You might recall my review of the softbound Erin Condren Focused Planner I did a few weeks ago. If you prefer coil binding, there’s another version of the Focused Planner (which has a completely different layout).

This planner is undated and there are no days of the week on the weekly spread. For someone that prefers to just work off a to do list, rather than allocate tasks to days, this is a planner I’m keen to try out!

Quick facts

• Size: 7.5″ wide x 8.75″ high
• Hardcover
• Coil binding
• Cover personalisation ($5 extra to add your initials to the cover)
• Dates at a glance page
• 2 page Monthly calendar (starts on Sunday)
• 2 page weekly spread (no days of the week, you choose the start day)
• Undated
• Tabs
• Neutral inside pages

Price:

• $44 USD
• There is a smaller page size version for $39 USD
• Monogramming the cover in foil costs $5 extra

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

Is this not the most boring cover ever? I suppose they’re trying to get people to pay the extra $5 to monogram the cover.

Approx 0.75″ thick

Dates at a glance

At the front is a dates to remember page and annual holidays list. I do wish there were 2 pages for the important dates. 1 page with all 12 months is a bit crammed.

Erin Condren is a USA based company, so all holidays are USA dates.

Monthly Calendar

Starts Sunday. The tab design cuts into the the sidebar, would’ve been better if the tabs were at the top of the page.

Unfortunately, some months have split boxes (one of my pet peeves!)

Weekly Planning

This undated weekly spread could be used in a few different ways:

• Weekdays on the left, divide up the 2nd page for weekend
• Ideal for students
• Blog planning
• Goal planning
• Project planning – main task and sub-tasks

Oddly, the Erin Condren website doesn’t have any photos with suggested uses for this planner.

The line spacing is a good size – 7mm (0.7cm).

Tabs

There are tabs, but not the traditional kind. Instead. there are half circles cut into the paper. I like that it’s something different but it does make it harder to find the month you’re looking for, it also reduces your notes sidebar space on the monthly calendar.

Pen Testing

I’ve done pen testing with their Mohawk paper in the personalised notebook I purchased in the same haul (see this post for details). Here are the results of that pen test:

For all the hype Erin Condren created about the ‘improved’ Mohawk paper… it’s not that great:

Everything had light ghosting – more for the highlighters than the pens.

Read more: Erin Condren Personalised Notebook Review

Pros of the Planner

• Minimalist inside color scheme – decorate with as many colors as you like without worry about colors clashing with the planners’ colors
• Fast shipping internationally
• Good line spacing
• Sturdy hardcover

Cons of the Planner

• Boring cover
• Cover personalisation costs extra
• Lack of inside pages – there are no extra pages
• No pocket folder
• No built in bookmarks
• Tabs are different, but not very practical
• This planner probably won’t work for everyone
• Holidays list is for the USA only
• Split boxes on the monthly calendar
• Undated (could be a pro or a con)
• Paper is prone to ghosting
• Expensive – $44 USD  + shipping for an undated basic planner printed in black & white with no extra pages is over-priced

Would I use this planner?

This is a very basic planner that is overpriced. Plus, I know this planner won’t work for, or appeal to everyone, but I do like the weekly format (it’s is my favorite style). Apart from the weekly spread though, there isn’t much else about this planner I like (I prefer a list format for monthly planning, not box format), and there aren’t any extra pages.

Read more: My all time favorite weekly planner layout (plus my favorite planners in this layout)

I think this would work better as a project / goals planner, instead of a weekly planner (plus if you used it like a weekly planner you’ll need to add dates).

I much prefer the style of the softbound Focused Planner (completely different layout but for some reason still called the Focused Planner) which I did a review of in this post.

More Erin Condren planner reviews:

• Erin Condren Budget Book (Petite Planner)
• Erin Condren Haul (Life Planner, dot grid notebooks, journal, custom notebook, Focus Planner etc.)
• Erin Condren Horizontal Life Planner versus Horizontal Happy Planner: which planner is better? 

Planning Tips:

• How to print printables at Erin Condren planner size from your home printer (step by step tutorial) 
• Pink Themed Weekly Spread in my Erin Condren Personalised Notebook
• FREE Printable To Do Checklist Planner Insert (For Erin Condren or Any Planner)

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