How do you pick the best productivity planner to crush your goals?
I have tested many different planners throughout the years. And here’s what I learned that anyone should consider:
- Your goals: What’s the main reason for getting a planner? Do you want to reduce overwhelm? Set better priorities? Kick-start a new project? And do you also want to develop new habits?
- Your needs: Do you want a planner to plan each day quickly? Or do you also wish journaling sections with prompts?
- Your style: Do you prefer an online or paper planner? And do you like a systematic approach or a more creative option?
In this article, you will learn which option is the best productivity planner based on your goals, needs, and style.
Let’s dive in.
Summary of the best productivity planners
Different kinds of planners tailor to different kinds of people and productivity styles. Here’s the most significant difference:
- Planners: Primarily focus on daily planning and goal-setting.
- Journals: Focuses on the above but also contains journal entries to set your intentions and review your day.
With that in mind, here are the best productivity planners and journals:
- Best productivity journal: Panda Planner Pro
- Best productivity planner: Productivity Planner
- Best journal for urgency: High-Performance Planner
- Best to-do list planner: To-Do Planner
- Best online planner: Goals on Track
- Best for personalization: Clear Habit Journal
- Best free productivity planner: the Google Stack
Let’s dig deeper into each of those.
#1: Best productivity journal: Panda Planner Pro
Panda Planner is the best option if you want an extensive productivity journal. It includes everything from goal-setting to monthly, weekly, and daily journaling spreads.
It’s perfect to:
- Track daily actions with the habit tracker.
- Prioritize goals and projects every week.
- Prioritize tasks and schedule your days.
- Self-reflect at the end of every day and week.
But there is another reason why this is the best productivity journal.
The founder of Panda Planner struggled with Lyme disease. And he needed a systematic approach to productivity and happiness.
This journal is the result of his struggles combined with research in positive psychology and neuroscience. In other words, this planner is optimized for productivity and happiness.
It’s also an excellent option for beginners because an extensive planner allows you to test everything and figure out which sections you enjoy most in a planner.
#2: Best productivity planner: Productivity Planner
Do you have no time to waste and want the most effective productivity planner that gets to the point? Then Productivity Planner is for you.
Its key focus is to improve prioritization.
Prioritization is essential for productivity because success isn’t just about doing more but more stuff that matters.
The planner goes up to 3 months, which may feel like a downside but is actually a strength.
Why?
Quarterly goal-setting forces you to continuously review your most audacious goals, which raises awareness and, thus, your chance of success. It also creates urgency, which stimulates immediate action.
Summing up the benefits of this planner:
- Optimized for prioritization to get more important stuff done.
- Daily note section to capture your thoughts or use as a journal.
- Monthly habit tracker to note your progress.
- A 3-Month planner raises urgency and stimulates frequent reviews, increasing self-awareness and goal success.
This is the best productivity planner if you want a simple but systematic way to optimize each day for optimal performance.
#3: Best journal for urgency: High-Performance Planner
Do you prefer a productivity journal that creates urgency, moves you into immediate action, and empowers you to achieve results fast?
Look no further.
High-Performance Planner is the best productivity planner to create urgence because it lasts 60 days. In other words, you’ll review your progress and goals at least 6 times per year.
And urgency works like magic for productivity.
The focus of this productivity journal is simple: generate awareness, create urgency, boost performance, and empower you for success.
Here’s how:
- 60-Day productivity journal, which creates urgency and empowers you to get more done in 2-month increments.
- Daily morning questions to prime yourself for the day.
- And daily evening questions to reflect on your progress.
- Extensive weekly review that empowers you to review your life’s quality in different areas.
The urgency aspect of this planner makes it one of the best for people that want to move fast or work in a fast-paced environment. It’s also a great option to experiment with new ideas or projects.
#4: Best to-do list planner: To-Do Planner
Does the amount of daily tasks stress you out?
Then you will love the To Do Planner. Jot down your to-do’s and quickly reduce overwhelm. You’ve got a separate section to list your priorities, which empowers you to focus on what’s most important.
This planner serves as your second brain.
Jot down all tasks so you can use your brainpower to achieve your goals instead of remembering everything you’ve got to do. It also packs a daily health habit tracker to guarantee optimal vitality on busy workdays.
Here’s why I like this option:
- Experience less stress because the planner serves as your memory.
- Feel more focused with a simple way to prioritize your to-do’s.
- Get organized with a simple system instead of sticky notes.
- Feel better with the daily health habit tracker.
The to-do list planner is great for busy people that want a simple system to clear their minds and prioritize their most important to-do’s.
#5 Best online planner: Goals on Track
There are many online options for productivity. However, almost all online planners focus on teams and organizations rather than individuals.
Meet Goals on Track, the best online tool I’ve found for individuals.
While it’s mainly a goal-setting app, it contains many elements that make it an excellent option for increasing productivity.
I’ve started using this planner since last November. And while using it at first takes a bit of trial and error, it becomes a practical planner once you get the hang of it.
Here’s what I like:
- Works on mobile and desktop, so you always have your planner within reach and can easily add new tasks.
- Extensive goal-setting section where you plan your primary goals, subgoals, and tasks. You can add as many subgoals as you like, although I like to keep my structure simple.
- Tasks show in your to-do list based on the date assigned to it. You can add them as part of your goals and manually for any to-do’s unrelated to your goals.
- Integrated habit tracker, journaling section, and even a vision board. These add-ons make this tool quite extensive.
While it may take you some time to find your ideal workflow, once you do, it becomes a great online productivity and goal-setting app. Check this tool out or read my in-depth review of Goals on Track.
See all the features of Goals On Track
#6 Best for personalization: Clear Habit Journal
I’ve used and loved Clear Habit Journal because you can fully customize this bullet journal to make it your own. Bullet journaling provide the flexibility to track and measure your productivity in any way.
In other words, you can personalize this option to make it the best productivity planner for your needs.
Since this planner is an addition to the book Atomic Habits, there’s also a habit tracker to track your daily progress.
Here’s what I liked
- Customizable to your needs and desires. Take the best lessons learned from previous planners and combine them here.
- Develop better habits with the daily habit tracker.
- Great value. This high-quality option packs enough pages and habit-tracking sheets for an entire year.
While this isn’t your typical productivity planner, you can customize the entire thing. That’s great if you know what sections to include or want to experiment with different ideas and layouts.
#7: Best Free Productivity Planner: Google Workspace
Buying a planner is worth the money. But if you’re tight on a budget, you might want to look into free options, like the product suite of Google.
This suite includes:
- Google Calendar to schedule and organize your day.
- Google Keep to track notes, to-do’s, and anything else.
- Google Drive to store all your documents.
- Google Sheets is like Excel, and you can use it to create creative goal-setting sections, habit trackers, and much more. Also, you can find many free templates from other people online.
While separate tools aren’t the best option for optimal productivity, it’s still excellent for anyone to get started on a low budget.
Conclusion
What the best productivity planner is depends on your preferences, needs, and desires. But first, figure out if you want the:
- Best productivity planner that focuses on writing down your to-do’s and prioritizing your days.
- Best productivity journal that also contains prompts to prime your morning and questions for self-reflection.
Beginners will enjoy the first option in this list. An extensive planner is the fastest way to learn which section you like and dislike.
Either way, whether you’ve been journaling for a while, keep experimenting with different planners until you find one that works like magic.
Do you want to make this year your best one yet?
Productivity planners work because they focus your mind, increase clarity, and focus your attention on what’s most important.
What else can you do to prime yourself for success?
Feed your mind with valuable insights and strategies. In the weekly newsletter, I share ideas to empower you to create a life you care about.
If that’s something you want, then sign up below!
