I purchased the Santa Barbara planner a few years ago but the review video got lost among my list of all the other planners I wanted to review so I’m posting it now (better late than never!)

Quick facts

• Size: 13 x 21cm (7″ wide x 9″ high)
• Hardcover
• Wire binding
• Dates at a glance page
• 2 page Monthly calendar (starts on Sunday)
• 2 page weekly spread (starts on Monday)
• Tabs
• Extra dot grid pages at the back
• Neutral inside pages
• 12 month duration
• Academic and calendar year versions available

I purchased this planner on Amazon (affiliate link). They seem to put out a version each year (slightly different covers). 

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).

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The Cover

A very sturdy hardcover and with a bit of thought – there’s rounded corners on the hardcover to prevent wear and tear

Unlike most planners this one actually has (some) design on the back cover too

Approx 0.75″ thick

Dates at a glance calendar

There is no annual planning page where you can note birthdays or projects you’re working on that month.

Monthly Calendar

Sunday start for the monthly calendar but Monday for the weekly spread (start day is not consistent)

I like the sidebar to make sure you’re balancing your goals for each area of your month – a bit wider sidebar column would be good (it’s 4.5cm wide).

If you don’t like the pre-printed categories you could cover them up with a header sticker (I did a tutorial here).

Unfortunately there are split boxes on the monthly calendar – and diagonally split! :/

Weekly Planning

Lots of checklists in this weekly spread! I would’ve liked to see the fitness routine tracker expanded to include open ended mini-habit trackers so people can choose what habits to track, but apart from that I can’t fault this spread – simple, functional and perfect for a list lover.

The line spacing is 6mm (most planners have 6 – 7mm line spacing).

Saturday and Sunday share the same amount of planning space as a weekday

Extras pages

This is one of the first planners I came across that included dot grid pages instead of lined notes at the back.

The dots are 5mm by 5mm grid (which seems to be the most common ‘standard’ grid size).

There are 4 dot grid pages.

Tabs

The tabs are a little different in this planner – they’re there but they’re part of the page, not a separate cardstock monthly divider or cardstock tab fixed directly to the page. They are protected by the cover but with how frequently I flick between tabs in a planner, I’m not sure they’ll hold up well over an entire year.

Pen Testing

The paper is ok. There’s hardly any ghosting for ballpoint pens, fine tip pens and highlighters, but there was some bleed through for the marker pens and the MAMBI stamps.

Pros of the Planner

• Sturdy hardcover
• Elastic band to keep it closed
• Pages lay flat
• Built in pen loop
• Functional weekly spread
• Pen loop

Cons of the Planner

• Hard to find – I could only find it on Amazon
• Yellow paper
• Paper is thin and prone to ghosting
• Split boxes on the monthly calendar (and split diagonally)
• No extra pages apart from some dot grid pages at the back
• No pocket folder
• No monthly notes pages
• No annual planning page

Would I use this planner?

Yes. I like horizontal spreads and always use a checklist to plan my week. I think this planner could do with some thicker paper and monthly planning or notes pages but otherwise it’s a good, no frills, basics weekly planner.

If you like to do goal planning, projects, lists etc. in a separate notebook and only want to carry weekly and monthly spreads

More planner reviews:

• Goal Crazy Planner Review
• Day Designer Mini Daily Edition Review 
• Best planners for when you don’t have much to plan

Planning Tips:

• Microsoft Word versus Photoshop: Which is Better for Making Printables?
• My Favorite Ballpoint Pens for Planning & Bullet Journaling
• Why I Switched from paper to Excel spreadsheets for budgeting

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