(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best planners, refills & covers

You're welcome and thank you also! I find one thing that really helps me is truly staying organized in all aspects. Clean home, filled out planner, dry erase calendar, daily routines. Depending on your needs, you might not have to be so strict about it, but I recommend a good planner for sure. I use this one. It is awesome for keeping track of everything short and long term as well as giving encouragement! I've turned many friends onto it as well. But even if you don't use this one, any one that has the weekly and monthly overviews will be great at helping you stay on top of your assignments which is a big part of not getting overwhelmed.

Edit: Also, about that planner I linked; they do release a new one every six months, so if you're interested in that one, you could pick it up before the start of the new year so you can start off with a full planner!

I'll leave a few options that may not individually cater to all your needs, but are good options

Planners that I am familiar with (but may not have tried):

- passion planner (structured): I have one and mine is b5 (7x10 inches). I got this one for free through so I didn't get to choose which version I got (academic). Mine is weekly (2 pages/week), and monthlies; each day is broken down by the half hour (but is not 24 hours). It's completely formatted and is directed towards goal setting/self reflection (weekly/monthly/general). It does include blank pages, and a blank space per week to do whatever you want. I don't use mine much because it's too structured for me, and I don't like the prompts/I never use them so it's a waste of space to me. I have seen people cover up/use the space dedicated to making weekly goals for other things using washi tape/stickers etc. paper quality is mid-high, lays flat-ish. Price is above your desired budget though. is available on amazon.

- Traveler's notebooks: essentially a soft cover planner filled with composition books. You can put in books to categorize your planning. A lot of freedom; you can make your own layouts (on blank/grid etc) or buy specific notebooks (budget, daily, notes, addresses etc). Paper quality varies, can lay flat. Prices vary (depending on cover and inserts)

-scribbles that matter b5 size(customizable): a bullet journal. completely DIY so you can make it however you want. paper is mid-high, dotted, lays flat. available on amazon.

-Pocketo A4 monthly planner (customizable): Basically the size you want. It's super minimalist and it's a monthly planner, but you can easily use it as a weekly and break your days down. available on amazon

- Amazon basics (structured): it's 6 months and is fairly structured, but it is weekly and daily (each day is 1 page). I cannot speak for the paper quality & it doesn't appear to lay flat. It's not exactly broken down by specified hours, and there are "dedicated spaces" on each page.

- High performance planner (by Brendon Buchard) (Structured): available on amazon, 2 page dailies, with prompts for reflection. available on amazon.

- Hobonichi Cousin or Hobonichi cousin avec in A5 size : Hobonichis are on my "things I desperately want but cannot afford at the moment" list. It's very popular though. Nice layouts (1 day/page), but highly cutomizable, there are no "dedicated sections"/prompts so you can use the space however you want (they are printed with faint grids). They are in japanese but it isn't overwhelming (people simply cover it up with stickers or washi tape, but many just leave it as is). There's a page at the beginning of each month to help you plan ahead & a few blank pages are also included. It lays flat and uses tomoe river paper (which is why it's so expensive). It's also from 5 AM to 3:30 AM, which a lot of daily planners don't do (ones that I've seen tend to go to 12AM or even earlier).

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Planners that I have never heard of/aren't mainstream (from amazon)

- Roterunner Purpose Planner(structured): is B5, weekly but days are broken down into hours. Basically like bullet journal but someone has already done the layout for you.

- Potage 12 Month Undated Planner Hourly (structured): weekly, days are broken down into hours

-Lemome 2020 standard diary planner: simple, no prompts, daily, has tabs, lays flat

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If none of these are to your liking, you can use these search terms to find more (A4 /B5, daily, houry, diary, planner, appointment book)

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-end rant^(lol) -

I give myself a lot of flexibility. Like, a stupid amount of flexibility. My opening page even says:

> You are not perfect, there are no perfect days. If you use this book as intended, it will become a ratted mess. That is the ideal. Use this book as much as possible, but don't be afraid to mess up, and don't hold yourself to using it daily.

I don't use it to plan much, honestly. I write notes, ideas, I roughly plan my week. But I do have a backup planner with actual dates and stuff in it, just in case I need a bit more structure. The date grid at the top helps though, because I can circle the date that the page was written, and then draw an X on top of days that are mentioned on that page. So if I'm at a Doctor's appointment on the 15th, and my next appointment is on the 3rd, I would circle the 15th and X out the 3rd. It's a small system that I just came up with recently that seems to really help guide me to just dump everything out onto paper.


The best book I've found to use for a bullet journal is Standard Notebook No. 3 OR No. 12, if you're a fan of wire bound books that are a bit smaller. I found both of them at my local ginormous bookstore, but both can be purchased online too.

They have a bullet journal marks template which is kind of neat, but the inside is just a date grid on top, a subject line, and then along the left is checkboxes, and the rest is just lined. My one small issue is that the grid is technically 29x29 which makes it basically unusable for even # week planning. (Like, I can't just have 4 lines per day. It's like 4.14 lines, technically.)

I still use some bullet journal marks, but usually my journal just consists of to-do lists and other lists. It's mostly a list book. A list of dog names, a list of step goals, a list of food that I like to eat. Stuff like that. I fully recognize that I'm never going to be a bullet journal guru, but as Jessica says in her journal video: the best planner is the one you use. So I try to not nail myself down too much in terms of "rules" or "semantics" otherwise I get caught up in doing things "the right way." That's not to say my journal is chaos though. It's not. I still have an index. I still have a somewhat defined order for where things go on what pages. I still have numbers in my lists, etc. I just allow myself more freedom than the original creator intended, I think. I think at best it could be called a bullet-like journal.

By far the worst attempt at bullet journaling I had was the dot grid. I used a lettchurn (however you spell it) dot-grid "bullet journal" for awhile and it was just distracting. I had to constantly be counting dots because my brain couldn't parse the information (dots and spacing) properly. I spent so much goddamn time trying to draw perfectly along the grid that I hated using that notebook and gave up.

I think in order to be successful, you gotta own your ADHD. You gotta stand there and say "yeah, I am gonna fuck up. But I can also fix it, and it's not the end of the world (usually)." The more you own yourself, the more you accept yourself for who and what you are, the better of you'll be. Not just journaling, but everywhere.

My recommendations:

1. Organize yourself. What do you want to get done by the end of the semester? (Probably a lot of it is "the stuff on the syllbaus"!) Now, how do you want to move towards each of those things across each month? Okay, now within each month, how do you want to spread those goals across each week? Then at the beginning of each week, you see where you are at (on/off track), adjust if necessary, then plot out what you want to do each day.
   
   
2. Reorganize yourself. You want to dedicate regular time to reorganizing and reorienting. I always liked organizing, and until I was medicated, I never got organized enough to be effective. Now I am more effective, and I also realize that for me, at least, organization is essential. It helps me feel safe and effective with what I am doing, which is important for keeping me engaged versus constantly pulled away by the feeling that this isn't the right thing, or something I need or want to be doing. It also means I am in control versus doing it only because it is due tomorrow and I'm panicking, which is important to me.
   
   
3. Mess up. You're not going to do what you planned each day. You're going to use that to make less ambitious plans, or you will switch up your strategy in a slight, low-cost way, or you will just forgive yourself and move on. And then you'll get too ambitious again and mess up again. And you'll eventually want to arrive at what are the most important things not to mess up on, and what are you willing to sacrifice? This is also why reorganizing yourself is so important. It plans for you not doing everything ideally to plan. That is actually a part of planning it turns out! :) People who stick to plan to do because their plan is changing to fit where they are at, versus them running to catch up with it.
   
   
4. Take care of your time and self. At least for me, ADHD has meant doing everything last minute, against my will, with panic and terror. I was fast and efficient and working until it was done. Switching strategies was weird. I would estimate time as if everything was done at run-from-a-bear speed (it isn't -- working in advance feels slower and less efficient), and then try to finish everything on the list anyways (which was usually not possible). What I learned was that my most important priority for the day (except when there really is a deadline) is to keep a regular schedule. The second I start staying late (despite showing up early), I am screwed... because then I feel like I have more time, and I slow down more, and then I feel run down and like I am getting no me-time, and... it all spirals out of control. Keeping a regular schedule -- including waking up early every morning -- has made me feel 100% more stable.
   
   
5. Ask for help as soon as you know you need it. It is okay if you're not sure why you need it -- and if your professors are buttheads, that is their problem and you can learn that and find another way to get help without having to feel bad, but definitely at least try asking first. Many educators will appreciate the initiative and engagement.
   
   By the end, you should have small goals towards each of your final projects (for instance, week one might be "write down a few ideas for the paper that is due at the end of the term" and week two might be "write down more ideas" and week three might be "google a few of those ideas")... such small goals they'll feel stupid. That's just about where you want to be. :) Those "stupid to make" goals turn into "woah, I can still fit this goal in even though I lost track of Mon-Wed! Let me bang this mofo out! YAAAAH I DID IT, I AM A CHAMPION!"
   
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   Planners!
   
   I really like my Triple View planner -- it looks like this, where the to-do list and the days of the month (on left and right sides) are always visible. Then each day of the month has its own page (Sat/Sun share a page), and each has enough space for me to block in appointments and track how else I am using my time right next to the time scale, and then, closer to the spine, I will write in To-Do items planned for that day! The last two (as you can see in the image) for each month are devoted to a more traditional calendar view. (The 2017 one is here.)
   
   They also have weekly/daily ones, for if you just need to track appointments, aren't doing much on Sundays, and they'd probably be thinner I would imagine -- they look like this and can be found here.
   
   I use this planner along with post-it notes for a very useful planning notebook. For instance, for a long time, I took small post it notes and stuck them over the to-do list so that it was an always-visible but also reusable to-do space (since I had many smaller activities I was having to do regularly). Now, I have large, lined post-it notes like these, that cut in half, and I stuck one to every Sat/Sun page, so that when something occurs to me that I need to do sometime next week, I can quick jot it down there, and at the end of the week, I can move that forward easily until I get them written down and planned out on my master to do list.

For what it's worth, I think the LT1917 has become a standard because the original Bullet Journal web page sells them under their brand.

As mentioned here, LT1917 is 80gsm, which is relatively thin and makes a lot of pens bleed through and ghost. For more information about bleeding, ghosting, and general comparison between notebooks I recommend watching Which Notebook is the Best for Bullet Journaling?! (skip to 11:00 to see the comparison chart). I prefer Scribbles That Matter which is thicker (100gsm) and feels smoother to write on. My next purchase will probably be a Midori with 120gsm or a Rhodia to try them out.

One of the core principals of Bullet Journalism is that there are no hard rules. While it comes with some guidelines, you are free to use it however you see fit. Which means that there are no predefined pages. So for the most part you are going to be drawing the layouts. And this is why a Dotted paper helps because you can use the dots to draw your own layouts. You can checkout Pinterest for inspiration. The community uses the term "spreads" to signify two-page layouts used for all sorts of things.

As for pens, many recommend the Sakura Pigma Micron for good reason. While I use them for more "serious" work, when it comes to EDC I would highly recommend the Muji 0.38mm Fine Point Gel Pens. Unlike the Microns, they are not felt tip (which is why I wouldn't use them for EDC) but very sharp ball point pen with great consistency. A lot of people swear by the Pilot G2 0.38mm Ultra Fine Point but personally I wasn't pleased with them.

Finally, regarding the things you want to track, as I mentioned earlier, you can simply define the layouts of each page and track whatever you wish. A lot of the spreads you see from the community are really intricate. You can find a variety of them from very crazy daily layouts to minimal ones. It's all up to you.

Having said that, if drawing your own layouts daily seems like a lot of work (a lot of people actually spend a few hours planning them beforehand), then you might want to consider a more traditional Planner instead. As mentioned ITT, the Nomadic Planner has good paper (125gsm), weekly and monthly pages as well as lined and blanks for notes and the rest.

There is a whole universe of things to consider (and I'm more than happy to geek out about it), but I'd say just start with whatever. Don't think about it too much. Most of the negatives are personal, so while LT1917 doesn't work for some, it might for you. You'll figure things out as you go.

When you say full-sized, do you mean A4, B4, A5, B5? Something like that, or even a range of inches/cm would be helpful. Still, for what you state, I'd recommend checking out the following:

Nanami 7-Seas writer (A5 size): http://www.nanamipaper.com/products/seven-seas-writer-a5-journal-4th-edition.html These notebooks/journals use a cloth binding and come with the incredibly fountain pen friendly Tomoe River paper. Though cloth bound, having a large number of small signatures ensures the notebook is able to lie flat, providing the best writing experience it can.

Maruman Mnemosyne Notebooks: https://www.gouletpens.com/maruman-mnemosyne/c/365

These are a personal favorite of mine, possessing many of the qualities that both Tomoe River and Rhodia/Clairefontaine are prized for. The paper is much thicker than Tomoe River, yet it still lends inks almost the same amazing sheen capabilities. You won't have any issues with bleeding or show through unless using Pilot Parallels, and even then you'll likely need a few passes. Top quality all around.

Others to consider:

Rhodia/Clairefontaine spiral bound notebooks: https://www.gouletpens.com/notebooks/c/10/?sortBy=productName%2Basc&facetValueFilter=Tenant~Brand%3Aclairefontaine%2CTenant~Brand%3Arhodia%2CTenant~Binding_Type%3Awirebound

These come in a variety of sizes, and actually lie flat with larger page counts. I've a cloth bound clairefontaine which I find a chore to write in because of how unpleasant it is to write near the binding.

Life Noble Notebook: This can be found in a few places, which I'll link at the end. Pricing ranges widely, they are a japanese notebook brand. I'm not a super big fan of the cream color pages (I'd prefer pure white) but the notebooks hold up excellently, have a variety of sizing, rulings, and bindings, and provide virtually no show through even with big, broad nibs. Unlike any of the others, there is also an attractive leather notebook cover you can purchase to protect your notebook in use.

Nanami paper (the 7-Seas site) carries them but they're not currently in stock at the moment: http://www.nanamipaper.com/categories/write/notebooks-from-japan.html

At amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007C0NA5S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A16AH8LR75ICJ2 (looks like it's top bound)
https://www.amazon.com/LIFE-A4-N37-NOTEBOOK-RULED/dp/B003YU0WCE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480356054&sr=8-1&keywords=life+notebook+a4 (looks side bound)


NOTE: On the nanami paper site you'll also see Kokuyo notebooks, which I've heard great things about, but having never used them myself don't feel comfortable recommending.

Driven to Distraction is a great book! I also like the YouTube channel How to ADHD.

My psychologist recommended that I get an hourly appointment planner and write everything that happens every hour, every day in them, but I also use it for noting deadlines, tasks, and commitments I schedule with others. This thing has made my life a lot more composed.

I'm on Adderall, and adjusting to it has been pretty rough. Make sure you take care of your body! A common side effect is not having an appetite, so if you experience that side effect make sure you treat eating as "putting fuel in the tank."

Also, CBT has been amazing for my anxiety.

Good luck! <3

Treat yo'self!!

1. my creativity
   
2. my big caring heart
   
3. my resourcefulness when needed to get by and save money
   
   I'd like [fitness planner stickers (add-on)] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BVJ5EC2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1P4V92XEXSOVD&coliid=IDYTE65B6IRYY)and Everyday reminder planner stickers. Both on the Under $5 wishlist (moved on top for convenience). If you can't do add-on's, I'd like the everyday reminder stickers and these full sheet labels (on the $10 and under wishlist). Thanks creative planning is calming and helpful for me.

As others have said journaling is a great thing to do. I have two, a regular journal for expanded ideas, but this is cool thing, a five year journal by Leuchtturm. Great way to review what ideas or events or things you want to remember or track. It comes it a handful of colors. Honestly, I take notes at work or when I was in school, write letters, shopping lists, song lyrics I want to remember, notes in birthday cards (not all cards are fountain pen friendly). I also take it out in public and use it to sign credit card slips or wherever a pen is needed. I enjoy hearing the comments of what a cool pen I have! It's a hidden joy.

How wonderful of whomever did that for you!! <3 I love hearing stories like that. We all need help sometimes, you can't do it on your own. :)

I have a planner on my wishlist for a little over $10. that I'd really love to win <3 Thank you!

> How old were you when you got engaged?

I was 26 and he was 28. I proposed to him. We'll be 27 and 29 on our wedding day.


> How long were you and SO together?

Proposal on our third anniversary, wedding on our fourth.


> What kind of wedding do you want to have? Simple, extravagant, do you have theme?


Definitely simple. Woodland, rainbows, glitter, goth, rustic. A little bit hippie and a little bit rock and roll. We're an alternative couple so this fits us well. No theme really. Just whatever we like in a mash-up of awesome.


> How many people are you inviting?

About fifty including plus ones.


> What's your budget?

£5,000. Which right now equates to $6563.70. We took a loan out for £3,000 after we realised our original estimate of £2,000 wasn't going to do it. We have no savings so are paying for everything out of our paychecks.


> What advice do you have to someone who's just starting out and doesn't know anything about weddings?

Buy a wedding planner book like this. Mine has been invaluable to make sure I remembered everything!! Also get your FH/FW involved in planning so you're going into this together. And don't forget why you're doing all this - to marry the love of your life! Just enjoy the process as much as possible.

Omg, having a binder so I could move pages/remove mistakes/have different types of paper was an absolute must for me! I am new to BuJo and this was my number one requirement when setting up my journal.

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Ok, so! This is the paper I got A5 6-Ring Binder/Planner Refill Paper for Filofax. It was my first time getting it, the paper feels nice but is a little thin (I get some bleeding with Zebra Mildliners). I also got plain white paper for when I want to do sketches (A5 6 Hole Punched Blank Paper for FiloFax). There are a lot of other options on Amazon, these are just the two I've tried. You could also cut down and hole punch things like watercolor paper, brown paper, scrapbook paper, etc to use in your journal! So many options!!!!

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The binder I actually made myself (eventually I'll post pictures of it). But you can buy A5 6-ring binders on Amazon. It looks like Filofax is a pretty good brand, but I've never used them. There are also tons of beautiful page dividers online or YouTube videos for how to make your own.

If you only use one side of the page Mnemosyne has a great a5 graph (the backs are blank though). Their notebooks have survived really well with me: Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration 5 mm Grid 6.3 x 8.3" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001A1VB74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mHp9Bb7XTNWN8

Maruman also has a student-ish line of board backed graph notebooks:
Maruman A5 spiral notebook grid ruled 80 sheets N247ES 5 volume set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MMW8M7M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3Hp9Bb1GSDT60

Rollbahn seems to be really high quality and the rings are no joke. They’re not hugely thick though so you may need a few for the year (unless you just do weeklies):
Roruban Pocket Memo A5 Dark Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007B8N2YA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_GIp9BbZ2AXW0S

I really love the nockco a5 spiral top bounds, smaller dot dash and easily landscapable. A little less sturdy: https://nockco.com/paper/dotdash-spiral-pad-2-pack

The Studioneat Panobook is supposed to be amazing. I cannot offer a personal opinion as mines still in the mail: https://www.studioneat.com/products/panobook

You could also look into a notebook case to reinforce a flimsier option you like (such as the Rhodia): KOKUYO SYSTEMIC A5 ノ−V685B−M GRAY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S0GQS3O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_NMp9BbFNEMBQF

If you don’t need spiral bound I’d suggest:
Clairfontaine essentials book
Rhodia goalbook
Anything Life
Anything Apica CD

I personally really prefer spirals so they truly lay flat, so my day to day I tend to use my mnemosynes the most, I just dig the paper a lot.

Late, but I've ordered this one from Amazon (~$28)! I'm really picky, so it took a while to settle on one. I was originally looking at one that was nearly $60 and just couldn't bring myself to spend that much, lol. I also like the idea behind bullet journaling but I'm not interested in sinking a ton of time into drawing out calendars or indexing things or whatever. This planner has a lot of what I would put into a bullet journal (mini vision board for the year, monthly and weekly goal setting, water tracker, gratitude tracker, monthly and weekly spreads, etc.) anyway, so I'm happy to skip the work of making it and jump right into using this. I'm actively excited about it, haha :)

>s is the point where our friends (and people in general) have kids, and that starts taking up their brainpo

I've done the same thing as a single female who is bored in her career by this point. I got a Cleverfox planner, and I also subscribed to Happify which has various tracks. I chose some goal setting tracks that helped me build short and long term goals. The shortest personal goals I have are weekly goals, which makes it less stressful than daily goals (which the panda planner advocates). I highly recommend both Cleverfox planner and Happify. I'm sure others have found what works for them, so please do chime in.

I've had a few people that quit working and struggled with habits since everything was anchored around their workday. They used Fabulous successfully to maintain structure in the day. I haven't had as much luck with Fabulous as I tend to keep few habits (other than going to work). But I love having goals, a pinterest vision board, etc. I also picked up my musical hobbies from when I actually had time in my younger years. I'm really enjoying learning to play a new instrument at 29. I still want to get back into art and pick up kick boxing. Usually people reinvent themselves and re-align to find purpose ever decade (20, 30, 40, 50, etc.), pick up a marathon, etc.

It was not an easy journey to get here though. About a month ago, I was in a depressive work rut with a crappy new boss, unchallenging work, no room for advancement, etc. People on here were telling me to get a therapist. But, I realized that this crappy work life was a great opportunity to focus on myself for once. The pay is decent and so were the hours. It's incredibly difficult to derive all your identity and fulfillment with work, since it's not something that is a constant or stable.

Edit: Adding links to mentioned products...

Cleverfox planner: https://www.amazon.com/Clever-Fox-Planner-Organizer-Productivity/dp/B079GXFR7S

I also bought colorful markers to use on it bc I'm visual...

Happify (motivation and goal setting tracks) https://happify.com/

Fabulous (build habits): https://blog.thefabulous.co/

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Canvas Travel Bag - It's a great for traveling! And great for an overnight stay! It's convenient and take less space than a suitcase.

Totoro Power Bank - Does your phone run out of battery quickly? Well, getting a power bank makes it more convenient, and you can usually carry it with you to places without looking for an outlet to charge your phone.

Planner will make it easier to plan out your days and making list of what you need things to get done.

Clothes Drying Rack - If you do not have a place to hang your clothes to dry, then using a drying rack will make it easier.

Arrow Calendar - Write down your special events! And Arrow is an awesome superhero!

I don’t count days, so I don’t have any tokens, but here a couple things that come to mind.

A really nice journal. First page says YEAR 3. Something like this?

Do you meditate? Singing bowl might be nice. Relaxing to play as well.

I've really enjoyed the Next Level Daily Planner. It has a productivity/journaling feel to it. Any includes habits.
Next Level Daily Planner - Best Daily Action Planner with Habit Tracker, Gratitude Journal & Agenda to Achieve Goals, Improve Productivity, Happiness https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMJ2WRV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_YVvVGr9CkkTKE

It's very versatile and helps me prioritize.

Better view of cover :)
I used this beautiful set, just decorated the dividers with some stickers from dollar tree, and taped some sticky notes (also from dollar tree) to the included pocket. The floral dashboard and pocket were cut out of a dollar tree folder (I clearly love dollar tree), and the stick-on pen loop was part of a two pack from Happy Planner.

Also, forgot to mention that the blue lined checklist inserts and address book inserts were actually found at Goodwill! I think they are from an old dayrunner line, but I found a couple unopened packs of them for 99c each.

Then, I just added some (detachable) notes to each section with ideas of how she can use everything. Overall, a cheap, easy and fun DIY gift!

Trashy magazine, a really good moisturizer, candy, booze (or something like a virgin daiquiri mix if she's nursing), a great book, a dimmer switch that you can install on a bedside light, some funny movies on DVD, an itunes gift card, a gift card to get her nails or hair done ... I'll keep thinking.

*Edit: an appointment book/calendar, a journal