I don’t often use small page size planners but since Agendio has the option to customise a layout so it works for you, I decided to give it another go and purchased a 5.5″ wide x 8″ high planner.
This planner is from my Agendio planners haul.
Quick facts
- Size: Multiple sizes to choose from (this one is the 5.5″ wide x 8″ high)
- Coil binding with cardstock cover or hardcover with wire binding
- Cover personalisation
- Choose whatever monthly calendar you want
- Choose whatever weekly spread you want
- Add whatever extra pages you like
- Tabs (optional paid extra)
- Neutral or colorful inside pages
Price: varies. There are plenty of customisation options that affects the price (color printing, number of add on pages, duration, tabs etc.). The base cost for this size is $49 USD for color printing, $45 USD for black and white printing (excluding shipping costs).
Let’s take a closer look!
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The Cover
I’ve purchased a hardcover Agendio in the past and didn’t like it (the pages don’t lay completely flat when the notebook is folded back on itself), so I went for the coil bound cardstock cover this time.
The cover is thin cardstock protected with a clear cover (like Plum Paper does). This is my favorite type of cover as the corners are rounded and the clear cover is much more sturdy than laminate – it never gets damaged. Because the cover is just cardstock, it’s much lighter than hardcovers. This little planner weighs practically nothing!
About the only con of the Agendio planners are the cover designs. Boring cover patterns, dull color options and very limited range of patterns. I purchased this planner about a year ago in this haul – maybe they’ve improved the cover options since then.
Since I switch and change between planners every other week, I chose to just get a 6 month duration to try it out. It’s approx 0.5″ thick (about 1.2cm)
Monthly Calendar
I don’t like the box format monthly calendars that are in most planners so opted for a list format instead. You can add any text at the top of the page like month, daily journal, cleaning tasks etc. I left it blank as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use all of them for monthly blog post planning. I’ve been using a similar layout to this in a monthly Agendio planner (larger page size 7 x 9″) so wanted to compare the two page sizes
Related post: 50 Reminders to Put in Your Planner or Bullet Journal
Weekly Planning
There are an overwhelming number of base model layouts you can customise. Rather than pick a layout you can get anywhere, I wanted to try this one as it had 6 days on the left and Sunday on the right page which I haven’t tried before. I tend to avoid small page size planners as the writing space is too small, so by moving one of the days to the right page, maybe I’ll like this smaller size better.
You can pick whatever text you want for the sections. I opted for ‘Due this week’ and ‘Project’. The font size is a bit too small for me but at least it makes it easy to use whiteout to cover it up if you change your mind about the titles you chose after ordering.
I really like the line spacing I chose (6mm). Most planners have 6 – 7mm line spacing.
You can pick different colors for each month (or all the same color for each month). I opted for black so I can add plenty of color using washi tape, highlighters etc. The color printing on all the other Agendio planners I’ve ordered has been great but the printing in this one, on some of the pages, was a bit faded looking (like the ink cartridge was running out of ink).
Since this is a custom planner and I got to decide whatever layout I wanted, I went for a 4 page weekly spread. So in addition to the 2 pages in the photos above, I added another whole page dedicated to checklists…
… And a lined notes page for me to do my weekly review questions (if you want to download a copy they’re in the free printables library).
At the back of the notebook I added another tab and included some monthly habit trackers. I could’ve added more pages like notes, dot grid, checklists etc. but since I already had a 4 page weekly spread it didn’t seem necessary so I left it out.
Tabs
Tabs are an optional extra and as this is a custom planner (i.e. expensive) I’d probably just leave the tabs out next time and use some sticky notes instead.
The tabs are an extension of the page, not a separate page divider. I.e. the page that has the tab for that month is thin cardstock, the rest of the pages are paper.
Pen Testing
I didn’t pen test this specific planner as I’ve purhcased other Agendio planners that have the same paper so here are the results of that pen test:
The paper of the planner is so smooth and nice to write on. I tried various balllpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens – there was some ghosting on the back side of the page. I also did some highlighter and stamp swatches. The highlighters also had some ghosting and, as always, the MAMBI stamps bled through the page 🙁
It’s not the best paper I’ve come across in a planner but it is bright white. For this planner I recommend ballpoint, gel or fine tip pens.
Pros of the Planner
- Very lightweight (weighs about the same as my Kindle)
- Plenty of ways to use the layout
- 4 page weekly spread is hard to find in a pre-made planner
- Custom – you can create exactly what you want!
- Choose the page size you like
- Choose what add on pages you want
- You choose the type of cover
- You choose the duration
Cons of the Planner
- Limited cover designs to choose from
- Expensive
- Tabs cost extra
- Takes a while to build your planner if you go through all of the customisation options
I like how this planner turned out – I’d rather pay extra and get exactly what I want. I’ve trialed the weekly spread (will be posting here on the blog next week).
If you like this layout and want to order one for yourself, here’s the link to their website (referral link). The base model I chose to customise was 32056.
If you make a purchase using my referral link I’ll receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) which will be used towards purchasing more Agendio planners!
More Agendio planner reviews:
- Agendio Daily Planner
- Custom Agendio Vertical Weekly Planner Review
- Creating a custom, personalised planner with Agendio
Planning Tips:
- MAMBI Happy Planner Discbound Punch versus the ARC (are they compatible?)
- My 10 biggest planner pet peeves
- 50 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Planner
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Sandra Coles-Bell says
I love Agendio. This will be the 4th one for me. I have tweaked each one I ordered. They keep getting better. My only issue is I like having a set of tabs on both my weekly and monthly calendars. Can only get one set.