Daily planners are a necessity for my planning routine. They’re the perfect tools to get down to the nitty-gritty of projects, write detailed to do lists, and keep you on track for everything you want to accomplish. Plus no matter how a particular day ends up going, you can always turn the page and start over. So whether you’re not sure if you should add a daily planner to your lineup or are looking for a new primary planner, these three are my absolute favorites.
Up first is the Day Designer. This one is the largest of the three with a very sturdy cover and metal edges to stand up to wear and tear. It’s an hourly/to do list combo (my favorite), but has a ton of added sections that the other two do not. There’s space for gratitude, money spent, top three priorities, deadlines, etc.
It’s great if you’re looking for more structured planning in your life. But if you want space and freedom to plan your own way, this may not be the best choice. I love how much space there is for a daily to do list, but the hourly times (starts at 5 goes until 9) aren’t that realistic to my daily schedule. You could definitely tweak the layout with stickers to customize the sections to your needs.
You’ll definitely start to see a common theme between dailies with a few variations. The KitLife Planner is a smaller planner with a more flexible cover and standard coil. It has some solid weight to it, so definitely keep that in mind if you’re planning on making a daily an everyday carry. The watercolor backgrounds change from month to month and there are a ton of helpful tips and tricks at the start of each month.
The simplicity of the spread is fantastic and leaves tons of room for customization. The top section is super roomy for to do lists (you could make two columns) and the hourly section is much more accurate to my life. I love the top three section to keep me focused on primary tasks. The wellness and gratitude sections can be used for marking those things, or covered up to track something else.
The daily I’m currently using is the Simplified Planner. It beat out the other two because it’s the smallest, lightest, and had the most pops of color. Plus the layout is simpler than the others in all the ways that I wanted. It focuses on the main things I wanted from a daily planner: hourly slots to write meetings, a big to do list section, and a couple sections I can customize. I’ll be sharing in a whole separate blog post how I’ve been laying it out to work for me.
Although I love the other planners, I find the KitLife one a bit too heavy to lug around with me on a daily basis while the Day Designer is just too big. Plus the Day Designer has a TON of things on each page I just won’t use every day. They’re all fantastic options depending on your needs.
What daily planner would you choose out of the three?
