Planner Review: 2022 Recovery Edition Happy Planner & Sticker Book
It’s a little late in the season, but I had to fit one more review in. As such, this will be the last planner review I’ll be writing for this year’s planner launches. In this series, I’ve reviewed a couple of planners that I’m going to be using for my daily and weekly plans. However, this review is for a planner that I will be using more like a journal: the Happy Planner Recovery Edition.
I reviewed the 2021 version of this planner last year (find the review here), which also happened to be the first year the Happy Planner offered this type of planner. After watching a YouTube video about the planner, I became intrigued and wanted to see what it was like.
Last year, there was a companion Recovery Guided Journal and Recovery Accessory Pack/Planner Companion, which I also reviewed. This year, I decided to skip getting the Guided Journal (as I still haven’t finished working in last year’s) and just purchased the planner. However, I was excited to see that the Happy Planner created a sticker book to go with its Recovery line of products this year, so I bought that as well.
For more information about the many ways you can use this planner, please see last year’s review. This year, I will be listing the various features of this planner and how they differ from the first version.
Table of Contents
Planner Review: The Happy Planner Recovery Edition
This planner is so versatile, and I have been using my 2021 version as a wellness planner and daily journal. I note my therapy and support group sessions in the calendar layout. I use the left side of the weekly dashboard layout to list out goals, track habits, and review my week. The right side of the layout is where I list one thing I’m grateful for per day and the few lines for each day is where I journal about my wellness. I also use the mood trackers as designed.
Similarities with last year’s planner
The arc-disc, calendar year Happy Planner Recovery Edition planner retained a lot of the features from last year. In it you will find:
Size– This is a class-sized planner, so it measures 7 x 9.25”. It has 9 discs and fits classic-sized paper inserts, so you can add more pages if you need them.
Layout– They have kept the same monthly/weekly planner layout as last year’s version. They are two-pages for each week in a dashboard, recovery layout on the left and a weekly planning page with 8 sections- one for daily gratitude and the remainder for each day of the week (each section has an equal amount of space).
Nameplate page– The first page in the planner has a space to write in the owner’s name. It also notes this is a Recovery Edition Happy Planner.
2022 and 2023 yearly overviews– all the months of each year are laid out on its own page.
Year at a glance pages– These are found in every Happy Planner and it allows for a quick view of long-term planning.
Monthly layouts– The monthly calendar pages are similar to those of other Happy Planners with a lined sidebar on the left for taking notes and a calendar grid which includes some holidays in small writing. Only the days of the month have been numbered.
Decorated monthly tabbed dividers– As with last year’s version, the dividers are made of sturdy cardstock with tabs listing the name of the respective month. Also like last year, some tabs have a matte, metallic foil while others are laminated.
Notes page– Also like last year, there is a single notes page at the end of the planner. I was disappointed that no accessory pack was created for this year’s planner. Last year, the accessory pack included extra notes pages that matched the one in the planner and made it easy to add a notes section.
Weekly planning pages. These have been left unchanged except for the new color and design theme, noted below.
Differences between this and last year’s planners.
There is truly very little that has changed, and that is likely because their first edition of this planner was already in great shape. That said, there are a few differences.
Design theme and colors– I don’t know that last year’s planner had a named design theme other than “recovery.” This year, the design is “Abstract Watercolor.” Throughout the planner, you will find While last year’s colors were warm tones with lots of pink and rose gold, this year the color is a little more subdued.
- Discs. The disks are a lovely shade of blue that almost has a hint of teal to it.
- Monthly color theme. The colors rotate between shades of a dark burgundy, navy blue, and rusty brown. They are far more muted, and I wonder if it might be a way to make the planner more gender neutral.
- Font. The writing seems to be in a modern, minimalist font. This helps to maintain the more gender-neutral feel of the planner.
- Weekly layouts. Last year, the “spine” of the layout (the parts of the pages that adhere to the discs) were blank. This year, the spines have a light decorative watercolor design that coordinates with the month’s color theme. While it adds a nice decorative element, it might make it challenging to decorate the page, depending on the types of stickers you use.
Covers and dividers– The covers are laminated cardstock, as always. Both the covers and the tabbed dividers match the color theme of the planner. Each has an abstract watercolor design with inspirational phrases throughout. One stark difference I noticed was the lack of 12-step recovery slogans. The ones on the cover and dividers are far more general than last years, as a result.
Yearly overview sidebars– Last year, the yearly overviews were simply made up of each year’s monthly calendars. This year, there are notes sidebars on the outer parts of each page. This is a great idea as it allows for space to take notes in this section.
Goals for the month. Although this section, still located to the left of the next month’s tabbed diver, has the same 7 sections (Be Active, Rest, Nourish, Forgive, Gratitude, Acknowledge, and Action), the page design is slightly altered. Last year’s had a very faint, dot grid design on the page that faded from right to left. This year, half the page is blank and the other half has a more pronounced dot grid, which allows for more easily creating columns within this section.
Monthly layouts. The months are effectively the same except that the Saturdays and Sundays are no longer shaded in (all of the days are the same – the blank white of the page). Also, the color scheme of the monthly pages are all the same and do not match the weekly layouts that change each month.
Weekly dashboard pages. These are also largely unchanged.
- Habit tracker. One small change I appreciate is in the habit tracker section. What used to read, “To be _____this week, I am going to do . . .” now reads, “To be _____ this week, I am going to . . . .” While this may seem like a trivial difference, it makes it easier to write out habits that don’t have to follow the words “to do.” So, if the habit is to get more rest, you can simply write that instead of crossing out the “do” as I’ve done all year.
- To do this week. This section now has 7 lines with a circle marking where to write a checkmark.
- Write it down. Since the “To do this week” section expanded, it took some space from this section, which used to be called “Jot it down.” So, rather than 12 lines for notetaking, it now has 9.
- Weekly check in. This area used to be made up of shaded boxes. The boxes now have no shading and are bordered by lines.
I really like the new aesthetic of this year’s recovery planner, and think I’m going to enjoy working in it as my wellness planner in 2022. It’s a more gender-neutral theme (although still has some references to women), so it may attract a wider audience of planners.
My hope is that the Happy Planner folks will continue offering this thoughtful and helpful planner! (And, that they’ll bring back some sort of accessory pack to go with next year’s). If you are still hoping to purchase last year’s companion pack, you can find it at Amazon.com (#Ad).
Abstract Watercolor-Recovery Sticker Book
As I noted above, there is no companion or accessory pack for this year’s Recovery Edition planner. Last year, the accessory pack included some recovery-themed stickers. In addition to a dashboard insert, vision board dividers, journaling pages, notes pages, half-sheets, and a bracelet, the set also included 6 pages of the stickers.
The stickers in last year’s pack were very-much 12-step based. There was a sheet devoted to phone numbers, including a sponsor’s number. Another sheet had “chips” marking months and years of sobriety. Other stickers had recovery phrases such as “Keep it Simple” and “Easy Does It.”
This year’s sticker book is a mix of decorative elements (truly meant to decorate the planner) and far more generic inspirational phrases such as “Just Show Up” and “Believe In Yourself.”
The book boasts 892 stickers contained in 10 pages and is a mix of abstract water color designs with no writing and designs with foiled writing. Some stickers will work well in the monthly layout, while others will work beautifully on the dashboard and weekly planning pages.
One page of stickers is devoted to mood tracking, while the last page of stickers is entirely in gold foil and has strips of phrases. Finally, all the stickers are sized for the classic planner and would work well in a dashboard layout.
I am always impressed with quality and thoughtfulness of the Happy Planner products. The Recovery Edition retails at $29.99, which is a phenomenal price for all the features this planner has. You can purchase it at the Happy Planner online store, the JoAnn online store, or on Amazon.com (#Ad)
Did you use the Happy Planner Recovery Edition last year? If so, how did you use it? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on it!
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**Image credits-images on graphics and in article are originals by Vidalia Patterson.
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