It’s that time of the year when people are motivated to start goal setting for the next year, so I thought now would be the perfect time to do a review of the 10x Planner.
Quick facts
- Size: 7″ wide x 10″ high
- Hardcover (chipboard)
- Coil binding
- 2 pages per day
- Bright white paper
- Minimalist
- Gender neutral
Price: $32 USD + shipping
Let’s take a closer look!
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The Cover
The planner has a chipboard cover which means it’s very lightweight despite it’s large page size.
Approx. 0.43″ / 1.1cm thick
How to guide
On the first page of the book is a QR code to watch a ‘how to use this planner’ video narrated by the planner’s creator, Grant Cardone. He provides the following advice:
- It’s better to completely fill the page and not get some things done i.e. to over-commit and under deliver – now this might be a motivating approach but for me never finishing everything on the list every day would become demotivating.
- He writes down things like ‘have a shower’ and ‘eat breakfast’. I don’t think spending time every day writing down routine ‘ADL’s (activities of daily living) is going to improve my productivity and make me feel more accomplished and motivated. Just seems like a waste of time to write these down, but maybe that’s just me.
- It’s all good and well to say do 10x of something to get there faster, but I can’t create 10x the amount of hours in my day.
Overall I felt he came across a bit arrogant and sales gimmicky in the instruction video.
So let’s see if the planner itself is better.
Daily planning pages
There are 2 pages to thoroughly plan each day with sections for:
- Schedule in 3 hour intervals: 6am – 9am, 9am – 12pm, 12pm – 3pm, 3pm – 6pm, 6pm – 9pm, 9pm – later
- Write goals
- Quote of the day
- Targets
- Successes
- Write goals
After reviewing dozens of daily planners, this is the only daily planner I’ve seen that breaks the day down into 3 hour timeslots – I really like this approach!
More than 30 daily planner reviews are here.
On the right side of the page is part goals / targets (which could be used for a to do list) / reflection.
At first I thought the ‘write goals’ text written twice on the page was a typo! But in the video Grant Cardone says to write the goals down twice every day to remind you what you’re working towards. I get the idea but I think once a day or once a week is probably often enough.
You could always white out over the top of this text and write your own category in there. There’s no space for habit tracking, meal planning or health and fitness, so you could repurpose that part of the page for one or more of those categories.
The line spacing is 7mm.
And… that’s it! That’s literally all there is to the planner. I think this planner is lacking monthly calendars, monthly and weekly overviews as well as project planning pages and blank notes pages. I need pages to see the ‘big picture’ stuff, not just the details of each day all of the time.
Pen Testing
I won’t be keeping this planner so didn’t do a pen test. I can’t see ghosting of the pre-printed text on the backside of the pages, but the paper does feel thin.
Related post: Best pens for writing on washi tape
Price
If you use this planner every day of the year, you would need 6 planners to last an entire year.
Each planner costs $32 USD + shipping. There is a link to discounted pricing via the QR code at the front of the book, but it’s still $20 USD per book or if you get x 4 pack of planners it works out to be $70 USD for the 4 books. Basically it’s super expensive.
I would much rather a pretty and personalised planner from companies like Agendio or Plum Paper where I can customise the layout and there are more page layouts, cover personalisation and color printing included in the price.
Pros of the Planner
- Very lightweight journal for it’s page size
- Minimalist color scheme
- Gender neutral
- Undated – start planning anytime
- Only daily planner I’ve seen that does 3 hour timeslots
- 2 pages per day so there’s plenty of space to plan
- Good line spacing (7mm)
Cons of the Planner
- Expensive
- Shipping outside of the USA is expensive
- Only lasts 60 days
- No monthly planning pages, weekly overview, project planning, notes pages etc.
Who is this planner for?
I thought there would be more to this planner. It’s very basic and would probably be better off as a notepad. Perhaps something you use in addition to a digital planner, a wall calendar or whatever you’re using for bigger picture planning.
The planner might be a good starting place for someone that’s try to be more productive, managing a day job and a side hustle, or is growing their own business (particular something appointment based e.g. real estate). When the planner is finished, I’d adapt the parts you like into your own productivity focused daily layout.
Fully aware that I’m making a generalization here, but this planner could be good for a guy that doesn’t want a ‘pretty’ planner and just wants something simple so they can get on with their day. It would also work for someone that just wants a very simple, ‘no frills’ planner, with only daily pages and no monthly or weekly spreads.
You could also use it occasionally for a batch day or once a week when you need to have a really focused day.
Do I recommend this planner?
This planner has been around for 10 years and was probably one of the few productivity planners available back then. But there are so many more options nowadays. And so many more pretty and customisable options.
I wouldn’t use this planner. The layout and overall planner itself is too basic for me, and too expensive for only being a 60 day planner. There are only 2 page layouts – both of which can easily be replicated yourself by making a quick printable (tutorials for making printables are here), or ruling this up in your bullet journal.
I have not read his book, ‘the 10x rule’. If I had, then perhaps I would ‘believe in’ the approach in this planner more. I think people would find more value in buying the book than the planner. The book is also cheaper than the planner!
More productivity planner reviews
- Mi Goals ‘Goal Digger’ Weekly Planner
- Goal Crazy Planner Review
- Full Focus Planner Review (Michael Hyatt’s 90 Day Undated Goal Planner)
Planning tips
- Favorite brands with functional sticker books for planning and bullet journaling
- Guide to Discbound Planners & Frequently Asked Questions
- Highlighter Brands Comparison (And My Favorite Highlighters for Each Brand)
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Kell Brigan says
Yeah, sounds and looks like a money grab aimed at guilt shoppers.
About scheduling ADLs, I think it can be helpful sometimes especially if someone is having trouble in those areas. I’m one of those people who can get up and get caught up in projects and realize it’s 7:00 p.m. and I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet. Also I frequently have morning migraines where I can’t even literally tell you what my phone number is. For a few months I wrote down my morning routine specifically so that I wouldn’t have to remember things on my own in the middle of a bad morning. After all that time, it is all now deeply in the memory, but it took longer than for people without neuro disorders. And, of course, anyone dealing with a major life change such as a new baby May well have to write down microtasks just to make sure they get done. As with so many things having to do with planners, need should be the largest influence on practice. The trick is to get over guilting oneself and trying to be “normal.”
Bradley Brown says
Thank you for this. I have a question: do you have a post on how best to use the empty note pages (particularly dot grid) in the back of many planners?
Rachael says
Hi Bradley,
Yes, I have this post with 130+ ways to use the blank notes pages of a planner or an empty notebook:
https://allaboutplanners.com.au/130-functional-ideas-to-use-blank-notes-pages-of-your-planner-or-an-empty-notebook/
Kind Regards,
Rachael