Day Designer Review: Mini Paper Planner

Can you believe it’s already time to buy a new planner? Does anyone else remember how we all put our old planners on a back shelf, in the trash, or flat out lost our 2020 planners?

Since 2020, something very apparent to me has been getting a new paper planner to hold all of my life, financial, and social media goals in one place. Most importantly, it needed to function as a travel calendar and blog post scheduler for the entire year.

This year, I tried two different planners, and this one won.

So, I’m excited to share what I loved. I’m also excited to share what I didn’t love, but learned to work around.

Might O’s Lemon Poppy Seed Donut & my Day Designer Mini!

Table of Contents

Day Designer Review: Mini Paper Planner

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I think the best thing about this planner is that it comes in a mini version and that it’s 12 months. My friend and I had a conversation about only getting a 6-month planner, but the truth is, I look forward to a LOT. My trips are often planned out an entire year in advance. Sometimes (okay, a lot of times), my blog posts go along with them.

If you’re thinking about getting the regular-sized planner, that’s a great option too. Personally, it doesn’t fit with my lifestyle. If my planner wasn’t going to leave my desk, I would get the bigger option but because I’m always on the go, the mini works best.

What I use my Day Designer Mini Planner for:

As of right now, I’m using it for a lot of things but primarily as my:

Blog Scheduler
Travel Planner

Other channels I document in my planner:

Social life calendar
Therapy notes and aspirations
Financial goals and motivation
Social media goals
Gratitude & affirmations journal
Mood gauge

What I love about the Day Designer Mini Paper Planner:

It’s almost the exact same planner as the bigger paper planner.
The thick paper.
I can use Sharpie markers without concern of bleed through.
The Daily Gratitude box.
The quotes at the top – sometimes they’re my affirmation for the day.
To-do list with check boxes!
The gold coil!
It’s big enough to still decorate with stickers.
There’s a column on the calendar I use for metrics and “books I’m reading”.
The “ideal week” page – which helped me build a routine at home this year.
It’s compact and not too wide or too tall.

What I didn’t love about the Day Designer Mini but learned to work around:

The “Dinner” box – I never use it; instead, I use it as a reminder box.
Stickie notes do not fit in the calendar boxes – I have to cut them to fit.
The “Dollars” box – still trying to figure out how to use this box. Who uses this??
There isn’t a “notes” page at the beginning, end, or back of the month/planner – I would use them!
The “today” column starts at 7 and ends at 7 – my days tend to go from 5-9, but I just cross off numbers.
A flimsy bookmark – I use it, but the writing wears off, and I use a paper clip to mark the month.
Saturday & Sunday are two calendar columns – I use them as a check box list instead.

What I’ll change about using my Day Designer Mini Planner in 2022:

I plan to fully take advantage of the beginning organizational & goal pages. Last year, when I got the planner, I didn’t think to write anything in pencil, so I didn’t write anything at all. It would be amazing to review every 3 months, to see if my priorities have changed, what’s new in my life, and who I want to be going forward.

The pages are:

Self-assessment: Where am I in life? (divided by life segments and importance).
What’s important to me? (a circle chart with values, passions & strengths).
My goals: What is important to me? (divided every three months to balance goals with intention).
My plan: What steps do I take to get there? (breaking down goals by month, week & day).
Ideal month: Making it happen
Ideal week: Making it happen

If you want to see what these look like, that Day Designer website has printables so you can test them out before making them permanent. Another thing I wish I knew before jumping in.

Final Thoughts:

Will I buy another Day Designer Mini Paper Planner?

Yes! I bought the same planner again. In a lot of ways, I wish I could test out the bigger size because they had more cover options, but I’m really happy with the one I chose. I went with the Mini Daily Planner in Floral. It’s super pretty but not overstated.

Cost:

Last year, I had a tough time with the price. However, this time of year is sale season. So, I got it 20% off, plus shipping.

At the end of the day, I thought of it as an annual subscription that I can cancel every December. I also concluded that I would use it almost every single day, and because of that, the price divided by my daily use came out to be roughly 14 cents a day.

As always, guys, thanks for reading my Day Designer Review: Mini Paper Planner. I don’t write as many lifestyle posts as I used to, and it’s a goal of mine for 2022.

If you’re still not feeling the Day Designer, one of my friends, Amanda, bought the Agendio and swears by it. She says it’s the perfect “Mommy Planner”.

Best of luck on your planner hunt!