I know, I know, I have been hinting at my new planner a few times, and I know we’re all deep into planning this year, what with Sarah’s book, some awesome planner giveaways, and general talk about best tools to plan (digital or analog, or both?). Some people are sticking with their trusted systems, while others are branching out and trying something new this year.
I am trying something new (again). While I do a lot of planning online these days (Google Calendar and Google Tasks are my friends!), I also still gravitate towards paper (as so many of you as well!), and I am using both digital and analog in conjunction. But today, I’ll be talking about my new paper planner.
To be honest, I still miss the INKWell Press Planner* that I had years ago. It was my absolute favorite planner, but they switched from a spiral-bound to an exclusively disk-bound system, and I just couldn’t do it. I despise disk-bound (I am sorry if you love it, but it’s not for me), and I was deeply saddened to have to turn my back on them. I have been trying to find a replacement ever since.
I tried bullet journals for a couple of years, I had Fringe Studio* Planners (because they were simple and (very) affordable), a Natural Life Planner*, and last year – out of desperation – a very simple (bound) Eccolo Planner* (which I ignored for most of the year and then sorta started using towards the end of the year. Not sure if I blame it on the planner or just the year that I had.)
You must know that I am a bit picky when it comes to planners. I am planner Goldilocks, if you will. I like my planner not too small and not too big (7×9 in is my preferred size), I prefer spiral-bound (but not too small and not too bulky), I appreciate a simple design with a little bit of color (but not too much color, preferably “muted” or pastel) with some goal planning options, but not a gazillion trackers, and I prefer good paper quality. I realize I am asking a lot, and all for a reasonable price. But I also know that the more the planner meets my expectations, the more I will use it. (There is really no joy in using a planner that doesn’t work for you.)
I looked at many options. SO MANY OPTIONS. I don’t know how many times I asked you all for recommendations, and I researched and evaluated them. Thank you.
I don’t want to keep you in suspense any longer: the new planner I picked is from Plum Paper*.
So far, the Plum Planner is checking all the boxes. I paid a little more than I was hoping to spend, but if this turns out to be THE planner for me, I will be thrilled to have paid the price for it.
The layout/design reminds me a lot of the Inkwell Press Planner. While the Inkwell Press Planner used to have some extra nice-to-haves (hardcover, an attached elastic band closure, and a snap-in ruler/page marker), I am pretty happy with what the Plum Planner offers.
It has colorful monthly tabs, and what I really like is that it’s fully customizable. You can choose from daily and weekly layouts, vertical or horizontal, with boxes or without, with lines or without. I chose a simple blank, default layout, but you can customize each page with headings and colors, as you wish. Oh, and you can choose if your week starts on a Sunday or Monday. (ALWAYS Monday for me. You?)
There aren’t any pages for habit tracking, but I don’t do a lot of that (on paper) anyway. I track workouts and water in my Garmin app, food in MyFitnessPal, and I can write down everything else on the weekly pages. However, every month has a page for birthdays, special events, and things to remember.
There is a double-sided pocket folder in the back, and I added a vinyl page protector pouch as an extra.
The cover was also customizable. You can choose the design/pattern and add the year and custom text. I chose one of my favorite mantras for 2026.
You don’t have to,
You get to.
Have you heard of the Plum Planner? Are you using a paper planner this year?
* #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites.
NGS
January 27, 2026 at 8:35 amI got a Koko & Lynn tracking planner. It has a lot of pages devoted to tracking goals which is something I really like about it. It starts the week on Monday, which I know if you preference, but which is absolutely infuriating to me. I like it and it’s working well for me, but I might not get another one next year because the weeks start on Monday!
San
January 27, 2026 at 8:50 amI don’t think I know anyone who prefers their week starting on Sunday! LOL I am sorry you couldn’t choose this… especially since a lot of planners (in the US) apparently do start with Sunday (which is not the case in Europe).
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:51 amOk now, Engie, you need to tell me: why do you feel so strongly about the week starting on Sunday? ;)
NGS
January 30, 2026 at 12:52 pmI like it to start on Sunday for a couple reasons. 1) It’s how traditional calendars are set up, so I’m used to it. I find it endless confusing to have to check what day it is. 2) My “work week” begins on Sunday. It’s chore day (laundry, getting lunches ready for the week, cleaning, etc.) and so it’s more associated with the upcoming week than the previous week. 3) Least importantly, it’s about symmetry. My to-do lists during the week are crazy and my weekend lists are not. When M-F are stacked with things and Sa & Su aren’t, it basically means half of a page is being underutilized in my planner and it wouldn’t be that way if the week started on Sunday. I mean, half a page would be underutilized, but it would be done a quarter of page at the beginning and a quarter at the end and it would look better.
I know not everyone agrees with me, but I do have concrete reasons!
Birchie
January 27, 2026 at 8:53 am“You don’t have to, you get to”. This is a San planner if ever I saw one! And yes THE WEEK STARTS ON MONDAY!!!!
I am doing more work with paper planners now that I’m in charge of my own time. I mostly use the monthly page and don’t really use the week/day page b/c the day slots don’t have quite enough room for me to write out all my stuff. For now I’m using a separate notebook as a kind of tracker/journal. I also got a 5 year journal and I’ve had no problems keeping up with it. I can see where it’s going to be a lot of fun once I get past year one.
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:52 amYou’ve been coming around to a paper planer, huh?I remember you were doing the whole planning thing in a spreadsheet (which I fully support and could get behind but sometimes it’s nice to write things down by hand).
Sara
January 27, 2026 at 10:53 amI love all the colors in your planner! I like the blocks aren’t time constrained, too. That gives a lot of flexibility in terms of how you want use that space most effectively. I also like the start of the month pages and that there is space for notes. I’ve always been a paper planner person, and I loved finding the one that was right for me. In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that many of the young professionals on my team aren’t as good with getting themselves organized… so last summer I created a planner for them to use that addresses what they need to be focused on throughout the year. It was interesting to see the split reactions – some people were super happy to have it and glad to know how to focus their mind. Others were upset but were the same people that complained of not knowing how to structure their time… so… I don’t think I could win, but I think it’s an important skill to still have. ;)
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:53 amYes, I really like the way the weekly layout had blocks but they were not time-constrained. Since it’s customizable, you *could* add times to this layout but I chose to keep everything “blank” and open to my needs.
I love that you created a planner for your students and trying to guide them to be better organized. That is such a “Sara”-thing to do. You really are a wonderful teacher.
coco
January 28, 2026 at 12:09 amthis looks so pretty and has so many tools for planning. I have 3 items for my planning, hobonichi techno, another planner I bought in argentina, and blank pages for morning journal. I love the combo.
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:54 amHow do you keep up with THREE planners? I need to know more :)
J
January 28, 2026 at 8:00 pmWhat a pretty planner, and I’m so glad it has everything you need! I use a paper planner, but I guess I don’t plan much, because I only use the monthly tabs, and I don’t even write anything on most pages. And it’s tiny. I don’t track work or exercise or food, mostly just dentist appts, going out with friends, birthdays, that kind of thing. I had never heard of disc planners vs. spiral, so I looked it up. I don’t think I care, though I guess I’m a disc planner person, because I like to have a leather planner where I just put in new pages every year.
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:55 amOh, I see why you might like the disc-bound system – because you can add/swap pages more easily. I find the disc-bound planners too “bulky”.
Lisa’s Yarns
January 29, 2026 at 5:16 pmThat is a pretty planner! I prefer a Sunday start so must be an outlier. I think it’s more common for American planners but is still pretty rare. I have a clever fox this year after not having a planner the last 2 years. I feel so so about it. It doesn’t have a vertical layout for the days if the week and it turns out I far prefer a vertical layout. But I will stick with it. It’s A5 size which is a must for me and it’s bound. I do not like spiral bound! It has a lot of prompts about what to improve and focus on which I am basically ignoring. I love its thick paper, though. My last 2 planners had Tomoe River paper which is super thin. But it’s not great to write on such thin paper. I will have to do some thinking for my 2027 planner as I won’t be sticking with clever fox. But it’s fun to try something new and it was less than $30 so pretty cheap!
San
January 30, 2026 at 11:56 amOh, another person (like Engie) who likes the Sunday start. Can you explain why? I have looked at the Clever Fox planner but ended up not choosing it because of the horizontal weekly layout (I prefer vertical, too!) and because it’s a bound planner. It’s interesting how everyone has slightly different wants and needs from a planner, isn’t it?
Lisa’s Yarns
January 30, 2026 at 12:30 pmOur wall calendar starts on Sunday so I have been programmed to prefer a Sunday start for all calendars. It seems to be an American thing for calendars to start with Sunday!
Stephany
January 31, 2026 at 6:18 amGive me a Monday start ANY day. Maybe it’s my German heritage, ha!
My planner is not spiral bound and I wish it was because I find that I often forget the goals I set for myself each day, lol. But I do like that there’s a weekly overview page, which is great for tracking goals and habits!
Tierney
January 31, 2026 at 8:08 amI love paper planners, but I can be a little inconsistent in my usage. For the past several years, I’ve used the Hobonichi Weeks. My favorite view, by far, is the monthly overview. I’ve never found a digital equivalent that works for me. All 12 months are heavily annotated but the weeks are inconsistently used.
I have learned the hard-ish way that I need to review my Outlook calendar several times a week to stay on top of everything at work. I typically look at it at the end of the day to see what’s ahead for the next day. I don’t have a lot of meetings but the ones I do have are bad to miss. At this point, even though I don’t love the digital format, I add any work related events in addition to the ones that are populated for me through invite RSVPs.
Jenny
February 2, 2026 at 5:15 amThis looks great, and I LOVE how you can customize the text on the front!!! I actually don’t like a spiral bound planner- but other than that, this one looks perfect. I hope you end up loving it!