• HOME
  • Planning
    • Planner Newbie
      • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
      • My weekly spreads
    • Planner Index
    • Planner Reviews
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Vertical Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Categories Weekly
      • Daily Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Teacher Planners
      • Planner Roundups
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Budget Planners
    • Planner Comparisons
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Planner pens
    • Highlighters
    • Planner Stickers
    • Digital Planning
    • Household Binder
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • Graphic Design
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Canva
    • Silhouette Studio
    • PicMonkey
  • SHOP
    • Shop at Etsy
    • Online Store
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • ECOURSES
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
        • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
        • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables in Photoshop
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Word
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • How to make digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • How to Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • How to Make Party Printables
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
  • FREE
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Travel
    • Travel Planning
    • Europe
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • About
    • Browse All Posts
    • FAQ
      • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
      • Printing Tips
      • Printable Planner Stickers
      • Downloading Files
      • How to Open Zipped File Folders
      • What does EDITABLE mean?
      • Monogram Etiquette

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

August 17, 2018

Live Whale Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Walkthrough)

While on the quest for less well-known planners, I came across the Live Whale Planner!

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the planner in exchange for this review. I was going to purchase the planner anyway. As always, all opinions are my own. Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase this planner using my affiliate link I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Live Whale planner comes in weekly and daily editions. In this post I’ll go through the weekly edition (I did a review of the daily edition in this post).

life whale planner review undated weekly daily minimalist goal setting gender neutral pros and cons

Quick facts

  • Size 5.75″ wide x 8.25″ high
  • Book binding
  • Leather cover with elastic band
  • Undated
  • This belongs to page in case your planner is lost
  • Dates at a glance
  • Goal setting pages
  • Neutral color scheme
  • 1 year’s worth of 2 page weekly planning pages – vertical hourly format
  • Week starts Monday
  • 2 Page monthly calendar (starts on Sunday)
  • 6 monthly budgeting pages
  • Lined notes pages
  • No Tabs but 3 built in ribbon bookmarks
  • Pocket Folder

Price: $23 USD

Let’s take a closer look!

If you watched / read my review of the daily edition of the Live Whale Planner, the only thing different in the weekly edition is the weekly spread (the extra pages are the same).

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

Leather with gold corners to prevent wear and tear.

The cover is a bit too plain for my liking. There’s nothing printed on the cover or the spine – it just looks like an ordinary notebook.

live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video honest minimalist gender neutral leather high quality a5 size portable daily

Because the planner has 2 pages per day it does make it quite bulky (approx 3/4″ thick)
live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video minimalist daily 2 days per page simple goal setting leather cover

Dates at a glance

4 years worth of dates at a glance on 2 pages – very space efficient!

live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video honest minimalist gender neutral leather high quality a5 size portable daily undated

Goal Setting

The first thing I noticed when I opened this planner is that the font size and line spacing is quite small. However, it also means the planner fits a lot on each page.

I really like this goal setting page structured into the main areas of your life: personal, family, career & financial, social, fitness. spiritual – and there’s an other section where you can add your own (a good space for craft projects).

Then there’s space to map out the what, why and how behind your goals. Ideally this space would be a bit bigger, however there are plenty of open-ended pages following this where you can map things out in detail.

live whale planner review undated goal setting small a5 size portable daily weekly minimalist

live whale planner review goal setting pros and cons video minimalist simple monday start sunday top 3 hourly vertical scheduling mind map

live whale planner review goal setting pros and cons video minimalist simple monday start sunday top 3 hourly vertical scheduling brain dump

It’s a bookbound planner (which I normally avoid). However, the pages actually lay flat without you having to hold them open with one hand 🙂

live whale planner review goal setting pros and cons video minimalist simple monday start sunday top 3 hourly vertical scheduling

Budgeting

Always handy – monthly budgeting pages!

There are 6 of these pages (the planner is intended to last for 4 – 6 months).

Live whale planner review pros and cons video daily weekly monthly calendar budgeting section 2 pages per day lined goal setting gender neutral minimalist simple

Live whale planner review daily weekly monthly calendar budgeting section 2 pages per day lined goal setting gender neutral minimalist simple

Monthly Divider

Each month has a brain dump page and a divider page with a different quote.

live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video minimalist weekly monthly undated monday start sunday

Monthly Calendar

Week starts on a Sunday.

The layout of the calendar is very functional with a lined sidebar  and open-ended space below the calendar boxes.

live whale planner review undated monthly calendar 2 page minimalist gender neutral simple leather a5 size portable crisp white paper no bleed through

This planner is undated – my favorite type of planner as you can start using it anytime!

live whale planner review monthly calendar undated minimalist simple functional amazon gender neutral goal setting monday sunday start week

Weekly Planner

There are 52 x 2 page undated weekly spreads.

The daily schedule runs from 6am to 8pm with a blank line in between (so you can plan half hourly if you want up to 8pm).

I like the goal tracking element of this planner with the countdown of days until __ section.

live whale weekly planner review minimalist gender neutral pros and cons monday start goal setting lined vertical schedule 6am to 8pm habit tracker

This planner also includes: 3 things you’re thankful for, top 3 daily priorities, weekly habit tracker (for up to 8 habits), notes / ideas space and a lined sidebar.

Related: 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)

live whale weekly planner review minimalist gender neutral pros and cons monday start goal setting lined vertical schedule 6am to 8pm weekly habit tracker

The page size and habit tracker sections to write in are quite small so if I end up using this planner I’d put numbers in the habit section, then write out the habit the number corresponds to on a sticky note. E.g. 1 = file backups, 2 = yoga, 3 = vitamins etc.

live whale weekly planner review minimalist gender neutral pros and cons monday start goal setting lined vertical schedule 6am to 8pm habit tracker functional tops 3

I don’t plan by hour so I actually prefer the 1 page weekly planner that’s included in the daily edition of the Live Whale Planner (review in this post).

Extras pages

Plenty of lined notes pages at the back of the planner:

live whale planner review notes pages lined pen testing functional goal setting gender neutral minimalist

Tabs

There are no tabs in this planner (probably since it’s undated). Instead there’s 3 built in pen loops (in different colors).

Pen Loop

And it’s fat enough to fit the Frixion pen!

live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video pen loop gender neutral goal setting daily weekly monthly

Pocket Folder & Elastic Band

live whale weekly planner review a5 size pocket folder gender neutral minimalist simple goal setting

Pen Testing

I tried various ballpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens – there was some ghosting on the back side of the page. I also did some highlighter and stamp swatches. The highlighters also had some ghosting and, as always, the MAMBI stamps and cheap highlighter bled through the page ?

live whale planner review pen testing highlighters bleed through swatches fine tip gel ballpoint bookbound minimalist gender neutral

live whale planner review pen testing highlighters bleed through swatches fine tip gel ballpoint bookbound minimalist gender neutral video

Pros of the Planner

  • Portable size
  • Minimalist color scheme
  • Daily and weekly planning pages
  • 2 pages for each day giving you lots of room to write
  • Goal setting pages
  • Bright white paper that feels super smooth to write on
  • Pocket folder
  • Elastic band
  • It’s a bookbound planner, however, the pages actually lay flat without you having to hold them open with one hand 🙂
  • Affordable
  • Undated

Cons of the Planner

  • Cover is very plain and no personalisation option
  • The line spacing changes throughout the planner – on the goal setting, weekly and daily planning pages they’re closer together than the lined notes pages
  • Small font size (just a bit too small)
  • No tabs (although there are 3 built in ribbon bookmarks)

Would I use this planner?

No. This planner is functional, but the line spacing is too close for me. Plus it’s a vertical hourly layout which isn’t the right fit for the way I plan (I’m team horizontal).

However, if you’re looking for a planner where you can plan half hourly, with a built in habit tracker and top 3 for each day in a small page size (i.e. smaller than the Passion Planner which the Live Whale is similar too), then this planner could be a good fit for you.

If you like this notebook, it’s available on Amazon (affiliate link)

More planner reviews:

  • Studio Stationery Planner Review (Horizontal Weekly and Notes Page Layout, Undated)
  • Life Inspired Weekly Planner Review (Lined Horizontal + Checklists Layout)
  • Clever Fox Weekly Planner

Planning Tips:

  • Using a planner key and symbols to code your planner (efficient planning methods)
  • Favorite washi tape for planning, planner decorating & color coding
  • How to make use of blank pages in your planner

Browse all posts

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

 live whale weekly planner review pros and cons video walkthrough minimalist vertical hourly scheduling 6am to 8pm lined agenda

You may also be interested in...

  • Live Whale Daily Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Walkthrough)Live Whale Daily Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Walkthrough)
  • The Perfect Notebook Review (Discbound Planner)The Perfect Notebook Review (Discbound Planner)
  • Clever Fox Daily Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Walkthrough)Clever Fox Daily Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Walkthrough)
  • Minimalist black and white weekly spread in the Moleskine Weekly PlannerMinimalist black and white weekly spread in the Moleskine Weekly Planner
  • Get to Work Book Planner Review (Pros, Cons and a Video Walkthrough)Get to Work Book Planner Review (Pros, Cons and a Video Walkthrough)
  • Time and Snail monthly / weekly / daily planner review (including video walkthrough)Time and Snail monthly / weekly / daily planner review (including video walkthrough)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Posted In: Hourly Planners, Planner Reviews, Vertical Weekly · Tagged: 1 page weekly planner, 2 pages per day planner, 2 pages per week planner, alternative to bullet journal, blogs about planning, cheap planner, cheaper alternative to passion planner, daily planner 6am to 9pm, daily planner blog, daily scheduling planner, day to a page planner, gender neutral weekly planner, live whale daily planner, live whale daily planner review, live whale planner, live whale planner review, live whale weekly, live whale weekly planner, live whale weekly review, minimalist weekly planner, planner blog, planner for guys, planner for less than 50 dollars, planner similar to law of attraction, planner similar to passion planner, planners for men, planning blog, similar to passion planner, undated daily planner, undated monthly calendar, undated weekly planner

Welcome

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.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Search

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Weekly Planning using priority lists
  • Power Planner Review (and Comparison with the Passion Planner)
  • 10 Brands that have Date Dot Stickers for your planner or bullet journal
  • Eleven Discs Dot Grid Notebook Review (Super Smooth Paper!)
  • 150 Dinner Recipe Ideas (Printable Quick Reference List) + Cooking Staples List

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Popular Posts

  • Minimalistic planning: how to plan your week using a blank notes page and stickers (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 4)
  • 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook
  • Weekly Planning using priority lists
  • 5 Planner Companies that will make a completely custom planner for you
  • How I use Excel to Organize a Home Renovation (budget, spending, program, paint colors, contacts, quotes)

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Subscribe to access the free Printables library

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy

Copyright © 2021 All About Planners · Theme by 17th Avenue