Over the last ten years, I’ve used five different planners for women. I used one for several years, one for several months, one for a couple of months, and one I’m just getting started using for my second year. The list includes The Passion Planner, The Christian Planner, Full Focus Planner, the Living Well Planner, and the Prayerful Planner. Some are daily planners, some are weekly, and most can be ordered in different layouts, dated and undated. These five best planners for women for 2023 will be reviewed here.
The Countdown Begins…
As an elementary teacher, I was used to planners, except in that setting, we called them Lesson Plan Books. They were a necessity for our existence. They guided our lives from the beginning bell to the end of the school day and sometimes beyond for meetings and classes. If I had a dentist appointment or a coffee date with a friend, that went in my Google calendar or the Thomas Kincade calendar on the wall.
Our Lesson Plan goal-setting had to do with standards and learning units and what could help those sweet little students accomplish the best possible plans in a quarter or trimesters. We weren’t setting our One Word of the Year, creating Dream Boards, or setting personal goals for the year. Some teachers thought lesson planning was enjoyable, and at times it was. But filling out a spread in life planners can be a much more fulfilling, satisfying, and creative part of the day.
The purpose of this post is to share some of the pros and cons of the five planners I’ve personally used and to help you decide if one might be right for you. Now is a great time to buy a planner or calendar because most people have already gotten them and started plugging in events and setting goals. So sellers are trying to clear their inventory. If you haven’t purchased yours yet, I’ll add the links to each one, and you can check out the specials.
#5 The Full Focus Planner
I’m just going to quickly mention this planner. I purchased it because it sounded like it would be the magic bullet to get me focused and on track to reach my goals for that year. It’s comprehensive, using Michael Hyatt’s full daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly strategies to help you reflect, become intentional with your activities and transform yourself as you follow through with everything. (Here’s a link to his newest book Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork.)
It was more than I wanted at the time. And it cost more than I wanted to spend on a planner. The single copies start at $36.99 to $49.99 (for three months), or a full year’s subscription starts at $99.00 and up. There is a range of colors and styles. I know several people who thrive personally and professionally using the Full Focus Planner. It just might be what you need to break through to success, it would be one of the best planners for women for this year! Check it out! https://fullfocusstore.com/
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#4 The Christian Planner
I used the Christian Planner for a year and loved it, but didn’t take advantage of all the features. This planner includes a weekly sermon notes spot, a weekly devotional area, daily habit trackers, and space for a vision board and bucket list to start the year and record your plans and dreams. There’s also plenty of room for events and reflections. This planner isn’t uber-goal-structured, which was one of the features that attracted me to it.
It comes in several lovely colors (I purchased the Lady Lilac!); there’s also a teal, a wine red, navy blue, and black. You’ll find lots of white space in this planner if you love to ‘decorate’ and use your creativity with drawing, stickers, calligraphy, etc.
The Christian Planner is currently running a sale! The regular price is $34.95 (there is a leather version, that’s more). https://christianplanner.com/ It is one of the best planners for women around!
#3 The Passion Planner
I belonged to the Pash Fam for at least three years. The Facebook group provided many ideas and suggestions to create awesome ‘spreads.’ It was fun, and I have all the stickers, the washi tape (do you know what that even is? I didn’t when I first started), and the special colored pens. My office has a cool, unique planner tote that stores all those things now.
The beginning pages of the Passion Planner provided me with wonderful times of planning and dreaming and setting short-term and long-term goals. The monthly pages helped break down goals, step out tasks, and track habits. There was room to reflect and correct and more than enough empty pages in the back for creating a new tracking form, recording thoughts, or anything else associated with keeping your life smooth and organized. Plus, if you’re a bullet journal-type person, these pages are perfect for your special brand of creativity!
The Passion Planner costs in the $35 range. There are many options and styles of planners. The choices include color, dated/undated, academic, the start day (Sunday or Monday), size, and binding.
If you’re looking for a motivational, reflective planner with lots of room for your creativity and passion, and if you’re a person who loves to set goals and break them down to accomplish your dreams, The Passion Planner could be for you. Here’s the link: https://passionplanner.com/ Big sale going on right now!! It’s in spot #3 for the best planners for women for the year.
#2 The Living Well Planner
The creator of the LWP is Ruth Soukup, a very accomplished blogger, podcaster, author, and trainer. Like most planners/journals, this one was born out of the needs and wants of its creator. As the writer for the Living Well, Spending Less blog; Ruth was quite aware of the ingredients necessary to help people live, grow, and accomplish without getting overwhelmed.
Once you purchase the planner, you are invited to participate in a Crushing It (refers to what you’ll be doing with your goals) online training course to help you use it as efficiently as possible. You will also be added to a Crushing It FB group. You can join a membership-based FB group called Doing It Scared for free for a month (based on Ruth’s book “Doing it Scared” and podcast).
The Living Well Planner starts with setting your mindset and intentions and determining your long-term goals. At the beginning of each month, you set the Monthly Goals followed by a “Goal Crushing” worksheet for one of the Big Three of those goals. (Additional resource pages are available to print). Also, each month has a Project Planning worksheet to layer onto your monthly plans.
I do not see any specials, but you get $5 if you use my referral link! (I receive a $5 credit as well!) This ranks as one of my favorites and the best planner for women for any year.
Favorite Planner Accessories
1. Zebra Pen Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter, Broad and Fine Tips, Assorted Colors, 15 Pack (Ahhh…a necessity for adding special touches)
2. Flower/Plant Stickers Set (120PCS) (Fun to have for basic, vintage spreads)
3. Avery Printable Sticker Paper, Glossy Clear, 8.5″ x 11″ (Great for printing stickers you pick up from Etsy, create in Canva, or get off Google)
4. Ink Joy 1.0 Gel Tip Pen (I love these things)
#1 The Winner – The Prayerful Planner!
We’ve reached my favorite! The countdown ends here with my Number One Pick at the top of the list of Best Planners for Women for the Year 2023! It’s an amazing women’s inspirational daily planner (weekly, undated, or dated). This will be my second year using this treasure.
Coming up at the first of the year at the beginning of the Prayerful Planner is a place to set goals in various areas, a vision board (that can coordinate with the written goals), a Word of the Year, and a Verse of the Year page. There’s a Prayer Requests page and instructions with a form to determine your Purpose. A place for Reflections at the end of the year is included, and there are blank pages for notes throughout The interior format depends on if you’re getting a weekly or daily planner. My daily planner has a place for plans for the month, sets of habit circles to color in, and a two-page month spread.
The features that drew me into The Prayerful Planner were the focus on creating a consistent quiet time habit (daily time of prayer and Bible reading), the beauty of the planners, the organization and adaptability of each one, as well as the wide choice of types of journals, planners, and accessories available. The price is reasonable and comparable to most others in this review of top planners. However, the active, caring, educational, and positive Facebook group is the most powerful draw. The generosity of the Prayerful Planner people (monthly colorful stickers and prayer prompts), training videos, and more. I couldn’t imagine not ordering my next year’s planners when they come out each year!
From the website, “It’s not only a daily agenda for keeping you organized and focused, but it’s also a journal for documenting and tracking all of the ways that God is good. It’s a place to keep schedules and to-do lists as well as daily prayers, gratitude, praise, and more.” Perfect!
This year I ordered the weekly soft-sided ‘saddle’ dated planner. I also ordered the matching journal to have more room to record my prayer lists, sermon notes, personal journal notes, and Bible verses. It’s getting close to time to ‘start’ my new planner and journal, and I’m so excited!
The link to the planner will give you a 10% off coupon for my choice as one of THE best planners for women for 2023. I highly recommend this life planner for you. It’s beautiful, arrived within just a few days. Don’t wait too long to shop; some planners are already out of stock! I vote The Prayerful Planner as one of the Top Planners ever!
Wrapping it Up
We’ve come to the end of this little ‘best planners for women’ review. I’ve given you some things to consider if you’re still in the planner market. Your purposes and uses for a planner are most likely quite different from mine. You might be just as happy to use the Google Calendar with a few tasks thrown in!
But, if you’re a Journal Junky or a Planner Lover like me (a sure sign is that excitement you feel when the package is on its way or you get to touch it at Barnes and Noble!), you might find a close to perfect planner for this new year. If you do, please let us know here on Quiet Hollow in the comments, on the QH Facebook page, or in Our Next Chapter Community. We can share ideas and post when Michael’s and Hobby Lobby have their planner stickers on sale!
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For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
Finding a new purpose in living and joy in the day-to-day was the goal when author Kathy Rowland and her entire family (adult kids and grandkids) moved from the PNW to Texas several years ago. The focus of Quiet Hollow is to encourage ‘next chapter women’ – those who are retired, empty-nesters, or have found themselves without a spouse to jump back into life. And, she shares multiple tips, ideas, and possibilities toward that end. Kathy completed her almost 30 years as an elementary teacher and hopped into over a decade of volunteer work, side hustle-type businesses, and grandchild care before discovering her unique and fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of life. What you read on Quiet Hollow is a large part of that calling. Another part is the happy life she’s leading in Central Texas in the same neighborhood as the 3 big kids and her 5 grandkids. She and her college sweetheart husband made sure to add a pool to their new Texas home, so there are lots of noisy, splashy days in their little oasis of a backyard. Come join her on Quiet Hollow in a conversation about finding and living the life you were created to live in this later stage. The chats will be full of laughter, support, faith, and inspiration to create.
YAY!!!! Thank you so much Kathy! We truly appreciate YOU! Merry Christmas sweet friend!
Jennifer xxoo
Thank you so much Jennifer! All true words 🥰 Merry Christmas to you as well! ~Kathy