlanners are so fun! I LOVE paper planners and love my Sprouted Planner more every year (but they are pricey and only available from the US which is a nuisance for a Canadian like me).
I know digital planning is all the rage, but I just love the tactile approach to planning things out on paper.
This one looks gorgeous!
San
February 9, 2024 at 10:22 pmI have looked at the Sprouted Planner a few times. They are pricey (even if you don’t factor in shipping to Canada), but I do like the layout as well and I know it works for you so well!
Nicole MacPherson
February 8, 2024 at 11:43 amOooh that is EXACTLY the type of planner I like. A month at a glance, a week at a glance, and SPIRAL BOUND. This cannot be stressed enough. I need spiral binding. I just need paper to write on, I can’t live with digital only planning.
San
February 9, 2024 at 10:22 pmYES! Spiral binding FTW!!! And I am definitely a paper AND digital planner type!
Michelle
February 8, 2024 at 1:46 pmWhat a gorgeous planner! I love the cover, the interior art & design, the stickers, and the back pocket! Oh, and the quotes! And the spiral binding! It looks like the perfect planner to me.
San
February 9, 2024 at 10:22 pmYes, I agree with all of it… the design is pretty much perfect for my needs.
Lindsay
February 9, 2024 at 9:35 amI love the stickers and quotes – and, most importantly, SPIRAL BOUND!! Being able to open it and have the pages be flat is a necessity for me!
San
February 9, 2024 at 10:23 pmYES! Spiral bound FTW!
NGS
February 9, 2024 at 1:57 pmLOLOLOL. I honestly don’t want inspirational quotes. They make me roll my eyes. I want a lighter planner with all the things without all the reminders that I’m not living, laughing, and loving enough. The monthly calendar, weekly layout, and spiral binding are super great, though. Hm. I see below in the “You May Also Like” options that you’ve previously had Fringe planners and an Inkwell Press one. How does this one compare?
San
February 9, 2024 at 10:25 pmHaha, I chuckled about your comment about the inspirational quotes. I don’t mind them at all :)
My favorite planner of all times was my Inkwell Press – it had EVERYTHING I wanted and loved, gorgeous colors/covers, similar layout (monthly and weekly pages), spiral binding…. and then they switched to disc-bound, which is like an absolute NO-GO for me. So ugly, so bulky. Just no.
Jenny
February 10, 2024 at 5:16 ami love this! Unlike Engie, I do like the motivational quotes. And the cover is pretty, and there are stickers (I looked on their website and it looks like you can even order additional stickers!) I’m really liking my planner this year, but now I kind of wish I had this one, ha ha.
Grateful Kae
February 10, 2024 at 6:01 amThat’s such a cute planner! Love the bright fun colors. I also love inspirational quotes. I feel like we can all use those little reminders now and then. They help me pause and get out of my head for a moment and focus on something brighter or more positive instead. I have been using the Sprouted planner I won in Elisabeth’s giveaway on the “side” plus my otherwise mostly digital planning. I do like having the paper planner to play around with and brainstorm in etc. But my “primary” planning is digital. I had entered the giveaway thinking maybe I’d switch more back to paper as primary, but ultimately decided that digital is just too functional for me! And thanks for listening to my podcast episode… I’m so honored. :)
San
February 10, 2024 at 4:22 pmI feel the same, I still love the palpability of the paper planner, but I have moved a lot of stuff to digital just because of convenience to move things around and to get reminders
Tobia | craftaliciousme
February 10, 2024 at 8:15 amThat planner looks so fun. I would appreciate the quotes. But the bleed through would be a deal breaker to me I think.
I have a planner given to me by one of my clients and it is also wire bound and has a similar layout.
I am yet to find a planner who has everything I would want in a planner though. But the one I am using right now is getting pretty close for what I need right now.
Ally Bean
February 10, 2024 at 8:16 amThis is a beautiful planner. What a lovely layout and cheerful colors. I use a basic old Franklin-Covey paper planner which is utility personified, but yours… very swanky.
Catrina
February 11, 2024 at 4:30 amSpiral-bound planners! I really like having a whole week on two pages.
I got so frustrated with not finding the right planner that I made my own Excel sheet. I have a sort of diary in a Moleskine book where I jot down a few sentences every day and track my progress on stuff (fitness, personal development, highlights of the week, etc.)
J
February 11, 2024 at 5:35 pmLike Ally, I use an old Franklin Covey, which I refill every year with a new calendar (thank you for the link!) They have so many options, you can switch it up if you want to. I just do the two page monthly tabs, but I agree, I need it to lay flat. Before I bought it (in about 2000, I think) I used to buy pretty spiral bound calendars with famous art work or whatever. I tried that again a few years ago, it was OK, but too big for my needs. My life is pretty simple these days.
Lisa's Yarns
February 12, 2024 at 9:48 amThis looks great! I love that it has tabs. That is one thing my planner (W222) doesn’t have. I have had to add tabs to mine but they aren’t the same as the tabs you have. But I still really love my planner besides that one issue! I’m glad you found something that works great for you!!
Melissa
February 12, 2024 at 8:58 pmThe bright colours and fun graphics are very enticing. It almost make me want to switch to paper.
Kristen | kristenwoolsey.com
February 13, 2024 at 5:54 amWhat an awesome planner! I absolutely love the artwork. I’d smile everyday when I opened that.
Anne
February 20, 2024 at 10:27 amWe clearly have different taste in planners. This is way too colorful for me. That said, I wear black and grey pretty much all the time. (Navy, though, I do wear navy!) Love that you were able to find one with the layout and the “extras” you like. I haven’t used a paper planner in years… Always thought I would, and purchased them, and then… did not use them. I’m pretty much exclusively digital now. :)