Hey Y'all! The end of July is here! I know. It's crazy, right?! When August rolls around, I begin to acknowledge summer's end. We all hate to admit it, but school will be up and running in only a matter of weeks. When you are in high school, "school supply shopping" becomes less of a big deal. There is no longer a need for all of the fun little stuff you used to pick out when you were younger, and basically the only things in your cart are a couple notebooks and folders. But one thing I will ALWAYS buy is a planner. Planners are one of my favorite end of summer purchases, A) because I get to shop in the stationary section and come out with something actually useful :P, B) because planners sure do keep you organized and being organized is the best way to start a school year off right, and C) because there are so many cute planners out there to pick from! Your choices are endless. Sometimes picking out a planner can be a bit overwhelming. But have no fear! That's why I have created this post! Today I will be reviewing and comparing two of my personal faves, the Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda and The Day Designer. By the end of the post, you will know which is the best fit for you!
Here are the two planners side by side. The Day Designer (left) is quite larger than the Lilly Pulitzer planner (right).
The width is about the same!
Let's start by reviewing the Day Designer. I have been seeing Day Designer planners advertised everywhere lately. You can find Day Designers from the company's website here. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed when I saw the price of these planners. $60 seemed a little steep to me, even though the planner seemed fabulous. I was thrilled when I saw that Target and Day Designer collaborated and made an amazing line of planners that won't break your bank. I purchased my Day Designer from Target for around $20. It is nearly identical to the $60 planner. You can buy mine here (they actually don't sell my exact one online, but the other styles and patterns are definitely worth checking out.) This planner goes from July 2016 to June 2017.
The planner is about the same size as your average notebook. My planner has the cutest gold foil dalmatian print with a protective transparent cover.
When you first open the planner, the first four pages are designated to goal setting. The first page says, "...to start with the big picture because it gives your life direction."
The second page is where "the big picture" becomes divided into groups. It gives you lines and categories to separate your personal, family-friend- & relationship, heart & spirit, financial, and work-career-or study goals. I absolutely love this aspect of the planner. I wouldn't normally take time to write down these things, but now that I have space to do it, it seems vital for an organized and healthy lifestyle! I haven't filled it out yet, but I plan to before the first day of school.
The third page is all about being intentional. It gives you space to customize your morning and evening routines. I especially love that the evening routine says "take time to be grateful, recap the day, celebrate progress, and prepare for tomorrow." This is a great reminder for any gal! I have a feeling this will definitely be a healthy reminder when my schedule gets busier.
The fourth page is about staying on top of things, whether it be remembering birthdays, school & church events, or marking your goal milestone dates on your calendar!
Before the weekly breakdown for each month, this planner has a month-view calendar with a "To-Do's & Notes" section on the left side.
YOU GUYS!! My favorite part of the planner is that it has a whole page for one day. I will never have to worry about having enough space.
Here is a close up. Each page has room to right down your ENTIRE schedule hour by hour, top three to do's, a "To Do" list, a section for that night, notes and space to write down daily gratitudes. It also has a quote for each day. This one says "How cool, how quiet is true courage!" I love that this planner has a Top Three To Do's because it really helps you focus on what is the most important.
The weekend has one page that combines Saturday and Sunday. It has mostly the same things as a normal page, with an added section that says "Take Time Out! Fun Things To Do"
At the very back of the planner there are around twenty lined pages to take any additional notes.
This planner has nice, sturdy, plastic tabs dividing each month.
In Review...
I love, love, love this planner! I bought it for this year and I can't wait for my schedule to get in full swing so I can begin using all the fun designated spaces inside. I love that the planner is all about the big picture and positivity. It is so easy to get stressed during the year, but this planner will help me remember what is important and keep a smile on my face. On the back page of the planner it says: "Live Well. Laugh Often. Love Much. This is Life, Well-Designed." Isn't that just too cute!?
I would definitely say this planner is for you if you like to write everything down and enjoy being intentional about your tasks and attitude everyday.
This is the Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda which runs at $35. I used this planner last year and adored it. This planner began August 2015 and goes through December 2016. The cover is a hard cardboard material.
Here is the planner compared to an average sized notebook.
When you first open the planner, there is a double sided folder. This is one of the things that I wish the Day Designer had. Throughout the year, I found myself keeping anything I did not want to lose in here.
The planner comes with a whole sheet of stickers. I never ended up using them, but hey they are cute to look at. : ) If you don't use them in the planner it would be fun to add them to snail mail!
Each month has a cover page with one of Lilly's prints. This is one of my favorite parts because it makes the planner extra bright and cheery.
This is a page over the course of an entire week.
Each day has 8 lines to write down everything you need. Saturday and Sunday have 8 lines as well, but they are about half as long across. Due to the lack of space for each day, I often found myself using sticky notes to make To Do lists or Don't forgets. This is one of the few downfalls of the planner.
There is a year-long month-view calendar at the front of the planner so you can easily get an overview of your year. This Agenda also has a calendar for each month before each month's weekly breakdown. (So a total of two monthly calendars for each month. :)) I used the calendar at the very front for writing gratitudes for each day. I would write my schedule on the calendar that was in the actual section of each month.
There is a section in the planner to write down dates to celebrate. I didn't end up using this as much as I thought!
I like that this planner has a section devoted to travel. I was super fun to have a place where you can plan a trip.
The last additional section in this planner is a a space to write down numbers and addresses. I did not use this because I just figured that all of my contacts are already well organized on my phone. :)
In Review...
I absolutely loved this planner last year. It is so colorful and happy. As the year went on however, I realized it lacked space that I needed. That's why I decided to try out the Day Designer this year.
I would definitely recommend both of these planners to anyone! It really just depends on how much writing space you are looking for and what kinds of things you like to record in your planner. As I said, I like to write everything down and enjoy using a planner for more of a journal/agenda, which is why I think the Day Designer will end up working better for me. If you like to use your planner for scheduling only, the Lilly is a fantastic option.
You can find Day Designers at Target here & Lilly Pulitzer planners here. Day Designers have a lot of different page layouts, so not all will look exactly like mine! I highly recommend taking a trip to Target to look at all the different types.
That's it for today's post. Let me know what planner you guys use in the comments! I'd love to hear about your tips and tricks for staying organized too!
xx, Anne
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