I live for my planner. It’s amusing, because I used to be excruciatingly disorganized, always juggling a billion things in my head. As a result, I’d double book plans, accidentally forget an assigned reading, oversleep on the wrong mornings and wake up far too early on others, the works. I remember when my mom first pointed this out to me. It was hard for me to accept that I needed to be more on top of things, but I readily headed over to my favorite Durham store, Parker + Otis, and purchased a ‘Moments’ book.

Since then, my admiration for written organizers has skyrocketed. I prefer the concreteness of something I can hold, write in and touch. I also love an agenda whose cover tells a story, or offers up the owner’s personality a bit. Whether that’s a bright, patterned look, or something a little more tame and muted, there are a bunch of great agendas and brands out there! I am highlighting thirteen agendas/calendars I especially like. Without further adieu, in no particular order:

1. This Simplified Planner by Emily Ley is one of my favorites for ease of organization. It has pages for each day of the week, and a single page for weekends– for a full 12 months. I’m pretty in love with the sweet pineapples on this particular iteration.  I find that exterior wire bindings are really great as well. ($58, https://www.emilyley.com/collections/simplified-planner)
2. This Day Designer planner is part of the brand’s flagship collection, and I love how much the print reminds me of Josef Frank. The interior provides little boxes to check a task is completed, an especially great element for those who like to track their daily progress. ($59, http://daydesigner.com/) 
3. I love the saying on the cover of this Ban.do Collection planner. Nothing like a good pun! This romantic, orange font reminds me of the JoJo Moyes novel covers. Very swoopy and feminine. Again, another exposed wire binding– my general preference. ($28, http://www.bando.com/collections/agendas)
4. As a major fan of gingham, I can’t resist this cutie. Black and white usually isn’t my favorite color combination– I love bright, bright, bright!, but as long as there’s some type of pattern to it, I’m golden. Anthropologie sells this great design for a varying range of prices, depending on the size of the agenda. ($44, http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/shopsale-home/35985225.jsp)
5. Alas, I have reached the last of my exposed binding agendas, but this fun Kate Spade print is a real hoot! (Get it?) Prints with animals make me giddy! I have this planner now, in a different iteration, and I do really like the construction. Sometimes it’s nice to have a closed binding. It makes the agenda more book-like and private. I especially love the 17-month calendar. That’s especially helpful for an early, back-to-school buyer. ($36, https://www.katespade.com/products/large-hoot-17-month-agenda/163048.html?cgid=ks-home-desk-and-stationery-view-all&dwvar_163048_color=001#start=8&cgid=ks-home-desk-and-stationery-view-all)
6. Rifle Paper Company always does everything right. If you’re looking for something more subdued, this book-like agenda is the way to go. With a lovely, pink ribbon bookmark and gold script embossing, you’ll look like Elle Woods when she got serious about Harvard. **”Watch Me Shine” is a great first day of classes pump up song. ($30, https://riflepaperco.com/)
7. I love a good Yearless planner. Just the right amount of structured and unstructured, this agenda is great for someone who likes to use his or her planner a little more sporadically. It’s looser organization enables the owner to pick up wherever, and really utilize the space. ($20, http://www.fermeapapier.com/collections/planners-and-organizers)
8. Mochi Things also offers a similar, loosely formatted, pick up/leave off-wherever agenda. If it’s already hard for you to keep track of objects, let alone dates, this is your ideal model. It’s just enough to get you through each week, or each month, depending on which option you choose! The different prints also add some variety to things. I know that I get a bit tired of my planner by the ninth month. ($7.95, http://www.mochithings.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=planner)
9. Bringing it back once more to Rifle Paper, for the list maker in you, I recommend either one of these two weekly list pads. I used one of these while abroad, when I was a bit more relaxed about scheduling, and it was a great organizational tool. I checked it whenever I got back to my desk, and it was easily accessible. However, it is not good for portable use. ($12, https://riflepaperco.com/)
   

   

   10. This Idlewild weekly list pad is just another example of a cute, happy print. This time– mermaids. The art is similar to Rifle Paper’s, and I enjoy that you can mix and match the two brands’ prints with one another. Think, decorative pillows but with paper products! ($12, https://idlewildco.com/)