Zelo Journal Review (Daily planner without pre-printed times / scheduling section)
There aren’t many day to a page planners that don’t have a pre-printed schedule. I find they always start way too early and usually stop at 5pm but I need more space to plan the evening. And would rather a task focused layout to a schedule layout. The Zelo planner has a layout that can be used in the usual scheduling format or you could do task based planning instead.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this planner for free in exchange for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Quick facts
- Size: 5.75″ wide x just under 8.5″ high (about 14.5cm wide x 21cm high)
- Hardcover
- Multiple cover colors to choose from
- Sewn bound
- Undated
- Lasts 6 months
- 1 page Monthly calendars
- 1 page for each day except Saturday and Sunday which are combined onto the 1 page
- Neutral inside pages
- 100 GSM paper
- Came with a ballpoint pen
- Comes with a habit tracker stencil
- Planning guide / info booklet
Price:
- 32 pounds normally but appear to be on sale at the moment (or a new lower price maybe? I’m not sure)
- 20 pounds for the black cover version (the version I got)
- 25 pounds for a colorful cover
- International shipping to most countries
- Shipping costs 9 pounds to New Zealand and Australia (untracked, add 3 pounds for tracked shipping)
- Shipping costs 25 pounds to the USA (untracked, add 3 pounds for tracked shipping)
Let’s take a closer look!
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For more info about the name and to order the planner, visit Zelo’s website.
User Guide
I’ll add the photos for the user guide first and then the pictures of the planner.
A stencil habit tracker comes with the planner. It fits perfectly over the lines so you can draw evenly spaced circles to create a habit tracker. A nice little extra! It’s on cardstock though so I can see it getting damaged by the end of the 6 months. You could rotate it and use it to add circles to tick off once tasks a complete too.
The user guide has some practical tips not just for using their planner but just planning methods you could apply to any planner:
The Cover
The cover is a typical sturdy hardcover that most sewn bound planners have. While I got the black there are other colors to choose from including lavender, teal and yellow which aren’t very common! As well as navy blue and brown.
Approx 0.75″ thick
At the front of the planner is one page to list 3 goals you want to focus on for the next 6 months (the duration of the planner). Then it goes straight into the weekly / daily spreads. I would’ve liked to see some notes pages or a structured goal planning page at the front (there are some notes pages at the back) to map out those 3 goals in more detail.
The box the planner comes in states it includes ‘6 month goal mapping’ however there aren’t any goal planning pages.
Daily & Weekly Planning
The daily planning pages are clustered together the front with the weekly review and weekly planning pages dispersed in between each week.
I like the 3 theme as I always do a top 3 but I’m not sure about the questions.
I really dislike when planners include stuff that relates to next week in the current weekly section. If I want to plan next week, I will go to next week’s spread and plan it there so I’d change the ‘list 3 activities you’re looking forward to in the next week’.
Related: 15 Review questions to ask yourself at the end of every week
Adding a second column would be good. In the info guide / booklet they suggest adding the actual time the task took. I think a second column would be good as you could put estimated in one column and actual time in the other. Or the appointment time in 1 column and the 2nd could be a tick box.
The line spacing is 7mm which is the most common line spacing you’ll find in most planners.
Unfortunately Saturday and Sunday are combined into one page instead of having their own separate pages like the weekdays.
At the bottom of every page is the Zelo name and website. If this was removed a small box could be added for meal planning, most important task, daily reflection etc. which would be better use of the space.
Monthly Calendars
At the back are the 6 monthly calendars…
Which are only 1 page per month 🙁
Notes
There are 7 double sided lined notes pages at the back of the planner.
There is also a roomy pocket folder adhered to the back cover.
Pen Testing
I didn’t bother doing a pen test as I can already see ghosting of the words and ink on the backside of the pages (refer to the photos of the notes pages above, and the photo below). If I were to use this planner I’d stick to ballpoint pens or fine tip pens as they have the least amount of ghosting. The planner came with a fancy ballpoint pen.
Pros of the Planner
- Functional open-ended daily planning layout
- Portable size
- Weekly review and weekly pre-plan pages
- Habit tracker stencil
- Info guide / booklet
- Multiple cover colors to choose from
- Pages mostly lay flat once you break the spine (fold the pages back on themselves)
- Pocket folder
Cons of the Planner
- Only 1 ribbon bookmark (I think it needs 2)
- Pages have ghosting
- Only 1 page monthly calendar
- Saturday and Sunday are combined onto 1 page instead of their own separate pages
- No monthly review
- No detailed goal planning pages
- No 6 month recap / review
Would I use this planner?
I like the daily planning layout being very simple and able to be used in multiple ways, as well as a weekly review and weekly pre-plan. This planner needs more space to plan goals instead of just the 3 dot points on one page. .The lack of goal pages and the 1 page monthly calendar are too small, I would’ve liked to see a monthly review page and a 2 page monthly calendar.
I don’t really use day to a page planners (I prefer to plan by week), but if I did I would consider using this one.
More daily planner reviews:
Planning Tips:
- How to choose the right daily planner for you (7 things to consider)
- My 10 biggest planner pet peeves
- 30 Purposes for Your Planner
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