Ever been searching for a planner and seen some pretty stock photos where the pages in the planner look like they lay flat but the photo looks a bit photoshopped so it’s hard to tell? Or someone’s hand is in the photo holding the planner open? Or there’s a conveniently placed heavy object on top of one corner of the open planner styled to look like it was deliberately placed there? All of these are clues that the pages in the planner you’re potentially going to buy won’t lay flat on their own.

At the request of one of my readers (thanks for the post idea Tracee!), here is a list of planners which actually lay flat on their own. If you’re a leftie or just can’t stand planners that don’t lay flat (like myself), the ‘safe bets’ are discbound planners and those with coil binding. The main type of binding to avoid are softcover sewn bound planners.

Related post: Guide to Discbound Planners & Frequently Asked Questions

While some planners say they have lay flat binding, many of them actually don’t unless you really break the spine, have been using the planner for a while, or the pages might only lay flat in the middle section of the planner. So here are planners that actually do have lay flat binding (and planners to avoid).

Planners that actually have lay flat binding

Coil Bound planners

• Limelife Planners Layout C review
• Any Plum Paper planner (see my past hauls here and here)
• Agendio (custom, personalised weekly planner) 
• Plum Paper
• Erin Condren
• Whistle and Birch 
• Recollections 
• Get to Work Book
• Lucky Life Tools
• Ashley Shelly 
• Carpe Diem
• Ban Do
• Purple Trail 
• It’s That Kinda Day 
• Mossery Planner (BUT you cannot fold the pages back on themselves due to the cover design)
• SHP Planners
• Posy Paper Planner
• Life Inspired 
• Rule the World by Sugar and Type
• Studio Stationery 
• Blue Sky Personalised Weekly Planner
• Practical Paper Co
• Kit Life Daily planner
• Personal Planner
• Golden Coil 

Posy Paper Planner

Sewn Bound Planners

For almost all of these sewn bound planners you’ll need to break the spine first. To break the spine, turn the planner over so the front and back cover is facing you. Turn the pages back towards yourself. It’s better to use 2 hands to do this so the spine ‘breaks’ evenly. Be gentle! You shouldn’t need to apply too much pressure to break the spine and get the pages to flat flat. You can also place the open planner under 2 heavy books to encourage the pages to lay open. If I’m using a planner that wants to close on it’s own, I leave it open on my desk the entire week I’m using it which helps too.

Clever Fox Weekly Planner

• Mi Goals
• roterunner purpose planner
• Law of Attraction
• Clever Fox Weekly Planner
• Erin Condren Focused Planner (Softbound Version)
• Milligram Weekly Agenda Planner
• May Designs Weekly Planner
• Happy Planner bookbound (dashboard, vertical and horizontal) – I really wish the Happy Planner had continued with the sewn bound versions of their planners. Most sewn bound planners are A5 size or smaller – it’s really hard to find one at my favorite page size (about 7″ wide x 9″ high which the Happy Planner bookbound version was)
• Legend Weekly Planner
• Wordsworth
• Goal Crazy Planner

roterunner purpose planner

These lay flat after you ‘break in’ the spine

• Lemome
• Puffin Planner
• Cossac planner
• Zelo Journal
• 90X Goal Planner

Legend Weekly Planner

Discbound Planners

All discbound planners lay flat and you can add, remove and rearrange pages as often as you like – that’s why it’s my preferred binding style 🙂

• Happy Planner Super Mom
• Levenger Circa 
• TUL Student Planner
• Inkwell Press Planner 360 Discbound
• Dokibook Discagenda
• Musboeken Feeling Plantastic Discbound Planner
• Atoma Discbound Weekly Planner & Dot Grid Notebook
• Thinkers notebook review (discbound notebook and app)
• Maggie Holmes Day to Day Planner
• Eleven Discs Dot Grid Notebook
• ARC versus TUL: which is better?
• Eagle Discbound
• SORA reusable notebook with whiteboard paper

Maggie Holmes Day to Day Planner

Helpful posts if you’ve never used discbound:

• Discbound punch comparison – ARC versus Levenger versus Happy Planner
• Discbound planners & notebooks: brands that are compatible
• Guide to Discbound Planners & Frequently Asked Questions

Inkwell Press Planner 360 Discbound

Planners that don’t lay flat

I thought I’d also mention a few planners whose pages want to close on their own.

• Kikki K sewn bound
• Commit 30 Weekly Planner
• Amanda Rach Lee Doodle Planner
• Emily Ley Simplified Planner
• Emily Ley’s Dapperdesk is the worst planner I’ve ever come across for not laying flat (literally none of the pages lay flat on their own)
• Simple Elephant
• Legami Weekly 
• Grand Plans
• Lux Productivity Planner (day to a page with dot grid pages)
• Full Focus Planner (Michael Hyatt’s 90 Day Undated Goal Planner)
• My PA (this planner is 1.5″ thick – depends where you open the planner – some of the pages in this planner lay flat and some do not)

Due to the flexible softcover, it is difficult to write in the front or back of the PA Planner. I would place another notebook underneath the open cover to create a stable surface to write on

Amanda Rach Lee’s Doodle Planner has some unique inside pages, but it’s also more than 1 inch thick so doesn’t want to stay open on it’s own

Dapperdesk planner – Completely impractical using sewn binding for a planner that’s 1.25″ thick

More planning tips

• 25 Ideas for your Bullet Journal To Do List Spreads
• 10 ways to plan using sticky notes
• 10 Quick planner hacks you need to try (planning tips & inspiration)

I’ve done more than 200 planner reviews – browse them all here

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