Review of the Officeworks Otto Wellbeing Planner for 2018

Officeworks is one of my favorite places to buy stationery. So when they released new planners in their Otto range (their exclusive Officeworks stationery brand that always has nice notebooks etc.) I had to buy the 2018 Wellbeing Planner!

This is not a sponsored post – I paid for the planner myself – all opinions are my own. 

More Otto Planner Reviews:

This planner reminds me a lot of a cross between the Recollections Planner and the Erin Condren Life Planner.

Otto Wellbeing Planner

  • Size: 7.75″ wide x 9″ high
  • Coil bound
  • Cover can be removed (inter-changeable like the Erin Condren)
  • 2 page monthly calendar (starts on a Monday)
  • 2 page vertical spread with 2 sections per day plus habit tracker and weekly checklists (week starts Monday)
  • Plenty of goal setting worksheets focused on your health
  • Weekends get their own day (not combined)
  • Laminated tabs with the months printed on the front and back
  • 1 color per month (ideal for color coding)
  • Comes in 1 style only (although there is a Business Planner and a Goals Planner in the range as well)

Price: $30 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).

YouTube video

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The Cover

Cardstock with laminate for durability. The cover extends beyond the tabs to prevent them from getting damaged. In terms of quality I’d say it’s comparable to Erin Condren but not quite as thick.

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Goal Setting

Each of the Otto planners feature different goal setting pages to suit the theme of the planner.

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Dates at a glance

The dates at a glance pages are the same layout for each Otto planner, just slightly different colors (to match the rest of the colors in the planner). Rather than take another photo, here’s the photos I took from the Goals Planner (which has a pink cover instead of the blue that the wellbeing planner has).

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2 page yearly planner

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There’s also school terms and public holidays pages

The pages is sorted into national holidays and each state and territory’s as well – love this!

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Monthly Planning Page

The monthly planner page is very functional. It lots of space to plan how you’re going to achieve your 3 goals for the month as well as checklists for special occasions, important shopping and jobs to be done.

The monthly planning page is slightly different to the other Otto planners.

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Dividers

Each of the tabs features a different quote

Each monthly spread has a divider with a tab – the paper feels slightly thicker than the rest of the paper in the planner but is not as thick as cardstock.

Monthly Calendar

The monthly calendar gives every single day a full box planning space. Some calendars will split the bottom box into 2 to avoid moving the date to the top of the calendar – this one doesn’t do that (hallelujah!)

The month starts on Monday and so does the weekly spread (not all planners keep the week start days consistent so I always check!)

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Weekly Planner

If you get tired of writing out your titles for each day, see this post for a tutorial on how to make title planner stickers.

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Pretty pastel colors throughout!

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Love the built in exercise tracker (that could also be used for general habit tracking) and the mini checklists

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When the month changes mid-week the colors change too to create a pretty multi-colored spread <3

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Notes pages

Lined notes pages. <3 that script font!

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Tabs

The tabs are the same for each planner by Otto. Large so they’re easy to grip and laminated for durability.

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Pocket folder

Each Otto planner also has a pocket folder at the back with the dates book (similar to Erin Condren)

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Planner stickers

Like with the goals and business planner (also the Otto brand and from Officeworks), the wellbeing planner has stickers!

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PEN TESTING

I tried a variety of well-known (and not so well-known!) pen brands including Papermate Inkjoy, Staedtler Triplius, Pilot, Kikki K, Uniball Signo, Typo, Smiggle etc. Both the ballpoint pens and gel pens had some minor ghosting (see through) on the back side of the pages.

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Related: Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 

PROS OF THE OTTO GOALS PLANNER

  • Very well though out out planner – there is no wasted space
  • More goal setting pages than most planners include
  • Durable laminated cover
  • Laminated tabs and the month is printed on the front and back of the tab
  • Good value for money and affordable – only $30AUD
  • Love, love, love the colors!
  • 1 color per month – great for color coding
  • Boxes of the months aren’t split in 2 – every day of the month has the same amount of planning space
  • Plenty of checklists
  • The weeks on the monthly and weekly spreads both start on Monday (some calendars don’t do this)
  • Cover can be removed (interchangeable like the Erin Condren)

CONS OF THE OTTO GOALS PLANNER

  • Pens show slightly through the other side of the page (light ghosting)
  • The writing (and writing spaces) are small. if you have large hand-writing you may find yourself running out of room
  • If you live outside of Australia you won’t be able to buy this planner

SIZE COMPARISON

All of the Otto Planner are the same size. I was too lazy to take photos with the wellbeing planner :p , so here’s the Otto Goals planner in comparison to the Erin Condren. It’s wider but shorter

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Related: Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 

Same deal for the MAMBI Happy Planner…

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Related: Honest review of the Happy Planner by Me and my Big Ideas (MAMBI)

…And the Plum Paper Planner

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Related: Plum Paper Planners Haul & Review (better than the Erin Condren?)

WOULD I USE THIS PLANNER?

Yes, overall it’s a very functional, affordable planner!

If you’re a fellow Aussie, this is a much more affordable alternative to the Erin Condren planner (the planner is cheaper plus you won’t have to pay for international shipping or wait ages for it to arrive).

Related: Similar and Cheaper Alternatives to the Erin Condren Life Planner 

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5 Comments

  1. Love this planner! Too bad it’s only available in Australia ☹️ . Thank you for sharing all the features.

    1. If you’re in the USA the Recollections planner is similar. If only more companies shipped internationally :/

      1. Thanks Rachael! I’m in Canada. I’m currently using a Happy Planner and have been exploring Erin Condren for my next planner. Never really looked at the Recollections Planner. Will take a look. 🙂

  2. Gutted! Read through the entire review only to find it’s not available outside Australia… This looks amazing though.

  3. It looks like a wonderful planner. The colors are quite pretty. I really liked the year at a glance calendar for listing. I use a printable one where I can see doctor appointments, etc. at a glance, but none of the spiral planners have one – except this planner. It’s a nice feature. If it were available in the US, I’m sure it would be a hit – and on my desk! Thanks for the review!

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