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Instead of an app or gadget that claims to jump-start your productivity, consider investing in a good paper planner. There is plenty of research that shows how actually writing down your to-do list and schedule for the day — rather than typing it out on a laptop or iPhone — makes you feel more engaged in the task at hand. And once the calendar year is complete, a physical planner becomes an artifact — a time capsule, if you will — of its happenings. Leafing through the well-loved Hobonichi Techo planners I’ve used over the years brings me almost as much pleasure as scribbling in them did.
While I’ve been devoted to Hobonichi Techo for most of my adult life, I’ve covered the Strategist’s stationery beat long enough to know that finding the right planner out of the very vast and very particular world of paper goods can be overwhelming. (I have, after all, updated this list faithfully every January and was tasked with selecting the best 100 notebooks for our massive notebook-testing story.)
So to find the best planners, I talked to 31 productivity experts, life coaches, and people who love stationery (including a few Strategist staffers) about their favorites, then culled our archives for standout styles we’ve written about before. I’ve included my own thoughts on our best overall planner, which I’ve been testing personally for the past five years. Any of the 33 planners recommended below will surely go a long way toward keeping you on track this year.
What we’re looking for
Layout
Arguably, the most essential way to categorize planners is by how they’re broken down: weekly, daily, monthly, or quarterly. According to our experts, daily planners tend to devote an entire page to each day and are best suited for those with lots of daily tasks or for list-makers who need to focus on their day-to-day organization. A weekly planner’s layout allots one to two pages per week and is great for those juggling many weekly meetings, events, and deadlines. A monthly or quarterly planner is great if you have long-term goals and best for big-picture thinkers who have a lot of large-scale projects on their plates. And if none of these layouts sound exactly right for your needs, perhaps you’d prefer a completely customizable planner (which we have a few of below).
Size
Planners come in a range of sizes, which impacts how portable they are and how much space there is to write in. Generally, if you’re looking for something super-portable, a pocket or personal planner is best. If portability is less of a factor or if you prefer roomier layouts, then a half- or full-letter-size planner is probably for you. We’ve noted the exact dimensions of each planner so you can easily measure the size before buying.
Cover
Aside from style, the cover impacts how well the planner will hold up against daily wear and tear. It also affects the weight: Is it hardcover, softcover, or leather-bound? If you’re less concerned about adding weight to your bag and want something that’ll definitely hold up all year, consider a leather-bound or hardcover planner. But if you need something lightweight, a well-made softcover planner is a good bet.
Best planner overall
Layout: Daily | Size: 4 by 6 inches | Cover: Softcover
The Hobonichi Techo is a longtime Strategist favorite, used by three of our present and former staffers (all three of whom have used the planner for years to stay organized). This long-term testing and devotion has earned it the top spot here. As New York Magazine deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff wrote in her initial ode to the cult Japanese planner, “The leather-bound book is hefty and feels like I’m actually holding something substantial (unlike a Moleskine) while still being incredibly compact: It’s little bit taller than an iPhone 6 and about the width of a Kit Kat.” Former Strategist associate editor Louis Cheslaw praises the planner’s “hard-wearing cover, thin (but quality) pages for a slim profile, lie-flat opening, and compact size.” It definitely falls into the “if you know, you know” category of stationery. I find that it’s the perfect size to chuck into any bag and deceptively durable. I’m not precious with my planners and tend to subject them to a lot of wear and tear. The Hobonichi Techo has never torn on me and looks as good on December 31 as it did when I bought it the previous January. I also love that the light gridding on each page grants every day some order but still gives me the space to dash off notes, lists, and doodles.
Best weekly planners
Best weekly planner overall
Layout: Weekly | Size: 5.75 by 8.25 inches | Cover: Hardcover
I first heard about German stationery company Leuchtturm1917’s weekly planner from self-described “planner power user” Perrin Drumm. As she writes, the planner’s “hardback is perfect for planning on the go or taking notes in your lap.” Cindy Thompson, the blogger behind Instagram’s Plan Another Day, loves this planner because it “features a simple weekly layout that can be utilized in many ways.” While I am devoted to my Hobonichi, I did like the layout of the planner, which has days on one side and spaces for notes on the other. The notebook also features a “project plan” section that I had no use for but could be helpful to those with long-term vision. Plus the feel of the notebooks itself is quite nice with the sturdy hardcover and paper that has some nice heft. If you’re loyal to the Leuchtturm1917, the brand also makes a two-year version of the planner, which is quite cost-effective.
Best design-y weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 6 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Hardcover
Papier planners are well known for their bright colors and thoughtful designs. Both Strategist writer Rachel Griffiths and Strategist deals editor Sam Daly swear by them. “I like weekly overviews with a lot of space to take notes and doodle, and I don’t need many extras like an address-book page or a place to make a list of intents. And my biggest must-have: a ribbon to keep your place,” explains Daly. “Papier’s planners have all of the above, and its products come in so many fun patterns and designs the hardest part of picking this planner was just choosing one.” Griffiths agress: “I always look forward to picking out my Papier planner because the designs are really cute and colorful.”
Best weekly planner with tearaway corners
Layout: Weekly | Size: 4 by 6 inches | Cover: Hardcover
This Rhodia weekly planner is organized with the days of the week on one side and a gridded page for notes and scribbles on the other. Each day’s schedule is broken down into hour-by-hour lines (from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.), and the pages have tearaway corners to help you keep your place.
Best large weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 7.2 by 10.1 inches | Cover: Softcover
If you want something with a simpler, more bold design, you can’t go wrong with this one. According to Drumm, “If Massimo Vignelli had $15 to buy a planner, he’d surely pick this one.” She loves the “non-nonsense” layout: “There is barely any type on the pages, so the dates, and pretty much everything else, are entirely up to you to plot out.” While the planner comes in four sizes, Drumm prefers the large, “which feels less throwaway than the smaller options.” She adds that her design-y friends go for the black-on-black option, but Drumm prefers the planner in Pepto-Bismol pink.
Best vertical weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 4.3 by 8.3 inches | Cover: Softcover
This weekly planner from Traveler’s lets you fill in the dates as you please, so you can start using it at any point in the year. On top of that, because it contains just six months’ worth of undated weekly pages, it’s a great option to consider if you’re picking up a planner later in the year. In addition to those weekly pages, the planner contains a few pages laid out as vertical monthly calendars that you can use to keep track of important dates like birthdays or anniversaries. The paper itself is bleed- and feather-resistant, as well as fountain-pen friendly. While the planner as-is only has a simple card-stock cover, you can get a handsome leather cover to keep it in for an additional $50.
Best weekly planner with hourly columns
Layout: Weekly | Size: 8.5 by 16.5 centimeters | Cover: Hardcover
The Ispira planner’s calendar pages break down each week across two pages; dated columns provide space to jot things down for each day (the columns are broken down into hours for those who plan that obsessively). When it comes to stationery, Drumm calls Fabriano a “gold standard” because of the elevated color combos. Its planners, which she describes as “objects of beauty,” are made in Italy “by paper artisans who are truly deserving of that overused title.” The columns are skinny, though, so folks who like to write a lot in their planners may want something with more space.
Best softcover weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 3.5 by 5.5 inches | Cover: Softcover
This Moleskine has a simple layout: When opened, the left side’s pages are broken down into days of the week, while the right side’s are lined for taking notes. Personally, I find Moleskin planners to be a bit too minimal for my needs (I prefer each day to get a full page), but I could see it being useful for someone who keeps most of their calendar digitally. But for folks who’ve pared down, it’s a solid option.
Best hardcover weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 5.1 by 7.4 inches | Cover: Hardcover
This handsome hardcover planner lays flat and comes in five colors: red, green, gray, brown, and navy. It is also the planner of choice of actress Ayo Edebiri, who uses this diary for planning and scrapbooking. The layout has weekly pages on the left-hand side and gridded pages on the right-hand side, which she says is the superior layout for writing. “It makes me feel like a scientist, even if I’m writing things as simple as ‘Do laundry’ and ‘Seriously, please do laundry,’” she says.
Best time-management-focused weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 7.75 by 9.75 inches | Cover: Hardcover
This planner combines the scheduling elements you’d want in a regular planner with the goal-setting elements you might look for in a journal. In addition to its gridded weekly (and month- and year-at-a-glance) pages, this has space for you to write down both your roles and goals as a partner, employee, and friend. “It goes beyond being a planner and is really a clarifying tool for understanding how you want to invest your time,” explains author and time-management coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders. “It even invites you to track your daily habits” according to different priorities, Saunders adds, allowing users to tackle their goals in a more holistic way.
Best cloth cover weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 6 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Hardcover
In addition to its weekly pages, the Ponderlily planner has monthly ones and spaces for jotting down tasks, notes, and things you’re grateful for (as you might in a journal). Calling out details like “a cloth cover, foiled-copper lettering, lay-flat binding,” and inspiring quotes that begin each new month, Saunders has just one word for this planner: “Beautiful.”
Best weekly planner for heavy notetakers
Layout: Weekly | Size: 5.75 by 8.25 inches | Cover: Faux leather cover
For those who use digital calendars for scheduling appointments but still want a paper planner to help them make the best use of their time, I recommend the Lemome planner. Instead of writing down appointments and logistics, brand strategist and writer Neha Gandhi outlines each day’s main goal in her planner. That helps her keep focused during the day and track projects over time. “I like this particular planner because it doesn’t waste real estate on huge day-by-day calendars and instead gives only high-level monthly and note-taking weekly views. I can organize meeting notes by the day they were taken (and can then cross-reference the date to the meeting the notes came from in my digital cal) so that I’m not flipping endlessly through a notebook to find one nugget of information that’s somehow always just out of reach,” says Gandhi. She also likes the convenient size: “It neatly fits into any work bag.”
Best weekly planner that doubles as a wallet
Layout: Weekly | Size: 4.7 by 7.5 inches | Cover: Softcover
In addition to being an excellent planner, the Jibun Techo has a card-holder insert that can do double duty as your wallet. “I just need to grab Jibun Techo and my keys and I am ready to head out!” says Wakako Takagi, a co-founder of Los Angeles–based stationery store Baum-kuchen. “I use the weekly pages to keep me oriented with detailed appointments, things to remember, and to document of some of the key ingredients in life (like how many miles I run each day),” she says, adding that it also has monthly pages she uses as a master planner.
Best splurge-worthy weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 5.5 by 7.5 inches | Cover: Leather cover
If you feel like splurging, the Smythson Soho Diary is the way to go. The leather brand has been around for over 100 years and its planners are carried by extremely chic people far and wide. “Larger than a pocket calendar, which affords little writing space, and smaller than a desk diary, which is like lugging around a textbook, the Soho is the ideal size,” says writer Leah Bhabha. She likes the formatting, too. “The weekly agenda devotes a sizable square to each day, and there’s a weekly to-do list on the opposite page.” Plus the paper itself is “half the thickness and weight of normal pages, but suffice to say, they make for easy writing with no ink bleeding through.”
Best (less expensive) splurge-worthy weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 4 by 7 inches | Cover: Leather cover
For a less-expensive option from Smythson, I suggest the Memoranda Agenda. The layout divides its dated calendar pages between full weeks (on the left) and a blank lined page for notes opposite each week of the year (on the right). The Smythson agenda linked above has a handy pocket on the back cover to stash bits and bobs, like receipts or a checkbook, though it is available without a pocket (which also saves you a few dollars).
Best thematic weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 7” x 9.5” | Cover: Softcover
For over than 30 years, editor Julian Rothenstein has curated his Redstone Diaries: a planner filled with ephemera all centered on a certain theme (last year’s was beauty; this year’s is family). “As someone who grows paralyzed when faced with a procession of blank pages, I’m not really a big notebook person (most of my stray thoughts are scattered in bits and pieces across the Notes app). But opening a journal where half the pages are already filled with something lovely, creative, and valuable takes all the pressure off and may even inspire some beautiful musings of my own,” says Strategist writer Kitty Guo.
Best productivity-focused weekly planner
Layout: Weekly | Size: 5.8 by 8.3 inches | Cover: Hardcover
Clever Fox made its first appearance in our story about the best planners for teachers. But with pages dedicated to goal-setting, list-making, and scheduling, I think this would make a great option for non-teachers as well, especially because the layout breaks down daily tasks so they are less overwhelming.
Best daily planners
Best overall daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 8.3 by 5.8 inches | Cover: Softcover
While I have never strayed from my Hobonichi Techo, this planner above does give me a little pause. Strategist writer (and self-proclaimed stationery nerd) Lauren Ro bought the Hobonichi Techo Cousin, which she describes as “the larger, more souped-up version” of my beloved Techo. It includes monthly, weekly, and daily spreads in a relatively compact size. While she has mostly relied on weekly planners in the past, the added space has become super-helpful for keeping track of both herself and her family. “I appreciate the gridded daily pages for their structured, but not too structured, layout that includes a schedule column on the left and a priority checklist at the top; the rest of the page is open, and I use it for jotting down diarylike musings, family-meal planning, and whatever else I want to commit to paper,” she adds. Because the Cousin does not have the leatherlike cover of the Techo, Ro suggests adding a vinyl protector to reinforce the card-stock cover. But, like the Techo, the Cousin goes in and out of stock, so if you want one for 2024, don’t dilly-dally.
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Best undated daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 21 by 25 centimeters | Cover: Softcover
Two Strategist staffers have used a version of this planner from Australian stationery store Milligram. One is Ro, who first wrote about it back in 2018: “With a variety of abstract covers, colorways, and programs, they are the planners of my dreams. I chose the daily ‘non-diary’ with dot-grid pages for each day of the year.” The following year, she tried the brand’s Family Life weekly diary, “which includes space for action lists, budgeting, meal planning, and more.” Former Strategist editor Maxine Builder used this dotted non-diary to keep track of the Strategist’s editorial calendar, because each page has plenty of space for the day’s to-do lists and notes, and the planner makes it easy to flip months ahead. “It also just looks very nice sitting on a desk, and the linen wears well over the course of a year,” says Builder.
Best softcover daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 105 by 148 millimeters | Cover: Softcover
For those who prefer notebooks or planners with lay-flat binding, this undated daily planner from Stalogy is extremely flexible. Drumm says it’s made of onion-skin-like paper that “feels wonderfully retro” and doesn’t bleed through despite its thinner consistency. “This fact really deserves more exclamation points, because if you like inky pens and thin paper, then you’ve never gotten your way,” Drumm explains. “As far as layout goes, the type is minimal and the light-gray printing is unobtrusive,” she says, adding that the fill-in-the-date format means “you can start things off whenever you damn well please.”
Best spiral-bound daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 7.5” × 9.5” | Cover: Hardcover
If you prefer a spiral bound planner, I recommend Appointed’s daily planners, which feature a brass-wire binding and a foil-stamped, water-resistant cloth cover. “I chose Appointed’s Wire Daily Planner because it has a classy dark-gray cover and is spiral bound, so it will blend into my desk when it’s closed and lay flat when it’s open,” says Strategist managing editor Kelsie Schrader. “Each day is a full page that’s broken into a column for my schedule and one for tasks I have to accomplish, plus plenty of room below those two columns for any other notes I want to make.”
Best to-do-list-focused daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 7.5” × 9.5” | Cover: Softcover
Ban.do is one of my favorite sources for cheery, colorful stationery that is beloved by celebrities and teens alike. While former Strategist writer Latifah Miles was a self-described “die-hard planner user” for many years, she found that the traditional calendar layout was no longer working for her current lifestyle. “I still really like to write things down and find that a visual to-do list is super-helpful to my general organization, which is why I ordered this undated daily planner from Ban.do that allows me to list out my tasks when I want without being chained to filling it in every single day,” she explains. Miles especially loves the peppy planner’s “Priorities” section, which she uses to highlight a few tasks from her longer to-do list that need to be accomplished each day.
Best motivational daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 6 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Hardcover
The 5 Second Journal, written by motivational speaker Mel Robbins, has more structure than your standard planner — it asks you to fill in everything from your most important project of the day to what time you plan to stop working (to prevent burnout). There is also a small hour-by-hour planner to help you map your schedule more comprehensively and a gridded space meant for jotting down ideas. “For the aspiring planner who has no idea where to begin, I recommend the 5 Second Journal,” says life and career coach Phoebe Gavin.
Best refillable daily planner
Layout: Daily | Size: 5.5 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Leather cover
For a tried-and-true option, try the Day-Timer. Christy Whitman, a life coach and the author of The Art of Having It All: A Woman’s Guide to Unlimited Abundance, has been using the Day-Timer for more than 20 years. “I love this brand because the layout of the pages allows me to have a place for the items to be done today, a schedule, and also a page for writing and taking notes. So each day is on two pages and gives me a full look at my day,” she says. “If I have an appointment scheduled, I can write notes next to the appointment and remind myself of call-in information, the name of the person, or any other important information.” Whitman also loves Day-Timer’s customer service, specifically the reminders to get new pages for the New Year. “They send me an email with the order number, refill numbers, and it is just easy for busy career people.”
Best monthly planners
Best monthly planner overall
Layout: Monthly | Size: 3.5 by 6 inches | Cover: Softcover
This monthly at-a-glance planner has a super-specific prompt: It asks you to write down the single-most-important thing each day. At the end of the two years it spans, you’ll have a record of all the most essential things you did for those 730 days. “If you’re a big-picture thinker, you’ve built a successful life ignoring anything that does not help meet your grand vision,” says career counselor Penelope Trunk. “But there are some things that cannot be ignored, like calling your mom on her birthday.”
Best binder-style monthly planner
Layout: Monthly | Size: 8 by 9 inches | Cover: Hardcover
Binder-style planners, like this one, have loose pages which can be removed and rearranged if necessary, so they grant a lot of flexibility. Darcy Miller — an author, illustrator, and crafter with a meticulously organized office — uses it for her day-to-day notes and planning and even keeps one for each of her kids to keep track of things like doctor’s appointments and parent-teacher conferences. The eight-inch-by-nine-inch binder is small and light enough to fit in her bag, but when it’s not in there, it looks good if it’s out on the table.
Best quarterly planners
Best quarterly planner overall
Layout: Quarterly | Size: 5.75 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Hardcover
While it may be more common to plan schedules by weeks, days, or months, planning in quarters can help organize big-picture goals. The BestSelf Co. Self Journal is one such planner that helps break down big goals into digestible 90-day chunks. “A year is an intimidating thing to plan, but a month is too short for those big, exciting goals,” explains founder of content agency Prolifica Annie Mueller. “With quarterly goal planning, you can push for a goal that’s exciting and stay focused and see progress soon enough that you stay motivated.” Penny Zenker, a life coach, also likes the Self Journal: “I use this now because it is a comprehensive goal-setting-and-tracking system with reflection all in one. It helps me align my goals and my daily tasks, which makes me more productive.” Liz Sumner, a progress and life coach, adds that it combines the best parts of a journal and planner, encouraging reflection in addition to goal-setting.
One thing to note about this and all the quarterly planners on our list: Because they only cover three months at a time, you need to buy four to get through an entire calendar year. The upside of this system is that it offers a bit more flexibility because you can start using one at any point in the year.
Best softcover quarterly planner
Layout: Quarterly | Size: 5.75 by 8.5 inches | Cover: Softcover
The cool-looking Poketo is another quarterly planner with a bit more style. With this set of four, you’ll be covered for a full year no matter when you begin using them, though you can also buy them individually. Mueller calls it “the perfect way to schedule and track quarterly goals and sprints — for work, for your own personal goals, for family projects, for travel. It works for everything.” The planner makes it easy, she says, by “leading you through setting your quarterly goals, tracking monthly milestones, and following a weekly and daily action plan.”
Best hardcover quarterly planner
Layout: Quarterly | Size: 6.25 by 9.25 inches | Cover: Hardcover
Another quarterly option is the Full Focus planner by Michael Hyatt, which is also broken down into 90-day increments. While it lacks the journaling aspect of the Self Journal above, it is still great at keeping you focused. The reason it works so well, personal-brand expert Richard Janes explains, “is that the layout provides clear focus on what is important, while still enabling me to empty my head of all the other tasks that are lurking around. But it doesn’t go overboard so that I can easily get to the actual planning of my day, week, and month.”
Best customizable planners
Best customizable planner overall
Layout: Customizable
Golden Coil’s ring-bound planner allows you to customize pretty much everything about it from cover to cover (including its cover, which you can get in several colors and one of two materials: linen or leather). In addition to standard calendar pages, the brand offers themed layouts for wedding planning, wellness planning, recipe planning, and more. It’s another favorite of Hart-Unger, who told us the brand has “very elegant layouts and particularly luxurious paper.”
Best (less expensive) customizable planner
Layout: Customizable
Like Golden Coil’s planner, the Agendio is extremely customizable (but for half the price). That’s because the brand lets you choose between a daily, weekly, or monthly structure for the pages inside of the ring-bound planner. You can also customize the pages’ size and layout and add extras like tabs, elastics, and page markers. Folks can personalize it even further by noting dates for their own special events or activities. “If you can think of an option, Agendio probably has it,” Hart-Unger promises.
Some more planners we’ve written about
Our experts
• Karen Iorio Adelson, Strategist senior writer
• Leah Bhabha, writer
• Maxine Builder, former Strategist editor
• Louis Cheslaw, former Strategist associate editor
• Liza Corsillo, Strategist writer
• Sam Daly, Strategist deals writer
• Perrin Drumm, writer, editor, publisher
• Neha Gandhi, brand strategist and writer
• Phoebe Gavin, life and career coach
• Rachel Griffiths, Strategist writer
• Kitty Guo, Strategist writer
• Sarah Hart-Unger, host of Best Laid Plans podcast
• Richard Janes, personal-brand expert
• Latifah Miles, Strategist writer
• Darcy Miller, author, illustrator, and crafter
• Annie Mueller, founder of content agency Prolifica
• Dominique Pariso, Strategist writer
• Jenna Prada, director of executive functioning at tutoring service Private Prep
• Lauren Ro, Strategist writer
• Anthony Rotunno, former Strategist senior editor
• Elizabeth Grace Saunders, author and time-management coach
• Kelsie Schrader, Strategist managing editor
• Julie Solomon, business coach and host of The Influencer Podcast
• Jane Stoller, organizing expert and business consultant
• Liz Sumner, progress and life coach
• Alexis Swerdloff, New York Magazine deputy editor
• Wakako Takagi, co-founder of Los Angeles–based stationery store Baum-kuchen
• Cindy Thompson, Instagram’s Plan Another Day blogger
• Penelope Trunk, career counselor at Penelope Trunk
• Christy Whitman, life coach and author of The Art of Having It All: A Woman’s Guide to Unlimited Abundance
• Penny Zenker, life coach
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