Finding the Perfect Everyday Carry Planner

December 5, 2017

Despite my love for planning, there has been something this year lacking.

Because I always keep my planners at home, I’m not very good at future planning. If there’s things I need to do throughout the day I’m also at the mercy of remembering what I’ve written in my planner.

Not great for a planner obsessive really?

I’ve resolved to change this with 2018 and have spent the past month trying to work out what the best every day carry (EDC) would be for me.

I do currently have a planner I carry around, my Pocket Finsbury, but this is more an extension of my purse than anything. It holds loyalty cards, coupons and shopping lists. I’d be trialing this as an EDC, but also wanted to take a look at the other options.

Midori Travelers Notebook

Travelers Notebooks (or dori as you may sometimes see them referred to) are all over at the moment. It seems every day someone is ditching their rings for strings. This is a regular size, while the B6 is probably the most popular size dori. The page size of a regular is 21cm x 11cm while the B6 is 17.78cm x 12.7cm.

Pros
You can literally put whatever you want in this. Like the rings of a Filofax you’ve got complete freedom to load up with different inserts from yearly calendars to card pockets and blank books for drawing or notetaking. You could spend a small fortune completely customising one of these. You can print your own inserts but as you need to bind the notebooks, it’s not as easy as printing inserts for a Filofax.

Cons
I don’t find this comfortable to write in. You can usually say the same for rings but there’s just something about writing in this I find annoying. The notebooks don’t lay flat and if you’ve got a chunky dori you’ll probably need to take the notebook out to write in it properly. While it’s thin, it is quite tall. This won’t fit in all my handbags. I also don’t like how everything inside the TN doesn’t feel secure. With just strings keeping it inside, things move around all the time and that just irritates me.

Notebook/Bullet Journal

I love bullet journaling. It’s my go-to planning style for work as I don’t have a regular amount of tasks to do each day. I like having my to do lists mixed in with meeting notes and project planning.

Pros
Complete freedom. Need just a simple month at a glance to keep on top of your plans? Easy. Want a habit tracker so you can keep on top of it while you’re out and about? Done. This will be the most bespoke planner you’ve ever used. I love writing in my bullet journal, whether it be brainstorming blog post ideas, or doing some goal planning, it’s great to have close by at all times. As you’ve got a ridiculous range of notebook sizes to choose from, you’re guaranteed to get one that fits in your bag.

Cons
The thought of creating 12 x monthly pages to cover me for the next year fills me with dread. I can’t not put the whole year in here in case I do have to plan further out but if I fill the notebook halfway through the year I’ll have to then write out the months all over again. Unless you were to put this in a notebook cover, you also can’t really carry much more around with it. I have picked up one of these from Lyra and Co that attach to the front of your notebook, allowing you to carry around any planning bits you may need. If I wanted to use this as an EDC though, I’d have to probably find a home in my purse for all my loyalty cards and vouchers.

Personal Filofax

I love my Filofaxes. They are just the perfect planner to me. I currently have three personal sizes in regular use.

Pros
Complete freedom of what you put in there. You can swap pages in and out whenever you want. Lots of accessories available to allow you carry things like cards and sticky notes. Some, like the Maldens even come with zipped pockets. While the rings can sometimes get in the way, this is easy to write in and ideal for the quick jotting of notes.

Cons
They can be pretty chunky. One of my Filofaxes is currently 7cm thick. This is probably the easiest of them all to carry so far though. You can even get compact personal sizes to aid portability even more.

Pocket Filofax

So this has technically been my EDC for a while now, I just haven’t been smart enough to use it for planning until now.

Pros
Portability. This will literally fit in all of my handbags, even my ‘going out’ one. Because of the rings you’ve also got the flexibility of putting whatever you want in there. This really can do everything I’d want out of an EDC – simple forward planning put lots of card and voucher carrying capabilities. It’s even got a big pocket at the back and a zipped area so you could actually use this as a full blown purse if you wanted to.

Cons
It doesn’t lay flat! Trying to write in this on the go is such a faff because it doesn’t lay flat and everything’s so small and fiddly. I can’t imagine how tiny a month on two pages is for this. Way too small for my liking. Therefore if I wanted to use this as an on the go planner, I’d have to use weekly inserts which may take up a good chunk of the planner.

So what will be my everyday carry planner for 2018?

I’ve yet to find something that really ticks every box. The closest I’ve come is the Pocket Filofax so I’m going to start the New Year that with that. I’m hoping I’m going to get used to the small size. Out of all my planners, due to the texture of the Finsbury this is the one I feel most confident throwing around in handbags. My Personal Original Filofaxes would get scuffed far too easily.

I’ve got some weekly inserts coming from Ultimate Success Planner and I’m going to spend my Christmas break giving it a bit of a makeover so fingers crossed it works!

Have you got your planner set up for 2018? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!