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!
Karimey Berbach says
What busy mom couldn’t use a personalized calendar? Life is busy with work and kids and social and dinners and appointments… so this would be a great resource. Even if I don’t win, happy to have your referral for the product!
Rachael Colman says
I LOVE planners! I have never been able to find one to fit my needs exactly, so I made my own with notes space, a priorities checklist, and 7 days a week broken down into half-hour increments (as a grad student and opera singer that also has a day job, every half hour is precious). The thing is, I designed my planner to be 2 8.5×11″ pages per week, which is quite large. I’d love to have a more compact version and it sounds like personal-planner.com is the answer!
Melinda Yakich says
I like for a planner to have vertical columns, lines, and writing space.
Lizanne says
After reading your previous post(s) about planners a few months ago, I decided to go back to paper, since the calendar on my phone doesn’t meet my needs quite as I’d like. I found a planner that’s been working pretty well for me. The only thing is that it runs from August to August! I guess this is geared towards students or teachers, and it’s not the worst drawback, unless I can no longer find this exact planner next August! I would love one of these new planners because it is so customizable (why didn’t anyone thing of that before?)–I like seeing the week at a glance, but also a full-month page, and plenty of spaces to write notes, lists, etc.
Vanessa Scott says
I was so excited when I saw this give away! I LOVE LOVE LOVE planners. I use an old school Franklin Covey Planner that I refill every year, but I haven’t purchased a new one yet. I also use alot of white boards around my home to help me plan for that day. Love your website, read it everyday! 🙂
Nicole says
I have been actively searching for the perfect planner for this year. It is hard to find a weekly/ monthly planner that has a Sunday start instead of a Monday. It has to be durable, lightweight, and small enough to fit in my purse like 5x8in.
Sandi Squires says
I am retired and need to keep track of Dr ‘s I need to see . I also need to keep track of my days and appointments.for all of my volunter work that I do. I still need lots of help with my meal planning.
Stephanie Martinez says
This looks soo awesome and is exactly what I have been looking for to get my husband, son and myself organized and less stressed!!!
Laura Samojlowicz says
I love a planner that shows the full month, then a full week on a page with ample space to write in appointments and also shows somewhere on each page the previous month, current month and following month. I love paper appointment books, I certainly use my phones calendar for my own work schedule but I have to have a paper calendar book too!
Donna says
I have tried planners from 4 different companies so far and all have fell short. This one looks like it would be “just right”. I like a simple organized layout with ample space for notes.
Karen says
I need a planner for practice schedule, meal planning, birthdays, appointments, etc. Anything to keep me sane.
mary says
Would be a great way to start the new year!!
Lori says
I like a planner with a monthly and weekly view, with room to take notes and To Lists.
Jennifer says
I like having space to make a to-do list in my planner as opposed to having on in a separate space. I also like having lines on each date showing each hour of the day so I can write in what I have to do during a specific timeframe.
deborah says
I like space for each day to fill in my appointments and to-do lists and I also like having a whole month at a glance page.
Jamie says
I love paper planners with enough space to list everything that I have going on or need to do in a day
Holly says
I look for columns for the days and space for notes that I’m always jotting down.
Kathryn says
I love paper planners and calendars. I just can’t do the whole digital thing, trust me I’ve tried.
I love having a week laid out in front of me but I also need a monthly layout as well. It’s nice to see the whole month at once. But, here’s the clincher, the months and weeks must be interfiled. So the month of January is followed by the weeks for January, then you have the monthly overview of February followed by the weekly layout for February, etc.
I also need a lot of room for notes and lists, like a place to write down what my 6 year old is willing to eat…
Leanne says
paper..and wide spaces for each day…I’ve wanted one to customize for a long time!
Tammy says
This sounds amazing!! I often go to Office Max to buy mine. Also, I have a secret santa at work and my “girl” would love this! She is more organized than I am and this would be a great gift. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Audrey says
I love paper planners! I like mine to be colorful but not too busy. I like all the options that are available with this planner.
Gwen says
I’m not sure exactly, but it would be fun to try to customize my own! Sound like fun!
Dana Hagerty says
I like a planner where I can view one week at a time but also one where each day has enough writing space that I can write not only what is going on that but also things my kids did that I want to remember. For example: My son recieved his first soccer medal the other day and slept with it in his bed that night! So cute. Little things like that you forget and its fun to look back at your planners and read them.
Alison DeRooy says
Great idea!!
kim says
I love that you can personalize . I have busy sports family , own business , need lots of room for appointments and sporting events .
wanda h says
I look for simplicity and space to write. I love motivation and inspiration, so I have to have some quotes and things to keep me going.. Thanks for doing a giveaway 🙂
Tracy Cherry says
I always look for a friendly layout first. I have to be able to see the whole week and still have room to write on every day.
Kim S. says
I love planners! I would absolutely love to win this and start the new year with a new planner. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
Michelle says
I look for functionality and size … and if the planner is fun to look at, even better!!
Erica says
I look for daily pages, monthly pages and lots of room to write!
Erin says
Being able to customize to my needs.
Cheryl says
Perfect timing. I’ve bern looking for a new binder to fit my needs..having a monthly daily at a glsncr and custimizable….this is awesome!
Erin says
There aren’t many material things that make me excited. But when it comes to picking out a new planner, I’m as giddy as a fat kid eating cake! So when I saw this post about a truly personal planner you create, I started to drool. Literally. All over my phone. It’s gross. I hope I win!!
Pat Howell says
There’s something very gratifying in the process of marking through completed tasks listed in a paper planner. I love the convenience of grabbing it from my bag and jotting down thoughts, or things to do as well as having a quick way to see what my day, wk or even month looks like with a glance. Be sure to give the purchase information to everyone who doesn’t win one.
Angela C. says
I was just looking for a new planner last week at Staples. I didn’t end up buying one because I just didn’t feel that any of the planners met my needs. It would be nice to have a planner where you can have your “important dates” input into the planner instead of having to write it in. One of the things I hate when I get a new planner is having to re-write all the birthdays and misc things all over again….it is so tedious.
Denise W says
I love this idea and would be honored to have one of these planners. As someone who has disorganized thoughts constantly and trouble staying on task – this looks like it would be something beneficial for me. Tons of room to write and I love the page style of being vertical. Thanks for the opportunity to win one.
sylvia wilson says
Love the look of these planers. They are great 🙂
Melissa Thomas says
These planners are beautiful! Right now I use a flip top notebook. And I don’t use it very effectively.
kelly says
I look for something nice and light so I can pop it into my hand bag but also something similar to you ie I must be able to have a good amount of space to have a to do list each day and can see the week and month ahead. A cool design also helps!
Zala says
Wow, this is the best planner I have seen in a very long time. I make yearly resolutions that I *will* DIY a planner, but it never gets done. Designing this planner I could actually accomplish my resolution this year!