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!
Karrie says
I like to be able to see a full week at a time and have a place to write notes.
kathy bremer says
What do I look for in a planner to keep me organized? A miracle worker!! Seriously, lots of space for writing and extra places for keeping different kinds of lists.
Allison says
I look for one with big enough space for me to write in. I don’t have tiny handwriting!
Julie H says
I love a planner that has lots of space to write in it and that looks neat and tidy.
Amelia says
I love a planner that I can see my week organised in 1 glance. Also places for extra notes I need regularly like shopping lists, to do lists and meal plans.
Aishwarya says
A planner of my dreams will be with lots of white spaces and the right amount of compartmentalization. This planner looks so functional and cute dfdsgADSAFDGfhy that I’m already dreaming of owning one.
(*as I was typing this, my toddler daughter jumped on my lap and happily played around the keys before I could stop her. Since she’s always been my lucky charm, I did not want to delete them. It kind of gives me a crazy hope that I might win one 🙂 Sorry about the typos.)
Michele says
Lots of space to write! I am so busy all of the time and there never is a paper planner that has the room I need.
Amanda says
I like to have a section for grocery items and a menu section for each day. I like to have enough writing space for projects, plus, I add my son’s appointments and things to do with mine as well.These planners look awesome! Thanks!
Rhonda Massena says
I look for room to write stuff down. I also look for monthly & weekly views.
stacey says
I love the week at a glance with enough room on each day to write down everything that needs to be done!
nicole rao says
What I look for in a planner is enough room for my bigger handwriting, and a good size monthly view. I also love any space that is specifically for meal planning.
Donna Garcia says
A great planner helps me organize and fulfill goals by reminding me to meet my milestones and incorporate steps to get me to the goal line. Lots of writing places and planning places is also helpful! Thanks for running this promo Andrea!
Marie says
I look for simple and functional, this one looks awesome
Daphne Murray says
I need plenty of room to write notes and to-do lists.
Vickie S says
I would just like to have enough room to write big enough to see it and a couple of blank lines to write a bible verse or prayer lists.
Briana says
I look for the ability to time block my days with different colors. I am a visual person and need space for color!
Becky S says
I like being able to see a week at a time. Because of my job, I like having times listed to schedule appointments. I also like have a place to write a To-Do list or make notes. And it can not be cumbersome. Something that is easy to throw in my purse or a bag.
Kim says
I look for something that’s easy to use, preferably with a calendar.
kelly says
I love this time of year – there is nothing like the feeling of a brand new, free of markings, planner just waiting to be filled in, scratched off, and filled up with events, and tasks for the new year!
Anna says
I need this journal so I can get organized again. I use to have a planner in college that was perfect, the perfect size, the perfect layout and the perfect information that I needed to keep up with. Since they stopped making it I have bought so many planners and have gotten frustrated with the complexity of newer planners or the simple ones are not big enough or don’t hold the information I need.
It would be great to be able to customize my own. I have view the site and created one and it looks like it would be a perfect fit for me! I would love to try one of these out!
Krystle L. says
I need/look for something that’s going to keep my attention & be functional. I love planners and such but it really is hard to find something that suits me. I love the idea of it being customizable. 🙂
Jocelyn says
I need plenty of space to write appointments, when things are due, and my to-do lists for each day. Then, I need at least four other sections for other things that I keep in my planner. One of these is my address book complete with all phone numbers and email addresses. Also, I need plenty of pages in the back for notes. Normally, I need what is like a ringed binder so that I can add pages as needed, but maybe I could design one that has all that already in it.
Andrea says
For a planner to be “workable” for me it requires having both the month at a glance as well as the days of the week, one week at a time, for listing out my appointments for any given day. I also like them to be a bit larger and therefore easier to read! 🙂
Alissa says
How fun to personalize it! I like the planner on my phone but use a paper one still! There’s just something about writing it down with ink!
lyss says
plenty of space for to-do lists!
Catie Pershing says
My most important component of a planner is enough room to write and NO LINES! I like to draw in pictures and highlight and generally lines ruin that! I really like a vertical portrait layout, because I tend to write lots of lists and horizontal layouts don’t work well with that.
Kara says
A planner needs to be sturdy enough to stand up to being thrown into my purse day after day.
Tammie Allen says
I absolutely love planners and calenders, paper ones! I am always in search of the perfect size with enough space for quick jot notes and my planned schedules. It seems I change many times a year which is even more time consuming! I would love to win one of these so maybe I can cure the changing habit.
Angela Jones says
What I look for in a planner is enough space for writing notes, appointments, etc.
Elizabeth c. says
I look for lots of writing space. I would love this!
Becky says
How much fun I could have designing this planner. I love planners, notebooks, sticky notes, etc. It would be great to win one.
Sandy says
When choosing a planner I look for an effecient use of space. Daily to do lists, shopping lists, menu plans and project notes all available at a glance. Not that easy to find!
Courtney says
This is an awesome concept! I like to plan by the week but also see a month at a glance quickly/easily.
Erin says
as a new mom about to move across the country and start a new job in a city that’s filled with my family, this will be a HUGE help for me to get everything in one place – from my husband’s schedule, to lunch with mom, to nights out with the cousins… this will be used so well!
Shantel says
This looks great! I prefer vertical columns for each day like this planner has. And I love that you can customize so much of it!
Elizabeth H says
I like to have a weekly calendar section as well as a monthly section. That way you can see at a glance what you have in a given month, but you can also add more details in the weekly calendar section.
Sue Shaffer says
I am a planner geek! I can’t live without it…have been using them for years. I used to use the Franklin Covey system religiously but that was when I worked full time. Now, as a mom, I’ve scaled down but have to find the same one each year [I sometimes wish I could order a few years in advance, lol 🙂 ] I’ve found that I love “Blue Sky” b/c I use both the month-at-a-glance, as well as a weekly spread. I must have the tabs for the months– it only makes sense. But no planner has it all for me…so I look for inserts such as the Post-It brand sleeves, business cards holders. I’ve even gone as far as making my own inserts to personalize for just was I need (divisions for ‘work’, ‘school’) . I NEVER fill out the contacts section but cut and paste from a template I keep on my computer. I prefer a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, it’s just easy to cart around in a tote or large purse. I am also a geek about bill planners ! Hey, it works for me.
Danielle G. says
I love planners that encourage me to keep up with them. It helps to write things down physically because e-calendars don’t always help. Plus I’m a list maker so I need spots for those!
Laura says
Still using paper planners. I would love to be able to customize it. Thank you for this fun giveaway!
Christina Steinhart says
This looks amazing! With trying to keep it all organized I look to be able to have it all in one. Full week view, space for notes, a place for my budgeting, projects and being able to fit all of our schedules. I think creating one is the perfect option for me!