Emily Ley Simplified Daily Planner Review (Including Video Flipthrough)
Last on my list of Emily Ley planners to review is the Simplified Daily!
Quick facts
- Size: 7″ wide x 9.25″ high (inside pages are 6″ wide x 8.25″ high)
- Hardcover
- Wire binding
- Multiiple cover styles to choose from
- Day to a page layout (weekends combined onto 1 page)
- Dates at a glance page
- Holidays list (USA dates)
- Extra pages – preparing for a new year, ideas for new routines, 30 day simplicity challenge, yearly bucket list, 4 lines notes pages at the front (no notes pages at the back)
- 2 page Monthly calendar (starts on Sunday)
- Tabs
- Colorful inside pages
- 1 sheet of planner stickers
- 1 small pocket folder fixed to the inside of the front cover
Price: Normally $60 USD plus shipping. I found it on clearance halfway through the year (i.e. when the planner was half ‘expired’) for $28 USD. This is how much everything in my order cost, including shipping (prices in USD):
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).
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more planner videos!
More Emily Ley videos:
The Cover
The cover is a very sturdy hardcover. There were a few cover designs to choose from, I opted for the pineapples. The color printing with the gold foil looks like quality – there’s no foil peeling off and the colors and bright.
The cover extends beyond the pages to protect the tabs inside.
As this is a daily planner it’s chunky at 1.25″ thick
At the front is a very small pocket folder fixed to the inside cover (would only fit a few sheets of paper) and a sheet of planner stickers.
Next are the instruction and tips pages you’ll find in most of the SImplified Planners.
Followed by the extra pages
- Preparing for a new year
- ideas for new routines
- 30 day simplicity challenge
- yearly bucket list
- 4 lines notes pages (no notes pages at the back)
The line spacing is 7mm.
Monthly Calendar
Starts Sunday
Each box is approx. 1.25″ wide x 1.25″ high.
There’s a lot of ‘dead’ space at the top of these pages – it could’ve been reduced to make the boxes for each day bigger.
The month is printed in the color that corresponds with the tab color. Each month includes mini dates at a glance calendars for the previous and following month, as well as a simplicity tip.
Like with the other Emily Ley Planners, this one unfortunately has split boxes on the monthly calendar.
Daily Planning
Each days gets their own page except weekends where Saturday and Sunday share a page.
Each weekday has a schedule from 6am to 9pm as well as a big to do list and notes box.
The weekend doesn’t have a timed schedule, instead it has an open ended section and a checkbox.
I don’t like the pre-filled Sunday prep tasks. They won’t suit everyone and if they don’t it’s going to get annoying whiting out these tasks every week.
The Sunday prep tasks are:
- Plan meals for the week ahead
- Tidy up for a clean slate on Monday
- Write tasks / appointments for the week
- Fill your ‘tank’. Enjoy what matters most
The line spacing is 7mm.
Tabs
There are colorful tabs to match the colors used throughout the planner. They’re laminated cardstock and not very sturdy, however they are protected by the hardcover.
Pen Testing
I didn’t do a pen test of this planner as you can already see the ghosting of the pre-printed ink on the backside of the pages. I was very disappointed and expected the paper quality to be better given the price of the planner.
Pros of the Planner
- Pages lay flat on their own
- Multiple cover designs to choose from
- Tabs
- Color without being too much color
- Functional daily planning pages
Cons of the Planner
- Bulky & heavy
- Combined weekends
- Split boxes on the monthly calendar
- Can see ghosting of the printing on the backside of the pages
- Expensive
- Expensive international shipping
- Pre-printed Sunday prep list takes up space
- Only 1 pocket folder which will only hold a few sheets of paper
- No monthly planning, monthly review or monthly notes pages
- Only 4 lined notes pages
Would I use this planner?
No, I don’t use day to a page planners however if I did I would consider using this one. I like the functional layout and the color without there being too much color. A 6 monthly duration would be preferable to reduce the size of the coil. I’d prefer if Saturday and Sunday had an entire page for each day instead of being combined, and remove the pre-printed tasks so people can add tasks applicable to them.
More planner reviews:
- How to choose the right daily planner for you (7 things to consider)
- Agendio Daily Planner
- Tempus Daily Planner Review
Planning Tips:
- How to make printable graph paper in Photoshop (perfect for habit tracking and bullet journalling!)
- My monthly planning process (all 7 steps)
- The 3 things I plan digitally instead of using pen and paper
Found this post helpful? Pin it!
