Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Weekly Planner Review (Pros, cons and a video walkthrough)
I’ve been eyeing off planners from BlueSky for more than a year now. I’ve even emailed the company twice to check if they ship to Australia (which they sadly don’t). The company does collaborations with other popular companies such as Dabney Lee, Day Designer and May Designs. So when I randomly stumbled across a Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Planner on clearance I had to have it!
This is not a sponsored post. I paid for the planner myself and all opinions are my own.
Features of the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Planner
- Letter size 8.5 x 11″ (other sizes are available)
- Frosted protective cover (the actual patterned cover is a shiny smooth material similar to photo paper)
- 12 month planner
- Wire binding (approx 1cm thick)
- Double sided clear storage pocket that can fit a lot of paper
- For a large planner it doesn’t feel like it weighs that much
- No monthly dividers
- Tabs for each month
- No notes pages
- 2 page monthly calendar (starts on a Sunday)
- 2 page weekly planner (starts on a Monday)
- 2 contacts pages
- 3 lined notes pages at the back
- Dates at a glance
Price: Approx $20 – $30 USD for Blue Sky Planners (Depends on what size you choose)
While the planner I purchased is dated for 2017, the layouts tend to be the same each year (just different colors and patterns). I like to switch between planners throughout the year so the fact that the planner is ‘expired’ doesn’t bother me. I can always add date dot stickers for the weeks I use it, or put week numbers and to/from dates at a the top of the page and ignore the dates on the weekly spread.
LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK!
To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).
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The Cover
The cover is a thin glossy cardstock with a frosted cover over the top.
Yearly Overview
Dates at a glance for the year of the planner (2017) and 2018.
Monthly Calendar
The monthly calendar starts on a Sunday and includes a large notes sidebar. The boxes for each day are also lined with national holidays (for USA) pre-printed.
The calendar does my pet peeve when it comes to planners – combines the daily planning space rather than re-starting the number on the top row 🙁 The planner has a large page size though (8.5 x 11″) so it is still possible to write stuff in the boxes.
All that wasted space on the top row…
Weekly Spread
The weekly spread starts on a Monday (while the monthly calendar starts on a Sunday) – shame these aren’t coordinated. However, the weekly spread is lined and has plenty of space to plan each day.
Weekends are combined but there’s still a decent amount of planning space
Contacts
I’m not sure why some planner companies still include contacts pages since most people just keep this info on their phone, but if you need the pages there are a few.
An alternative could be to use these as a password log with columns for the website, username and password.
Notes & Holidays List
There are 4 years’ worth of holidays in this planner – more than most planner companies include!
There are only 3 lined notes pages at a back of the planner – a few more would definitely be useful.
Pen Testing
I tried various ballpoint and gel pens, highlighters and planner stamps. Disappointingly most of them has ghosting and some bled through the page – moreso than most planners I’ve done pen testing in. 🙁
Related: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding
Would I use this planner?
Yes. I tried it for the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks challenge. See how I customised the planner here. I really like the large writing space for each day as there was enough room to create 3 columns – most horizontal planners don’t have enough space to do this.
If you’re after a planner with a simple layout that’s also pretty and affordable, this planner would be a good fit for you.
A similar planner is the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky horizontal layout which I did a review of in this post.
More planner reviews:
- Review of the Point Journal (similar to the bullet journal)
- Review of the Plum Paper Me Planner
- Lorna Leigh Lane Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Flip through)
- Passion Planner Review – Compact and Classic Sizes (Pros, cons and video walkthrough)
I love this planner! Looks perfect for me. I would use the additional space in those blank squares you mentioned (which bugs me too) for fun stickers or drawing/doodles. I also sometimes use those squares for notes when I’m online and see a quote or word or something I’m interested in. I don’t throw away my planners from the previous year until I’ve completely gone through and made sure all those notes have been looked at or cut out and taped into the New Years planner. So my planner always has an originality and duality to it. Especially since there’s only 3 note pages
i discovered blue sky’s clipfolio binder last year (barcelona) and fell in love. this year i picked up the 2018 monthly tabbed spiral (artisan warm.) i’ve found my home planning system! my home planning is simple; i don’t need much space for tracking. both work well together and the slim space of the monthly binder is easy to store and review year after year!
http://diply.com/article/weird-things-only-stationery-addicts-admit-to-doing?publisher=recommendations&config=20
Thought you’d relate
A very relatable read! Thanks for sharing 🙂