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March 31, 2020

Erin Condren Coil Bound Focused Planner Review (Video Walkthrough & Pen Testing)

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!

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!

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.

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_01

Approx 0.75″ thick

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_02

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_03

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 focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_06

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_05

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

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_04

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.

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_08

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

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_09

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.

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_10

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_11

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

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_12

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.

erin condren focused planner coil bound review video pros and cons pen testing video flipthrough monday week start horizontal lined writing space checklist_07

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:

erin condren personalised notebook pen testing highlighters bleed through ghosting pen swatches paper quality honest review

Everything had light ghosting – more for the highlighters than the pens.erin condren personalised notebook pen testing highlighters bleed through ghosting pen swatches paper quality honest review by all about planners

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)

Browse all posts

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

erin condren focused weekly planner review undated coil bound 5 day week study format monday week start horizontal checklist minimalist video flipthrough pros and cons

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  • Erin Condren Focused Planner Review (Softbound Version)Erin Condren Focused Planner Review (Softbound Version)
  • Erin Condren Horizontal Life Planner versus Horizontal Happy Planner: which planner is better?Erin Condren Horizontal Life Planner versus Horizontal Happy Planner: which planner is better?
  • Using the Erin Condren Teacher Planner for weekly planner (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 25)Using the Erin Condren Teacher Planner for weekly planner (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 25)
  • Gold themed weekly spread in the Erin Condren Focused Weekly PlannerGold themed weekly spread in the Erin Condren Focused Weekly Planner
  • Erin Condren Haul (Life Planner, dot grid notebooks, journal, custom notebook, Focus Planner etc.)Erin Condren Haul (Life Planner, dot grid notebooks, journal, custom notebook, Focus Planner etc.)
  • Erin Condren Softbound Weekly LifePlanner Review (Pros & Cons)Erin Condren Softbound Weekly LifePlanner Review (Pros & Cons)

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Posted In: Horizontal Weekly, Planner Reviews · Tagged: coil bound ec planner, coil bound ec planner review, coil bound focused planner, ec focus planner, ec focus planner review, ec horizontal focus planner, ec horizontal planner, ec life planner, ec planner, erin condren focus planner, erin condren focused planner, erin condren planner review, focused planner, focused planner review, undated ec planner, undated erin condren planner

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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