10 Planners That Smutlancers Love
In a recent group call in the Smutlancers community, we talked about goal setting and planning, both in general and specific to 2021. During the discussion, everyone had something to say about our planners and planning systems for this year.
We asked members of the community to share the planner(s) they love and use, whether this year or in the past. If you’re still trying to figure out which one to use for 2021, hopefully, this list gives you a few options to explore.
My PA Planner
Both Molly and I are using My PA Planner this year. I used it in 2020 (before the year went to hell) and loved it so much that I bought it again for 2021. It’s a UK-based company and shipping to the US costs more than I’m willing to pay. I purchased a downloadable PDF version and had it professionally printed and bound for less than the cost of shipping. I used PrintMe1.com to have it printed. (The printing site doesn’t look like much but it was extremely affordable and well done.)
What I love about My PA Planner is that it’s perfect for business planning. The first pages are filled with questions and worksheets about your vision, mission, goals — not just for the year ahead but several years in the future. It also includes expense and income worksheets so you can take a look at your financial reality while setting goals. Each month, you can plan out content, social media promos, and projects. You get a monthly and weekly calendar. I use mine specifically for business plans with a variety of projects, not for my freelance schedule or personal life.
Circle Planner
Molly is the one who brought Circle Planner into several people’s worlds (including Quinn Rhodes (he/him) who loves it!). It’s another UK-based planner company. The colors are gooooooorgeous. If they ever put out a purple version, I will definitely pay for the shipping from the UK to the US.
Here’s what Quinn says about the Circle Planner: “The Circle Planners come in really cool colors (mine are Factory Yellow and Spice Orange and they’re so BRIGHT AND COLORFUL, I love it) and they’re pretty sturdy. The hard, cloth-covered cover and thick paper (which is apparently sustainable?) make using the planner feel really intentional to me: if I’m sitting down and opening it I’m doing it with purpose, which is helpful for building a habit of using it every day. It’s got to the point where actually just opening my planner helps me calm down – it gives me a sense of control.”
If you buy the Circle Planner, use code MOLLYMOORE to save 10 percent off! (This is an affiliate link for Molly.)
Hobonichi Techo Cousin
From Calliope (they/them) of Queer Courtesan: “I use a Hobonichi Techo Cousin paired with some digital tools to do all of my planning. The Cousin has monthly, weekly, and daily pages give me tons of room to keep track of everything in my life. I use the monthly pages for important appointments, the weeklies for planning tasks each week along with things like meal planning, school assignments, etc. The dailies are used primarily as a brain dumping section. Anything I think of and need to remember later gets written down on that day’s page. I’ve also used them for meeting notes, art, quotes, and horoscopes. The Tomoe River paper is luscious to use – it’s light and thin but works great for fountain pens and watercolor.”
Weekly Planner
From Sex Coach Shannon (she/they): “I use a regular old weekly planner available anywhere that sells planners. It keeps me focused on just one week at a time so I don’t get overwhelmed looking at a whole month’s worth of tasks, but offers more than a one-day view so I can see what’s coming up soon. I have my own system for tracking tasks, invoicing, and earnings within the planner. I get my planners at my neighborhood pharmacy and decorate them with stickers I was gifted the previous year.
Bullet Journal
From E.L. Byrne (she/her) of Lustitude: “I use a little bigger than the usual book: it’s a gorgeous turquoise Leuchtturm1917 B5. It is a lot of work to set up the pages, but what I like is you can set the whole book up the way that works for me and I can change it. Like I set up all of January already, but I decided after doing that, I am not going to launch one of my projects until the spring so when I do February I can change up my page style so it’s not there. I can have pages for goals, for planning, for the month at a glance, for weeks, for blog topic ideas, for a bucket list… anything you need.”
Loose Leaf Paper and 3-Ring Binder
Chrisy Kay (she/her) was disappointed with the first-choice planner that she ordered. With no time to start searching for another, she went super old-school, using loose-leaf paper to write down lists and plan out her blog and her goals. In the Smutlancers group call, she talked about putting it into a binder. As we showed off our planners, she seemed apologetic for having such a simple one. No apologies were needed (we all assured her!). Use a method that works for you! So if you’re overwhelmed by all the planner options or (like Chrisy) need to get planning before you have time to find a new planner, use whatever you’ve got!
Other Recommended Planners
Passion Planner — Recommended by Veronica Bly (she/her)
Lux Planner – Recommended by Julie (she/her) of Master’s Pleasing Bitch (Read her review here)
The Hero’s Journal – Recommended by Chase Tramel (he/him)
Momentum Planner – Recommended by Chase Tramel (he/him)
Since we’re all sharing here, what kind of planner do you use and why?? Let us know in the comments!
