Seeing as how I am a planner junkie, I feel uniquely qualified to write this post. I’ve been through all kinds of planners – I’ve had a Simplified Planner, a Whitney English Day Designer, Franklin Covey planners, Day-Timers, Day-Runners, free printable power sheets, goal trackers… Basically if you can name it, I’ve tried it.
*Post contains affiliate links.
Most of the time they worked for me at that specific moment in time but generally they ended up either being too complicated and detailed for me or way too simplified. I needed something right in the very middle – something that kept up with just the basics and gave me a week at a glance view that also included a daily checklist and a monthly view as well.
Enter Facebook. It is so creepy how Facebook can sometimes anticipate your desires and deliver a targeted ad directly to your newsfeed. I don’t remember if I’d been googling planners or not at the time, but I saw a Facebook ad for a Kickstarter campaign for The BASICS Notebook and clicked on it out of curiosity.
BAM. LIFE OFFICIALLY CHANGED.
I don’t want to steal all their marketing from them so I just want you to check out this video
I called Chris, because he too was looking for an amazing planner, and ordered two of them. They shipped to us in November and I had to restrain myself from using it until January. I just wanted to start a fresh new year with a fresh new planner and it was worth the wait for me. I have it open next to my computer constantly and it has made my days so much more efficient and the likelihood of getting things done that are actually written down is much higher because I have a place to plan them all that works for me.
Here are some of my favorite features of The Basics Planner:
- It is lightweight! I love this because it means I’ll actually carry it with me everywhere I go. Some other planners are so heavy that the thought of taking them with me somewhere it just simply out of the question.
- It has a weekly calendar broken down by day/hour and beneath each day is a checklist to fill out with the most important things that must get done that day.
- Beneath each weekly calendar is a goal tracker where you can list out three goals for the week and, one step futher, the three things that must get done to accomplish that goal. That is probably my favorite part!
- Lined Sheets/Whiteboard Paper – WHITEBOARD PAPER. This is a game changer for me so I can map out projects and visualize something before I record it in the planner. I love this!
- Built in bookmarkers – There are so many ways to mark your place in this planner it is riduculous. As you can see I use the elastic bands to mark my week and I use the others to mark lists or other important weeks in the planner.
I’ve made some pretty big goals for this year and this planner has already helped me achieve a few of them! If you’re looking for a great planner that will help you get your day together and achieve your goals I highly recommend checking this one out!
BONUS: Check out my Periscope episode all about my notebook obsession and get a behind the scenes look at how I used my BASICS Notebook!
I have an obsession with planners. I might have to look into this one.
I can see where these would come in handy. This looks like the ultimate planner!
This sounds like a great planner. Like you I have tried all kinds.
That's a beautiful planner. I would love one of these.
I'm actually in a market for a new planner myself. I got one earlier this year but I'm not too much of a fan. This would be great!
I'm a organisational obsessive! I love to keep things neat, clean and organised so this looks like the perfect planner for me. It looks so easy to travel with and small to tuck away, great review! Must go and buy one 🙂
This is the type of planner I need. I spent way too much on mine and I find it hard to write in because I spent so much on it. Sounds funny, but I need something basic and clean! – jeanine
I love the look of your planner, it's great that there is a goal setting box. I'm enjoying using my planner this year!
How much is the planner it looks fantastic! I am thinking about ordering Cocochic's planner as hers looks fantastic!
I'm a planner as well. I love a fresh notebook that keeps me organized!
What a wonderfully designed planner. I love the layout. And the color too!
I love a good planner. I currently have three paper ones and google calendar too because one is just not enough to keep track of everything that has to be tracked! Lightweight is important to me, but I don't like the breakdown by hours since there is rare something I have to do at certain time and for that I use phone calendar.
I have an Erin Condren – I love it! I don't get to decorate it as much as I would like, but the functional ability is there for me – plus it is pretty 🙂
This looks like a great planar! I always like to have at least two on me at all times!
This looks pretty neat. I love planners but I have a hard time remembering to put them to good use! That's one of my goals for the new year – improving my planner usage. 🙂
This looks like a great planner. I wouldn't know what to do without mine, it really keeps me in check and organized.
Planning is key to success I believe. I would be so lost without my planner. This one sounds fantastic!