The 18 Best Planners To Get You Organized & Optimize Productivity

Most undated planners promise increased productivity and happiness, but the Panda Planner actually delivers with scientifically proven strategies. It splits your schedule into daily, weekly, and monthly pages to organize your goals, habits, and to-dos. The daily pages start off with a space to write what you're excited and grateful for, and then helps you plan and review your time. The weekly pages set your improvement goals, habits, and projects, and the monthly pages have a calendar-type layout so you never miss a meeting. “This is the best planner I have ever owned, hands down,” reads one of 8,000-plus reviews.

According to one reviewer: “Best organizer I’ve ever owned! The layout is perfect for my needs. I organize my priorities and tasks, enough room for all. I also love the self help sections, truly helps me focus on what’s important.”

• Also available on Blue Sky, $15, and Office Depot, $23

While undated planners allow you to start at any time, some people prefer structured dates to keep them on track. With more than 7,800 reviews and a 4.6-star rating overall, the Blue Sky dated planner is a tried-and-true option on Amazon. It’s pretty straightforward with its flexible black cover and weekly/monthly pages, but past buyers love its “simplicity,” “clean design,” and “easy to use” layout. You can get it in three different sizes, too.

According to one reviewer: “I love this planner, this is the 2nd year in a row that I have actually looked specifically for this planner to purchase! It has a monthly calendar as well as weekly calendars with plenty of room for you to write your agenda in.”

• Also available on Walmart, $28, Best Buy, $35, and Staples, $36

With every other planner, you use the pages once and likely never look back. The Rocketbook Fusion Smart notebook, on the other hand, allows you to wipe the pages clean and use them over and over again, all thanks to the whiteboard-like construction and special included pen. (This both saves you money and minimizes waste for the environment.) If you want to save your notes and scheduling, you can simply blast images from your phone to your favorite digital cloud services using the built-in scanning codes. The Fusion has task lists, weekly pages, and monthly calendars, not to mention lined and dotted spreads — but the company also partnered with Panda Planner to make a reusable version of that best-seller, too.

According to one reviewer: “I had never heard the concept of reusing a journal or notebook until I saw Rocket Book and all the things it offers. I loved that I can customize where and when my notes can be sent after I have completed a meeting or training. The Rocket Book app is super easy to use in tandem with this notebook. I love all the templates and calendar in this notebook as well as you can customize each month or time you want to. I will most likely end up buying a larger notebook in the future just to have.”

Most planners are designed to optimize your professional and personal life, but what if you’re still in school? The Class Tracker academic planner is specifically designed for students because it helps you keep track of assignments, quizzes, projects, and papers as well as quarterly goals and class schedules. It includes both undated monthly and weekly spreads; the latter emphasizes Monday through Friday, but still has a few lines for the weekends.

According to one reviewer: “Just what I needed [...] It is perfect to organize all my courses this semester for college. Definitely worth the money.”

Bullet journaling is a flexible system that allows you to record anything you want (notes, doodles, to-do lists, dates) without limiting your creativity. The LUX Productivity planner does just that. It still has prompts to organize your schedules, goals, daily tasks, and reflections, but the dot-grid paper acts as a subtle guide that’s much less restrictive than lines and boxes. As a result, it’s a good pick for the creative person — especially since it comes in a protective, colorful binder complete with pockets and pen holders.

According to one reviewer: “Love love love this planner! The hardcover, faux leather case is durable and looks great. There are several types of pages that I can pick to my specific needs and I don’t have to waste space or paper for ones I don’t use. The page designs are clear and simple. I love that there are no dates so I can use accordingly and not waste a page. The design of every page I’ve used so far has helped me increase my organization and efficiency. I can easily organize my planner to how my brain operates and I’m able to utilize every piece of both sides of the page. I would give this planner an 8 out of 5 if I could. If you like clean, simple, and direct organization; I highly recommend.”

“Super impressed with this planner...makes me so much happier,” one reviewer wrote about The Simple Elephant. That’s because it utilizes proven techniques from the study of positive psychology to help you renew your commitment, feel inspired, and live happier every day. In addition to organizing your to-dos and daily plans, you’ll also compose positive affirmations, set goals, and record gratitude statements. It even has focus sections, mind maps, free stickers, and vision boards to keep you optimistic and grateful.

According to one reviewer: “Absolutely wonderful product. Everything I was hoping for in a planner. It’s individual sections for not only organizing the months, weeks, and days but also personal development are awesome. Reflecting on the successes for the week and things that could be worked on is a great tool to better oneself. Great use of positive psychology. I will definitely be buying this planner again next year.”

• Also available on Walmart, $23

If you're looking to change some habits (especially if that habit is procrastination), consider purchasing Lamare Habit Tracker planner. It uses visual layouts that help you build specific patterns and see your progress at a glance, but without the need for wordy prompts or time-consuming journaling. The paper is thick and bleed-resistant, so you can use colorful markers or gel pens, and it’s completely undated so you can move through it at your own pace.

According to one reviewer: “This product feels well-made, the pages turn smoothly and the texture of the paper is really nice for writing/filling in the squares. Personally this has been very helpful for tracking my short term goals and daily habits, and being more consistent in general. In just the two months I’ve owned this, I’ve already noticed personal improvement, which is really helpful for staying motivated on my worse days. I would recommend to anyone looking to work on themselves.”

Studies have shown that there are both emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing, so recording your thoughts and feelings is a great habit to get into. If you find journaling super therapeutic or want to give it a shot, the Best Journal Ever can help. While it has writing prompts and sections for journaling, it still qualifies as a planner because it tracks your habits, offers affirmations and quotes, and helps you reflect on your progress.

According to one reviewer: “I don’t often write reviews but this product has me over the moon! I have bought so many journals and was continually disappointed, until I found this one! The quality and craftsmanship is so impressive! For something like this id expect to have to pay much more. In addition, this has helped me create better habits, find ways to self reflect and has made my day to day much more enjoyable. I make sure to set aside a little time with this journal each day, and every day I close this journal with a smile. This product is fantastic!”

• Also available on Walmart, $17

Organizing your life might help decrease stress in the long run, but it can be a little overwhelming in the moment. Loads of studies point to the healing effects of mindfulness based art studies (like coloring), which the Action Publishing coloring planner fully embraces. It lets you split up your goals and to-dos into daily, weekly, and monthly schedules, and each one has an intricately designed image so you can color your way to tranquility. The thick pages prevent bleed-through, and the undated pages last 12 months. Choose from two sizes.

According to one reviewer: “Great planner with fun coloring pages! I love that its undated because it gives me way more flexibility. Also, it has an area where I can write things to do for the day or homework and then also a section each day where I can write a schedule.”

What is the law of attraction? It’s a string theory-based belief that states that whatever we think about, we bring into our lives through active manifestation. The Deluxe Law of Attraction Life planner shows you exactly how to use it and helps you implement it into your life. The weekly and monthly pages are packed with goal-setting exercises, happiness practices, and positive habit motivators. It’s also got a huge fold-out vision board and sections to reflect on your past experiences. Best of all, it helps you become the best possible version of yourself on a mental, physical, and interpersonal level. “I love the colors and vibrancy of the book itself and it’s full of incredible affirmations and tools to manifest the life of your dreams,” raved one buyer. “I consider it a MUST for positive-minded individuals who want to work efficiently and effectively.”

According to one reviewer: “I love this planner. It's beautiful to look at and wonderful to use. I was struggling to balance my life activities and this really helped me get organized.”

If you’re a goal-oriented person or you’re looking to become one, the Full Focus planner is for you. Designed by Michael Hyatt (a top productivity expert), it utilizes field-tested techniques to optimize productivity and efficiency, so you can achieve your biggest goals in a single year. Its detail-oriented layout is designed to help you “keep your priorities in full view” and “achieve what matters every day” — and according to reviewers, it “actually DOES help focus [your] daily actions to meet greater goals.”

According to one reviewer: “I have tried many different planners, and this one is the best so far. It is very goal and achievement driven.”

“Thorough” doesn’t have to mean “big and bulky.” The Clever Fox pocket planner takes the fan-favorite productivity-increasing layout and optimizes it for minimalists who are always on the go. This one measures just 3.7 by 6.7 inches, so it fits in your pocket or bag with ease — but it still offers weekly and monthly scheduling, habit tracking, gratitude journaling, goal focusing, mind maps, and empty grid-dot areas for creativity. Get it in eleven different colors, each with included stickers.

According to one reviewer: “I love this planner. It’s small and fits in almost any purse but there’s still enough space on each page to include all of your important notes.”

Do you schedule your days down to the minute? The TREES planner helps facilitate that with its hourly scheduling spreads that range from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. It even has space to list your priorities, to-dos, and meals, not to mention a few random notes. “The simplistic style of this planner allows me to keep track of every appointment, with space for my top goals and tasks,” one reviewer wrote. The flexible PVC cover is waterproof, the twin-wire spiral binding is strong, and the pages are bleed-resistant.

According to one reviewer: “As someone who as always struggled using planners, this one is different. I can’t go a day without using this thing! What I love about it is writing out my day hour by hour and being able to visualize my entire day right in front of me! It is also so helpful as a student to write down assignments that need to get done and then prioritizing my top three things for the day! Couldn’t recommend more!”

Available in a variety of fun cover designs, the Bloom Daily Planners undated teacher planner is designed to inspire and organize the educator. While it has undated weekly planning blocks, monthly calendars, and reviews, like most other planners, it also has pages for important dates, substitute communication, student info, and grading charts.

According to one reviewer: “I am a teacher and I have bought this planner two years in a row. It provides ample room for all my planning including unit, lesson, page, and standard numbers. Its cover is pretty but sturdy and can take the abuse of day-to-day use.”

• Also available on Walmart, $20

Short of using a blank-page journal as a planner, The Perfect Planner is as flexible and straightforward as it gets. It’s undated with only three spreads: empty calendars, weekly grids, and blank pages. (Those last two also use dot-grid paper, so you’re not limited by lines.) As a result, this one is the best pick for people who feel overwhelmed by excessive prompts, visuals, and exercises. It currently has 1,900 reviews, one of which reads: “It is simple, yet has everything that you would need, no fluff.”

According to one reviewer: “Exactly what I was looking for. The cover is super soft and simple looking and the pages are thick enough that my pens do not bleed through.”

• Also available on Walmart, $25

People are in love with Moleskines due to their iconic exterior, thick durable paper, and sleek lined pages. The Moleskine Pro offers all of those things, but does so in a layout that’s optimized for the professional. Whether you’re working on a specific project or just looking to improve your overall work performance, this planner has clear but versatile prompts for goals and scheduling. It also has planning pages that help you break down overwhelming tasks into clear, straightforward steps that you can take one at a time until you’re done.

According to one reviewer: “So organized [...] Very nice planner. So many different sections to keep you very organized.”

As someone who makes their own schedule, my days are structured by tasks — not time. The ZICOTO To Do List notebook is perfect for someone like me, because it prioritizes the things you need to get done on any given day. In addition to a clear-cut list, complete with check-off boxes, each page also has appointments, visual health reminders, a gratitude prompt, and an open box for additional notes.

According to one reviewer: “Exactly what I expected. Great planner to help me organize my work tasks.”

If you don’t want to settle for just one great feature, the Legend Planner Pro hourly edition has them all: daily spreads that break down by the hour, monthly calendars and reflections, yearly goals, journal prompts that hone your life vision, habit tracking, blank dot-grid pages, you name it. It’s available in eight hard-cover color options, and each comes with a few free sticker sheets to keep you motivated.

According to one reviewer: “I’m a person who needs organization and structure. This planner is absolutely perfect. I love the way that it incorporates long-term goals, visions, missions, and dreams with more short-term and immediate goals and tasks. It’s beautiful and sturdy. I think I have found the planner I will be buying from now on.”