If productivity and organisation are the skills you want to master, then getting a good planner is a must! With the help of a planner, you can keep track of your goals, upcoming important events, or even note down your important thoughts. A good planner is supposed to provide optimum functionality with minimal design and layout. Minimalist planners are all the rage these days and for a good reason!
You might have wondered why would you need a planner in the first place? Well, the answer is simple. A good planner helps you stay productive and organised. While you can use it for goal setting, checking up on your constant progress and meet important deadline, you can even utilise it to plan productive work breaks during the day.
Even when everything is digitalised around us and we have numerous options of online planners, the importance of physical planners can not be overshadowed. The joy you get after striking out or putting a check in front of a “task to be done”, is incomparable! Physical planners also let your eyes rest from the screen glare. Thus, focusing on your thoughts and writing them down is not strenuous for eyes. Also, they are a great gift option for performance and productivity freaks in your circle!
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MINIMALIST PLANNERS?
While planners come in different shapes and sizes, picking a minimalist planner will serve you for a long time. A minimalist planner makes your planning strategy easier for you. It does not overwhelm with its design, yet it provides optimum functionality. Especially if you are a beginner in using productivity planners, it is recommended that you choose the ones with minimalist design and layout for premium experience.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST PLANNER TO MAXIMISE PRODUCTIVITY
There are many planners available in the market, but choosing the one that fits your needs can be a daunting task. Whether you want a minimalist daily planner, a journal perfect for BuJo (Bullet journaling), or an eco-friendly reusable planner, we have you covered. Check out the curated list below that will help you choose the best minimalist planner to meet your requirements.
LIST OF BEST MINIMALIST PLANNERS FOR PRODUCTIVITY
1. Ifocus – A5 Work Planner
This A5 sized planner is specifically designed while keeping the entrepreneurial and Business planning in focus. It is an undated, 90-day planner rather than a full year one, because the designers believe that once you set goals which can be achieved in a short and practical deadline, that’s when you get successful. It is created by an entrepreneurial couple with a set target to deliver a professional product to its customers. For such attention to detail and dedication in their business, many customers vouch for excellent customer support.
The Ifocus – A5 Work Planner planner has monthly, weekly and daily planner pages in sequence and the pages are ink proof. Another good feature is that it lays flat when opened, which adds great ease for writing. The cover of this minimalist planner is made of a beautiful luxurious to touch, and the navy color adds a premium business look to it. It comes with a quick start guide which is pretty interesting and useful as well.
Most people use it for single project lasting 90 days but sometimes people could accommodate multiple projects as well. However, it is recommended by the creators to use it for one focused project. The planner promises to help you stay on track, stay organized and focused. The only downside to this product is that it is a very specific and detailed, so it may not cater to a wider audience who are looking for a general planner.
2. Bliss Collections Daily Planner
If you are looking to buy a minimalist planner that is made with environment safe materials in USA, then look no further! This Bliss Collections Daily Planner comes with 50 undated, 8.5×11-inch notepad style tear-off sheets. The paper is thick and good quality which prevents ink bleeding.
This elegant and minimalist planner has multiple sections catering to different planning needs of the customer. It has a gratitude reminder on the top of the sheet, which will encourage you to start your writing by first focusing on the positives in your life. It has an appointment tracker, to-do list and ‘must be done today’ sections. This helps you to prioritize your tasks and stay focused and productive.
The water intake section is my personal favorite as it helps you keep hydrated throughout the day. (You can read about some of the best water bottles to keep with you during the day for achieving optimum water intake.) The ‘health and fitness section’ is very useful for tracking your daily movement, exercise, yoga or any other fitness activities that you perform. This way it helps you stay motivated and in a way answerable to yourself also! The ‘achievement tracker’ is a great tool for acknowledging the progress you are making on the way to achieve your final goal. This helps you stay positive and committed to your plans.
The Bliss Collections Daily Planner is a pretty affordable daily planner which will not make a dent in your pocket. Though many users praise the overall quality of this product, however, many would prefer if it comes with a hard covering or a binder of some sort.
3. Action Publishing UNDATED Minimalist Day Planner
This UNDATED Minimalist daily planner by Action Publishing comes in different sizes, i.e. Medium (7×8.5 inch) and Large (8.5×11 inch). The product is true to its name and very simple yet efficient in its design. If you are someone who likes to design your own journaling/planning layout, then this minimalist planner is perfect for you.
The planner comes with double loop wire binding that lays the pages when opened. Days of the week are laid out on two consecutive pages with vertical spreads, which makes it great for bullet journaling as well. It is great for daily planning as well as doodling.
Majority of the users find it a great product for its price point with flexible design and sturdy make. The planner is pretty easy to carry as it is not very heavy for its size. However, some users find the pages to be a bit thin if written on with sharpies or dark markers/pointers.
4. LUX PRO Productivity Planner
This Productivity Planner is great for managing your time, projects and goals. The planner has a PU lather binder in dark brown color cover which gives it a very executive touch. It has 6-ring ‘clip-in, clip-out’ system that adds great flexibility and versatility to this planner. Separate inserts are also available for this planner. This also helps you to be a mindful shopper by refilling rather than tossing away the used product.
The package with a gift pack, an organizer and a refill of 6-month page pack with UNDATED A5 size papers. It includes pages for calendars (dated), long term goals, daily planners (undated), weekly reflections. There are pages for notes, finance tracker, savings tracker and project planner. It has a zipped pocket for small stuff, Various document pockets; card slots and an Elasticated Pen Holder.
It is a well-made and sturdy product which makes it a great gift option for ambitious, goal driven people in your life. One complaint by the buyers regarding the page quantity of the refills is that it should have 365 daily planner pages rather than 180.
5. Rocketbook Fusion Smart Reusable Notebook
The Rocketbook Fusion Smart Reusable Notebook provides an innovative solution to the way notebooks/planners are used. This eco-friendly notebook provides you with the love for writing notes by hand, yet it reduces paper wastage. This notebook comes in 2 sizes i.e. the Executive and the Letter size. The executive style is 6×8.8 in, whereas the Letter size comes in 8.5×11 in. It has 42 pages comprising of calendar, to-do lists and note templates. The overall design is sleek and minimal with 8 colors to choose from. The package also includes a Pilot Frixion Pen and 1 microfiber cloth.
This smart notebook comes with the innovation which reduces the paper wastage. It does so by the help of Rocket application which is freely available for Android and Ios. Once you have written down on the pages of this notebook, you can scan and upload them on any of cloud service(s) you use. Once you finish uploading your data, you can wipe clean the pages with the damp microfiber cloth.
Customers love the wide variety of page types such as monthly, weekly planning pages, OKR (Objectives and Key Results), grid and lined pages. It is a sturdy and light weight planner hence it is easy to carry. Some of the users found the provided Pen to be a bit leaky, so the 0.5mm Frixion Pen is quoted to be a better choice.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON MINIMALIST PLANNERS
The best minimalist planners are discussed above, all having specific premium features. To achieve your goals, you need to plan and be consistent with your efforts. A planner is a useful too to will help you prioritise your tasks and finish them in given timeline. Hence, you can choose from the above options the best planner as per your needs.