Do you feel overwhelmed or puzzled by the number of different goal planners, journals, and trackers on the market?
What are the differences?
And what is the best goal planner?
The short answer: there isnāt one option that fits everyone. Instead, it depends on your needs and style.
But donāt worry.
Iāve tested out different organizers and reviewed many more for this review to find the best one in a variety of categories.
That way, you can pick the best planner for YOU.
Some key points I will mention about each planner:
- Who is it for;
- What makes it unique;
- And what are the pros and cons?
So letās dive in!
Criteria and definitions
Buying a planner is a valuable investment in yourself. And the last thing you want is to receive a poor quality one that dissolves your excitement.
Thatās why in this review, I only include planners that are:
- High-quality;
- Undated;
- And simple to use.
Furthermore, throughout my research, there are three common themes in goal organizers that I defined as:
- Planners focus on goal planning and increasing productivity.
- Journals are like planners but contain journaling sections that set you in a good mood and provoke self-reflection.
- Trackers focus more on tracking your progress towards a goal, most often in the form of daily habit tracking.
Though most planners contain all these elements, some do emphasize specific parts more, as you will find out in this review.
Furthermore, the planners arenāt in a specific order. Instead, itās organized by categories based on the definitions above.
That way, you can find the best goal planner for your needs.
Summary overview: best goal planners in 2024
| Name | Best in category | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Wyze Planner | Planner (6-months) | See latest |
 | The Clever Fox Planner Pro | Planner (best value) | See latest |
 | Get Stuff Done Planner | Project-focused planner (90-day*) | See latest |
 | Undated Weekly Planner | Planner on a budget | See latest |
 | Clear Habit Journal | Best bullet planner/journal | See latest |
 | Work-Life Productivity Planner | Planner with a touch of journaling | See latest |
 | Panda Planner Pro | Journal (best value) | See latest |
 | Goal Crazy Planner | Journal (90-day*) | See latest |
 | The Clever Fox Habit Calendar | Goal-tracking calendar | See latest |
Best goal-setting planners
Goal-setting planners are an excellent choice if you want to be efficient with your time but still want to gain the optimal benefits of goal-setting.
Itās the perfect option if you dislike the practice of journaling or already use a different method for that and you look for an additional goal organizer.
#1. Best goal planner for daily productivity (6-Months)
The Wyze Planner is a goal-setting organizer that I consider the best on the market today and completely fell in love with during my research.
Why?
Overall, the design of this journal keeps many of the productivity and goal principles in mind. Think about SMART and the power of one.
The first section encourages you to set meaningful and audacious goals. And then dissects it into smaller milestones to reduce procrastination.
And thatās just the start.
It then inspires you to create an empowering morning and evening routine. Followed by a goal tracker to ensure you will stick to it.
What else?
The daily section is optimized to empower peak productivity. You can split your most important task from your other priorities and schedule your day.
Here is a summary of everything this planner offers:
- Optimally designed for peak productivity and goal success
- Inspires you to aim for meaningful long-term results
- Whilst reducing short-term overwhelm and procrastination
- Weekly and monthly self-reflection for personal growth
- Schedulers to organize your day and plan goal success
- Main priority split from other to-doās to increase daily focus
- Additional free space in all sections
- Last for 6 months
The final bullet point is a blessing and a curse.
The benefit of it only lasting six months is that you refresh your audacious goals twice a year. Thatās super helpful because I often tend to lose focus as the year progresses.
Can you relate?
The downside is that you have to buy two planners each year, which makes it a bit pricier in comparison to the other options.
Finally, keep in mind that the focus of this planner is maximum goal success and peak productivity ā not journaling.
That said, Iām ordering this planner to try it out next.
Do you want to try it too?
#2. Best work-life goal organizer for busy people
The Clever Fox Planner Pro is the best goal planner for a better work-life balance for busy people.
Why?
Simply because planning takes no longer than a minute each day and contains everything you need – and nothing more – for goal-setting.
It organizes your goals into the sections:
- Big vision
- 10-year goals
- 5-year goals
- Yearly goals
- Quarterly goals
- Monthly goals
- Weekly goals
- And daily goals.
I love this because setting big goals and then breaking them up is the best way to set meaningful goals while reducing procrastination and anxiety.
Similar to the previous option.
Whatās different?
First, this planner doesn’t contain a daily scheduler, which is perfect if you wouldnāt use it anyway or if you already use another (digital) one.
Second, this organizer emphasizes all areas of your life: from business and career planning to financial goal-setting and personal goals.
Here is a summary of features and benefits:
- Stimulates to pursue meaningful big goals while guiding you to chunk these into small steps to reduce goal anxiety.
- Reduces procrastination and increases productivity
- Free space for creative planning or journaling
- Takes less than a minute to plan your day
- 50+ additional empty pages for notes
- Emphasizes work-life balance
- Vegan leather cover
- 22 colors available
- Lasts for 12 months
You may wonder about the downsides.
In comparison to the previous one, the daily sections in this planner are less extensive. The trade-off is that it lasts 12 months as opposed to six.
Also, though there is some free space for creative journaling, itās not a journal, so keep that in mind.
However, if you want to set empowering goals, strive for a healthy work-life balance, and plan it in less than a minute per day, then this is a fantastic organizer for you.
#3. Best 90-day goal planner for projects
The Get Stuff Done Productivity Planner is the best option if youāre someone who toggles different projects, like entrepreneurs.
Wonder why you would buy a planner that lasts 90 days?
Well, did you ever plan goals for the year and noticed that you started to lose your focus as the year progressed?
Demotivating, right?
So why only set your goals once a year?
Itās much more beneficial to reset and review your goals more frequently, like once a quarter. The benefits of doing so?
- Create a sense of urgency;
- Increase motivation and focus;
- Increase mindfulness towards goal planning and progress.
I currently use this planner myself and do enjoy it for these reasons.
Just like the other planners, it has a section to plan your 10-year goals, followed by a section to split up into four different goals and projects, with each their own milestones.
Whatās most unique is the daily section.
It uses two pages per day. One side is to organize your goals and tasks into the categories of importance, urgency, and others. The other side contains a schedule and empty space for notes.
To summarize this planner:
- Creates urgency, which increases focus and motivation
- Break up your 10-year goal into projects and milestones
- āYear-at-a-glanceā section to roughly plan the next 12 months
- Weekly planning, review, and goal-tracking section
- Prioritize and schedule your day to increase productivity
- 50+ Empty bullet journal pages
- Integrated vision board
- Lasts 3 months
The downsides?
- You will have to buy 4 of these every year, making it the second most expensive option in this review.
- The daily section felt a bit comprehensive to me at first, though I found a good method that works well for me.
In other words, this planner may be too much if your schedule is simple and you donāt have a lot of daily tasks.
But if you toggle many projects and want to create a sense of urgency to achieve them, then this is hands-down the best option for you.
#4. Best weekly goal planner on a budget
This weekly goal planner from KAICN is the best basic goal organizer if you are on a budget.
Why?
It is easy and compact yet contains the most essential elements for weekly goal-setting.
When you open this notebook, the left section is reserved for the week, while the right section is split up over individual days.
This planner includes
- Weekly section: main focus, additional goals, and to-do list.
- Goal-setting tracker for up to six goals or habits per week.
- Daily section: 8 short empty lines to list goals, to-doās, short affirmations, or any other way you see fit.
- Lasts 12 months.
The downsides?
Well, comparing it to the other planners, it lacks a couple of features, like long-term goal planning and monthly goal setting.
That said, if you want a simple weekly planner, this may just be the perfect option.
#5. Best bullet journal for goal-setting
The Clear Habit Journal is one of my favorite bullet journals. That’s because it comes with a tracker for up to 15 goals and habits per month.
But what is a bullet journal exactly?
Itās like a normal journal but on steroids. Bullet journals consists of bullet points. The idea of bullet journaling is to quickly capture and organize your ideas and to-do lists.
I used this option last year, and itās a good alternative to traditional pre-defined goal planners.
But itās not a typical āgoal-setting plannerā.
Instead, itās totally up to you to design it the way you like. You can use it for goal planning, to-do lists, journaling, or any way you see fit.
There is no pre-defined focus.
This makes it perfect for creative people or if you simply want to customize your organizer to fit your goal-planning routine.
But thatās also the downside.
The lack of an optimized structure may cause you to feel overwhelmed. Thatās why I wouldnāt recommend it to beginners.
However, if youāre creative or have a good sense of what you want your planner to look like, then this is a good option for you.
Best goal-setting journals
Goal-setting journals contain the benefits of goal planning while also setting a positive attitude for the day and encouraging personal growth through self-reflection.
So if this habit empowers you, then itās worth investing a couple more minutes each day in this journaling practice.
#6. Best planner with a touch of journaling
The WorkLife planner is the best goal-setting organizer for busy people that strive for a healthy work-life balance.
Why a planner in the journaling section, you ask?
Well, the structure of this planner makes it a fantastic option if you want to dip your toes in the waters of journaling.
It contains a couple of brief morning and evening journaling prompts, which set a positive mood for the day and also stimulate self-reflection.
And that all in just 2 minutes each day!
Thatās also the reason why it doesnāt suffice as a full-fledged journal. But itās super effective if you want to gain some of its benefits.
In other words, itās also perfect if you donāt know if a journaling practice suits you.
Why else do I recommend this planner?
- Sections for annual, monthly, weekly, and daily goals.
- Prompts for self-reflection and personal growth
- Morning prompts to set a positive mood
- 20 additional pages (e.g., for 10-year goals)
- Comes in 5 different colors
- Lasts for 12 months
The downsides of this planner are hidden in the upsides.
Though there are some journaling prompts, these are meant to evoke a quick response. So if youāre looking for a more extensive journal, then I recommend going for a more journal-focused planner.
However, this is a fantastic option for you if you want a healthy work-life balance and experiment with the habit of journaling.
#7. Best value goal-setting journal
The Panda Planner Pro is the best bang for your buck option that contains a mix of goal-setting and journaling.
Its scientific design is optimized to improve your mood, making it an excellent option if you feel overwhelmed by everyday demands.
Each section contains everything you need.
The monthly planner is perfect for high-over planning, goal setting, and contains a review section too.
The weekly section has everything you would expect from an all-in-one goal journal and planner. It also considers work-life balance and has space for the main projects of the week.
Itās the perfect mix of structured vs free space.
The daily sections are quite extensive and structured, which helps you to increase focus. It includes journaling prompts, setting and scheduling your daily priorities, and an evening review section.
Summarizing the benefits and features:
- Scientifically designed to improve productivity and happiness
- Each section contains everything you would expect
- Extensive all-in-one goal organizer
- Very well-structured daily section
- Section to help you set better work-life goals
- Includes free ebooks and a mini-course
- Lasts for 6 months
So what are the downsides?
- You will need two planners for the year, which makes it slightly more expensive, but is expected for an all-in-one journal.
- Lacks a section for your 10-year and annual goals.
If you want more structure in your day, or if you battle with anxiety and stress, then this is the best option for you.
#8. Best goal journal (3 months)
The Goal Crazy Planner uses a similar concept to the previous one but focuses even more on other areas of life. Besides personal and work goals, think about educational, spiritual, and financial goal planning.
The only general problem with goal journals is that there isnāt enough space to cover all essential elements.
The solution?
Creating a spacious goal journal that fully satisfies your planning and journaling needs. But with the payoff that it lasts for three months.
Of course, three-month planning has other benefits that we already discussed in the section of the other 90-day planner.
To summarize this journal:
- Monthly goal planner for all important areas of your life
- Many journaling prompts to set and maintain a positive attitude
- 5-minute daily journaling and planning section
- Super practical and spacious.
- 8 colors
The downsides?
You will have to buy four of these journals each year, making it the most expensive option on the list.
That said, I believe this is the best goal-setting journal in this review because it simply has the most space for journaling.
So if you donāt mind investing a couple of extra bucks and looking for the most practical all-in-one journal, then this option is the best one for you.
Best goal-setting trackers
While goal-setting trackers are included in almost any planner, there is a good additional goal-tracking calendar that may work magic.
#9. Best goal-tracking calendar
The Clever Fox Habit Calendar is an excellent way to track your goals and habits visually.
The benefit of a calendar is that you can hang it up so that you see it often, which helps you to stay mindful of your goals.
Perfect if you struggle to adopt new habits, for example.
The features?
- Track progress for up to:
- 12 daily habits;
- 5 weekly habits;
- 5 monthly habits.
- Lasts for 12 months
- And like all options in this review, it comes undated
The downside is that it doesnāt substitute a planner, but rather, is a useful addition to it.
And it may just be what you need to develop new habits and ensure progress on your goals.
Closing Thoughts
Goal-setting planners, journals, and trackers come in many formats and sizes. And at first sight, they all seem very similar.
By now, I hope that you are more aware of the differences and were able to find something that fits your needs.
After all, there is no perfect answer to what the best planner is.
It all depends on your needs and desires.
Struggling to find what you want?
Then I would recommend #6 as a good place to start. That way, you can test out the mix between goal planning and journaling.
If you want more goal-setting tips, I recommend checking out the best books about goals.
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