Staying organized and productive is so much easier — and fun! — when you have a beautiful planner system you love showing up to every day.
I use a combination of journals and planners to track all kinds of things. To-do lists, meal planning, memories, habits, personal goals, reading lists, ideas — you name it.
And while it’s true you can absolutely accomplish all these things in a 50 cent spiral notebook, I’ve discovered over the years that it’s critical for me to enjoy the writing experience. Otherwise I simply won’t keep it up.
So, if you’re looking for a quality, aesthetic planner, here are some of my absolute favorites:
Hobonichi Techo Cousin
Hobonichi Techo Cousin — The Hobonichi lineup is well-known for it’s high-quality Tomoe River paper, which feels bible thin but stands up to pen and ink with beautiful precision. But the Cousin planner is my favorite for its versatility.
It includes yearly, monthly, and weekly spreads for easy planning at-a-glance. And it has a full page for each day of the year, which you can fill with any kind of journaling, memory keeping, or commonplace notes you like. I’ve seen some very creative ways of using this planner. Plus, its simple design and optional covers protectors make it another beauty for archiving.
3-Month Productivity Planner
3-Month Productivity Planner — I love this short-term, super focused system anytime I want to “reset” my life. The guided prompts are great for keeping me on track with my goals and motivated to achieve them… and the 3-month cycle makes it feel totally achievable instead of overwhelming.
This planner is undated too, so you can pick it up anytime you feel like getting serious about your goals. Whether you want to get back into a healthier lifestyle, start a side hustle, or work towards a dream you’ve had on the back-burner for years — this is a great way to kickstart a new phase of your life.
EMSHOI B5 Dotted Journal
EMSHOI Dotted Journal — This B5 size, softcover, faux-leather journal is the unsung hero of my entire journaling life. I’ve tried many types and formats of journal over the years, but this one combines all of my favorite features in a beautiful and durable package I’ll be happy to see on my shelves for years to come.
These are undated and don’t include a calendar, so they’re more suited for someone who likes to create their own system. I use these journals for bullet journaling, reading journals, reflections and memory archiving, literally anything. The high quality paper is a dream for fountain pens or highlighters, so I can be as expressive as I want. Plus, they come in different colors and are half the price of other similar quality journals.
Tear-Off Desk Pads
Tear-Off Desk Pads — Sometimes I want to focus a little extra on something for a week or two without necessarily committing to a whole new planner system. So for these times I love to keep a few styles of tear-off planner pads around.
These simple notepads come in all kinds of layouts — weekly to-do list, habit tracker, meal planner, you name it — so you can pick up any that work for you and keep them in a drawer until you need them. I personally love these for super busy weeks when I have a hundred to-dos that I don’t necessarily want to clutter up my regular journal with and don’t mind throwing out after I’m done with them.
Here are a few of my go-to favorites:
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