I have always enjoyed using a paper planner, but I didn’t commit to consistently using one until December of 2016. That’s when I purchased my first Happy Planner from Hobby Lobby. It was a horizontal layout with rose gold accents and discs, which was my obsession then (still is). I became hooked on The Happy Planner and introduced many other women to the planner brand.
When Laura introduced me to the brand she was using her Day Designer and hadn’t used The Happy Planner since 2015. About six months ago she decided to give The Happy Planner another try and she’s hooked on it like me! We even have weekly planner dates where we FaceTime and plan out the upcoming week.
Trying to Find The RIGHT Planner
I tried many day planners over the year, mostly from Target during back to school. Before The Happy Planner, I tried using the Day Designer for Blue Sky. I used the daily planner for a few months and eventually switched to their Today and To Do planner. The Today and To Do planner featured monthly, weekly, and daily pages. While I enjoyed being able to plan based on how busy my day or week was, it felt scattered since it didn’t follow a traditional calendar.
Why I Love the Happy Planner
This is why I found The Happy Planner so functional for me! Not only did I have the space to write out my week and see it all at once, but I could also fill up slower days with cute stickers. #ALLTheStickers.
My first Happy Planner was horizontal and I used that layout for about 4 months before moving to their vertical layout. I’ve been using the vertical layout for my personal planning since. I use their monthly dashboard style for my work planner because it’s easier to group things by a task or in lists.
Choosing A Planner
When choosing a planner, here are a few things to consider:
- Is your daily life very busy with timed items like appointments? If the answer is yes, consider an hourly or daily planner over a weekly planner. It will give you the space to focus in on each hour of your day.
- If you prefer a weekly layout, do you want lines or not? In weekly planners there are two standard designs, a weekly horizontal layout or a weekly vertical layout with three boxes for each day. In the vertical weekly layout your boxes can represent whatever you need them to, but many people try morning, afternoon, night; or work, personal, other; or timed, to do, other.
- How much are you willing to invest in a planner? Planners can be about $10 from Target to about $60+ online from specific companies. Before investing in an expensive planner, try out a smaller, less expensive one and see what your planning style is like. The reason I love The Happy Planner is because they are between $20-$35 for a 12-month or 18-month planner, and a lot of the craft stores run sales or offer coupons.
- Will you need more than one planner? Is your work life very busy and full of tasks, but your personal life is more simple? Consider if one planner will cover your personal and professional lives or if you’ll want/need separate planners.
Want to see more of my planner spreads and my love for The Happy Planner? Check out Planning Laine,my planner account on Instagram.