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).

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).

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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.

Because the planner has 2 pages per day it does make it quite bulky (approx 3/4″ thick)

Dates at a glance

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

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.

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 🙂

Budgeting

Always handy – monthly budgeting pages!

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

Monthly Divider

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

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.

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

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.

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)

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.

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:

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!

Pocket Folder & Elastic Band

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 ?

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

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