The best planners if you want to keep work and personal in the same planner
If you need to plan work and personal and are fed up with switching between and carrying around 2 planners, here are some planners you could try to keep everything in the one place.
1. Horizontal 2 sections
Some planners that have already divided the boxes for each day into 2 sections:
Related: Plum Paper Planners Haul & Review (better than the Erin Condren?)
My favorite would probably be the Day Designer for Blue Sky – it has lined writing space too.
Day Designer for Blue Sky Horizontal
One planner that truly combines work and personal is the It’s That Kinda Day Planner
2. Horizontal
If you need more space to plan work than personal or vise versa, a horizontal layout with one big box for each day can be divided in half to whatever proportions you like! E.g. 2/3 for work planning with the rest for personal etc.
There are far too many planners that have this layout to list!
3. Weekly Spread + Notes
This is my all time favorite weekly layout – days of the week on 1 page and notes / lists on the other.
The weekly planning page can be used for work and the checklists for personal to do’s (or vise versa). If you want to divide the weekly planner in half you still have the option too.
Some planners that come in this layout:
- Plum Paper (has 2 columns ideal for separating work and personal to do lists)
- This 1 page weekly planner printable set from my shop paired with the notes or checklists kit
- Mi Goals
- Life Inspired
I often use this type of layout to do blog post planning on the weekly planner and to do’s for my blog and personal on the other page.
Life Inspired Weekly Planner Review
4. Categories
A planner layout that doesn’t seem to be as popular as it should be! This layout is great for clustering things together.
Related: Trying out the Plum Paper Me Planner
My favorite planners in this layout are:
- Limelife Planners Layout C review
- Master Plan Family Diary Review
- Blue Sky Teacher Planner
- Plum Paper Me Planner
Teacher planners & student planners are also similar to this layout. The days of the week can be covered up with washi tape and the subject section converted into days of the week. I did this with the Erin Condren Teacher Planner. A cheaper alternative is the Blue Sky Teacher Planner.
Using the Erin Condren Teacher Planner for weekly planner
5. Appointments + checklist
If you like to plan your workday in lots of detail e.g. you’re self employed, I recommend these planners:
- Top Down
- Planner Pad
- Lorna Leigh Lane Weekly Planner
- Passion Planner Review – Compact and Classic Sizes
- Live Whale Weekly Planner
- Day Designer for Blue Sky Planner
- Lucky Life Tools Planner
- Commit 30 Weekly Planner
Review of the Planner Pad Weekly Planner
6. Color Coded Checklists
If you don’t like allocating tasks to certain days and prefer to just work off a to do list (which is what I tend to do), color coding tasks is a good way to keep everything neat.
Daily planning using to do lists categorised by time
Another option instead of checklists, is to use color coded note paper. Download some from the library here
7. Sticky Notes
Not only are these an ideal solution when you need just a bit more space to plan each week, sticky notes are affordable and can be re-positioned / re-used for a number of weeks.
They’re also a quick and easy way to color code.
Planning the entire week using only sticky notes
8. Vertical – multiple sections
Vertical planners that have multiple boxes for each day are another good option for clustering things together. However, I don’t recommend vertical layouts if you have a lot of things, as each task will require multiple lines and you’ll run out of space in the boxes quickly. This is why I’m #teamhorizontal
Not many planners have the vertical layout with multiple sections for weekdays and just 1 box for weekends (ideal if you work a traditional 9 – 5). One planner company that does have this layout is Whistle and Birch.
9. Custom Planner
There are a few planner companies that will create a custom planner for you. In order of the most customisation:
- Agendio (highly recommend)
- Golden Coil
- Personal Planner
My planners from Golden Coil & Personal Planner are on their way, I’ll post reviews when I receive them 🙂
Related: Agendio Review (custom, personalised weekly planner)
10. Printables
Another option is to purchase printables (e.g. from my printables shop 😉 ) or learn how to make your own.
Read more: How to make a weekly planner in Photoshop (step by step tutorial)
With printables you can choose how to set up your week exactly how you want it. So if you want 3 pages per week (e.g. 1 page work, 1 page personal, 1 page for notes), or if you want to combine 2 weekly spreads, or if you want to print 2 copies of the same printable for each week, you can.
I always use my printables in discbound planner so I can add, rearrange and remove printables, page dividers etc. as often as needed.
Read more: Guide to Discbound Planners & Frequently Asked Questions
More planning tips
- How to choose a binding system for your planner (comparison and which one I like the most)
- 15 Productive Things You Can Do In 15 Minutes or Less
- How to make planner stickers for free using Silhouette Studio (Introduction – Video Tutorial)
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I’m finding that using a “bullet journal” for preparation defeats the purpose of a bullet journal – to capture the ephemeral thoughts that pop up during the day – in meetings, while reading, etc.
So, back to a daily-only layout for me. After capturing and filing information from the daily into the correct spreads, I lay out the header the evening before, then fill it out in the morning, then free-form for the day.
I do use two journals – one for daily (bound dot journal 5.5×8.5) and one for spreads of whatever kind (disc bound 8.5×11) – to allow inserting /anything/ into my spreads.
I want to keep my work and personal plans in the same notebook, but I don’t want someone to see the planner on my desk at work and see that I have plans to clean my fridge. Discbound to the rescue! I keep a separate tabbed section for my personal to-do and journal items. Anything that needs attention during my work day (such as a reminder to call and make a medical or service appointment) gets noted on a mini insert that is placed with my work agenda until completed. It might seem silly to keep a separate list when my personal section is in the same notebook, but I don’t want the distraction of looking at home-based tasks when I’m at work.