I’ve tried planning using many page sizes over the years. After trying A5, US half letter, A4, US letter, Happy Planner classic, Happy Planner mini, 7″ wide x 9″ high (Plum Paper, Erin Condren etc.) size etc. my favorite page size is the Happy Planner classic: 7″ wide x 9.25″.

Let me tell you why I think this is the best page size for planning!

1. Enough space for 2 column checklists

Given I predominately plan my week with a 1 page weekly spread plus a notes & checklist page, this might not seem like a big deal but it’s very important to me.

A5 page size is not wide enough to do a 2 column to do list. I can’t fit many words in the columns so would have to abbreviate words, or quickly fill up the page using 2 lines per task. Aesthetically I like it when each task is on one line only.

I find A4 and US letter size is too big – with all of that space I just keep adding things to my to do list. Or if I don’t fill the page I end up staying on the same page and keep adding extra tasks over 2 – 3 weeks. Then it becomes a blur of what did I actually accomplish this week versus last week. Then I feel like I haven’t accomplished much as I’m still on the same list. But then if I didn’t do that and have spare space and switch to another page, I’d feel like I’m wasting paper. So with all of that the overthinking, I don’t use A4 or US letter page size for day to day planning anymore.

Similar to the reasons outlined above, I rarely go down to anything smaller than 7″ wide x 9″ high with the exception of A5 page size for lists. If I’m using A5 size for lists, it’s usually for a 1 column to do list only.

Otherwise, A5 page size is too small for me to do any meaningful planning. The sections on a planner become too small to fit much in them. I like to plan across the page (horizontally) rather than vertically. Whenever I’ve tried a vertical planner I can only fit a handful of tasks in the boxes.

If I do project planning this could require my plans to be spread across 10, A5 size pages. I can do it in far less pages at a larger page size, and avoid flicking back and forth between so many pages.

One of my favorite weekly layouts is still the Plum Paper Horizontal notes and days weekly planner. The 2 columns are just the right size. I later purchased the same layout in the A5 page size, tried it for 2 weeks and never used it again. The columns just weren’t wide enough.

Read more: Review of the Plum Paper horizontal lined with notes weekly planner (pros, cons and pen test)

2. Can purchase discbound planners and inserts in this page size

I love disc binding so I can arrange my planner in the order that works for me. Instead of having the weekly pages interspersed between the monthly calendars, I prefer to cluster my annual planning and monthly spreads together at the start of the planner. Then I keep whatever weekly spreads I’m using at the moment clustered behind the monthly calendars.

There aren’t many brands offering A5 or US letter size disc bound inserts or accessories. Around 7″ wide x 9″ high is still the easiest to find. While the Happy Planner classic is interchangeable, other brands like Plum Paper and Inkwell Press also offer a discbound option. I’m surprised some of the other big name planner brands like Erin Condren don’t also offer disc binding, or at least sell the inserts for people to punch themselves.

A few years ago the Happy Planner was churning out so many inserts I couldn’t keep up! They’ve slowed down on the options these days but there’s always a good array of dot grid refill paper (my favorite inserts they offer) and checklists.

Related post: Where to buy dot grid refill paper (unpunched or punched for discbound planners and notebooks)

I particularly like the classic half sheet inserts when I need just a little bit more room to plan (they’re comparable to shopping list notepad size) and still want to see the rest of the weekly spread underneath. The quality of the color printing on all Happy Planner products is always excellent and there’s plenty of functional inserts to choose from.

Related post: Favorite Happy Planner Refill Inserts

With sewn bound notebooks (which can be hard to come by in sizes larger than A5), they don’t always lay flat due to the binding. When you turn the page to use them landscape ways, they can be even more prone to the pages closing on their own. That never happens with disc binding (or metal spiral binding which is also a common binding for 7″ wide x 9″ high planners).

Read more: Where to find discs to make a discbound planner or notebook (downloadable comparison)

3. Not too big and not too small

The classic Happy Planner is 7″ wide x 9.25″ high – a nice middle ground between US letter size (8.5″ wide x 11″ high) and A4, before sizing all the way down to A5 (5.83 x 8.27″ high).

If you were using a vertical weekly spread, the columns for each day are about 1.5″ wide at 7″ wide x 9.25″ page size.

You can get this printable in my shop here

With a 2 page spread there’s enough space to add a sidebar with things like habit trackers, priority checklists, pomodoro trackers etc.

It’s also a good page size if you want to add trackers for the week.

4. Weight of the planner

At this page size, the planner is just under what could be considered too heavy to carry around with you in your bag.

5. Common page size for planner stickers

7″ wide x 9″ high is a common page size for planners. So many brands and Etsy shops offer stickers to suit this size so you can mix and match.

For the above spread in the Plum Paper vertical planner, I used Erin Condren full box size stickers. I just added some washi tape to fill in the gaps where it didn’t perfectly line up.

Related post: 10 Functional Ways to Use Washi Tape in your Planner

6. Easily resize pages to this size

I originally thought the classic Happy Planner size was strange dimensions for a planner: 7″ wide x 9.25″ high. Why the 0.25 after the 9″? Well after I started resizing printables down using my printer (tutorial in this post), I realised the proportions of the classic size Happy Planner work really well when scaling down from a US letter size planner.

So you don’t need to worry about finding printables at classic Happy Planner size. You can just buy US letter size printables and resize them down. Same goes for 7″ wide x 9″ size planners.

Read more: The fastest and easiest way to resize printables

7. Space to add stickers and decorate

Anything smaller than 7″ wide x 9.25″ high leaves little room to customise with doodles, washi tape, stamps, stencil letters for headings etc. There’s also not much space within the sections for each day to add a lot of decorative stickers.

At medium page size there’s just enough space that you can add a strip of washi tape across the top and / or bottom of the page which is a good way to add some color when I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to put any thought into decorating.

Still choosing a page size?

Download the page size guide here

Tired of drawing up the same spreads and looking for some more unique layouts? Try this bundle of 52 printable weekly planners available in my Etsy shop and online store. It comes in US letter size and Happy Planner classic size.

More planner setup

• Daily versus weekly planners: which is right for you? 
• 30 Sections to include in your weekly planner
• 5 Ways to get ideas for your planner spreads

More planning tips

• The best stationery for bullet journaling and paper planning newbies
• 10 Brands that have date dot stickers for your planner or bullet journal
• My all time favorite washi tapes (and how I organize them)

Liked this post? pin it!