Are you still on the hunt to find planner peace? If you’re researching before buying one, kudos to you! Odds are you have already purchased one planner, but the layout just isn’t for you, right? Now, you’re trying to figure out the perfect planner layout for you. But there are so many planner layouts to choose from! There’s Horizontal, Vertical, Dashboard, Hourly, lined vertical, Daily… how are you supposed to know?! You just want to organize your life. Don’t worry; I will break down the best uses of the various planner layouts to help you decide!
Vertical:
This is likely one of the most popular layouts in the creative planning community. I currently use this layout for my catchall planner. I like to write my personal appointments, errands, weekend plans, and vacations in it.
This particular layout is great for:
- Creativity (using stickers, stencils, pictures, etc.)
- Like to see your day broken up in morning, afternoon, evening
- Section particular things: Appointment, To-do’s or even notes
- Checklists
Dashboard:
The dashboard layout consists of two parts. The left includes multiple sections for you to tackle your tasks. Typically, you will find a section for errands, calls, priorities, and notes! This isn’t an end-all-be-all; you could re-label the sections to fit your needs. On the right side, you will find space for you to write in other plans for each day of the week.
This particular layout is great if:
- You like the organized look of errands, weekly top priorities, appointments on one side, and weekly planning on the other side
- Prefer a compartmentalized birds-eye view of your entire week.
Hourly:
The hourly layout is similar to vertical, but it has 30-60 minute blocks for you to input tasks. This layout is great for working and business professionals.
This particular layout is great for:
- Appointment-based businesses (hairstylists, masseuses, nail techs, etc.)
- Keep track of meetings
- Class schedule
- Generally, like to see how you spend your day-to-day by the hour.
Lined Vertical:
Lined vertical is hourly sister’s, in my opinion.
This particular layout is great:
- If you like the idea of hourly but don’t want the times.
- Make small notes.
Daily:
Daily planners are relatively large because you would need 365 pages + for the entire year, or break it up and have multiple planners for one year! However, they are great for those who really like to focus on just the day at hand.
This particular layout is great for:
- You guessed it; you like to plan daily—this layout allows you to dive deep into what needs to be done for the day.
Monthly/checklist:
This is a new style for Happy Planner. It’s for the person who is on the go and just wants to add in what needs to be done. There are no dates beyond the monthly dashboard pages. Instead, you just have pages of checklists for you to check off throughout the month. I am currently using it as my business/content planner, and I love it! A lot of things I don’t necessarily have solid due dates but need to be done. I can just look at my planner when I have time and continue checking things off!
This particular layout is great for:
- Just adding tasks
Horizontal:
I used this layout last year for journaling before changing up my journaling style this year. Ultimately, the horizontal layout is perfect for those who need larger boxes than what’s available in the vertical, dashboard and hourly planners. Horizontal planners provide a lot of space to write your plans out for the day. You can use each allotted line for the day as a checklist for each thing on your to-do list (as seen in the picture above) or freestyle with writing.
This particular layout is great for:
- Journaling
- Lettering practice
- Calligraphy practice
- Class Notes
- Meeting Notes
- Or If you generally have a lot to write about your day.
Finally, don’t get caught up in buying a specific planner because that’s what others are doing. Remember, you’re buying a planner to help organize your life. Select the layout that works best for you, and then decide on the pretty cover and color style of the planner that you like!
So, which style planner are you using this year?
Need planner recs? Check these out below! These are affiliate links, but I only recommend what I would use!
