Top 6 Best Paper Planners
Most millennials often overlook pen and paper in getting their day’s program organized. This is mostly driven by the emergence of thousands of smartphone apps and other gadgets.
But no matter how sophisticated these apps may seem, they will never outdo the feeling of getting organized in black and white on paper.
So paper planners may seem a little bit old school, and yes, the majority may not like to write on paper. But many stores will keep refilling their shelves with paper planners because of their unmatched productivity.
The planners that help you put your life on the right track are available in uncountable numbers in the market. We have carefully curated a comprehensive list of best organizational notebook or paper planners. These range from those that are mostly liked by the users to less liked ones.
Every pick is done through thorough research and after an interview with some of the best thought leaders. Read through to find the benefits of using a planner, a smart buyer’s guide, FAQ’s and top 6 best paper planners.
Top 6 Paper Planners in India
| Product (Best Brands) | Best Price |
|---|---|
Our Pick |  |
Personal Freedom | |
| |
Most Flexible | |
Multiple Bonuses | |
Planner that acts as a guide | |
What Are the Benefits of Using a Planner?
The opportunity to draw a system that works for you is possible on paper. There are no limitations posed by preset icons asking you to fill out on fields you don’t even need. For instance, you probably get a haircut from one barbershop, so there is no point in entering that kind of information because it is already ingrained and obvious in your mind.
A paper will give you the freedom to write down what you want, but apps somewhat control your options.
You have probably heard that the more you write, the more you remember. This statement is very true in every sense of it. Psychology prescribes that putting tasks down on paper makes you remember them easily.
Organizing your tasks in writing makes you more productive because the photographic memory of the layout is clear in your mind.
Similarly, there are fewer distractions when working on the paper as compared to smartphones. Because you may find yourself planning on an app only to come back to your senses when trolling on Twitter. The technology is destructive nowadays, and we all can relate to how a simple notification may slow our actions.
Paper planners allow one to express their styles. You can decorate and have more fun with your planner in a way that you would love it to look like.
Additionally, they neither require you to create an account, upgrade to a newer version, nor bug you with any other infomercials that slowly drain our mental energy. Most importantly, a paper maintains your privacy by not granting a company access to your schedule.
Different apps work differently, and no matter how much you are adapted to technology, you must always take some time to learn how an app operates.
Setting up your schedule on paper, on the other hand, is easier and saves you the hassle of having to read through in different apps to understand their workability. And for some of us, we get annoyed fast by the program notification reminders that prompt us to act on a long to-do list in the day.
Most people get goosebumps whenever their schedule is going astray, and reminders are checking in thick and fast. That is why they jot down all my day’s activities on paper and keep checking voluntarily.
Buyers Guide
Paper planners come in different designs and formats that you must double-check before purchasing. The obvious factors like color, size, weight, outlook, and how comfortable it is to write on should be some of the first right boxes to tick when buying.
There may be some additional bonuses like inspirational quotes, contact forms, maps, planning tips, and much more. But the most important factors to consider when buying a paper planner includes the following:
Cost
Paper planners come in different budgets. The amount you are willing to spend will usually dictate the planner you will get for yourself. But the most important thing is you pick the one that satisfies your needs.
If you can’t purchase it outright, you can plan on saving for a few days before getting your favorite planner.
Size
The size of the right planner for you will mainly be determined by how much space you need on a page and how often you travel. If you are a daily commuter, you probably don’t need a large planner that will take up huge space.
There are various sizes ranging from pocket models to A5 and A4 sizes. This is a personal choice and will also depend on the intensity of your daily plans.
Layouts
Planners are structured differently, and their layouts hugely depend on how detailed your plan will look like. Some cover daily plans which convert to 365 days a year and others may be weekly and have space for 52 weeks in a year.
Other factors may include the paper style- ruled, lined, graphed, or blank- and the inbuilt tabs for hours, days, weeks, and much more.
Design
The aesthetics are very important because your planner is probably going to be your companion for a year. So it is critical to have something presentable in your workshops, seminars, and conferences. This communicates how confident and organized you are.
- How it lies on the desk- Most people like planners that lay flat on their desks. If that is a similar case for you, then it is important to check if the one you plan to buy lies flat. And the factor that determines it is a spiral binding that frees all the papers in it.
- Build quality- It sickens to write on thin paper because when you flip over to the next page, you can see what you wrote on the previous page. So the thickness of the paper is so important because the thicker it is, the more comfortable it feels to write. Also, the binding coil plays a vital role in keeping the pages of your planner, intact for the durability of the product.
1. TinyChange Planner – Our Pick
If you are serious about personal development and proper planning to achieve your goals, then India’s TinyChange is probably the best planner for you. It has beautiful aesthetics from the outlook led by an exotic Faux leather hardcover that protects the internal super smooth thick paper pages. The pages lay seamlessly flat on the table.
Within the confines of the double bookmark ribbons and the back cover is a pouch that keeps the essentials like a pen. As the name suggests, TinyChange is a life coach that motivates you to take small steps every day in transforming your life and moving towards greatness.
- TinyChange begins with a life compass that enables you to understand your current position from “my true self,” “life aspirations,” and to “core values.” Then it goes on to create an ideal day & week followed by a defined roadmap towards achieving your top goals for the year.
- The techniques used in the planner are scientifically proven.
- It comes with other essential stationery that includes two stylish bookmarks, a 30cm long scale rule, two productivity sticker sheets, and an impressive gift box that wraps all the components.
- The layout of the pages is in a hue that relaxes your mood, and the pages are thick enough so as not to stick when flipping.
- There are about twenty checkboxes, wishlists, and planning templates that aid with your planning.
- To ensure a well-rounded growth, there are more than ten self-reflection exercises available to help you take a break. This builds a stronger bond with your inner self.
- The outline of the weekly and monthly pages are correctly spaced to give you an allowance to enter your prioritized activities and general checklists exhaustively.
- For every month, there are blanks left at the beginning for outcomes input to ensure you can monitor your productivity.
- It does not give an allowance for cheat days and fully understands human psychology.
- It has no dates.
2. InstaNote Non Dated Daily Planner – Personal Freedom
This type of planner is especially useful to the people who have their stuff together and need a little boost of paper space. It is a compact product with a soft cover filled with useful pages on both sides. The right-hand pages have neatly designed organizing tables. ‘
The left pages have dots that help with doodling or bullet journaling.
There are time slots for planning and other essentials for tracking water intake, exercise, and mood. InstaNote is a spiral notebook with 80 pages (a total of 160 but best used two at a time) that can allow you to plan for 3 months or so.
- Each page has many options ranging from a reminder for food and water intake, tracking meetings and money, and recording various tasks and activities.
- The fact that it has no dates is useful to some people because they can plan the days they want and avoid wastage by skipping pages.
- Excellent pages with correct thickness and quality that make writing and perusing very easy.
- Can effectively boost productivity because of the money and time tracker.
- The level of organization style in the planner’s format serves both professionals and students alike.
- Establishes a foundation of good habits and rituals among individuals.
- The cover page is medium thick.
- Binding foil not golden as expected by many.
3. Alicia Souza – The 2021 Ultimate Planner
Alicia Souza – The 2021 Ultimate Planner contains a lot of colours and fun and helps in planning all good events in the year.
It provides a ‘note to self’ section where one can write down dreams, hope and accomplishments for reading later.
It comes with colourful goals pages which ensure step by step scheduling of all the desired goals for accomplishing this year.
It has illustrations of dancing robots and more for enthusiastic people.
- It includes a planner, planner box, a pocket planner, bookmark and pen loop
- The planner size is 23 x 19 cm, page size is 21 x 15 cm and pocket planner size is 10 x 15 cm
- The pocket planner has a 12-month view and comes with notes sections for each month
- The monthly tabs are colourful and easy to flip
- The specially dedicated pages for monthly budget helps in keeping track of financials
- A summary page at the beginning helps in noting to-dos, birthdays and important events
- It helps in organising a monthly meal plan, grocery shopping list and other daily plans
- Period tracking is an additional feature that comes handy and makes it easy to track the days
- No negative points observed so far
4. Traveller’s Notebook – Most Flexible
This is an all-in-one planner for a traveler. You have the freedom to use the planner as a journal. You can go for your trip with it and have your cash, passport, cards, tickets, and any other necessary documents comfortably held in the notebook.
The smartphone can even fit in, and the great advantage is it has refillable 4 notebooks.
That means you don’t have to dispose of your expensive leather notebook once the pages are filled. You can insert newer ones. Leather die hard, and for a leather size that measures 22x13cm is convenient for many travelers who find value in decoding their epics.
- The inserts make this particular notebook customizable. From the ziplock that keeps your phone to the kraft folder for storing your documents, make sure they are safe at one point. It serves more than just keep notes for your plan.
- The high-quality leather cover can stand the test of time and conveniently stores your receipts and other documents. And since the notebook is a refillable journal, its cost in the long term is cheaper.
- As for planning and taking notes, the quality of the paper is bleed-resistant. This allows you to use a fountain pen with ease and boost your overall writing experience. Many people love to plan notes in neat and beautiful handwriting.
- The separate sections and the fact that it is refillable make the Traveller’s notebook consistent in adjusting to the personal needs of an individual. We all plan our things differently, and this type of planner caters to that.
- The appealing texture and architecture of the leather cover make the Traveller’s notebook a beautiful and presentable journal.
- Exotic stationery with two functional elastic bands.
- It lacks a pen holder and a paperclip.
- The leather is soft on the inside but a bit thick on the inside.
5. COI Personal Diary – Multiple Bonuses
This is a beautiful budget-friendly organizer planner with stunning looks starting from the different range of colors available. It is made up of fairly thick and high-quality pages that are comfortable to write on and easy to flip through.
The way the CIO personal diary is organized is very impressive. Before each of the monthly tabs, is a monthly action calendar with inspirational quotes to get you started. With a single page for every day, it makes it easier to tune the planner to your rhythm by using the entire page to plan how you want it.
In other words, it gives you the freedom to decide how you want to spend your day rather than limiting you to the thoughts of the manufacturer. It can be said to be the best paper planner for work.
- In its compact state, the diary measures 25cmx19cmx3cm. It is a relatively small size and quickly fits in a purse or backpack without occupying too much space.
- The design for the planner is trendy and high-end, making it fit for both formal and casual arrangements.
- The fact that the pages are all left empty helps the diary adapt to any type of usage. Ranging from visitors’ guest books, journals, business meetings, artworks, poetry, you name them.
- In addition to the pages set for personal information, there are those set aside for providing this year’s relevant information to the users. For instance, the list of holiday places in 2019, diary pages, calendar pages, schedule for appointments, and pages that are reserved for important personal details.
- The diary is bound by a strong spiral wire that keeps it safe and elastic and comes with a pen as an extra with a space allowed for holding it.
- The diary is customizable to individual needs.
- A lovely pink color for those who appreciate beauty.
- Pages can tear if mishandled.
6. Ink Bucket Planner – Planner that acts like a guide
2019 is moving so fast, and you are worried about not living up to some of your resolutions? Well, the Ink Bucket 2019 planner has you covered. You can take a quick U-turn and get the remaining days of the year more planned towards greatness.
Nothing is as painful as reaching the end of the year and realizing you are in the same spot you were in the previous year.
With this kind of planner, at the beginning of every new month, there is a blank space left for you to make your notes for the month’s plan. In the end, there is also a blank left for you to reflect on your achievements and challenges. The week’s calendar for this planner works similarly.
- The Ink Budget 2019 planner measures 16cmx20cm in dimensions, which gives you ample space to do your planner on a single page. You can key in the comprehensive details of your day’s schedule.
- The pages are made of natural thick paper that is easy to flip and write on.
- The hardcover that guards the pages makes the planner durable. At the end of the year, if you have exhausted all 387 pages, you can keep it in your archive of planners.
- It has a lot of inspirational quotes distributed in the whole copy to keep you going in case you have tough times in your life.
- It comes with an appointment calendar for each month to help you note the important dates of your month and all the bookings.
- Aside from the strength of the hardcover, it is finished with beautiful matte material and has calligraphy done by hand that enhances the aesthetics of the planner. This makes it appropriate for both formal and casual meeting setups.
- The weekly affirmations and space for gratitude give you the spirit to face Monday’s blues.
- There are pretty stickers at the end.
- It’s planning is limited to specific dates, and you may have to skip some pages when you take some days off.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you plan a planner?
Many people feel lost on how they should use their planners effectively to their maximum advantage. The number one factor that you must consider is to have a regular daily planning session to ensure that you are on track. Otherwise, if you don’t pick the habit, you are going to slack off, and that’s human.
You have to centralize all your planning into one single planner to make it more useful. Distributing it to various planners will make you disorganized, and you can forget easily. Make sure your planner is compact and highly portable. This will keep you disciplined, and that’s a desired quality in the whole process.
2. What should I include in my planner?
Apart from due dates, dinner plans, affirmation letters, what have you, it is very important to highlight the high and low moments of your day. That way, it becomes easier to tell the challenges you had and work on finding solutions.
And for areas that you excel, you work on becoming even better in the next day. The weather, budget, gratitude, and memories of the day are also some of the basics you should include in your planner.
3. How do I set up my college planner?
Most students fail not because they are dumb but for lack of planning. In college, especially, there are so many distractions that getting your grades together can be so challenging.
To get the most out of a planner as a college student, it is important to picture your schedule, set daily, weekly, monthly, and semester goals, and decide a plan that is unique and works best for you. This is the best way to keep off the distractions from friends and focus on your dreams.
Conclusion
Being a first timer, choosing becomes a difficult endeavor irrespective of the knowledge you have on these products. Hopefully, our top 5 products will ease your search for the planners for work and personal use. According to us, the top 3 planners are Tiny Change Planner. Instanote Non Dated Daily Planner and the Traveller’s Notebook.
Having discussed the benefits of a planner and zeroing in on several favorite planners that can perfectly work for you, we hope you understood all their unique characteristics and the techniques you need for them to work best for you.
It is without a doubt that not planning your life is planning to fail. And this starts with one simple step; purchasing the right planner for you and sitting down to structure the best schedule for your time what works for you.
