The Best Planners (2023)

I am one of those people who puts a lot of stock in the concept of “new year, new me,” and I have a tried-and-true ritual that always helps me get off to a good start. Every year on January 1, I stock up on my favorite planners, notebooks, journals, and pens so I have no excuse to delay getting my life in order.

The best planner is one you’re actually going to use, and I’ve tried dozens over the years. I’m not ashamed to admit that plenty of them have collected dust in my desk drawer. If this is also you, don’t despair. There’s a planner out there for every type of person, whether you need a super-detailed daily planner, a weekly planner that also has space for to-do lists, or an undated monthly planner that lets you take a big picture look at your life.

No matter where you are in your organizational journey, this guide will help you find the best planner for your lifestyle. Whether you need a physical reminder to log onto your Zoom meetings or a monthly calendar that doubles as a gratitude journal, these helpful tools will allow you to start the new year strong.

My personal favorite planner

As I said, I’ve used a lot of planners over the course of my 35 years on this planet, and by used I mean filled things in for exactly one week and forgot about them. Appointed Co. makes the only planner I’ve ever been able to use for an entire year, and 2024 will mark the third time I’ve used it to keep my monthly calendar in order, tick items off my to-do list, and keep track of things like grocery lists and goal setting. It’s spiral-bound with brass wire, has a foil-stamped book cloth cover, and has heavyweight, smooth pages that are a joy to write on. These little details are important for someone like me, who needs their organizational tools to be aesthetically pleasing in order to actually use them.

The best thing about this planner is that it combines the functions of a monthly, weekly, and daily planner. Each month starts with a monthly calendar and a page for goals and important dates, then it breaks out into a weekly layout with sections for daily tasks and to-do lists. I’ve found that there’s plenty of room to keep track of all of my deadlines and appointments, with space to spare for fun details like stickers, moments of gratitude, and self-care reminders.

A cult-favorite Japanese planner

Hobonichi is a Japanese stationery brand that makes popular planners and notebooks you can buy on Amazon, and it’s honestly impossible to pick just one of their products to recommend. The A6-sized Hobonichi Techo Planner Book is their classic option, with monthly calendars and full daily pages that offer plenty of room for everything from appointments to meal planning. Each page also has wellness-focused motivational quotes, self care reminders, and bonus pages like an entire spread about traditional Japanese sweets. They also make a softcover version if you want something more lightweight.

If you tend to put your planner through serious wear and tear by taking it with you everywhere, I love Hobonichi’s softcover six-month planners. Since they come in a pack of two, you get a fresh start halfway through the year—which is also great for a morale boost if you fell off the life-planner wagon sometime in the middle of March. These feature a similar layout to the yearlong planner, but in a more compact, lightweight format.

Hobonichi also makes my favorite ultra-compact weekly planner. It has a slim hardcover design that’s perfect for people who like to take a vertical view of their lives. Like all of Hobonichi’s planners, the minimalist grid-based design of this planner is also good for bullet journaling.

The most aesthetically pleasing planners

Papier is known for its eye-catching planner covers. The hardcover task planners look delicate but are actually pretty durable. These task planners start with an overview of the entire year and then break out into monthly spreads. Each month has a calendar and a monthly layout that covers goal setting, a section for wellness reminders and habit tracking, to-do lists, and plenty of room for notes. There are also weekly spreads where you can get into more detail, but they are in a separate section from the monthly calendars. This was a bit of a barrier for me, but if you like having your monthly layout and your weekly pages separate, it’s probably the perfect planner for you.

If your new year goal is getting into meal planning and reducing food waste in your kitchen, my favorite Papier products are the recipe journals and weekly desk pads. I tend to be very improvisational in the kitchen, so I keep a recipe journal on my kitchen counter at all times. The hardcover design means I don’t have to be precious around it, and it has an easy-to-use format that actually encourages me to write down my recipes. Often, the only reason I can replicate an especially great on-the-fly cookie is because of this journal. The weekly desk pads are also great for keeping track of grocery lists, meals out, and cooking plans.

The best meal planning pad

For detail-oriented meal planning and grocery shopping lists, I love Rifle Paper Co.’s week-at-a-glance meal planning pads. Each page covers a full week of daily meals with plenty of room for a grocery list. It comes in three different designs, and covers an entire year of cooking and eating.

For a more minimalist approach to meal planning, JSTORY makes these great adhesive columnar schedulers. Because they’re sticky, you can slap them on your cabinets, the wall by your front door, or wherever you’re most likely to see them and remember that you shouldn’t order takeout, because you already bought the ingredients to make Gingery Chicken Soup for dinner.

The best undated planners

There are a lot of good reasons to buy an undated planner: you don’t have to start at any particular time, so if you’re not exactly ready to revamp your life on January 1, no one will be the wiser. And if you slack off on your planning for a week (or a few months, or even a year) you can pick right up where you left off. JSTORY makes the best undated planners on Amazon, and they’re all under $10 a piece. They come in monthly and weekly options, three different sizes from jumbo to pocket-sized, and have incredibly chic minimalist designs. I actually use these in conjunction with my Appointed yearly planner to keep track of specific projects.

The best notebooks

Few things make me feel more empowered to be my best self in the new year than the combination of a pristine planner and a fresh stack of notebooks. If this is relatable, here’s a peek into the foot-tall stack of stationery sitting on my desk right now:

My favorite writing implements

I genuinely find that having a dedicated pen I love helps me use my planner more often. I started using a Kaweco sport fountain pen last year and now I feel lost without one, but I also like to keep a bulk pack of my favorite ballpoint pens on hand.

Because I write in ink, and because plans change, I keep a few of these adorable correction tapes on my desk and in my bag at all times.

If you, like me, have a million things going on at once, a set of highlighters can be really helpful for staying organized. They’re also great for note-taking, bullet journaling, and outlining.

And for the ultimate motivation to actually write in your planner, may I present the classic nostalgia-inducting Sakura gel pens.

Wellness essentials to meet your self-care goals

Last January, I made a serious commitment to self-care, and these three things legitimately changed my life.

I saw The Five Minute Journal all over my FYP in 2022 and was convinced it was a gimmick. Because I love debunking gimmicks, I decided to give it a try. I’m now on my third one, and I can’t imagine going back to life without it. It really does take five minutes, and it’s a genuinely helpful way to reframe your days in a more positive light.

Almost everyone knows someone who has done The Artist’s Way. If you don’t, well, now you know me. I’ll be the first person to tell you that this is a surprisingly difficult three month journey, and yes, it has lowkey cult vibes, but I still stand by it. So do lots of other very successful people, like Bella Hadid and Alicia Keys.

This might seem obvious, but no amount of planning and organization can help you get your life together if you’re dehydrated. It’s annoying, but drinking water works—and motivational water bottles do help. I like this one because it has a built-in straw and it has minimalist time markers instead of cheesy motivational phrases. It’s also leakproof, BPA-free, and holds 32 ounces of water in a relatively slim bottle.