This year I’ve been on the hunt for planner companies I’ve never heard of. I wanted to bring you more than just another raving review over Erin Condren products. I wanted to provide you with tons of options in all price ranges to help you start 2019 right. My journey led me to Golden Coil Planners and it’s like I found the mecca of customizational planners. 

The entire planner is customize-able. No lie. From personalizing your front page to picking your layout and adding in birthdays, you can design your planner from scratch. There’s a set number of total pages for your planner, but you decide what those pages are.

There are options of pages you can add to the front of your planner before the monthly view begins.

There is a standard monthly view option (that starts on a Monday!). You choose which month your planner starts and ends on as well. So no waiting for the start of the year to dive right in.

There are over 18 different weekly spread layouts to choose from. I opted for this horizontal on one page and weekly to do list on the other since it’s a layout I rarely see. You can choose anything from daily pages to standard weekly pages.

Now this is where things get really cool. Once you’ve picked your weekly style, you’re able to fill up the rest of your remaining pages with TONS of add-ons. There are more than 35 different layouts to choose, from baby trackers to meal planning. You’re able to choose how many of each page you want and create something completely unique.

Although the planner is around $60, it’s a fair price considering you’re creating a completely custom planner tailored just to you. The website is so incredibly easy to navigate and use. If you’re picky with your planners, this could be a great solution to give you everything that you’re looking for.

inkWell Press Planners. I’ve heard about them for years since getting seriously into the planning game, but couldn’t truly understand what the fuss was about until I had one of their disc-bound planners in my hands. I get it now. Oh do I ever.

If you’ve been following my planner journey for a while, then you know I usually avoid disc-bound planners like the plague because they’re usually flimsy and more trouble than they’re worth. inkWELL solves all my woes by giving the planner a seriously thick cover. The discs stay firmly in place and I don’t feel like everything is going to get beat up if I put the planner in a bag.

This planner has a TON of awesome pages that give it a little extra something. This big events page is a favorite for writing down monthly accomplishments, but you can also use it as an overview of the big events coming down the pipe.

Goals are going to be a huge focus for me in 2019, so seeing a nice section to break down goals into categories has me very excited. Plus it helps you to break them down into quarters for serious productivity. 

Throughout the entire planner is this gorgeous geometric hexagon theme that I cannot get enough of. It’s simple, elegant, and a great place to write out plans and goals for each month. 

Classic monthly view, but I love the little addition of the Top 5 to add a few items that need to get done that month.

Now the weekly view. This is where things have me all sorts of confused. It’s a fairly standard looking vertical layout with lines and three large boxes at the bottom for “Top 3” tasks/events. So simple, yet so effective. As soon as this planner arrived I set up a spread for the current week and used the bottom section to write appointments/meetings/events etc. and left the top section for a good ol’ to do list. Obsessed.

I’ve fully come to accept that planner switching is the name of the game so I’m eager to introduce this planner into my rotation officially when it starts in 2019 to see if it works for my current lifestyle. That’s the thing about planning my friends and you’ll hear me say it over and over, planners need to change and adapt with you.

The back of the planner has some gift lists and travel pages, some notes pages and project pages, but I’ll leave all the little remaining details left for you to discover on your own. 

The Pros: It’s gorgeous, professional, and simple in all the right ways. It leaves a ton of room for customization, but you can still deck it out with stickers if that’s your scene. It also has a lot of extra pages to eliminate the need for other planners or notebooks to track travel and gifting. On the website you can choose from a bunch of different layouts as well if the classic layout isn’t for you.

The Cons: Honestly, I can’t really find any. If you seriously hate discs than maybe that? But even this disc hater is coming around to the idea of it…The color scheme is a soft pastel so rainbow lovers may want more color, but at this point I’m just looking for cons for the sake of it. 

The Price: It varies. The planner I have is around $70 for all of the features. You’re able to purchase the pages, cover, and discs separately to build your own planner. So depending on your planner needs your price could be more or less.

Who it’s Good For: Everyone. It’s a good all-around planner that could work for any age and lifestyle. If you’re on a tight budget, this one probably isn’t for you, but if you’re planning on investing in a planner, this is a great option.

Prepare yourselves for a whole lot of photos my friends because these bad boys are so photogenic. 

It was only a matter of time before Erin Condren put their hat in the traveler’s notebook ring. On October 9th they’re launching their On-the-Go Folios*. There will be two color options to choose from for $20 with the option to add embossed initials for $5 more.

Each design comes with the signature asterisk on the cover of the faux leather material. 

The cover is sturdy, yet floppy and malleable. There are four elastics that look pretty strange when they’re empty. Look at those poor elastics all sad waiting for notebooks full of ideas…

The covers can comfortably fit four Erin Condren Jot Your Thought journals. The notebooks run flush to the edges of the cover and it doesn’t seem like you can do that much jump banding for more inserts.

I’m definitely most excited about the new petite planners that are being released alongside the folio. There are a ton of new options dropping, but the daily planner has my interest peaked.

The new petite planners come with a functional sticker sheet in the back packet just like the other editions.

If you’re a sticker junkie there are a ton of new sets debuting as well. Although I’m not a huge fan of the puffy stickers they’ve been releasing lately, the more functional boxes are on my must use list.

There are also two new sets of washi tape! I wasn’t joking guys. TONS of new products are coming our way over the next few weeks. Choose between the asterisks or the foil scallops that made their first appearance in the fall seasonal surprise box. 

There’s also (I swear I’m almost done!) a new weekly schedule pad that I’m already planning on purchasing multiples of for holiday gifts. It’s such a simple design, but the gold foiling accents add a level of class. 

Phew. We made it to the end! So my thoughts. If you have yet to try a traveler’s notebook and have quite a few Erin Condren products, this could be a really great option to dip your toes into the world. It’s at a fair price point, but doesn’t come with a lot of bells and whistles (I’m talking pockets and a pen loop). It’s a great solution to how to organize all the petite planners, but it seems like a product you’ll grow out of after a few months once you figure out exactly what features you want in your notebook. 

I would love to see more adventurous pattern covers as well beyond just a rose gold and charcoal option. I’m lookin’ at you rainbow hexagons! The daily petite planners are my definite favorite from the launch and I’m hoping they release more insert options over the next few months.

Oh, Erin Condren. You did it again didn’t you….

If I were to do college all over again, this would be the planner I splurged on. It’s the type of planner that just makes sense if you’re in school. You’ll see what I mean as we go along. Plus one of you lovely lot will win this planner! I’ve reviewed previous additions of this planner in the past, but for anyone new out there, let’s get into all the details about the Ashley Shelly planner shall we?

There’s a nice sturdy pocket in the front and a few icon stickers in a snap seal pouch. Plus the coil has plenty of room if you’re sticker obsessed and want to pack them in throughout the year. 

The monthly spread is lined! I love a good lined monthly view and wish more planners threw in some faint lines to help us crooked writers out.

There are two pages at the start of every month to really help you focus on the days ahead. There are places for goals, bucket lists, and spots to get your mindset right before diving into the month ahead.

It’s the weekly spreads that really make this the perfect academic planner. On the left side there is space to write class times, work hours, and appointments. On the right side there is space for six to do list items (the perfect amount to get done in a day). There’s a section to write anything that’s due that day as well as record dinners. It’s so simple, but so effective. I was a huge color-coordinator back in college and it would totally work in a planner like this to have different colors for work, clubs, school, and homework. 

If I were to go back and time and find myself in my freshman year of college, I would use the monthly spread to mark upcoming events, keep track of travel, and record important school dates. The weekly spread would be all about homework, sorority events, and work shifts. Splash a few stickers here and there and my stress levels would have been greatly reduced if this planner appeared in my life back in 2010.

Although I love this planner inside and out, it’ll be more useful to one of you! The giveaway will go on for one week and is open internationally to anyone 18-years-old or with parental consent.

I have very strong feelings about “planner peace.” Frankly I don’t think it exists, and this past month definitely proved that to me. Planning should adjust with your needs, your lifestyle, and what you have going on. So when I started to feel unhappy with my Erin Condren Life Planner hourly layout, I knew a switch was just around the corner.

About a year ago I really started to get into my groove with the monthly views. I found my style, how I like to set it up, and found myself leaving my planner open to that page more than the current weekly view. So when the new Deluxe Monthly Planner launched on the Erin Condren website, it felt like a sign.

I go into a lot of detail about why I made this switch in my latest video if you want to take a gander, but ultimately I’ve been SO happy with the switch. I still have to figure out exactly how to utilize all of the notes pages that come along with it.

We’re a month out from the beginning of our tour de PlannerCon Parties. Oh, Hello’s going to be hitting the road to go to every single one of the five different conferences from Salt Lake City to Honolulu. My charismatic husband Alex has been asked to be the MC at all of the events so we’re packing up our bags, pouring a ton of extra cat food, and getting seriously excited.

I often get asked what it’s like to attend a planner conference. Now they’re all different in so many wonderful ways, but here’s what you can usually expect.

There won’t be that much time to plan, unless there’s a designated planning time. More often than not, conferences are jam packed with speakers, workshops, and shopping time. Plus you’ll likely make some new friends and choose to go out for drinks rather than plan. So definitely pack light in the planning department.

You’ll leave with a ton of goodies generously donated by sponsors and small shops. Swag amounts will vary from conference to conference, but it’s likely fellow attendees will bring things to give out as well.

Everyone is nervous, but open to making friends. Tons of people go to these events alone. Trust that everyone is there because they share the same passion as you, so it’s super easy to strike up a conversation. Ask what planner they use!

The workshops are amazing and always taught by experienced, yet relate-able people. Sometimes you’ll get to choose which workshops to attend, other times there’s a set schedule for everyone.

People like to have others sign their planners. I still am shocked and flattered when someone asks me to sign their planner. It can happen to anyone! So feel free to ask a new friend to sign your planner or a special page in your traveler’s notebook. It’ll be like a yearbook page from the event!

Planner conferences are never the same. They can be small, intimate things or massive party things. Definitely do your research before selecting one to attend to make sure it’s your style and speed. 

If you’ve been to planner conferences before, leave your advice and tips in the comments!