The 7 Best Planners to Buy in 2018

While this compact personal organizer from Filofax is a calming blue on the outside, it’s all business on the inside. It’s great for mixing business and your personal life all in one place.

It comes with a six-ring binder that has a calendar with each week laid out over two pages. There are slots for business cards, credit cards or other cards you use frequently, and a place to slide in a notepad for taking notes during meetings or jotting down random thoughts and lists.

Among other features, it has a section for contacts, pages for your to-do list and index tabs for keeping things straight. It measures 7 2/5" x 4 9/10" so it’s a great one to throw in a purse or computer bag for organization on the go.

This planner promises to transform your life in a number of ways by focusing on three areas — time management, goal setting and accountability. It has daily, weekly and hourly slots for planning, as well two pages before and after each month to help you plan ahead and evaluate each one.

It also includes a gratitude journal section, a goal journal and a two-page vision board. Inspirational quotes are peppered in along the way for motivation, and there are stickers for extra fun.

In the last couple of years, bullet journaling has become a way of life for its devoted fans who use rapid logging to organize their lives. This journal is the perfect tableau to get you hyper-organized this year. 

The journal itself has a hard, black leather cover and measures 5.7" x 8.5". It has 96 dotted pages that are hand sewn in so they won't rip and are made of extra thick paper so the wettest of pens won't bleed. You can track everything from your budget to travel to how much you exercise in any way you like to track it. There are plenty of online tutorials and information to get you started. 

When your life is filled with classes, extracurricular activities, and social events, it can be hard to keep track of everything and stay ahead of deadlines. That's where this planner from Global Printed Products comes into play. The bright blue, marbled design will stand out in a backpack or bag filled with books and other classroom essentials, making it easy to grab in a moment's notice. The planner also features monthly tabs and a bookmark to make flipping ahead and keeping your place simple. This planner has daily, weekly and monthly views so you can set up your time as you see fit. The thick paper is high quality and pen ink won't bleed through to the next page. At under $15, this planner is perfect for a student on a budget, too.

And if you're not a fan of this design, Global Printed Products offer the same great planner in lots of other colorways and designs with the same durable cover material. 

With all the craziness of daily life, the cover of this organizer provides a kind daily affirmation: “Always Believe in Yourself.” You have goals, and this planner can help you get there. Inside there are daily and weekly calendars to keep track of appointments and occasions, but what sets this planner apart from others is that it also has space for planning your priorities.

It has pages for recording your priorities each month for both your professional and personal life. There’s also space to record your goals, why they’re important to you, and how you intend to accomplish them. There are also prompts to help you reflect on areas of focus for all aspects of your life from family and loved ones to finances and physical and mental health. It’s a great way to really reflect and move forward with purpose through the year. It’s 8.5" x 11" and has a large spiral binding and hard cover that will take you through December 2018.

If you have a special goal or resolution you want to keep in mind, want to journal, or are simply a goal-oriented person, this planner from Swedall is right for you. This Amazon Choice planner has a durable outer cover with a classic look, thick paper, an elastic closure and inner pockets for any loose papers you may have.

What's more, this journal was made to help you get your daily tasks done, but to also help you live a happier, more fulfilled life. Positive affirmations are scattered throughout the pages and intricate mandalas are perfect for coloring when you need to calm down or relax. Monthly overlook sections let you write down what transpired over the past month and help you reflect and set new goals for the future. Reviewers say this planner has helped them brainstorm goals, disconnect from social media and live a more organized, well-rounded life.

See more reviews of our favorite self-journals available for purchase.

When you're a parent, especially with more than one child, keeping track of everyone's schedule can be a hectic experience. Luckily, this 17-month organizer from Amy Knapp has been a “lifesaver” for many families, according to reviews, with most buying this exact planner every year. This book provides a consolidated place for all your family’s appointments, sports games, recitals, and more that everyone can easily reference.

Each two-page spread has sections for all your family’s weekly plans, including a Monday through Sunday calendar with space for writing in activities and appointments and a miniature monthly calendar so you can easily plan ahead or make appointments without searching through the pages. It also includes a space for a grocery list and a weekly menu, so kids and parents alike are on the same page (pun intended) for family dinners. The planner also comes with color-coded stickers for marking events, and there are full-sized, two-page monthly calendars at the beginning of every month with a list section for setting long-term goals.