Paper Planners
It’s Back-to-School time! For parents, that often means back to organizing, scheduling, and planning the family’s lives 24/7 to stay ahead of bills, homework, and activities. Check out these six great options, for fans of both paper and pixel (I tend to prefer paper myself, but these apps might just sway me to use both).
I have tried many different paper planners over the years, but my most recent favorite has to be the Desktop Planner by momAgenda. The internal layout is perfect for a multitasking mama. When my son was young and I was balancing working full time and doing freelance work for different websites, the sections on each weekly page for children’s tasks easily doubled as a space for each website or task type that I was completing.
There is a section for a monthly overview, then each month is broken down into weekly pages as shown above. Spaces for four children are provided, which is incredible for dividing up everyone’s tasks over the week. The cover is sturdy, made of quality materials, and the additional sections for vacation planning, notes, websites, passwords, and more make this planner worth every penny.
Many of my friends and online acquaintances rave about the Emily Ley Simplified Planner. They have to be correct about their love for the product because they tend to sell out quickly when they are released. A talented graphic designer friend of mine is a huge fan of her Simplified Planner due to the clean layout, open space, and task lists. This planner has been on my list of ones to check out but I have missed their window of availability the last two times I was hoping to buy. Stay tuned, they become available on September 3rd — in just a couple of weeks!
If you’re looking for a stylish planner that you can pick up in person in town quickly, check out the Lilly Pulitzer Agendas. They feature the classic, beautiful, and whimsical cover designs along with stickers (love them!), elastic band for closure, new graphics, and even a horoscope page. The cover is hard and will hold up through heavy use. Cute and functional? Win/win!
Get Organized with Apps
Now…on to planners via pixel! A classic, highly recommended, top rated, and favorite of mine is Evernote. Available for Windows, iPhone, and Android. You can have your own personal space or share with a friend or coworker for joint parties or projects. It’s a wonderful app for collaborate work. You can take photos of recipes, upload personal photos for filing away, or even keep up with your budget. Evernote is a great app for keeping your personal life organized among your many different interests and needs.
Habit List is an app designed for motivating you to reach your goals, stay focused, and track your progress. This app reminds me of the advice from Jerry Seinfeld in regards to productivity — keeping a chain of behavior going to make your task become habits. I love it and look forward to trying it out. The simple and clean interface looks intuitive and easy to use. If you’re visually motivated, this would be a great one to check out, regardless of what behavior or task you need or want to become a habit.
While researching highly recommended apps for family planning, I have discovered Cozi. Though I cannot recommend this one from experience, it has won me over with it’s multi-user system, family calendar, day-at-a-glance views, and task lists. This app looks perfect for managing a busy household schedule in every way. Their tagline is “Family Life. Simplified.”
Above is a screenshot from Cozi’s website. You can flip between views via task and type, stay on top of the daily calendar, divide tasks up via family member, and send messages to each other regarding progress. I’m impressed and look forward to trying this (free) app out soon!
These are the top six planners and apps that stood out to me as tops. What do you think? Do you have any favorites listed or do you recommend one not mentioned?
