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April 17, 2020

Mi Goals Get Shit Done Checklist & Dot Grid Notebooks Review (Including Pen Testing)

If you don’t want to use a traditional weekly planner, or you want to try bullet journaling but don’t want to buy an expensive dot grid notebook (for how basic dot grid notebooks are, they can be weirdly expensive), then cheaper alternatives are the Mi Goals notebooks.

Mini Dot Grid Notebook

  • Size: 5.75″ wide x 8.25″ high (about A5 page size)
  • Cardstock cover
  • Sewn binding
  • Index page
  • Symbol key page
  • 5mm dot grid spacing
  • 58 Numbered pages
  • Pocket folder

Price: $9.95 AUD

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 Mi Goals Reviews:

  • Mi Goals ‘Goal Digger’ Weekly Planner 2018
  • Mi Goals Planners Haul & Review (Planners made in Australia) 
  • Mi Goals Progress Planner
  • Mi Goals Weekly Planner Review 

A very basic, simple and lightweight cardstock cover. The dots are indented into the cover which is something different.. but the color options aren’t that great (black, a yukky olive green, brown, grey, yellow and pastel pink).

mi goals bullet journal list notebook review pros and cons stitched travellers notebook bullet journal lightweight bujo

mmi goals dot grid notebook review pros and cons video

The stitched binding makes it very compact and weighs barely anything! The notebook is only 5mm thick.

mi goals get shit done notebook pros and cons stitched a5 size dot grid numbered pages

At the front is the symbol key page, but apart from that and an index page at the back, there are no pre-printed pages – the rest of the notebook is dot grid.

mi goals dot grid notebook a5 size bullet journal review pros and cons

5mm dot grid spacing. There are 27 dots across and 40 dots down.

mi goals dot grid notebook review pros and cons video paper quality pen test

One con is that the page numbers replace the corner dot (like the Rhodia Goal Book) instead of printing the page numbers below the dot grid.

mi goals get shit done list notebook review pros and cons stitched travellers notebook bullet journal lightweight bujo numbered pages

1 index page at the very back of the notebook so you can find things easily.

mi goals planner review index pros and cons dot grid alternative to bullet journal notebook traveller notebook

There’s a small pocket folder at the back

mi goals bullet journal notebook

Get Shit Done Notebook

In addition to the dot grid notebooks, I also like Mi Goals’ Get Shit Done mini checklist books. For something that I consider such a staple when it comes to stationery, most companies only produce dot grid notepads. While the layout may be the same, the ability to tear off pages means you probably will, then there’ll be loose lists everywhere, or the pages will tear off before you want them to. I much prefer a booklet style format – plus it means you can have 2 side by side pages.

This notebook comes in 2 sizes:

  • 5.75″ wide x 8.25″ high (about A5 page size) – same size as the dot grid notebook you saw earlier in this post – $9.95 AUD
  • 4″ wide x 5.75″ high (about A6 page size) – $6.95 AUD

If you want a list book to use in addition to a planner I’d go with the smallest size as it’ll easy fit into the pocket folder of a planner or your bullet journal notebook. The larger size is more of a standalone notebook I’d use if you’re not interested in a traditional weekly planner (e.g. if you use a whiteboard, or a digital app).

get shit done notebook review mi goals a5 size

mi goals get shit done list notebook review pros and cons stitched travellers notebook bullet journal lightweight bujo

get shit done notebook review mi goals

mi goals get shit done notebook review pros and cons simple mini functional

The layout is the same for the 2 notebooks – lined notes on the left and top 3 + checklist on the right.

mi goals get shit done checklist planner review pros and cons a5 list book

The line spacing in the large notebook is 7mm. In the small notebook it’s 6mm.

mi goals get shit done a5 notebook cheap affordable alternative to planner australian made

get shit done notebook review mi goals pros and cons video flipthrough paper quality pen test a5 size australia

There’s a small pocket folder at the back of the large page size but not the small version.

Pen Testing

For such a cheap notebook, how does the paper stack up?

There was some ghosting for all pens, highlighters and stamps but there was only bleed through for the marker Uni Pi’s pens.

mi goals get shit done bullet journal dot grid notebook pen testing paper quality pros and cons australian notebook cheap highlighters pens

mi goals get shit done bullet journal dot grid notebook pen testing paper quality pros and cons australian notebook cheap

Pros of the Mi Goals Notebooks

  • Lightweight
  • Affordable
  • Small pocket folder

Cons of the Mi Goals Notebooks

  • Thin paper
  • Thin cardstock cover
  • Boring cover colors
  • The page numbers in the dot grid notebooks are embedded into the dot grid, rather than below
  • No tabs or ribbon bookmarks

Would I use this notebook?

I tried out the Erin Condren dot journal which has a similar style (sewn bound booklet rather than an actual notebook) and liked it. I think these types of notebooks are good for brain dumping lists and for ‘messy’ planning where you’re not worrying about doing fancy spreads or decorating, so don’t care if there’s a bit of pen ghosting on the thin paper.

See the rest of my Mi Goals Haul here.

More dot grid notebooks

  • Erin Condren Softbound Dot Grid Notebook
  • Vivid Scribbles Dot Grid Notebook (bleedproof 140GSM paper!)
  • Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook (Is the 160 GSM Paper Worth the Hype?)

Planning tips

  • 20 Bullet Journal Weekly Spread Ideas (One Page Layouts)
  • Travel planning in a bullet journal
  • Quick, simple and functional bullet journal decorating tips

Liked this post? Pin it!

mi goals get shit done notebooks review dot grid lined top 3 priority minimalist cheap australia pen testing pros and cons

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  • Typo Dot Grid Notebooks for Bullet Journaling Review (Pros & Cons)Typo Dot Grid Notebooks for Bullet Journaling Review (Pros & Cons)
  • 10 Australian Dot Grid Notebooks for Bullet Journaling10 Australian Dot Grid Notebooks for Bullet Journaling
  • Mi Goals Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)Mi Goals Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)
  • Mi Goals ‘Goal Digger’ Weekly Planner 2018 Review (Pros, Cons and a video walkthrough)Mi Goals ‘Goal Digger’ Weekly Planner 2018 Review (Pros, Cons and a video walkthrough)
  • Review of the Francheville Dot Grid Journal from Spotlight (Including Pen Test)Review of the Francheville Dot Grid Journal from Spotlight (Including Pen Test)
  • Bullet Keeper dot grid notebook review (including pen test)Bullet Keeper dot grid notebook review (including pen test)

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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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