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January 9, 2019

Trying out the To Do List in a Book Planner (Notepad version)

While looking for a daily planner without a scheduling section I stumbled across the To Do List in a Book… and then the To Do List notepad. I ended up opting for the notepad as it didn’t have the annoying sewn / book binding.

The notepad is 6 x 9″ and has 150 tear off sheets.

There’s not much to say about this planner, it’s about as basic as they get – just 3 sections on the page.

to do list in a book review notepad simple daily planner must do should do could do neutral priorities

Since I was travelling at the time I used this notepad, I used the PaperMate Inkjoy 100 RT 1.0M ballpoint pens. These are my go to pens as they’re retractable, lots of colors, cheap if I lose one while travelling and need to replace and they write nice.

alternative to traditional daily planner to do list in a book task priorities

While I like the priorities and focus format of the planner, I ended up using the back side of the page for little things, reminders etc. as there wasn’t enough space.

to do list in a book review notepad simple daily planner must do should do could do neutral priorities cheap

The notepad is quite thick – if you use a page a day / every other day it should last around 5 months (it has 150 sheets).

The notepad is smooth to write on and the paper is bright white <3

to do list in a book notepad review pros and cons must do should do could do

Pros

  • Cheap ($13 USD)
  • Tear off as needed so you don’t have to carry the whole thing with you if you don’t want to
  • Includes a lot of pages
  • Bright white paper
  • Smooth to write on

Cons

  • The instructions e.g. ‘list 2 medium priority tasks’ are a bit pointless since ‘should do today’ heading already says that
  • Awkward page size – wish it was A5 without having to trim it
  • Writing space is too big for each section
  • Needs a 4th ‘little things’ type section for random stuff that pops up

The design of the page leaves a lot of dead space around the boxes, however it does mean you could punch the side and add to a discbound notebook.

to do list in a book review notepad simple daily planner must do should do could do neutral priorities inkjoy pen

Would I Use this again?

Probably not. To be honest, I have a bit of buyers remorse about buying this one. I initially wanted this because it was simple… however after trying it out I think it’s a bit too simple.

It could work for pre-planning the week by changing any ‘today’ references to ‘this week’. If you’re someone that finds you don’t need an entire planner, just something you can use every other day, then this notepad may be a good alternative.

Planner Reviews

  • Live Whale Daily Planner Review 
  • Tempus Daily Planner Review 
  • Clever Fox Daily Planner Review

Planning tips

  • The Process Behind Making a Printable Planner
  • Favorite color tools for making planner sticker kits (all are free tools!)
  • Daily planning using to do lists categorised by time 

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

to do list in a book planner review pros and cons minimalist color coding tips alternative to traditional planner

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Posted In: 52 Planners in 52 Weeks · Tagged: Daily Planner, daily planner review, daily planner without schedule, daily planning notepad, minimalist planner, to do list in a book notepad, to do list in a book planner, to do list notebook, to do list planner notepad, to do list review

Comments

  1. Tat says

    January 10, 2019 at 02:01

    New to your site and I love it! You have a lot of great information!

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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