By Christina Morton DesAuguste

Christina is the founder of The Organizing Company and has been organizing professionally since 2013 (11.5 years and counting!). She is currently loving Olive & June, Hello Fresh meal kits, and molasses cookies.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on our website are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

PS: No A.I. copy and paste here! All our blogs are still written by humans.

Yesterday I pulled out my new 2025 Planner and started “moving in.” 

I did some content planning (gotta get you these blogs, afterall), goal setting, and mapping out key dates and deadlines for my business. 

I’m excited to say that there are only 2.5 weeks left in 2024. 

I know that can be almost discouraging for some of you. And, truthfully, it was to me at first. I thought about all the things I hadn’t accomplished in 2024 and felt disappointed and a little bit like a failure (If you know the Enneagram, you can probably guess that I’m a one). 

Fortunately, it turned around quickly because I started looking ahead and setting goals and taking steps to achieve them in 2025. There’s so much I can accomplish next year! And, when I look back at my progress from this year, it’s more than I gave myself credit for at first. 

If you relate to that at all, give yourself some credit and get excited for the fresh start ahead of you. 

And if you don’t relate, well, you’ll still like these planner recommendations and tips on how to settle into one. :) And I include a bonus recommendation for an online resource too.

My Top 3 Planner Recommendations

#1. My absolute favorite is Laurel Denise.

All images copyright and courtesy of LaurelDenise.com

Their tagline is “Planners for the way you think” and it’s perfect.

The patent-pending planner allows you to see your full monthly spread at the same time as a weekly spread with room for detailed tasks/to-dos. Plus lots of room for other notes/goals/reminders and most of their planners include a habit tracker. 

The ability to look at my month and the big goals while planning my week really helps to keep me on track and not get off on a rabbit trail. Plus, I like the space to write general tasks for the week without assigning a specific day, so I have the reminder without the rigidity of completing it on a certain day (some things are waiting on other people or take multiple days, and you know this perfectionist doesn’t want anything crossed out or repeated over and over on multiple days). 

Their website (and YouTube channel) gives a ton of examples and ideas for how you can use their planners. I’ve seen examples for stay at home moms managing household tasks and meal planning. There are examples for entrepreneurs and content creators, and more. They also have planners specifically for students and for teachers. Scroll back up to the image carousel to see examples of these.

I use this landscape layout (their OG planner), but I was super tempted to switch to their new Portrait Planner this year. It’s the traditional shape you’re used to, but still with their signature layout on the inside. 

Oh, and they come in “mini” if you love the layout but want to stick it in your handbag.

Besides the mind-blowing layout, they’re also just really pretty. 

There are lots of cover patterns, plus pen pouches, sticky notes just the right size for the little boxes, planner stickers, patterned washi tape, and vegan leather portfolios to protect them as you carry them around (I have it in green, of course). 

Last, but not least, Laurel sends very entertaining and inspiring emails. You’re guaranteed a chuckle and to be happy seeing the beautiful patterns and layouts she creates, even just for a weekly email. 

#2 The Full Focus Planner

You may be more familiar with this one, and it’s popular for a reason. It’s simple, clean, and easy. 

I’m a big fan of the 3 priority approach, and I add it to my Laurel Denise Planner, but this is great if you need that visual reminder to keep your to-do list focused. 

All images copyright and courtesy of FullFocusStore.com

I hear it talked about less, but their original planner also includes great pages for planning your ideal week, goals, and “rituals” for every day to start and end your day and work day well. I love how intentional this planner is.

They recently came out with a larger size and with a loose leaf version that you can simply refill with hole punched planner pages (both shown in the carousel above).

My husband loves this planner, and I think it makes a great gift for men because of its neutral, minimal aesthetic. 

#3 The Day Designer Planner

I used this planner a few years ago, and was pretty happy with it. It has the 3 priority reminders and even some inspirational quotes. Lots of room if you like to write a lot. And it has a spot for daily gratitude, which is proven to be a really effective and healthy practice for mental health. 

All images copyright and courtesy of DayDesigner.com

It is a bit bulkier than the other two, so keep that in mind if you like to stick your planner in your handbag/tote or even your work bag/backpack, although they did recently come out with a mini version that I haven’t seen in person yet.

The other pros of this brand, though, is that it has daily, monthly, and weekly versions and it is the most readily available. Target carries several options in store if you need it today, plus you can order it quickly from Amazon. 

But if you’re shopping this week for a planner for 2025, you still have time to order one from Laurel Denise or Full Focus if that’s more of your jam.

At the time of writing, I’m not an affiliate for either brand, I just am a big fan. Maybe I’ll look into that for next year! ;)

Tips For How To “Move In” To Your New Planner

1. Don’t treat it as too precious.

I know it’s hard to make that first pen stroke on the perfect paper, but just embrace it and it’s okay if the way you lay things out in January changes for February. If there are things you think need to be more flexible, use pencil/eraseable pen, or use sticky notes for that category. 

2. Start with what you have.

Take a look back at your old planner, or, if you didn’t have one or stopped using it after a month, take a look at your to-do lists. The little sticky notes you jotted down your tasks and reminders on. The white board where you keep track of key dates or things to follow up on. Your Notes App or Calendar App. Anywhere you track your tasks, agenda/schedule, reminders, ideas, and goals. Then use those categories as a jumping off point to sort your scribbles into piles/lists so you can create some order and also see how much of each category you have. From there, utilize Tip 3 below. 

3. The sticky note method.

Laurel Denise recommends a sticky note method where you write all your important dates, to-dos, reminders, etc on sticky notes and place them in the planner to figure out where you like each category to go. Then you transfer them into the planner in pen/marker. It removes the pressure of having to remember everything and get it all right the first time. It’s a lot easier to move a few stickies than to write in pen and have to use White-Out later (or have a dreaded scribble!). I actually use this same principle when organizing a physical space, so I’m a big believer in this approach to setting up your planner. 

4. Create headings/label your sections.

If you’re adding a category or customizing your planner in any way, make sure you label it. Don’t expect yourself to remember that the list on the left is stuff to do this week and the list on the right is stuff for this month. Give yourself that visual reminder of the focus/urgency/action item, etc. 

5. Add your personality and a little inspiration.

If a beautiful pattern gives you that little moment of peace and joy before the work day gets hectic, incorporate that into your planner. I intentionally keep the front cover of my Laurel Denise Planner out of the portfolio sleeve so that I can open to it and have that happy moment of seeing this gorgeous pattern before I flip to the right page (with their handy tabs and removable bookmarks, of course). 

I also received some free planner stickers when I bought my 2024 planner, and so I put those on the monthly pages to give me another dose of happy when it’s open. 

You can use planner stickers, pretty color pens, and artful handwriting on your headings or goals. You can also choose words for the month as your intention/focus. Or write an empowering quote at the top of the page each month/week. Whatever gets you inspired and ready to face the tasks ahead of you. 

6. Create a new rhythm.

However you set up your planner, you need to get used to actually using it to write down your tasks and to refer to in order to stay on track. 

I recommend creating a new rhythm to your day of starting out by reviewing your planner. Look at the day’s tasks, but review what else needs to happen at some point this week and assess what you can fit in. Look back at your monthly schedule and goals and make sure you keep the big picture in mind. 

You can create a daily, weekly, and monthly rhythm of reviewing your planner (and moving into the following week/month), as needed. I like to set up the following month by the second week of the current month. I should probably even move that up sooner so I can keep my big picture/longterm goals in mind better. 

To get you in the habit, consider adding “Review Planner” to your digital calendar at a specific time each day. Or setting a reminder alert in your phone. Or simply putting up a sticky note on your monitor. 

I also like to review my planner at the end of the day to get my mind set for the following day. And I intentionally leave my planner in front of my keyboard so I have to move it to start working, which means I’m more likely to open it and use it. 

Whatever you do, don’t stick it on a shelf or in a drawer somewhere letting it be out of sight out of mind. Keep it visible and handy. 

How To Use A Paper Planner In Conjunction With An Online Task Manager

If you are not a physical planner person, or if you work with a team and need to manage tasks in the cloud to keep everyone on the same page, my go-to digital planner tool is Asana. 

Asana has multiple ways you can organize tasks and reminders. You can assign them to others and set due dates. You can attach documents and send links easily. They even have a pretty robust free version. 

I use Asana to brain dump ideas for blogs/social media, or things I need to train staff in, or links to articles that I want to review and share. It has all the details, notes, links, etc that I need. 

But then I need to plan how those things are going to happen. So that’s when I use my paper planner. I look at my content ideas in Asana and then start assigning those to days in my paper planner. I don’t rewrite all the details; I just put keywords so I know what I mean. Then on the day I’m supposed to be working on the “Planner Blog” I can go back to Asana and pull up any notes I made about it (they even have a helpful keyword search tool). 

So Asana is where I store and sort the ideas/information/details, etc. 

My paper planner is where I plan the execution of those ideas, etc. 

That works for me, but play around to figure out how you can use each type of tool to keep yourself organized and making progress on your goals. 

One last thing…

If you are super pumped about planning for 2025 now, I have one more resource. 

I am doing an Organizing Challenge for the new year! 

It’ll include challenges for organizing your household maintenance, each room of your house, your car, and more. 

More details are forthcoming, but to make sure you don’t miss anything submit your info here to get an email with all the information.

Join The 2025 Organizing Challenge!

You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. By providing your information, you agree to receive automated promotional messages. This agreement isn’t a condition of any purchase. We never sell or share your data. See our privacy policy for terms and conditions and to learn how we protect your data. 

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to order your 2025 planner!

Here’s to your most organized year yet!

Christina

PS: Did I mention that the challenge will address your digital files and paperwork too? Sign up to get all the info!

December 12, 2024

Share & Follow