Decoding Basic Planner Terms: Part II

The planner launches continue over this and the coming weeks, so I figured it would be helpful to delve into some additional planner terms. Last week, I tried to define and explain the sorts of planner terms that are helpful to know, especially when buying online. (If you have not read last week’s article, check it out here).

This week’s article picks up where last week’s left off- getting into the specific features of some planners, explaining how some specialty planners are set up (and how they can be useful), revealing where to find planner reviews, exploring the world of planner accessories, and decoding planner terms you may see as you look at planners on social media.

This article is even longer than last week’s, so I’m going to keep the intro short and jump right into the terms.

Common Planner Features

Planner Bindings

The type of binding is a huge consideration when choosing a paper planner, and there are a number of options and sizes within each option. Here are some of the basics:

• Twin-Wire Coils. These are also known as Wire-O binding or Twin-Loop Binding, which are a type of wire coil binding commonly found in paper planners. With this binding system, there are twin wires that hold the book together using a C-shape binding pattern. They are usually found in gold, but can be any color, as seen in this one by Pipsticks and Workman.

• Single Wire Coil. This is anther popular binding system and one that lends itself to having interchangeable laminated covers (see below) added to it. The coils can also vary in strength and quality from wires that are extremely strong and sturdy to ones that can be easily bent out of shape. The price of the planner should correspond with the quality of the coil. Finally, these coils, although they are usual silver, can be made in other colors. The Plum Paper Planner Company has a great sturdy coil with interchangeable covers.
• Arc or Disc-Binding. An Arc or Disc-Bound planner is held together with round discs and holds paper that has been specially punched to fit in the discs. People who like to customize their own planners, adding inserts (see below) or their own printouts, often prefer this type of binding as you can easily remove and add papers. These planners can also be enlarged by purchasing expander discs, which are simply larger than the ones the planner came with. Discs come in a variety of sizes and colors. To create your own inserts, you only need to punch the paper (either with a disc-bound paper punch or by using some of the DIY methods found online). Although the Happy Planner is one of the best-known companies to use this binding system, there are a number of other brands, such as this one I’m using for a Home School planner I printed out:

• Book Binding. These planners are what the name implies- they are bound like regular books. And, like paper books, they can have hard covers and soft covers. The hardcover versions are often found in 3-month planning systems like the Penguin Planner or Panda Planner. Some of the thin-paper Japanese planners use a soft-cover book binding such as the Hobonichi planners. These planners are typically smaller and lightweight. For folks who use the bullet-journal planning method, most of the dot-grid notebooks used in that system are book-bound journals.

• Traveler’s Notebooks– I’ve written about these before, specifically in an article on how I use this system for a holiday planner. A Traveler’s Notebook is actually several thin notebooks that are linked together with elastic bands in a cover that wraps around and holds them together. These are a great way to stay organized as they allow you to use different notebook inserts (some with pre-printed calendar layouts, some with just lined, dot grid, square grid or blank pages). Folks who use these for planning will typically reserve one book for each type of planning they are keeping up with, for example one for a to do list, another to keep up with appointments, and a third book for budgeting. The cover can be made of leather or vegan leather like the one pictured here:

• Ring-Bound Planners. These are not to be confused with a 3-ring binder. Ring-bound planners come in various sizes, from small personal planners, to larger, A4 sizes. Most have 6 rings and the covers usually have pockets and card slots so the planner can function like a wallet. Like disc-bound planners, ring-bound planners are fully customizable as you can easily remove and add different papers and inserts, so long as you punch the papers properly. There are some punches you can purchase for your individual planner, but it is just as easy to use a hand-held punch and carefully make holes that fit the pattern of the ring. These planner covers come in a variety of colors and can run from inexpensive ones at craft stores to high-end beauties like the ones sold at Cloth and Paper.

Covers

Another consideration is the cover of your planner. How you plan to tote around and use your planner can help you determine which planner cover is right for you. Unless you’re purchasing a book-bound planner or one in rings, the cover is a feature that may vary depending on the planner you purchase.

If you’re the type of person who wants a light-weight planner that you plan to use at a desk, you will likely prefer a thinner, plastic planner cover. If you plan to use it while sitting on a couch and writing on it while it sits on your lap you may be better off with a hard cover. Here are some options:

• Laminated Covers- These covers are usually very versatile, and many companies make them interchangeable. A piece of cardstock paper is laminated within sturdy, clear plastic. They are usually found on coil and disc-bound planners and have the benefit of being flexible and water resistant. These may make it more difficult to write on if you use your lap to support your planner, but if you have enough pages in the planner, it shouldn’t matter. They are also more lightweight than other planner options. Because the plastic is sturdy, some companies include covers with pre-cut slits along each hole, so the cover is removeable and interchangeable with other similar covers.
• Plastic Covers– With plastic planner covers you have a single piece of plastic as the cover, and the design and texture will vary depending on the planner brand. These can range from flimsy (think generic plastic covered spiral notebooks from office supply stores) to a strong, thicker plastic (more like a flexible, plastic three-ring binder). What is nice about these is, like laminated covers, they are flexible and water resistant.
• Hard, Chip-Board Covers. You will typically find these on coil-bound planners and often on twin-wire or wire-o bound ones. These covers are, as the name suggests, hard. They are made up of a strong cardboard and often covered with a paper coating that can be sleek and glossy, matte, or a combination of both. If you like to write with your planner on your lap, these provide the most support. Some come with reinforced metal corners, usually in gold, like the ones on the Ivory Paper Co planners. However, you can also purchase book corners and reinforce your own planner if it does not come with this feature.

• Hard, Quilted Covers for Disc-Bound Planners. Some disc-bound planner brands also sell hard covers that are usually quilted. These have a hard, cardboard center. Some have a soft, leather-like quilted covering while other are not quilted. If you have a disc-bound planner and want more support when writing in it, you can usually purchase these in a variety of sizes to fit your planner.

Specialty Planners

If you are looking for a planner to jot down more than just your personal tasks and schedule, you might want to check out one of the many specialty planners that exist.

Basic Specialty Planners

Below are some of the more common specialty planners I’ve discovered during my planner-obsessed journey.

• Student Planners. I did an entire post on the new Simplified Student Planner, which can give you an idea of what features these sorts of planners have. Basically, these planners are designed with students in mind. They come in a ton of different formatting options, but most of them have a place to write down a class schedule, and they are meant to keep up with projects, assignments, tests, and quizzes. They all have different bells and whistles, from maps and period tables to goal-setting pages. They also run on an academic year timespan. Here is an option that is three-hole punched so you can easily fit it into a school binder system:

• Teacher Planners. Much like student planners, teacher planners run on an academic timespan. However, unlike other academic year planners, teacher planners include other features specific to teaching, including attendance charts, grading lists, and weekly layouts with space for lesson planning. These books tend to be larger than most personal planners, so there is room for all of the features. Some teachers use these as their primary planner for both their work and personal commitments, while others reserve them solely for teaching. I’ve seen folks who home school use these to organize their kids’ lessons. Because of the lesson planning space, which divides up the week with multiple boxes, some people use these planners for everything from content planning to budgeting. Here is an affordable, undated option:

• Budget Planners. These are also gaining in popularity. In a budget planner, you not only get monthly and sometimes weekly spreads, but there are fillable tables where you can track spending, bills, and income. While some people are using monthly planners or teacher planners for this purpose, budget planners help you break down and track your spending habits by providing pre-printed spending categories. The calendar spreads can be used to keep up when paychecks come in and when certain non-monthly spending items (think car insurance, homeowners association fees, and holidays) are scheduled to take place. Most of these books also include sections to write down savings trackers for long-term savings and sinking funds. Here’s a wire-bound one by Clever Fox:

• Fitness Planners. While you can certainly track your fitness goals, water intake, and daily steps in any planner you are using, some people have enjoyed having as separate planner for this purpose. And, of course, fitness planners usually come with monthly and weekly spreads, so you can always use them to track both fitness and your personal planning. Much like budget planners, most fitness planners have pre-printed sections to help track everything from weight loss to calories consumed. They are also useful for folks who are training for athletic competitions and need to log their progress as they make their way toward their training goals.

• Wellness Planners. These planners are sometimes referred to as fitness planners, although they usually include a self-care theme in addition to tracking fitness and physical health goals. This means that the planners will focus on rest, relaxation, and even spiritual fitness along with how we nourish and move our bodies. Here’s one by the Happy Planner:

• Faith. There are several types of faith planners on the market. If you Google the name of a particular faith, you will find a planner that is designed with it in mind. Faith planners have many different designs, but they usually include recommended scripture, a place to journal, and devotional readings. Each is unique and many people who use these planners find them to be a helpful way to remain centered in their faith as they plan and review their daily schedules. That said, if you wish to construct your own faith planner, check out this post on how to put together a simple one using Michael’s Reflections products. Otherwise, you can try one like this:

• Goal-Setting Planners. I have written a lot about the helpfulness of goal-setting planners. They can come in a number of different styles. The PowerSheets Planner I use is mainly made up of goal-setting worksheets and a habit tracker that helps you implement the goals you’ve set by following the habits needed to reach your goals. Other goal-setting planners are more like traditional planners with the goal-setting pages and trackers woven throughout. Here’s a smaller one, you can try:

• Housework Planners. This is another type of specialty planner that you could construct yourself using a plain planner that you fill with housekeeping routines and schedules. But, there is definitely some benefit to having chores and tasks already prewritten in a schedule for you. For those who love the Clean Mama blog, she has an amazing beautiful planner just for this purpose. . However, I’ve used a much more streamlined version. It’s less a full planner than a weekly layout with to dos. It’s also undated, which is helpful. See below:

• Home School Planners: There are planners designed specifically for parents who educate their kids at home. Much like student and teacher planners, these run along an academic calendar year and include areas for record-keeping, lesson plans, and goal setting. Features can also include lunch planning pages, goal-setting worksheets, habit trackers, budgeting charts, and space for faith planning. There are a number of these on the market. Here is one example:

• Wedding Planners. Of course, there are people who work in the wedding industry and hold these titles. (I think Jennifer Lopez played one in a movie once, right? 😁) Paper wedding planners are planners designed to help brides plan their weddings. Since weddings can be at any time of year, these are typically undated planners and can span up to 18-months. Within these planners, you can find features that can help the bride organize her choices on dresses, venues, and menus, as well as the bridal party, guest list, and events like the rehearsal dinner. Big planner companies such as Simplified now make beautiful wedding planners, however you can find affordable ones on Amazon such as this one:

Other Specialty Planners

There are so many random planners out there, but these are ones that I though deserved honorable mention:

• The Knitter’s Planner. This unique planner is meant just for people who knit for a hobby and includes patterns and ideas to keep you knitting all year long.
• The Artist’s Planner has space for artists and art students to sketch and create in each layout.
• Memory Keeping Planners. For those who want to photo-journal, the Happy Planner company makes several of these types of Planers, which are meant to hold the sorts of photos you get from portable photo printers:

• Health planners. There are several planners designed specifically to track medical and health issues. These can be dated planners, or they can be more like journals. They allow patients and their caregivers to keep important information all in one place and see a person’s progress over time. Whitney English has an amazing collection here.
• List-making Planners. Although you can use almost any planner to make lists, I have caught wind of one that has entire layouts made up of lined boxes. The Spaces Planner is known for being a “list-maker’s dream.” Check it out here.

Reviews

You probably want to know more about a planner before you purchase it. How popular is this planner? Do others use it? Are you likely to find it again next year?

The best way to find the answers to your questions is by watching or reading planner reviews. And, here are the best ways to find them:

1. YouTube. Just type in the name of the planner and the word “review,” and you should find some videos if the planner is popular enough to be reviewed. One of my favorite planner review channels is Amanda’s Favorites. She does a really thorough job of walking you through all of a planners features and specs. She also includes affiliate codes with discounts for her viewers. Another YouTuber I’m enjoying watching is Kelli Plans It All. She has a number of reviews featuring some lesser known planners, many of which were created by women of color.
2. Instagram. Between photographs and videos via IGTV, there are now plenty of planner reviews you can find on Instagram. Search for you planner name as a hashtag. Use the word “review” in the hashtag as well. (You can also find additional reviews by Amanda’s on her IG account- @amandasfavorites, and you can follow Kelli – @kelliplansitall).
3. Blogs. Google the name of the planner and see if anyone has included it in a planner review article. Around the beginning of the year, there are often articles about the “Best Planners for (fill-in-the-year), which may also feature short reviews of the planner you’re interested in. I try to include the occasional review of planners that I’m using, so feel free to check back here!

Planner Accessories

Now that you have your planner picked out, you may wish to purchase some accessories to make the planner truly work for you. Of course, you’ll need something to write with in your planner, but the accessories I’m describing are ones that will help you easily navigate the various parts of whichever planner you choose. Here are some common planner accessory terms to get you started:

• Tabs. Not all planners come with tabs, and when they do, they may not have tabs for everything you would like to quickly access in your planner. This is particularly so in planners that are coil-bound (so you cannot add or customize pages). You can purchase month tabs for untabbed or undated planners from most planner companies. Post-It makes great, sturdy plastic tabs, if you wish to add more tabs to the planner to easily find notes or budgeting sheets that you’ve added. Finally, you can make your own tabs using decorative paper using this punch:

• Dividers. These function similarly to tabs, but are most often found in more customizable planners such as disc or ring-bound planners. While you can make your own dividers, some companies sell extra kits or sets that include dividers to set apart the new inserts you are adding to your planner, such as these by the Happy Planner:

• Pocket folders. If your customizable  planner does not come with a cardstock folder, you might wish to get a pocket folder to add to your planner to hold receipts, cards, stamps or other small paper items. Again, this is more commonly found with disc or ring-bound planners. Here are some pocket folders, also for the Happy Planner:

• Dashboards– These are similar to dividers and can be used in a number of ways. Laminated dashboards are an accessory that can be used to write down additional notes (using a dry or wet erase marker), or you can use it to store sticky notes or washi tape. They also function like dividers because they can be placed in your planner to separate sections of the planner. Here is yet another by the Happy Planner (is there anything they don’t make?):

• Washi– This Japanese-created tape is like a thin, decorative version of masking tape. Washi can be used either as decoration in a planner, to cover up or serve as a tab or sticker that you can write on, and to tape papers into the planner. Because they are similar to masking tape, they are usually easily removable. They are affordable, come in multiple sizes, from thin to thick, and in lots of designs. Here’s a great set of them:

• Sticker Kits– Of course, you know what stickers are. Sticker kits, however, are meant to create a cohesive decorative layout in your planning pages. They can share a common color scheme or theme, such as holiday stickers. Moreover, some are specifically designed to fit certain types of planners. The most common are the ones used in vertical planning layouts such as those found in the Happy Planner or Plum Paper Planner. Here’s a set for any planner:

• Folios– A folio is basically a planner holder or carrier. They usually contain pockets to hold smaller accessories such as sticky notes and pens, and they usually zip up the planner to protect it from being jostled around in a bag. If you have a planner with tabs that stick out and can be bent by throwing in your bag, you may want to buy a planner folio to carry it in. Before buying, make sure that your planner will fit in the folio. Here’s a cute one by Lily Pulitzer:

• Pouches & Bags. There are a number of pouches and bags that hold accessories like wash, stickers and pens. To be a planner accessory, these should either fit into the planner itself, like ones created for ring and disc-bound planners, or they should attach to the planner using some sort of elastic band, like this one:

• Pen Loops and Pen Holder Clips. In order to keep your favorite pen with your planner, it helps to have something to hold your pen to the cover. Some planners come with these built-in. But for those that don’t, you can add your own. Some use an adhesive to add an elastic loop, while others simply use a metal clip, which attaches to the planner cover. Here is one of each:

• Page-markers– These are book marks that are usually held in the planner with magnets. They are preferred in planners given their slim width and the magnets, which hold them in place. Some come in sets like these:

• Book Darts. Like magnet book markers, book darts are meant to mark a page. The difference is that book darts are usually thin, small, metal pieces that clip onto a page. They take up very little space, making them ideal for smaller planners. Moreover, they usually have a point, that can be used as an arrow to point out where you left off on your page. Here are some of these vintage-looking page markers:

• Planner Paper Clips– Another way to mark your page and find it quickly are using decorative paper clips. These have become a popular accessory as companies market increasingly more creative paper clip tops. Companies like DG Journals Co. have a wide selection of these kinds of clips. The ones that are easiest to use to locate my pages are ones with tassels or some other item that sticks out of the planner. Here is one example:

• Planner Bands. This is another accessory you may need if your planner does not already come with a band to keep it closed. As your planner gets thicker (either from adding sticky notes, stickers, or washi), you may wish to use a band to hold it close and keep it from spilling its contents as you walk around with it. Here are some decent options (again, you need to make sure these work with the planner size):

Miscellaneous Planner Terms

Now that we’ve covered the types of planners available, their features and the accessories you can buy for them, there are some additional terms that you might find helpful as you shop for planners or check out how others use them on social media. Here are some of the more common terms:

• Functional vs. Decorative Planning. Functional planning means there are no bells or whistles to your planning method. It implies a minimalist approach, which uses writing and occasional highlighters in the planner. Decorative planning means you are planning with decorative elements like stickers, washi tape, and other embellishments.
• Before and After the Pen. If you are looking at layouts online, you’ll sometimes see one of these phrases. Before the pen simply means that the person has posted a photo of their planning layout without any of the written planning included. One reason to do that is because you keep your planning private, so the most you can show is your decoration. After the pen is sort of the opposite. It means that you have revealed the written planning (in addition to any decoration) in your photographed layout.
• “Plan with Me.” If you find a video on YouTube with this phrase, you will be watching someone set up their planner or layout in real time. It simply means they have recorded the process they used to set up their planner.
• Spreads. A “spread” is essentially someone’s planning layout. Sometimes it will refer to a decorative layout using a sticker kit. In a bullet journal, it may mean how they have set up their pages by drawing boxes and habit trackers to write down what they are planning.
• Inserts and Printables. These refer to planner pages that can be added to customizable planners such as disc and ring-bound planners. You can buy inserts from planner companies such as Cloth and Paper, or you can print them out by either downloading free printables or purchasing the rights to a download.
• Pen Test. These are often conducted as part of a planner review. A pen test usually involves the reviewer using several pens of varying ink to determine how well the planner paper holds up to those different types of pens.
• Bleeding and Ghosting. This goes with the pen test. If a reviewer notes that a planner’s paper allows for bleeding, you know that the ink used in that test will seep into the paper straight through to the other side and may end up marking the pages underneath. Ghosting, on the other hand, is when the ink does not bleed through, but you can still see a shadow of it on the back of the paper that was tested.
• Lettering. This refers to hand-lettered words that are written into a planner and looks more artistically drawn than written.
• Reveal vs. Launch. A planner reveal is when you get a sneak peak of the planner companies next line-up of planners. The launch is when the planners go on sale.

I hope that these terms are helpful as you check out planners, accessories, and the folks who enjoy using and sharing them. Are there any terms I missed? What are your favorite specialty planners or accessories? Leave a comment below!

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a link and make a purchase on Amazon, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you which will help me maintain this website. 😊

**Image credits-bullet journal with pens, and calendar with markers found on Pixabay.