One of my favorite parts of beginning a new year is picking out an agenda! I did an Insta poll and saw that many of you are planning to use a physical paper planner this year. I wanted to share a few that I've used in the past plus a few I'm deciding between in case you’re in the market for a new one too.
My agenda has had many functions throughout the years. In high school, I loved my Lilly Pulitzer agenda. Its compact size fit nicely in my bag. I transitioned to a Day Designer in college to help me manage my day and my to-do list, which changed every day. After the unpredictability of 2020, I found myself using a combination of a digital calendar for my schedule and a physical agenda for a daily and weekly to-do list and notable events or due dates. Now in post-grad life, I use a digital calendar for all things work-related, but still rely heavily on pen and paper to keep track of everything else.
No matter what function your agenda serves in your life, there are plenty of styles out there to fit every need. I’ve rounded up a few for the new year based on design, so I hope you enjoy and find one that is perfect for your upcoming year.
Detailed Daily Schedule and To-Do List
If you’re someone who likes to write everything down and plan your day by the hour, a detailed daily schedule and to-do list may be the right fit for you. In addition to a monthly layout, the Day Designer and Simplified Planner have a two-column layout with the schedule on the left and a to-do list on the right.
I’ve had four Day Designers in the past and really like the layout. You can set goals and reminders on the top of the page and write notes and a daily gratitude at the bottom. The Simplified Planner has the daily schedule and to-do list toward the top and the bottom of the page dedicated to notes. The Day Designer has a cleaner look while the Simplified Planners are more colorful.
Having a full page dedicated to each day helped me feel like I could write anything and everything down no matter how big the task, and the daily schedule was helpful in my earlier college days when everyday looked different depending on classes, meetings, errands, etc. Fair warning: because the planner has so many pages, these planners can be heavy in your backpack.
Monthly and Weekly Overview
If you don’t need a full page for each day and want to see your whole week at once, a weekly Simplified planner, weekly Day Designer or myAgenda may be a better fit for you. This format has both a monthly and weekly view to help visualize everything going on during the week.
If you're a fan of the Simplified planner look but don't need a page for each day, the weekly format may be a great fit. The blue gingham cover is so darling!
I used the weekly Day Designer from Target in 2020 and loved the format. During a year of Zoom links and changing plans, a written daily schedule no longer fit my needs. Having a week at a glance and monthly view helped me more easily view what needed to be accomplished during the week and see what’s up.
I used the myAgenda after a friend recommended it to me last year! I liked that this weekly view is read from left to right rather than up to-down (sounds weird, but I appreciate that it parallels the monthly format). You can also personalize these agendas with a monogram for an additional cost.
Dateless pages
If you have a superb memory and don’t write everything down, a dateless agenda may be a better fit for you. These are great for people who don’t need an agenda every day but still could use an agenda. These agendas have a similar design to those previously mentioned, but the pages are not dated so you don’t have to feel guilty about not using all the pages. For this format, I’d recommend the Day Designer, Evelyn Henson agenda or a lined notepad from Joy Creative Shop.
The Today & To-Do Day Designer agenda is less expensive than the dated version and has a monthly and weekly view. The monthly view is split into two columns with a place to put events and activities on the left and a to-do list on the right. These come in three pretty colors and are rather professional looking in my opinion.
For a more fun and colorful option, I would recommend the undated weekly/monthly Evelyn Henson agenda. It is similar to the Day Designer in the weekly and monthly format but differs in that the weekly layout is not formatted into the two columns.
After starting my job in 2021, I relied heavily on the lined notepad from Joy Creative Shop. I love that it's personalized with my monogram and that I can change the two categories on the right side to fit my lifestyle. It looks cute on my desk and can easily fit in my bag when I go to the office.
There are a plethora of agenda options out there, but I hope this post provides some inspiration for finding a new agenda to fit your needs. I’m not sure which I will choose yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know once I do. I’d love to hear which you decide on too!
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