With Q4 just around the corner 😲, it’s that most wonderful time of the year when paper lovers like me look forward to buying a shiny, new planner. You too? If you're always searching for the perfect planner, keep reading. I'm sharing my top three absolute favorites. And if you've been wishing you could basically design your own planner from scratch, today's your lucky day! 

I have a few planner non-negotiables, and it's only fair to tell you upfront so you know how I qualify "my favorites." They are:

• Vertical daily layout – It's just the way my brain works.

• Hour markers for the day – So I can time-block my projects and meetings.

• Minimal, functional design – So my handwritten notes are visible at a glance.

• Extra space for planning, reviewing, & note-taking – Obviously it needs to be more than just a paper calendar.

• Must hold the entire year in one planner – Because I need to plan in advance without having two books on the go.

• Ink dries quickly and doesn't bleed through the paper – Because that's just gross.

• Less than $80 – To keep it affordable. I've seen several that are $30-35 for a 90-day planner. No thanks.

Here are my first two recommendations.

If you dream of massive customization, you'll love Agendio or  Plum Paper*.

Perks of both planners:

• Extremely customizable

• Add personal events such as birthdays and bill reminders

• Choose your start month

• Add extra pages and sections

• Available in 3 sizes: A5, 7 x 9" and 8.5 x 11"

• Coil-bound, hole punched, or loose sheets

• Weekly or daily layouts

• Clear overlay on front and back covers

• Print-to-order so no wasted inventory (which also means no returns)

When I first used Plum Paper in 2019, it only came in a two-page-per-week (weekly) format which was all I needed at the time. They’ve since added a one-page-per-day (daily) option, but you can’t add on additional pages with the full-year, daily layout due to page count limitations. In 2020, before Plum had a daily option, I needed more real estate and switched to Agendio’s daily layout. They also offer a 2-page-per-day format if you need lots of space. 

With all their similarities, Agendio has two big advantages over Plum Paper. 

#1 ADVANTAGE:

It is HIGHLY customizable—so much so that I can only begin to cover it all in one article. The video on their home page gives a good overview, and you can see all the features here. 

To begin, choose your planner by configuration and page size. Configuration is the combination and order of daily, weekly, monthly, and extra pages. From there, choose the general layout, and customize your heart out. Edit the columns, sections, subsections, headings, spacing, fonts, tabs, and more. Add family birthdays, holidays, bill payment reminders, repeating tasks, habit tracker items, to name just a few. Choose multiple holiday calendars by country and religion, at no extra charge. I love this feature because I can add Canadian and American holidays. Basically, you get to custom design a planner exactly the way you want it. 

#2 ADVANTAGE:

After you’ve invested all that time in customizing (and it WILL take some time), you can save your design as a template so you don’t have to start from scratch next year. Or save it and finish designing later if you run out of time. You can also change your model without starting over to experiment with different options.

Other Agendio details:

• Price: Journal (small) size, 2 page per month + 1 page per day configuration starts at $48 for b&w (+$11 for color). My 2021 edition was $66 with customizations (406 pages) + $9 shipping to US and Canada

• No additional charge for text customizations

• Paper: 60# weight, the lightest of the three but heavy enough to not bleed through; from sustainably managed forests, FSC® certified, Rainforest Alliance certified™ and SFI® Certified

• They also offer eco-leather wrap covers for the smaller coil-bound planners, as well as custom notebooks

• Also available in French or Spanish and with weekly start on Sunday or Monday

• Fun add ons: decorative elastics, spiral upsizing, perforated corners, page numbers, lunar cycles + lots more

Plum Paper is a great alternative if you don’t need (or want the hassle of) so much customization.

No doubt, the level of customization with Agendio can be a bit overwhelming, and it does take a while to set it all up. But if you've been cobbling together several different planners for a few years and know what you want, you can likely recreate what you need into one book and use the layout for years to come.

However, if a little tweaking is all you need, then I'd recommend Plum instead. With theirs, you begin by choosing the size of your planner and inside layout; they have 15+ options so there's still a lot of choice. After choosing your layout, you can personalize the headings in the sections (where it says “your text here” in the example below), but you can’t adjust the columns and content. Their walkthrough video for ordering is here. With the multi-colored tabs and color interior sections, it's a little prettier and less utilitarian than Agendio. They also sell lots of fun stickers, bookmarks, and pen pouches if you like to jazz things up. Their extra large, dry erase bookmarks are kinda cool, though I found they didn't erase very cleanly.

Advantages over Agendio:

• 2 color palette options at no extra charge

• Back pocket included at no extra charge

• Slightly thicker 70# paper

• Ability to add a custom cover photo

• Simpler to customize

Other Plum Paper details:

• Price: A5 (small) size, 12 month daily layout starts at $49 for color + $20 shipping to Canada 

• Paper: 70# weight is slightly thicker than Agendio and sourced from Mohawk, a family-owned business that mills their high-quality paper in the US 

• Their planners are hand-assembled in San Diego, and they have other items like notebooks, tote bags, a subscription plan, and planners especially for teachers and students.

Disadvantages:

As I mentioned above, the biggest disadvantage is the inability to save your customizations for future use. You can make edits to your current design before placing your order, but you can't change layouts or save your design for future orders. You have to start from scratch each year.  

Additionally:

• Daily 12-month planner can't have any add-on sections due to page count limits; add-ons are available for daily 6-month or weekly planners

• No page numbers, and weekly start on Monday only

• Additional charge for custom text headings (+ $4)

• Additional charge for custom event dates (+ $5)

• Can only choose stat holidays for one country

• Holidays and custom events only show on monthly spread, not weekly or daily

If you prefer even more simplicity, check out  Hemlock & Oak.

Hemlock & Oak's weekly planners only come in one size and are not customizable, so you may be wondering why they made the cut. 

I've included them because they're so thoughtfully designed that they include many of the features in the above recommendations, but with the ease of purchasing "off the shelf." They're also really beautiful and have a lot of the simplicity of bullet journals (which I also love and used for a couple of years) but with the added ease of having the calendars and dates already formatted.

Hemlock & Oak is a women-owned small business based in Vancouver, BC. Given the extra cost and hassle of shipping to Canada from the US during a pandemic, I'm always on the lookout for more local businesses. Their planners are designed and printed in Canada from FSC® certified and Ancient Forest Friendly paper and bound by a family-owned bindery. They keep waste to a minimum by printing in small batches and have sold out out every release since they began in 2020.

For 2022, I've decided to go back to a weekly layout from H&O. I realized most of my important dates are recurring in my iCal so I can rely on my digital calendar for reminders and notifications. With their well-designed collection of planning pages, goal setting, reflections, and the clean grid layout, it suits the way I plan and organize. I'm looking forward to going back to a smaller, simpler format. The beautiful design and elegant, linen cover are icing on the cake! 

OTHER Hemlock & Oak details: 

• Size: A5 = 6.35" x 8.5"

• Paper: 80# weight is the heaviest of the three with hardcover, layflat binding. They support British Columbia's Old Growth Forests and the Cool Earth Organization. Shipping materials are minimal and compostable, and sustainability is one of their top priorities.

• Features: 3 ribbon bookmarks, includes US and Canadian holidays on monthly and weekly pages

• Price: $59 CAD (approx. $46 USD) + $8 shipping within Canada, $12 to US; free shipping in US and Canada for orders over $100; returns accepted within 30 days

• 2022 pre-orders include free tabs and stickers (an $8 value) and will ship in late September. Sign up for their emails for 10% off your first order.

• They also have pens, stickers, an undated version, and digital planners compatible with Goodnotes.

I hope you find these recommendations helpful as you search for your new "office mate." I'd love to know what your planner non-negotiables are—it's always interesting to hear about other favorite features!

*Agendio is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase, it costs you nothing extra but does give me a small discount on their products. Plum Paper has a referral system; if you'd like 10% off your first order, email me for an individual code BEFORE creating a new account. Code is valid for 30 days on new accounts only.