After numerous requests from readers that like the idea of the Passion Planner but not the hourly / timed component of the daily planning space and wanted to see how I ‘hacked’ it, here you are!

Before the Pen

After the Pen

The Passion Planner planner has a simple design with no frills or embellishments so I wanted to keep the decorating simple too. I didn’t use any stickers – just colored pens and washi tape to cover up the hourly timeslots.

This planner has plenty of list making space – and the lists are already sorted into top priority, priority and errands which I <3!

I used the Ooly Color Connect pens which are so smooth to write with and write well on white out… except they are prone to smudging on the whiteout.

I didn’t really use the today’s focus. I can see how it could be useful if you use the planner in it’s original hourly / scheduling format, but the way I modified it made this section a bit redundant.

If I used this planner again I’d use different colors of the Doodlebug washi tape – the rainbow pen colors didn’t stand out as much as I thought they would.

I thought I might run out of space so created a ‘flap’ for the habit tracker. Rather than gluing the habit tracker printable (which is a freebie from the Passion Planner website), I stuck it down with washi on one side so I could still write underneath.

I normally don’t like vertical planners as I always run out of room to write. However, since the lines are spaced so close together (the closest I’ve seen other than Studio Stationery notepads) I fit a lot in.

It was a toss up between the A5 and full page size Passion Planner. I’m glad I went with the bigger page size as the columns ending up being a decent width – much better than vertical planners in the most common 7″ wide x 9″ high size.

I covered up the ‘good things that happened’ and converted it into meal planning space using the Staedtler Triplus Color 1.0mm marker pen in black and writing over the top with the Sakura Gelly Roll 08 in white.

I used my travel planner as my master list of things to research then choose some each week to add to my planner. I do this with projects (e.g. putting together an ecourse) and my master to do lists as well. I could just work off those lists but they’re so long  – pages and pages – it’s too overwhelming! I tried just working off the master lists before but felt like I was getting nowhere. I was flicking between multiple notepads, multiple pages, things were scattered everywhere. That’s why I use a weekly planner – I can just focus on a few things from those master lists and forget the rest during that week, knowing they’re there if I end up finishing things quicker than expected.

Supplies Used:

• Doodlebug dark blue strip washi tape
• Ooly Color Connect Gel Pens 0.7mm
• Habit tracker printable (freebie from the Passion Planner website)
• Staedtler Triplus Color 1.0mm marker pen in black
• Sakura Gelly Roll 08 pen in white

PROS OF THE PASSION PLANNER

• Bright white paper that is so smooth to write on
• Affordable
• Comes in small and large size
• Functional weekly layout
• Timeslots are longer than most planners
• The built in bookmark
• Gender neutral – the planner is printed entirely in black/white/grey (was ideal for color coding as no color clashes)

CONS OF THE PASSION PLANNER

• The covers are boring – just a plain solid color
• The faux leather cover material seems to attract dust
• The line spacing in the weekly spread is too small
• Book bound / sewn bound – the pages don’t lay flat unless you hold one side with your hand while you write with your other hand
• No tabs
• The quotes on the weekly spread take up a fair bit of functional planning space – much prefer when companies put these at the bottom of the page in the footer
• Only 1 ribbon bookmark – there really needs to be 2 – 1 for the monthly calendar and 1 for the weekly spread

Would I use this planner again?

I liked the planner, but it was a bit plain. I like being able to tweak planners in different ways but with this one, there aren’t many different ways to use the layout. For me, I think it’d end up being too much of the same every week.

See my full video of the Passion Planner (including video walkthrough) in this post.

Planning Tips

• How to do color coded weekly meal planning in less than 5 minutes using sticky notes
• Planning using the daily plan bar method (bullet journal inspired) 
• Favorite black pens for planner addicts

Planner reviews

• Moleskine Weekly Planner Review 
• Best paper planners if you have large handwriting (and planners you should avoid) 
• Creating a custom, personalised planner with Agendio

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