You’ve promised yourself that this year you will be more focused on your goals. Maybe you want to exercise more, cook more, write more, spend more time with your family, or just create more in your everyday life or business.
Whatever your personal or business goals maybe, one of the best ways I’ve found to see progress on my goals is to use a planner.
The best planners for creatives go beyond mere organization; they become a catalyst for inspiration, a canvas to sketch your dreams, and a sanctuary for your thoughts.
My hope is that this post empowers you to find the perfect planner that aligns with your individual needs while keeping you on track and accountable to your goals.
BEST PLANNERS AND ORGANIZERS FOR 2023
To help you find the the best creative planner to help you stay organized and productive in 2023, I’ve put together a list of my favorite daily planners, weekly planners, and monthly planners for your 2023 goals.
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my disclosure in the sidebar for more information.
1. Limelife Planners
If you are looking for a creative planner that is fully customizable, Limelife Planners are a fantastic option!
Personally, I’ve never really been a custom planner type of gal. However, I personally know the owners of this planner company and they are two AMAZING women creating beautiful planners and planner accessories. You get to choose your planner cover design, there are numerous interior layouts and there is a very vibrant and active Limelife Planner Community (on Facebook) which is an added bonus!
2. My Brilliant Year Life Goals Workbook
This life planner by Leonie Dawson is the very first planner that I ever purchased. What caught my eye initially was that the design was so colorful and vibrant! Once you dive deeper, you realize that it is a soulful planning tool that can help you to get clear on your personal goals related to finance, self-care, health, relationships and more.
There is also a business planner version available that I used for many years to help me focus on specific goals for my creative business.
3. She Believed She Could So She F*cking Did Planner
I’m came across this planner as I was browsing Amazon. Being someone who loves colorful language, the title definitely caught my eye.
What I love so far about this planner is that it is packed with hilarious prompts and quotes to keep you motivated. For someone like me who gets bored easily, this planner is a delightful and humorous tool that more gals should check out!
4. You are a Badass Weekly/Monthly Planner
I’ve listened to Jen Sincero’s audiobook You Are A Badass at Making Money two times so it’s safe to say I am a fan. The You Are A Badass Planner is pretty straight forward with weekly and monthly planning pages, habit trackers, and sassy quotes of course. If you are a fan of Jen Sincero or simply love her business story, this planning tool is worth a try.
5. Dailygreatness Success Yearly Planner
Dailygreatness Success is a beautiful undated yearly planner created by Lyndelle Palmer-Clarke, founder of the Dailygreatness company. Incorporating the principles of time, planning, personal growth and mindset, the tools in this edition gives you a structure to your day.
The introductory worksheets will guide and inspire you to get clear on your goals. The weekly pages are designed for optimal focus, starting with a Morning Mindset question.
6. The Passion Planner
I’m a sucker for a good female entrepreneur story. Angelia Trinidad created The Passion Planner as a way to fight off anxiety after college graduation and stay focused on what really mattered to her.
The Passion Planner is designed to encourage you to plan for the future, reflect on the past, but most importantly, act on the present. Check out this short, quirky video showing how the passion planner staff use their planners.
7. The Very Busy Planner
This popular planner by Amy Knapp is based on her award winning family organizer products. Many fans of The Very Busy Planner speak on how it helps to keep daily routines organized, makes you focus on goals that worked (and acknowledge those that did not), and there is plenty of space for all your planning needs.
8. The Simplified Planner
Last year I had a lot going on in my personal life. So, when I went to purchase a planner, I was looking for something way more simplified than the life planners I normally used. While indulging myself in one of my favorite pastimes, shopping at Target, I came across a variety of planners by Emily Ley.
What I really love about Emily’s products is that they stays true to their name. The planners are simple, but effective. So, if you prefer a planner without all the additional bells and whistles, The Simplified Planner is a great option.
Here’s a video of how Kayla at Oh, Hello Living uses her Simplified Planner.
9. The Self Planner
If your goal is to better manage your time and create work-life balance, the Self Planner by BestSelf Co. might be just what you need to accomplish these goals. The numerous templates in this daily planner are intended to help you get clear on your priorities, stop dropping the ball and forgetting important tasks, and help you take back control of your life and schedule.
10. Erin Condren Petite Goal Setting Planner
I have several friends who swear by their Erin Condren planners. They special order them each year, picking and choosing their covers and what specific sheets are included. When it comes to planners, I’m a little more simplistic than that so I was happy to find more simple version of Erin’s planners online.
The Petite Goal Setting Planner is a perfect option for those who want a more portable planning tool to help you better focus on coming up with an action plan to achieve your goals.
why is writing down your goals important?
Years ago there was a goal-setting study conducted within the Harvard MBA Program. Students were asked if they actually set goals, and if so, if they write those goals down.
To make a long story short, the statistics rolled out like this:
- 84% of the students reported not really making goals
- 13% of the students reported having some goals in mind but not written
- 3% of the students had written goals and a plan to accomplish them
Fast-forward 10 years. The same students were interviewed and the results were CRAZY.
The 3% who actually had written goals and an action plan were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% of students who had participated in the study.
Now, take a moment to ask yourself which group do you belong to?
Until 2014, I was in the 84% group. I had some goals in mind, but never did I actually write them down anywhere. A writer…writing out goals? Absurd.
I purchased my first planner at the end of the year, and suddenly found myself a part of the elite 3%.
I know it’s easy to write off putting your goals to paper. There are so many other things to focus on like providing for your family, finding a career you love, trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, saving for the holidays and vacation, and the list goes on. Who has time to write a plan of action?
But here’s the thing– the benefits of writing down your goals out weigh everything else. If you want to see real success, believe me when I say that writing down your goals makes things happen.
Final Thoughts on the Best Planners for Creatives in 2023
These are my top picks for planners for creatives in 2023. You may be familiar with many of these planning tools, but hopefully you learned about at least one new life or business planner on this list that you can now explore for more details.
The really cool thing is that you don’t have to purchase just one planner! You can use different planners for different purposes–life planner, business planner, budgeting planner, etc.
It’s up to you how you choose to organize your life. The point of it all is to choose the best planner to help you get organized and accomplish more of your goals.
What’s your favorite planner for 2023?
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