Before we go any further…
Do not get your drawers in a bind – I am not insulting or attacking froo froo planners full of stickers and washi tape!
I actually like them too…
However, there are different tools for different jobs. For example, you wouldn’t want to haul freight with a Ferrari nor would you want to run a high-speed mountain road course in a tractor-trailer either!
The same thing applies to almost anything else you can imagine – from boats to tools to airplanes to homes, cars, clothes, and everything else.
Whether one thing is better than another thing largely depends on what you want to DO with the given thing.
Even then – among the many choices that can and will work, some are a matter of personal preference too. I may like something you hate and vice versa. That’s OK too.
Luckily for both of us – and the billions of other people on the planet – there are plenty of choices to choose from!
Choose What Works Better for You
I say this all the time and I know it to be true – the best planner for you is whatever planner you will actually USE every day.
So with that in mind, there are indeed some key differences between a productivity planner (as it’s primary focus) vs a decorative (froo froo) planner that puts as much if not more emphasis on decorating it and applying stickers and tape.
A well-known, and been around forever version of what I would call a productivity planner is a Day-Timer planner.
Take a look at one and you see it has all the basics you need but is very business-like and serious in its design and not much concerned about being fancy.
In years gone by I used Day Timers extensively – and overall liked them. I still think they make a fine planner that can help anyone – who will use it daily.
Another example of serious business and life productivity planner is my own Success Driven Systems planner – which for the first time ever you can now buy on Etsy! For the moment it is available as a POD digital download. You buy it, get the file delivered via ETSY immediately – then you can either print it out yourself or you can have a local print shop (Staples, etc.) print it out for you and however many pages you want.
After you have your pages you need to bind them.
You can do that however you like (wire is good because when open it will lay flat) including just putting it in an inexpensive 3 ring binder if you like to get you started.
That means you can have an advanced productivity planner that can help you change your life for just a few bucks and a little time and effort on your part.
Even if you want to have and use froo froo planners too – I suggest you choose and use ONE primary planner and strongly consider a productivity planner like the Success Driven Systems planner, or a Day-Timer, Michal Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner or similar.
That way you can quickly and efficiently schedule your days then track manage and control all of the tasks you have to accomplish to keep making progress.
You can even schedule in some time to play with your froo froo planner too!
If you want to check out my planner you can find it in our Etsy shop HERE