As we continue our focus on planning, I thought it would be good to follow my review of the 2023 Season by Season™ Daily Planner with a review of the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren.
While I find daily planners to be effective in helping me organize day-to-day activities, there is value in using monthly planners too.
The Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren is a complete planner that can be used for overall scheduling or focusing on specific tasks or projects.
A monthly planner (see also ‘How To Organize Your Planner‘) can help to kick-start your goals, and greatly improve your organization.
In this review, we’ll take an in-depth look at the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren to see if it can help you get organized.
All about the Erin Condren Deluxe Monthly Planner
What I like most about the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren is that it combines a calendar and a notebook.
It’s designed to help you plan your day-to-day, schedule all your projects, and budget your monthly spending.
For writers, the Erin Condren Monthly Planner is a space to combine creative planning with regular activities.
The Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren is a 12-month planner featuring mini months, a monthly two-page calendar spread, monthly productivity pages, and 10 lined note pages at the end of every month.
The calendar spread features boxes for important tasks. Also, you can expand those tasks on the note page following.
Each month is tabbed for easy organization. You can add additional note pages to the back of the planner. Sticker sheets are included to add sparkle and inspiration.
What I like about the planner
Erin Condren’s monthly planners give an excellent first impression. Each planner (see also ‘Best Self Planner‘) is sturdy with vibrant covers.
You can also build your monthly planner with the following options.
- 2 sizes: 7″ x 9″ or 8.5″ x 11″
- 3 interior design options: Harmony Colorful, Harmony Neutral, or In Bloom
- Add 40 extra lined or productivity note pages
Intuitive layout
The design is intuitive to use and comprehensive. The planner offers mini months, a two-page calendar spread, and a monthly productivity page (see also ‘Best Productivity Planners‘).
This expands the planner’s use, as you can fit these sections to your needs. Add a word count goal (see also ‘How to Write More: 10 Quick Ways to Boost Your Word Count‘), planning goals, habits you want to pick up, or whatever works for you.
Each month combines detailed planning sections with pages that take an overview of events. This makes it easier to track monthly, daily, and yearly goals.
Dated and tabbed calendar
The deluxe monthly planner is a large book, and finding the right section could take a lot of flicking back and forth.
However, the dated calendar tabs make it easy to find the right page, even in a hurry.
For yearly planning, the tabs can be used to check and set your goals quickly and add those important future dates you don’t want to forget.
Multiple design options
You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can feel motivated to pick up a planner when you like the design. An attractive front cover should never be the main reason for choosing a planner, but it helps.
Erin Condren monthly planners are available in incredible designs, so you’re almost guaranteed to find one you love.
Not a fan of any designs? You can even upload your photo for a planner perfect for you.
Personalizations
It isn’t just the cover design that you can personalize with an Erin Condren monthly planner!
Once you’ve chosen your favorite cover, you can pick your preferred coil color and personalize the design with your name or an inspirational quote.
Inside the planner, there are even more options waiting for you. Pick between the standard 7” x 9” planner and the large 8.5” x 11.”
Choose the interior design: whether you prefer bright colors for motivation or find neutral shades to help with clear strategizing, your planner can suit your needs.
Depending on your purchase, you can even alter the calendar’s start date, which is excellent for academic planning.
Finally, if you like the notebook aspect of the planner, you can add additional note pages to the back.
Lined pages
Lined pages might not appeal to all creative planners, but we love how easy the lines make it to employ different organizational tools.
With pre-lined pages, you can easily design your charts and graphs and prevent “wandering handwriting” problems.
Double-sided pocket
Always losing track of your bits and pieces? From notes written on the go, to receipts we absolutely can’t lose, one misplaced piece of paper can throw all your plans off course.
The sturdy double-sided pocket included with the monthly planner gives you a space to keep those easily misplaced essentials.
The pocket may seem like a small feature, but it does increase the overall usability of the planner. You simply need to slide in that piece of paper you need to keep close, and it’s safely stored for future access.
80lb. text weight paper
Good paper can make or break a planner. Erin Condren has equipped every monthly planner with 80 lb text-weight paper.
This paper resists ink bleeding, allowing you to write without worrying about ink appearing on the next page. It feels good to write on, and your letters will stay sharp and clear.
Price
The Erin Condren monthly planner is hardly a budget buy, but we think it’s reasonable considering how much you get for the price.
However, watch out for the additions and personalizations, as they can add up.
What I don’t like about the planner
I realize no monthly planner can do it all (unfortunately), no matter how good it is. However, I feel the Erin Condren monthly planner could be improved in a few areas, so let’s look at these in a little more detail.
Lacks Weekly Features
This is expected from a monthly planner, but planning your days and weeks in detail is tricky with the overall layout.
If you wanted to use this as a weekly planner, you’d need to make the most of those note pages at the end of each month.
For many, the lack of weekly planning won’t be an issue. If you already have a daily or weekly planner (see also ‘2023 Season by Season Daily Planner Review‘), then the monthly planner is a helpful addition that provides a scheduling overview.
However, a more complete organizer might be preferable if you prefer to keep all your notes and planning in one place.
Daily note-taking isn’t impossible in the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren, but you can’t go into much detail.
Additional note pages come at a price
I love the Erin Condren monthly planner because it allows you to combine note-taking with calendar planning, making this an excellent planner for budding writers.
However, it’s a shame that to make the most of this feature, you need to pay extra for the note pages.
Works as a general planner rather than a writer-specific planner
This isn’t necessarily a problem with the monthly planner, but it is something to consider when deciding if the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren is right for you.
The planner is designed to be used by anyone for any need. That could be family budgeting, writing meal plans, or organizing school activities.
It is an all-encompassing planner and will appeal to many people.
However, if you’re new to planning and hoping to use the monthly planner specifically for writing goals, the lack of direction might be a stumbling block.
Of course, it could always work the other way. The versatility of the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren might allow you to tailor your organization to your own goals.
Verdict
Overall, the Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren is an excellent tool for planning.
The amount of personalization available allows you to create a planner you want to use and tailor to suit your own needs.
On the inside, the deluxe monthly planner is laid out intuitively, with plenty of room to plan your month in detail and provide at-a-glance goal-setting and memos.
I love the note pages between each month. The quality of the Erin Condren monthly planner is exceptional, with quality pages that don’t allow the ink to bleed.
Additional features such as stickers and a back pocket increase usability.
The Deluxe Monthly Planner by Erin Condren can’t guarantee all your goals are met. But the intuitive layout and attractive designs do help!
