UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.
Congrats to: Jenny (jpage84@…) and Lyss (lyss.rose@…)
Over the last 3 years, I’ve talked A LOT about planners here on my blog. I LOVE paper planners and calendars!
Although there are a few things Dave and I do digitally via Apple’s iCalendar, we both definitely prefer paper planners so we can see many days and weeks at one time, quickly scratch a couple notes down on a specific day, and vigorously cross off our finished items each day.
For the past 3 years, I’ve used the same planner — and I loved how the inside of the planner was set up. Vertical columns for each day of the week, a full week at a glance, and plenty of blank space at the bottom of each day to jot my notes, make my to-do list, etc.
It was the best planner (for my needs) I had ever found — however, last year the company changed management, their customer service plummeted, and their 2013 planners were not available until well into 2013 (crazy I know). Luckily, I had an extra one from the year before (and the dates aren’t written in so I could make the 2012 version work for 2013) and a friend gave me one as a gift — so I am actually set for planners for a few months yet.
But since I like to be prepared (and since I know the “normal” time to shop for a planner is right about now) I decided to start looking for other planners that had the same set-up as mine. I kept coming up short with many of the different companies and brands I looked into.
And then, a few weeks ago, The Personal Planner company (here is their Facebook page) contacted me about reviewing their planners and doing a giveaway on my blog. They told me I would be able to customize my planner for my personal needs — but I’ll be honest, I was not super optimistic I would be able to implement all my “planner essentials”.
However, after spending 3 or 4 minutes quickly looking through some of the customizable options, I felt fairly confident I could make a planner EXACTLY how I wanted and needed. Plus, I got a little creative and designed my own cover and back (more on this below).
After about 15 minutes (seriously, it didn’t take long at all) I had a planner that looked and functioned almost exactly like my previous planner, and it had several extra bonuses the old planner didn’t have — like extra pages in the back, customizable tabs at the bottoms of each page, and really fun colors and designs to pick from.
I was sold and immediately told the folks at Personal Planner that I would love to promote their planners on my blog!
Here are just a FEW of the customizable options:
- Size / style of the planner
- Color, design, font style of the inside pages
- Front and back cover (you can even create and upload your own custom design like I did)
- Page layout and page design
- Owner information page
- 3 tabbed sections on the bottom of every page (there are so many different options to choose from)
- Various choices for extra pages in the back of the planner
- Optional addition of your our own personal dates (birthdays, anniversaries, school days off, vacations, etc)
- Optional addition of your own addresses so you can have a complete address book included in your planner
- and so much more!
The process is super quick and easy. With just a few clicks here and there, you can totally change the look and design of your planner.
Here’s a TINY sampling of the various sizes, styles, colors, and designs:
One of the things that most attracted me to the Personal Planner is that although there are TONS of awesome pre-designed covers you can choose from (and then customize as desired), you can also upload your own pictures or your own complete design for the front and the back cover.
So you literally can personalize this planner to look exactly like you want. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been able to do this with any other planner company I’ve worked with — and I’ve tried my fair share of planners over the years 🙂
When I set out to create my planner, I wanted something really unique, and since we have a new baby coming in March, I didn’t want to use a picture that would then be out-dated in just a couple months. So I opted for a quote instead — and I just LOVE how the design turned out 🙂
Here are digital pictures of the actual front and back designs.
Simple, but definitely not something I’ll mind looking at for the next year or so 🙂
The Giveaway:
Today, 2 lucky readers will win a Personal Planner. Winners can completely design their own planner.
How to Enter:
{required} Leave a comment on this post. What do you look for in a planner?
If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.
Prizes:
(2) Personal Planners as described above.
This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Thursday, 11/21/2013 and is open to ANYONE, 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!
Holly says
I love crisp new planners. My college gave out the best for free! I like ample space to write To-Do lists each day, and the monthly calendar view (like that of Google Calendar), is a MUST.
Lisa Martin says
I look for a planner that has a week view and to do pages, Would also love for it to have menu planning and shopping lists as well as a spot for important numbers and noted. I would really love a customizeable planner.
Nicole says
I totally need to be able to see a full month at a time! For some reason, weekly snapshots never did it for me.
ilona t says
i like having a whole month at a glance!
terry says
I love making lists and feeling organized !
Katie says
I feel like we’re back to school shopping! When I’m picking out any sort of calendar, I need to be able to see both individual days and weeks at a glance. I also love how Snapfish calendars will print important personal dates right on the calendar, and it looks like these planners have the same feature. Nice!
luda says
Love! Would love to use for my daily plans!
Joanne Wright says
Love the customizable planners! I like David Allen’s “Getting to Done” (GTD) style, but I also want the option to customize some of this lists that I rely on. I could definitely see myself using and loving one of these. Thanks for sharing!
Vickie says
Love the week-at-a-glance!
Julie Schmit-Albin says
I go between two sizes of planners now, leaving larger size at home and smaller with me mobile. I need more space to write in the smaller planners but that necessitates only keeping a couple months of weekly and monthly pages in my smaller planner.
Mea Brown says
This looks like a wonderful planner!
Nicole says
I look for a lot of room for my daily tasks and homeschool curriculum, I would LOVE one of these planners!
Heather Salkeld says
Lots of room to write stuff down.
Lisa Joy says
I look for space to write all of my event details.
Tara Thom says
I love a planner that is flexible enough to help keep track of my family’s busy schedule, as well as “to do’s” and meal planning.
Joy Crile says
I live by my calendar as it keeps me organized but being able to personalize it is great.
Sandy says
I need a planner with lines on the days and the spiral wire binding. A sturdy cover is also helpful.
This looks like a great company with so many options. Thanks for the opportunity.
Cheryl Ives says
I love paper planners and would use one to keep track of my schedule and income (I am self employed) as well as events and appointments. I love feeling organized!
julia hutson says
I would LOVE this planner! I would use it daily for all my 3 kids and husband!!!!
Amy says
I love planners! I have not found the perfect one yet! I like to have a month at a glance and weekly. I need a lot of space throught planner to write.
Susan Clark says
I like vertical days, not full month. Places for writing; notes, thoughts, to-do list, etc. No hours. Love color and room to write.
Victoria @ Creative Home Keeper says
I love planners, in fact I may be a tad bit addicted to them! I love for planners to have a month view, as well as individual day space to record notes, meal plans, or time appointments. I also like my planners to have lots of blank pages for note taking. I have never heard of this company before, but now I’m definitely intrigued. Thanks for sharing and hosting the give away!
Kathi says
I like something easy to use and small enough to carry in my purse.
Tia says
I like to have slot of writing space and to be able to see a whole week at once, also for it to have a page with month so I can easily see what date falls on what day.
Kristen Dykstra says
I too love having a “paper” planner! Love being able to look at my whole week/ month at a glance.
Cheri says
I like a planner that is simple with not a lot of bling- simple is better!
Andrea says
I just want one that will help me to better keep track of pretty much everything I need on a daily basis in one place and can fit in my purse (which is big)!!
Stephanie says
In addition to all the neat organization tools, having a cute planner makes me smile!
Bill says
It’s important to look businesslike
Cheryl Sexton says
I like the week and month at a glance. Especially one that fits in my purse. I would use it for home and work. I love the quotes!
Gary says
I like daily and monthly views
miranda says
plenty of space to write
Tara says
I would love to try this! I have tried so many different planners and this one sounds great! I even tried creating my own with a notebook and post it tab dividers. I would love to give this one a try!
Jennifer Moore says
I just need the planner to fit in my purse! 🙂
Barrie says
I like a planner that I can fit in my purse…it has got to go shopping, to work, and anywhere else to refer to dates for me! I love a month at a glance and a week at a glance- with lots of room to write activities for my kids and my husband and me.
Kathryn says
I like hours for each day to record appointments and track my daily activities, week & month at a glance, space for notes and additional pages in front and/or back. Thanks for the giveaway!
Rena says
The ability to reference past dates. I need the entire year in one planner, together. And space to take notes.
Jenna says
This would be great for my direct sales business and gifts for my team!
Chelsea M says
I look for month at a glance as well as needing the weekly view with room to write out the schedule. I’ve never know about ordering a customizable planner. There’s so many new things to track including daily water intake goals and daily exercise goals, that this seems like a great option for me!
I love the quote on your cover! Beautiful!
Jen says
I literally just bought my 2014 planner but these look awesome! I look for planners that have an overview of each month and then each week separately with more space. I like being able to write more details on specific days.