Stationery

Paper Planners

Vanessa Shen

— 4 min read
A Haroo Planner weekly view open to November 26 - December 1. A bunch of music-themed stickers decorate the left side of the page. A beige ribbon lays down the center as a bookmark.
Staring at the blank page before you, open up the dirty window...

I switched from Google Calendar to paper planners a few years ago, and I'm not going back. Paper planners offer privacy, tactile feedback, and focus. I don't have to wonder about how much data advertisers are extracting from this part of my daily routine. Time feels more grounded when I have to flip through pages to travel through it. And I can't get sidetracked by checking my notifications when there are no notifications.

Hobonichi Techo

Two daily pages from the Hobonichi Techo planner. On the left is Saturday, January 24 and on the right is Sunday, January 25. At the bottom is a quote from the CEO.

When I was first getting into the planner game, I bought what The Strategist and Reddit told me to buy: the iconic Hobonichi Techo ($30 + shipping). The Techo is a small yet powerful daily planner. Its Tomoe River paper is thin enough to be portable, but still strong enough to withstand the rigors of daily life and prevent ink from bleeding through the pages. The layout has just enough structure to get you started. From there, it's up to you to decide what your days will look like.

With A6 pages, the Techo is small enough to fit in my tiniest purses, so I can plan on the go. I used this planner for a year and loved it, but decided to look for something with a weekly view and a Sunday start.

Decoy Lab Weekly Planner

Decoy Lab's Weekly Planner ($22 + shipping) is what I tried next. I love how it allows you to group tasks by category, making it clear which areas you're putting the most effort into and which areas might be neglected. I also liked that the self-care trackers were integrated into the bottom of each day instead of in a separate section, making it easier for me to remember to use them.

Ultimately, I stopped using this planner because it's more of a task organizer and less of a calendar. I needed something that could handle both.

Haroo Planner Vertical Weekly

A screenshot showing the layout of the Haroo Planner vertical weekly planner for the week of December 29 - January 4 with the caption "For Time-oriented | Visual Thinker | Timeblocker" at the top

I've found my happy place with the vertical Haroo Planner ($35 + shipping), which fulfills my main requirements:

  • Sunday start - Starting the week on a Monday drives me absolutely bonkers. I gave myself a whole year to get used to it and I just couldn't.
  • Vertical time-based weekly layout - I like to see my events laid out proportional to how much time they take up and how much time is between them.
  • Minimalist - Lots of prompts and questions make me feel like I'm doing homework. I already have recurring dreams that I'm back in school and late for class. I don't need more of this!
A screenshot of a habit and mood tracker for January through April with the caption "Habit, Gratitude, Mood"

And it comes with some extras, which I admittedly don't really use:

  • Daily gratitude
  • Mood and habit tracking
  • Memorable things

Some other planners I've considered:

Laurel Denise Scout Planner Portrait

A page from the Laurel Denise Scout planner showing the month of June 2026 and the week of June 15.

Laurel Denise's claim to fame is their unique split layout that allows you to view weeks and months at the same time. They have a variety of vertical and horizontal configurations, including one designed especially for teachers. The Scout ($59 + shipping), shown above, is the most intriguing to me.

Papier Hardcover Daily Planner

A product photo for Papier's hardcover daily planner showing Thursday, May 29. The left column is a schedule, the right column is today's priorities and a to do list.

Papier's Hardcover 2026 Daily Planner ($40 + shipping) comes with a variety of beautiful - and customizable! - cover design options. I like how the daily pages include a generous space for top 3 priorities. However, because I use timeblocking, the schedule and the to-do list are redundant. It's hard for me to decide what goes in which column. I also don't like having to fill in the hours of each day... I'd rather have a pre-printed schedule and be shamed for waking up late.

Sterling Ink A6 Vertical Compact Full Year Common Planner

A product photo of a Sterling Ink vertical weekly planner from January 5 through 11.

Sterling Ink's A6 Vertical Compact Full Year 2026 Common Planner ($30 + shipping) merges my favorite part of the Haroo Planner (vertical weekly layout) with my favorite part of the Hobonichi Techo (A6 size Tomoe River paper). Unfortunately, the combination of portability and detail means you have to write really small.

Some things to keep in mind:

Of course, there are downsides to paper planners.

  • If you lose it, you're screwed. I try not to think about this.
  • You can only make plans if your planner is with you. My current one is too big to carry around with me, so if I want to make plans when I'm out, I have to tell people I'll get back to them later.
  • No integration with other people's calendars, automatically repeating events, maps, or reminders. I know these can be dealbreakers for a lot of people.

But to me, these drawbacks are minor compared to the joy of jotting down ideas, decorating with stickers, and not looking at my phone.

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