Finally a planner with all the extras! I’ve been wanting to do a review of the Roterunner Purpose Planner for a really long time but it was always out of stock on Amazon (and now their website too). This planner has a very unique weekly spread that is super functional (plus you get 2 dot grid pages for each week too!), a well thought out monthly calendar / goals planner plus there are so many dot grid pages at the back I’m going to call this one a hybrid planner / notebook.
I paid for the planner myself and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links I’ll receive a small commission in exchange for referring you (at no extra cost to you).
Quick facts
- Size: 7.5″ wide x 9.75″ high (B5)
- Softcover with rounded edges
- 4 cover colors to choose from (aqua, navy blue, red and dark green)
- Sewn binding
- 100 GSM paper
- User guide
- 2 page index
- 6 month roles & goals (up to 6 goals)
- 2 page Monthly calendar (starts on Monday)
- 1 Dot grid page for each month
- 2 page weekly spread (starts on Monday)
- 2 dot grid pages per week (5mm dot grid)
- 37 dot grid pages at the back of the planner
- Neutral inside pages
- Equal planning space for every day of the week
- Weekly spread and monthly calendar both start on Monday
- Pocket folder
- 2 Ribbon bookmarks (different colors)
- Numbered pages
- 6 month duration
- Undated – Start planning anytime
Price: $30 USD on Amazon + shipping
Let’s take a closer look!
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Mentioned in the video: 12 questions to ask yourself at the end of every month
The Cover
This planner has a flexible softcover in faux leather. You can bend it easily but it won’t crease. I’d prefer a hardcover version if it was available as I leave my planner on my desk at home and don’t carry it everywhere with me. But I understand why they chose a softcover – it makes the planner very light for the page size.
There are 4 cover options to choose from – aqua, navy blue, red and dark green. I chose the aqua and am very happy with the color!
There’s nothing printed on the cover except for the roterunner logo but you could personalise with some stickers (such as a monogram) made using the Silhouette.
Approx. 0.75″ thick
At the back of the planner are some pages showing you how to use the planner which I’d have a look at before you start going through the goal pages at the front of the planner.
Annual overview
Despite being a 6 month planner, there is still a 12 month overview. There is no year printed beside the months so you can start using the planner at any time.
Every page in this planner is numbered so if you want to make specific notes on the dot grid pages on the weekly spread or at the back of the planner you can add those to the index. If you use the same page to plan multiple things, there’s plenty of space to add those as separate lines / topics on the index page.
Roles & Goals
The roles and goals pages are a different take on the usual goal planning pages that most planners include. Instead of the usual 2, maybe 4 pages, you have 1 page for each goal, with space to plan up to 6 goals.
I think a bit more room to write the specific tasks would be helpful, especially if it’s a big project. However, there are dot grid pages scattered throughout this planner and at the back so you could always use some of those pages if you need more room.
6 month bucket list & reading list
The reading list has space to record books you want to read and a summary of the book / things you learnt. There’s 2 dot grid pages labelled ‘book notes’ too.
After those preliminary pages the monthly spreads start. The page order for each month is:
- 1 dot grid page
- 1 monthly cover page
- 2 page monthly spread
- For each week = 2 page weekly spread + 2 pages dot grid
Monthly Calendar
There are no tabs and the color printing of the section dividers doesn’t go to the edge of the page so it is difficult to find where one month starts or ends.
Each month has one dot grid page at the start of the month (5mm dot grid spacing).
The month cover page is very plain so you can doodle, add stickers or whatever else you like to personalise. If you need a bit more space for goal planning you could do that above or below the month title box. I think these areas would be good for sticky notes for recurring monthly tasks or meal planning – then you could just move them from month to month.
The monthly calendar starts Monday which is consistent with the weekly spread which starts Monday.
There are only a few pages which have the color printing and as you can see in the photo below, it ghosts heavily on the back side of the page
Weekly Planning
So many features crammed into this 2 page spread!
- Hourly schedule
- Hydrate tracker
- Meal planning
- Notes / Ideas / Reminders / Acts of Kindness
- Self Care & Fitness
- Habit tracker
- Sleep tracker
- To buy
- Not to do list
- Priority actions for this week (which tie back to the goal categories at the front of the planner – work & career, friends & networks, home & admin, projects & passion)
Each column is 3.5cm wide (approx. 1.38″). The dot grid has a 5mm spacing.
There are circles on the left side of the columns which you can tick off when a task is completed. There are 8 circles at the bottom of each column intended for a water intake tracker but you could use it as a pomodoro tracker or habit tracker instead. The circles are feint so you could ignore and write over the top of it you prefer.
There’s equal planning space for every day of the week.
The hourly schedule should appeal to everyone with a 5am start time and an 11pm finish time. There’s even a gap for your lunch break!
After each weekly spread are 2 dot grid pages (5mm dot grid). Plenty of room for meal planning, taking notes if you’re a student, project planning, doodling, making a weekly to do list before you allocate tasks to each day or anything else you like!
Dot grid pages
This is why I think this is a hybrid planner and notebook. Most planners will include about 5 – 10 dot grid pages, this one has 37 at the back of the planner, plus the 2 after each weekly spread.
Self Care checklist
Something I’ve never seen in a planner before – a self care checklist. What a great idea! I’d suggest adding these after each monthly calendar to serve as a reminder, instead of just the one at the back of the planner.
There is a roomy pocket folder at back.
Pros of the Planner
- Equal planning space for every day of the week
- Weekly spread and monthly calendar both start on Monday (consistent)
- 4 different cover colors to choose from
- Pocket folder
- 2 Ribbon bookmarks (different colors)
- Undated – Start planning anytime
- 6 month duration so the planner is not too heavy
- 37 dot grid notes pages + 2 dot grid pages after each weekly spread
- 5mm dot grid (common size and will suit most planner stencils)
- Pages lay flat
- Rounded corners so the cover won’t get scuffed / damaged as easily as a hardcover
- Numbered pages
Cons of the Planner
- Yellow paper
- Plain cover – there is only the logo printed on it
- Thin paper, there is show through of the design that’s printed on the back
- No annual goals review or reflection
- No tabs and the color printing of the section dividers doesn’t go to the edge of the page so it is difficult to find where one month starts or ends
- Only comes in 6 month duration so if you want to use for an entire year you’ll need to purchase 2 copies and may need to transfer some information from the first planner to the second
Would I use this planner?
Yes. While I don’t typically use a vertical weekly spread I’m still keen to try out this planner. All of the sections on the weekly spread are so functional and I really like the structured layout that I haven’t seen in any other planner. The monthly spread is one of the most unique layouts I’ve seen.
I hope this company offers a horizontal weekly spread in the future (and better paper quality).
If you like this planner, I found it on Amazon.
More goal planner reviews:
- Goal Crazy Planner Review
- Full Focus Planner Review (Michael Hyatt’s 90 Day Undated Goal Planner)
- Mi Goals Progress Planner
- My 10 Favorite Goal Planners
Planning Tips:
- 12 questions to ask yourself at the end of every month
- How to make planner stickers for free using Silhouette Studio (Introduction – Video Tutorial)
- 20 Bullet Journal Weekly Spread Ideas (One Page Layouts)
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Kimberlee N Taylor says
I have been using this planner since August. I love it! I finally found something that takes the place of three different journals.
P.S. I have loved all your journal reviews.
Valur Holm says
Thank you for a very timely review. I was going through what I need from next planner yesterday and reading your review today answered the question! Bought it already.
Rachael says
Glad you found my review helpful! 🙂