If you would check your momâs daily schedule, youâll definitely applaud her for the amount of work she has to do in a day. Moms have to wake up early to cook breakfast, get the children to school, clean the house, go to work, workout in the gym, pick the children from school, help them with their homeworks, and tuck them in their beds.
Whew! No wonder we call them Supermoms!
Moms have so much to do in a day, that listing them in a planner can be useful to avoid missing errands or important events. A paper planner is a stationery, designed to list the daily activities for the day. It helps you stay organized, and keeps you flowing smoothly throughout your daily tasks. Also, it is a more polite way of taking notes than using your phone or laptop. Planners are a great way to keep yourself updated.
For moms, paper planners can help keep the whole familyâs schedule in check. She can list her childâs school event, a friendâs birthday, a family gathering, meetings, and daily to-do list. Also, a planner can help make intentional choices. Since sheâll be able to see the list of activities she has to do, she can rank the tasks that need more time and attention than the others. Sheâll also be able to lessen wasted time and unimportant tasks. By having a paper planner, you can keep track of your daily list, and accomplish them all.
Things to Consider When Picking a Planner
There are tons of planners in the market that you can choose. You may opt for a fun and flirty design or a simple one. The market is satiated by various kinds of planners, and itâs just a matter of preference and quality. To help you choose what kind of planner and features to take into consideration, we have listed the following points.
Dated vs Undated
When choosing a planner, you can opt to buy a dated or undated planner. A dated planner is perfect for busy moms all-year round. With dated planners, your mom doesnât have to write down the months and the year, as itâs already indicated. Most planners usually have one to a year and a half provision for planning. Although, the downside of this is that you can only use it for the indicated years.
Meanwhile, if your mom is the type to be free-spirited or they donât have a consistent schedule, undated planners are perfect for them. This kind of planner is perfect for freely plotting and listing their errands and meetings, without having to waste any pages as compared when using a dated planner. Plus, they can use it for more than a year!
Consider the Binding
Choosing your binding can help in designing your planner. A spiral planner allows you to remove a page with ease. Although, it can be difficult to write in spiral bound planners, especially if youâre left-handed.
Book Bound Planners are compact and affordable. It is readily available in stores, and easier to write on because thereâs no coil. The cons of using this type of planner is the pages donât usually lay flat unless youâre in the middle page. You also canât add new pages and take pages out.
Ring Binders, meanwhile, allow you to add new pages. It comes in a range of different sizes, and you can get decorative binders. If you use the two-ring binders, itâs easier to punch a hole than if you use a three-ring binder. However, it easily slides out when you use the two-ring binders. Ring binders can be quite expensive, too.
Whatâs Your Budget
When looking for planners, you have to consider your budget. You can choose planners that are within your budget or you can make an exemption if you have extra money. There are tons of planners you can choose that ranges from affordable to cost-worthy ones. The difference in the prices mainly depends on the materials and brand of the planner.
How Detailed Do You Need It to Be
When deciding on the planner, you have to determine how detailed you want it to be. For people who love to keep track of everything, you can opt for planners with an hourly schedule or a simple daily schedule.
No matter what you prefer, a good detailed planner comes with a monthly calendar overview and a weekly spread, notes, diary, budget, and to-do list.
Paper Quality
Everyone has their own preferences on what type of paper they like for planners. It can be plain, lined, or dotted. If you prefer to have more freedom on the flow of the page, then you can choose a plain, blank planner.
If you prefer to create doodles, calligraphy or design your own planner, you can use a dotted planner that resembles a bullet journal. A lot of YouTubers who share their planners use a dotted planner. A lined planner is best if you want to keep your writing straight and organized.
Also, itâs important to make sure that the planner youâre considering has a good paper quality that is transfer-proof and does not bleed to the next page.
Choosing a Planner for a Working Mom
Working moms have a lot on their plate. They juggle both their career and their family. By having a good planner by their side, it can help make their lives easier. They wonât have to worry if they missed a task or event.
When buying a planner for mom, you must consider if she would prefer a monthly or daily calendar, a priority list or a budget section. Through this buying guide, working moms can know what features and aspects to consider before buying a planner.
Does it Utilizes Momâs Time
Planners are a great way to get organized. It will help your mom utilize her time in a meaningful manner. Instead of spending so much time focusing on one task, planners can help with plotting oneâs day, and prioritize the most important tasks. Your mom can easily allot a time for each task, so she can efficiently and effectively finish all the dayâs activities.
All in One Place
Planners can serve both as a planner and a journal. Itâs fun and cost-effective to buy a planner that will serve as your momâs daily journal. Through this, your mom can have all of her day’s activities in only one place. Sheâll have an easier time remembering the tasks sheâs done or meetings she attended because she has a planner to go back to and notes to back it up.
Itâs also fun and efficient to have a planner complete with the grocery list, work meetings, and calendar. You have everything in one place!
Choose Planners with a Monthly and Daily Calendar
Having a planner with a monthly and daily calendar will remind her of the important meetings, deadlines, and events she has to attend. Being a busy working mom, her planner should be efficient when it comes to helping her with reminders and schedules.
Having a monthly calendar in her planner helps with keeping track of activities and important dates throughout the whole month. This way, your mom gets to be constantly reminded of important work dates and family events. Furthermore, a planner with a daily calendar can help her focus on the day, and break down the tasks she has to do.
Choose Planners with Priority To Do Lists
Planners with priority to-do lists would help your mom prioritize the urgency of her tasks. With this, she can list all her activities and tasks for the day, and go over it before her day starts. Doing so helps her weed out what can be finished in a lesser and later time, efficiently utilizing momâs time in effect.
Consider the Size
There are tons of sizes for a planner. Choosing which size to go with depends on preference and use. If your mom is always on the go, you can pick a small and compact planner she can put in her bag.
The largest planner size is A4. Usually planners are A5 size or half-letter. If you want a more personal planner, it can be A6. For simply taking down small notes or dates, you can opt for a pocket size.
AVOID: Less than One Year Planners
Six months is not that long. Planners that have provision for less than a year are not efficient and are impractical for working moms.
There are six-months planners available in the market, and they can be beneficial for first-time planner users or those trying out whether planner life is for them. However, this isnât sensible for working moms who tend to be busy all-year round.
Moreso, think about spending a lot of your hard-earned money for a planner that wouldnât even last you a year. So, before buying a planner, check whether it has a year-round provision for your mom to write all her daily planning on.
Choosing a Planner for a Stay at Home Mom
Working moms arenât the only ones who need planners. Even stay-at-home moms need one. Since life is crazy on a daily basis, sheâll need a planner to keep track of her kidsâ dentist appointments, school practices, games, and even the simple task of grocery shopping. By having a planner, she can plan a lot of things and get organized.
When looking for a planner for a stay-at-home mom, take note of features, such as the meal section, self-care section, homecare, budget and many more. Itâll help with organizing family life, and keep your mom from pulling her hair out when keeping track of all the family needs and events.
Meal Planning Section
When youâre a mom, youâll need to check if you have stocked up on the essentials and food. Feeding the family is probably top one in the list of most important things. Having a meal planning section in the planner can make momâs kitchen life easier, especially when it comes to planning family meals for the week, since she doesnât have to think about it on the day of. Meal planning sections also often have grocery list templates provided in one of its pages, so grocery shopping can be a breeze.
Self-Care Section
Taking care of the family isnât the only thing that needs to be prioritized. Your momâs mental health and well-being are also important. With that said, planners that have allotted a self-care section are good picks. They often have habit trackers, gratitude logs, motivational quotes, and extra blank pages for writing down daily motivations and daily manifestations or self-reflection.
With this, your mom gets to have some alone time for herself amidst the maelstrom of everyday life.
Homecare Scheduling
Scheduling in homecare can help your mom have a more organized and systematic home cleaning. She can schedule general cleaning or repairs on the planner, and it can help with checking off the areas in the house that need cleaning.
Simple weekly or monthly house tasks can also be logged here, like mowing and trimming the garden, car maintenance, and many more. She can also include here the furniture that needs to be bought or walls that need to be repainted.
Household Finance Section
Planners are a great way to keep track of your familyâs finances. There are tons of planners that have daily consumption or budget breakdown. You can list your budget for the week, and list your estimated expenses. In this way, you can track where your money is being used, and which aspects of your expenses you need to lessen or cut.
The finance section can also include the breakdown of your savings, investments, and income.
Does it Accommodate Momâs Daily Schedule
A plannerâs purpose is to accommodate and organize a personâs schedule. So, make sure that the planner you buy for mom can accommodate her daily schedule.
Planners with monthly and weekly calendars can help with the overview of important dates, schedules, and appointments. It would help your mom see everything in one glance when it comes to planning out her schedule. Other than keeping the family from missing out on important events, it would also help mom when it comes to deciding whether or not she has the time to take up a hobby class or a workout session.
Extra Pages
The extra pages on a planner can allow your mom to write her thoughts or ideas that popped into her mind. These pages are usually here for self-reflection or to spark oneâs creativity.
This can also be used to write down plans or possible travel ideas.
Choosing a Planner for a Homeschool Mom
Homeschooling isnât easy. It requires a lot of time and effort. On top of taking care of the family, homeschool moms have to plan their childrenâs lessons and take on the role of being their teacher.
There may be instances homeschool moms wonât have time to finish household tasks since it will be devoted to teaching kids. Planners are helpful for homeschool moms to merge and plan their daily activities.
A lot of aspects should be considered when buying planners for them, such as provisions for one whole school year, a flexible schedule, home management section, and ease of understanding.
Easy to Navigate and Understand
When choosing a planner for a homeschool mom, you should consider if it’s easy to navigate and understand. With the hectic schedule she hasâmanaging home and teaching the kidsâsheâs going to need a planner that is usable and isnât complicated.
Accommodates One Whole School Year
The planner should be able to accommodate one whole school year, to allow the homeschool mom to plan lessons for her kids. It would help that she can plot the lessons for each week to be able to plan ahead for the materials and activities needed. It would also be easier when it comes to studentsâ evaluation and lesson adjustments.
Flexible Scheduling
It would be really helpful to choose planners that are undated for schedule flexibility and freedom. Being a mom is a challenge, especially if sheâs homeschooling her children.
As a homeschool mom, she would want to allocate a certain portion of her day to her home, her child, and to herself. By choosing an undated planner, she can freely adhere to her own schedule without wasting any of the pages.
Home Management Section
It would be really fun and cost-effective if you choose a planner not just for homeschooling, but for other aspects as well, such as self-care and home management. In this way, you can have an all-in-one partner you can carry with you. It would also be helpful since youâll have everything in one place, instead of having two separate planners.
AVOID: Dated Planners
Although itâs not necessary to avoid dated planners, itâs still good to consider whether choosing one is efficient for homeschooling since it might clash with your intended schedule, and result in limited space and pages. It is unlike an undated planner where you can freely schedule and create your plans without the fear of being limited to a single box or half a page.
If you do purchase a dated planner for a homeschool mom though, make sure that the dates are in conjunction with the school calendar.
The Best Planners for Mom
To make your planner-hunting easier, we have picked the best planners for moms. Donât worry, whether sheâs a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or a homeschool mom, weâve got a planner perfect for her!
Rise Up Planner (Best for Working Moms)
This Rise Up planner in Business Edition is perfect for working moms! It has a daily, weekly, and monthly calendar that will help you plan your day. There are also tools to help you grow your business, such as goal setting strategies, vision building, daily tracking system, and many more. With this planner you can create your visions, goals, and belief statements to achieve your dreams.
There is a section for you to see your monthly overview and weekly pages where you can plan out everyday tasks. There is also a section for you to create your weekly goals, marketing plan for your business, and lead trackers. Lastly, it has a section for you to list your accomplishments.
Basically, this planner is more than just a planner. Itâs a manifestation and goal journal. Plus, you donât need to buy multiple journals or planners for each section because everything is included in this one compact and affordable planner. If you plan on traveling to different places, but want to keep your thoughts and visions organized, this planner is a must have!
Home & Work Weekly Planner (Best for Working Moms)
This Home & Work Planner, from Kahootie Co, is perfect for the working moms who need to keep track of work schedules, kidâs appointments, and family activities all in one planner. This is the perfect solution for a mom who wants to organize her family and her work schedule at the same time. The planner is also sturdy and durable, unlike other planners with thin papers and covers.
The planner is spiral bound, and has cute and functional arrow stickers. Busy working moms would surely love the two columns that divide the work and home to-do lists and agenda in one day. It also has a standard monthly undated calendar to give you freedom in planning your month. There are also extra pages that allow you to make notes and added sections.
Simple Elephant Planner
If you want a planner to keep you focused on your tasks, then the Simple Elephant Planner is just for you. This undated planner is perfect to plan your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Itâs durable, soft leatherette cover gives a sturdy and elegant vibe to it. It also has three ribbon bookmarks and an elastic band to keep it from opening when put in a bag.
It has one Focus section at the beginning of the planner where you set out yearly goals. Plus, they have these Affirmation sectionsâto affirm your goalsâand Grateful for sections. The monthly overview also provides space for your monthly goals and notes beside it. And, the weekly section has your weekly goals and review. Since it is an undated planner, you can skip weeks, and still use those pages for some other time.
The planner comes with a bonus set of e-books and infographics to mark your goals, priorities, and ideas. Lastly, the Mindmap & Vision Board helps you create your goals and envision your success.
Live Whale Planner
Hit those targets you need for the week with this hardbound planner. It is undated to give you the freedom to work on your tasks and goals whenever you need.
The planner has a range of colors and elegantly contrasting steel corners for you to choose from. The vegan leather cover is also animal-friendly, and the steel corners are designed for durability and heavy use. It has a riveted pen loop for you to secure your pen, a sturdy back pocket to store bills and notes, and three satin bookmarks.
The Live Whale Planner provides an expense tracking section, a Brain Dump section, monthly calendar and weekly views, a Mind Map section, habit tracker, gratefulness tracker, priority section, and empty spaces for your long and short term goal tracking.
If youâre the type of person who needs to affirm and motivate oneâs self, this is the planner for you.
LUX PRO Productivity Planner
This Lux Pro Productivity Planner is a ring-bound, A5-sized planner, with its cover made from vegan-friendly faux leather. Itâs complete with a zipped pocket for small stationery, an elastic pen holder, a button down fastener, and strong metal clasps.
It has a â6-month page packâ refill that includes instructions, dated calendars, long term goals, undated daily planners, finance tracker, and notes pages. You wonât need to buy a new planner if you run out of pages because you can simply insert new ones. It has a dot grid on the back of the daily pages, which will give you a lot of space to personalize your planner. There is also a daily overview and a reflection page for you to reflect on at the end of each week.
LUX Productivity Planner
This A5 Lux Productivity Planner helps in keeping you organized and focused with your goals. Unlike the Lux PRO Productivity Planner, this one is sewn-bound and has a leather hardcover, an elasticated pen holder, two different coloured bookmark ribbons and a lay flat spine. However, It is designed to only last for approximately six months, and is non-refillable. Itâs papers are dotted, and are perfect for those who like to do free-hand and try bullet journaling.
It truly is a productivity aid because it contains the following sections: long term goals, daily planners, reflections, monthly glance, finance and savings tracker, project planning, and notes section. These sections help you in growing your long-term goals in small steps. Itâs also really flexible, in a sense, that if you donât achieve a particular goal, you can always move it forward. It is also undated, which helps you start at any time.
The planner also helps in sticking to tasks instead of putting them off to do another day. You can also see that your little tasks make it a productive day. There are also inspirational quotes that will help in giving you the added boost you need.
Blue Sky Buzz Planner
This undated planner, good for six months, will help you organize and give clarity to your goals and daily tasks. It features a guided framework and a simple layout to help you identify your goals, and focus on achieving them every single day.
The Personal Mindmap and Goal Mapping pages help you create your goals, and achieve it by helping you connect your habits to it. The undated monthly calendar overview has a Goal Mapping Tracker and Priorities section beside it to help you focus on and achieve your goals.
It also has a unique layout of undated daily pages, wherein you could log your hourly schedule, to-do list, priorities, and notes. Furthermore, it has a review page where you can check your progress every three months, and a Goals Review section. Basically it is more than a planner; it also serves a journal.
The planner is perfect for anyone who is always on the go. Itâs not too small that you wonât have enough space to write on nor is it too big that you canât carry it in your bag. The paper of the planner is made of high quality materials, which is crisp and smooth, perfect for writing.
Panda Planner
This undated Panda Planner is designed to make you happier and more productive. It has three sections to keep you organized. It is complete with a monthly overview, weekly pages, and daily pages, so you could easily see your schedule, and prioritize your tasks. Moreover, the monthly section helps you plan your goals for the month, and make deadlines for each milestone.
The paper of the planner is thick, and doesnât bleed at the back of the page, and the binding and pages lay flat when flipped through. The daily goals help in keeping you focused on your goals and habits. There is also a Thankful For and Excited About section to keep you motivated. You can also bring it with you anywhere you go.
2020 Do It All Mom Planner
This planner, from Orange Circle studio, is a planner specifically designed for moms. The sturdy, flexible cover helps in holding up the planner for a long time. It has an inside pocket to insert receipts or notes, and a continuous wire-o binding for extra durability.
The planner, that spans from August 2019 to December 2020, gives you a yearly, monthly, and weekly glance of your schedule. It has a page for your goals, bucket list tracker, budget tracker, notes section, contacts section, grateful section, shopping list section and to-do lists, which you could tear off.
If youâre a mom with your own passion projects while keeping your family upright, this is for you. You can separate your childrenâs activities to yours. Itâs also compact enough for you to carry in your purse.
It’s That Kinda Day: Momâs Weekly Planner (Best for Stay at Home Moms)
For our stay-at-home moms, this planner is for you. Packed with premium paper, a laminated front and back cover, and spiral binding, this 6×9 inch-sized planner is perfect for anywhere. It features a 12-month undated monthly calendar to allow you the freedom to start anytime, eliminating wasted pages.
The planner allows moms to plan weekly meals, weekly goals, and to-do lists. It also ensures that momsâ and kidsâ goals are being achieved, with its Monthly Goal pages. The layout makes it easy to use, and is efficient when it comes to keeping yourself organized.
The Simply Whole Moms 2020 Planner
This pretty planner is perfect for moms who want to be more intentional. Not only does it have a beautiful leafy cover design, it also includes inspirational quotes, an overview for each month, notes section, and themes for each month.
This planner is a fun and organized way to get through the year. The calendar is also spacious, giving plenty of space to write on your goals, to-do lists, and notes.
Mother Woman Planner: Mom Planner & Organizer 2020 (Best for Stay at Home Moms)
If you want a well-crafted and eco-friendly planner, then this is for you. This 12-month undated planner is a perfect tool to organize your life. The 336 archival-quality pages are made from acid- and wood-free paper, which ensures long-lasting performance.
The planner contains pages for your long-term goals and monthly goals for every aspect of your life. It also has provisions for monthly budgeting, checklists for different occasions and purposes, and stickers.
Whatâs more, its weekly and daily calendar is smushed into one, without sacrificing the space for your hourly scheduling, to-do lists, notes, and event reminders! All in all, itâs a well-designed planner, perfect for stay-at-home moms.
Well Planned Gal Homeschool Family Planner 2020-2021 (Best for Homeschool Moms)
Homeschooling moms have a lot on their plate. This planner is designed to help homeschool moms organize their weekly lesson plans and home duties in one place.
This dated planner spans from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Although a dated planner, itâs a good exception since it runs through the regular school calendar. It accommodates up to four students, and has provisions for lesson plans for about seven subjects, two of which are customizable.
The pages are creatively designed, and there are recommended Bible verses for you and your child to read everyday in the monthly calendar. Thereâs also an extra space for notes and other writings. On its weekly pages, thereâs provision for your to-do lists, dinner menu, and self-care routine. The planner also contains pages for the childâs schedule and books to be used. There are also chore charts, and tear-out monthly shopping lists.
Furthermore, thereâs a section on how to plan your year, what books to read for each month, and things to do. This planner doesnât only record the childâs progress and attentiveness, but also serves as a planner for household planning.
Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace
The Plan Your Year is the perfect planner for homeschool moms. It is a practical and organized approach to planning your kidsâ homeschool activities. You can create a step-by-step plan with action items for your kidsâ education.
The planner guides you in the planning stages where you create the resources and curriculum. Then, you will be guided to create a vision, write goals, and plan the lessons.
The A+ Homeschool Planner: Plan, Record, and Celebrate Each Child’s Progress
The A+ Homeschool Planner is a homeschool momâs best friend in keeping track of progress for a successful year of homeschooling. It includes calendars to map out the days, weeks, and months of the school year. There are also motivational quotes included in the planner, which helps boost energy and confidence.
The planner has sections that help you in mapping out the goals for the year, creating plans for homeschooling in the coming months and weeks, track progress, and review effectiveness.
This undated homeschooling planner is good for up to six students.
A Planner for Mom
Planners are a great way to keep track of chores, and stay organized. A mom has a lot on her plate, which is why a planner is deemed helpful. By staying organized, moms can efficiently accomplish each task, effectively run the family, and take care of her needs. Hence, choosing a planner that gives you the benefits and aid you need is important.
