35 Comments

  1. Kayse – how do you handle contacts and things like website and passwords? I just got the Simplified Planner but I am struggling with where to put all of those must have numbers and key info for frequently needed things like airline and hotel rewards account info. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

    1. I actually keep all of that on my computer or phone, password protected. I don’t want it written down anywhere. But, if you get the weekly edition of the Simplified Planner, there’s a large notes section at the back – that could work!

  2. Hi Kayse,

    Would you recommend the simplified planner for a student?

    1. Yes! Especially the Academic Editions (which are on sale right now!). It’s so simple – really I think anyone can make it work for them. The Daily would be great, especially if you use the time slots each day.

  3. I can’t seem to find that planner on the website.. I really like this one…

    1. The just released their Academic Editions a couple months ago. New tradition calendar year editions will be released September 7th!

  4. I really wish I had found you before I ordered my planner! I got the Living Well Planner and was so excited, but now I really wish I had waited. I am really loving the idea of the Simplified Planner. It was too much of an investment to not use the Living Well one, so I guess I have to wait for a full year!

    PS Absolutely LOVE reading your blog. You are so helpful and down to earth. I am going to try hard this summer to start my day before the little one wakes up. Love that idea!

  5. Helene Trueheart says:

    Hi Kayse,

    Thank you for your planner review! Have you every looked at “Me and My Big Ideas” planners? Thoughts?

    Thanks!

    1. I have, and it’s cute!!! But it’s so very similar to the Erin Condren Life Planner, and also to Limelife’s weekly planner, that I just didn’t see a point in including all of them. But it’s also a good option!

  6. Kayse, I am so glad I found this post!!

    I’ve been looking for a planner that will work for me! Life is busy, homeschooling, ministry, blogging, appointments… it’s hard to find something that is a perfect fit for everyone. I bought a Happy Planner yesterday at Michael’s and was all excited to try it. Thank the Lord I bought a 2015-2016 version on clearance for only $12.99 just to check it out and see how I feel about it. Oh boy, 1 day into it and it is not my favorite. I might change my mind later, who knows? I will check out the Simplifier Planner now. Thank you so much!!!

    PS: I love your page!!! <3 I just subscribed to your emails so I won't miss anything and liked it on Facebook.It is so inspiring. Praise God!

    1. Yay! Thanks so much! I’m so glad you’ve joined us! The NEW Simplified Planner covers are actually being revealed tomorrow, and then they go on sale next month. I’ll be doing a review. I can’t wait!!!!

  7. Christina weihert says:

    Do the stickers work in the 2016 Simplified Planner?

  8. I wish I had seen this a few weeks ago! I just bought my 2016 planner from Plum Paper, and while I LOVE having everything broken down by person (each family member gets their own row in the family planner) it is a weekly planner and sometimes I just need to see my day broken down! I make a daily breakdown on my phone, but nothing can replace a paper planner, so I may be biting the bullet and adding this to my “must buy” list! It’ll be my daily go-to and my Plum Paper can be the bullet point planner that has all the big things of each week so my husband can find things at a glance. This looks perfect!

    1. Oh, it’s my favorite!!! Especially when I need to get back into a routine. Having just one day to look at is amazing!

  9. I have been looking at the Simplified Planner and a few others and doing research. I have been really intentional this Fall to pick a planner than will work for the whole year and help me achieve my goals for the year. The more I learn about Emily Ley and her mission the more I want to support her and her business. Since opening my own small business finding other small businesses (especially woman owned businesses) has become very important to me. We need to stick together and support one another. I love your interview with her at the end and her honesty with the replies!

  10. I love your color coding! You make planning so fun 🙂 I wish you could come over and color code my life! 😉 If I didn’t live so far..and in your spare time…and when you are all better, of course! Stopping over from WFMW! Can’t believe I was right next to you 🙂

  11. Amber Payne says:

    What planner do you use for planning your meals?

  12. Annie Ferrante says:

    do you think the daily stickers you use will fit in the newer 2016 Simplified Planner that’s a little smaller? Love them! But do want to make sure they’ll fit before purchasing them. Got my SP over the weekend and can’t wait to start filling it in! Thanks!

  13. hi there! i’ve always been a paper planner & i think i’ve tried everything! one thing that i noticed for myself that most other bloggers never mention is that different planners work for different periods of my life. i just went thru a divorce (& i rarely hear bloggers speak about that) & while i was married the EC planner did it all, but post divorce, it just didn’t work? i switched to the passion planner and the daily + monthly summary work best with my single life now. i dont necessarily follow the “tasks” in the passion planner but the layout & stylistically it fits. i also now use a filofax just for financial planning which has worked for two years in a row now! (*score!* LOL) another thing i’ve learned about myself over the years is that i dont work well with layouts that have too much color. for whatever reason it creates a mental blockage for me. it works best for me that i use a black pen for everything then use color coded highlighters to distinguish items. thanks for this review, october is usually my “new year” where i scope out which new planner to grab so this review came just in time! =)

  14. Thank you for this blog post. It really helps me to get started. Can’t wait to get the Happy Stripe in the mail!
    I might have to buy some stickers from Etsy, too. 😀 But i still have a lot I want to use first. (even if they are made for EC)

  15. Kayse, I love you!!! I am a total pen freak. I love pens. I am obsessed with pens. I never knew Papermate made an ultra fine flair pen. I’ve used staedtler’s triplus fineliners, sharpie colored pens, and tons of other, but they never were just right. Staedtler triplus was close, but the point seems to get blunted with use. I ordered the pens you use and I just opened the pack. It’s love. I’m hoping I’ll still love them in another week. I’ll report back. ?

  16. I just saw that Emily Ley has changed the format for the 2016 planners. Will the changes affect your decision on using her 2016 planner? I was going back and forth between two planners, but after seeing the changes, I’m crossing the Simplified Planner off my list. Lim sad, as I really like the look of the SP.

    1. I just got mine today, and it’s beautiful!!! I think I may copy the pages (since it doesn’t start till January) and see how I like the new layout. I LOVE that it covers longer hours, but I’m a bit sad that we don’t have half-hour slots anymore. But I might not need them! We’ll see! I’ll be doing another planner review later this year, to prepare for 2016, so I’ll share there!

      1. I’ll check back for sure. Your previous comparison was awesome: great photos, lots of details, and very comprehensive analysis.

  17. Hi Kayse! I just found my first Emily Ley Planner and can’t wait to start using it. I saw that this new edition has thinner paper and am curious if the pens you mention above have been used in the new 2015-2016 edition. Thank you!

  18. Marissa Marks says:

    Thanks for sharing! I love how you organize and color code your planner. It’s always fun and interesting to see how other people organize. 🙂

  19. Your planner reviews are so helpful! Last year I was frustrated with my phone planner and decided to switch back to paper. And I was like, “Who could help me find a good planner? Oh, I bet Kayse has something!” ?. I got the Erin Condren one from your full review last time – and I love it! This one looks great, too – but would you clarify – this planner has only days? Like absolutely no monthly or weekly views? Thanks for providing this resource – I just ordered the pens you recommended ?

    1. It has monthly overviews! She offers a weekly version, but the daily has the whole month at the beginning! Her website shows close up pictures of the entire layout!

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