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7 Top Business Plan Books for New-age Entrepreneurs

Free Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

• October 18, 2023

12 Min Read

Business Plan books are the first thing to go for once you have decided on the idea you want to pursue as an entrepreneur.

Starting up as an entrepreneur is not as simple as it seems. Transforming your idea into a business that creates value for the world is a long process.

The process is full of uncertainties, hurdles, and burnout. To make consistent efforts without giving up, you need a plan you can rely upon.

A plan that helps you in making wise decisions in your entrepreneurial journey is known as a business plan.

It also helps in refining processes and keeps you in line with your business goals.

Now, how would you create a business plan?

Well, you can anyhow get to know what it contains. However, to easily create a business plan that covers all aspects of your business, you must read these books.

In this article, we are going to discuss the 7 top business plan books written for ambitious entrepreneurs like you!

Best Business Plan Books

• Art of the Start 2.0
• The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies
• The Founder’s Dilemma
• The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur
• The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan
• Anatomy of a Business Plan
• The Complete Book of Business Plans

1. Art of the Start 2.0

Goodreads rating: 3.87/5

The author of this book is American millionaire Guy Kawasaki. Though his name is enough for anyone to stand up from their seats let me tell you a few things about him.

• He worked with Apple in 1984 as a part of the marketing team for Macintosh computers.
• He is the author of 12 books including The Art of Social Media, and Enchantment.
• He is currently working as the chief evangelist of Canva which is a graphic designing software.

Now coming to what this book holds for you, it’s one of those books that focus on transforming your business idea into a full-fledged organization.

Guy Kawasaki explains why it is important to have a vision and how you, as an entrepreneur, can feed your team with the same vision.

If your team does not adhere to the same vision, there will always be chaos in the workspace.

You must also share stories about your product and your journey. Everyone loves stories. You don’t have to write a 300-page book but a few social media posts, and videos that resonate well with your target audience.

The book also guides entrepreneurs while hiring. It tells you to hire people who are new in the industry. They are most likely to innovate new products as they consistently ask questions.

Key Highlight:

This book will help you in writing a business plan along with guiding you in various steps of entrepreneurship. This book holds something for every aspect of entrepreneurship.

It also stresses how you can use the internet and cloud tools to make the processes more accessible and more efficient. In the modern era, businesses are equipped with tools that are affordable and accessible to everyone.

Moreover, the book also throws light on socializing and partnering with the right people for leadership roles or to get funding.

By reading this book, you will feel more powerful as an entrepreneur and will be ready to take on challenges that come along with entrepreneurship.

This book doesn’t sound like rhetoric and probably that’s why this book received appreciation from all across the world.

Book Link- Art of the Start 2.0

A reader’s review:

The focus is on tech entrepreneurs. While much of the advice is applicable to other industries, the book will hit the bullseye specifically with those starting technology businesses.

Anita Campbell (via Goodreads)

2. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies

The author of the book is Rhonda Abrams who has written more than 12 books on entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur herself, the knowledge she shares is absolute gold and trustworthy.

She also writes one of the most popular columns in the US known as Small Business Strategies.

Let us now discuss what Rhonda Abrams has taught in her book.

The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies is a complete guide for anyone stuck in writing. It is one of those books that give you a push to start working on your idea.

This book contains various worksheets and charts which makes it consumable as well as practical.

You will get enough examples of various parts of a business plan , giving you an in-depth idea of what it looks like and how it is written.

This book not only teaches you to write a business plan that reminds you about your vision but also this plan can help you get investors on board.

It also equips you with strategies to get funds at the best possible rates and also to minimize the costs involved in running a business.

It gives you an in-depth understanding of positioning your brand in the market to gain the attention of your target audience and thus derive maximum profit.

Moreover, you can also use it for competitions related to showcasing plans for their businesses. The book is used by many entrepreneurs and is recommended to every small business.

Book Link- The Successful Business Plan

There’s enough information here to help you get almost any business started. This is a proven source, for it’s been through several re-prints since 1991.

Jeffrey Brown (via Goodreads)

3. The Founder’s Dilemma

Goodreads rating: 4.01/5

The book, The Founder’s dilemma, is one of the best business plan books by Noam Wasserman. Apart from this, he has written another bestseller known as Life is a startup.

Noam Wasserman served as a professor at Harvard Business school for 13 years and is currently working at the University of Southern California as a founding Director at the Founder Central Initiative.

The book he wrote is an absolute beauty. Not because he has told some hidden secrets but because he has addressed a problem that many entrepreneurs often ignore.

And that problem is the company’s leadership. You might have a billion-dollar business idea and even have cracked the tech for it, but you might still fail because of listening to the wrong advice.

If you want your business to not suffer due to wrong decisions made by top leadership, you must read this book.

This book will help you in deciding whom you want to work with, and how to share the equity among co-founders and employees without being emotional.

However, this book might not be useful for small businesses but is a gem for someone planning to launch a high-growth business.

Book Link – The Founder’s Dilemma

I’ve never seen a book before that was particularly helpful – to a founder – about the wide range of issues a founder will face.

Brad Feld (via Goodreads)

4. The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

Goodreads rating: 3.86/5

The author of this mind-blowing book is none other than Jim Horan.

Known for his expertise in solving complex business problems , Jim has helped many entrepreneurs in turning their businesses into profit-making machines.

Jim Horan has also been a Fortune 500 executive and has written six books in the One Page Business Plan for Creative Entrepreneur series.

This book is quite different from other books as it is written for entrepreneurs who do not understand a lot about business figures but want to get started soon.

There’s a saying that if you cannot write your business plan on a single page, you are probably doing it wrong.

The book enables you to write it in a couple of hours which includes your mission, objectives, and plans.

It will be crisp and easy to understand for your investors as well as the team. In this fast-moving world, it becomes really uncomfortable to give a week preparing a business plan.

You have the idea and with the help of this book, you can turn the idea into a business in no time.

Having said that, this book is not recommended to someone who is building a high-growth company or a business with many manufacturing units.

This book is specially designed for small businesses to increase their profits and improve their vision.

Book Link – The One-Page Business Plan

One of my favorites! I have used these templates many times. It really forces you to be concise and focus on your vision. Highly recommend!

Teri Temme (via Goodreads)

5. The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

Goodreads rating: 3.70/5

The author of this book Hal Shelton is an extremely experienced executive who has worked with many corporations, non-profits, and investment companies.

Hal Shelton completed his BS from Carnegie Mellon University and then pursued an MBA from the University of Chicago.

The secrets to writing a successful Business Plan focus on each section of the plan to help you create one that stands out in front of the investors.

The book also informs you about the common errors entrepreneurs make while writing. These errors sometimes cost very high as they might create confusion for investors as well as for the team.

You will also learn to do the market analysis and write the same in your plan. You will be able to answer questions like how big is the market and whether it is sufficient to run a successful business or not.

Investors receive a lot of business plans and going through each one of them is not feasible. Therefore writing an executive summary becomes extremely important.

The executive summary is an easy way to grab investors’ attention and help them understand your business without going through lengthy documents.

If you are launching a non-profit organization, this book can help you in many ways as a section of the book is dedicated to non-profits.

Moreover, the book also consists of secret strategies for writing a business plan and getting bank loans or funding from investors.

Book Link – The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

This book provides a very solid foundation to write your plan. The author also provides excellent examples and instructions as to what to and not to do in writing your business plan

Kirk G. Meyer (via Goodreads)

6. Anatomy of a Business Plan

The author of this book, Linda Pinson, has worked very closely with the U.S. small business administration to write the government business plan publication.

She has also been honored as Education Advocate of the year and SBA regional women in Business advocate of the year.

Apart from this book, she has written many books on entrepreneurship such as Keeping the books and steps to start a small business startup.

This is one of the best business books for people who do not know anything about business plans.

This book provides you with an in-depth understanding of different business plans and will enable you to choose your ideal kind.

After reading the book, you will learn to update your plan according to the needs of your business and the position of your brand in the market.

The author also highlights the importance of mentioning the table of contents and executive summary in navigating smoothly through the book.

Apart from this, it also throws light on how you can efficiently market your business. You will also learn how to mention the financials of your company which is an important thing to do.

The Anatomy of a Business Plan also contains five real-life business plans which give you an understanding of how successful businesses can be explained in a few pages.

You also get a few worksheets which makes the overall experience of reading the book delightful.

Book Link – Anatomy of a Business Plan

This book is like “a mentor for your business plan”. Really informative and helpful.

Marvin Musfiq (via Goodreads)

7. The Complete Book of Business Plans

Goodreads rating: 3.47/5

The authors of this book are Brian Hazelgran and Joseph A. Covello. Both of them have a great understanding of how businesses operate in this book. They have told us that one size doesn’t fit all.

That means business plans for different businesses cannot be written in the same way.

This book contains 12+ plans that give you an idea of how you write one for yourself.

This book also focuses on how you should bring people into your business and what vision you should have to run the business for decades.

Moreover, when you read the book you will have to ask a lot of questions to yourself. The book will compel you to ask questions yourself that are immensely important before writing it.

Once you give satisfactory answers to the questions asked, you will feel more motivated to start a business , and writing a business will look like a cakewalk.

The above quote shows how important it is to plan your business and create a visionary plan for your business.

Book Link – The Complete Book of Business Plans

Great book encompassing everything about writing business plans.

Denny Troncoso (via Goodreads)

Bottom Line

All the Business plan books that we discussed above are going to help you in some way or the other.

But don’t worry you don’t need to read all of them. Just figure out where you stand and where you would want to go and select a book accordingly.

Innovative tools present in the industry like Upmetrics have helped many entrepreneurs in business and financial planning. If you need more help writing a perfect business plan, check out Upmetrics NOW and grow 2X faster.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

Related Articles On Business Plan Writing

• A Guide to Write an Effective Business Plan Executive Summary
• Formulating a Detailed Business Plan Outline
• Get Your Business Plan Written by Expert Writers
• How Many Pages Should a Good business Plan Be
• Understand the Operations Plan Section in a Business Plan
• How to Design a Compelling Business Plan Cover Page
• Guidelines for Formulating a Business Plan Table of Contents
• Importance of a Confidentiality Statement in a Business Plan

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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The 8 Best Business Plan Books in 2022

You are finally ready to start that business you’ve been sitting on for a while, but you have no idea how to begin. There is a lot of planning to do and so much advice in the pipelines. So, how do you begin? Start with the best business plan books in 2022. The curated list below includes books from year past but they represent the best options to launch your business today.

This business plan book comes in PDF format takes an innovative approach to writing a business plan that is not only effective, but fun.Download this business plan workbook PDF now and walk through:

• Setting tangible goals and milestones
• Creating a powerful elevator speech
• Precisely defining your target customer base
• Intelligently understanding your competition
• Articulately structuring the core of your business plan
• And much more!

Write the business plan of your dreams! This business plan workbook goes beyond the cold numbers to help any entrepreneur plan a business with his or her life ambitions in mind. You’ll be able to crystallize your vision.

Table of Contents

Best Business Plan Books in 2022

It is often said that every prosperous owner is an avid reader of self-help books, so let’s begin from there. Get some real-world guidance from the best industry leaders and business owners in these eight books we have picked. Master how to position yourself properly, create personal connections, and build your dream team.

Yes, you have to separate the fluff from the real counsel. Learn how to lay the proper foundation for your startup with these best business plan books in 2022.

1. “Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning” by Tim Berry

This trusty gem has made it on many lists and stays atop of our best business plan books in 2022. Tim is the founder of Palo Alto Software, makers of Business Plan Pro and Live Plan, and was one of MoreBusiness.com’s partners when we started the site many years ago.

If you want a book that would break down the steps to constructing a solid business plan, then “Hurdle” is an amazing option. Written by Tim Berry, the book teaches the reader the basics of business planning, daily organizational management, and how best to implement what you’ve learned in real-life situations.

That is not all; you also get multiple examples on profit monitoring and calculation, cash flow tracking , plus a 53-page workbook to master drafting a working business plan. So it’s two for the price of one. With this book, you get to practice your business plan while you read.

2. “Anatomy of A Business Plan” by Linda Pinson

If you read this book, you will discover that the writer, Linda Pinson nailed her goals, as the name of the book suggests. With this title, you can draft a tailor-made business plan that considers your business case and specifics.

From organizational structure, financial documentation, marketing systems, marketing, and planning, this title holds your hand through it all. Get extensive reviews, valuable hints and ideas, workbooks, plus five real-world sample business plans to get you started.

Josh Radnore, a businessman, books critic and a writer for PapersOwl underlines the key principle of a business plan: “The right business plan should take your long-term goals into consideration. Ask yourself what you want to achieve and set realistic and achievable goals”. He carries on by adding: “When you do this, you can know what you need to do to get where you want to go”.

3. “The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur” by Jim Horan

Are you trying to draft a concise one sheet business plan to meet up urgently with an investor? Jin Horan and Tom Peter came up with a quick but detailed guide that focuses on the exact details you need to write that plan. You get a book that can guarantee your success without taking too much of your time.

There is no need to read this overnight; you can figure out clear ways to outline your business systems, objectives, road map, action plan, and the vision and mission statements in a few hours.

4. “The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan” by Hal Shelton

Read this concise and well-written guide to get a glimpse into the secrets Hal Shelton has to share. Just by reading this step-by-step title and implementing the teachings, you can set your organization up for success.

Learning from your mistakes is so last year; this book will teach you the common errors business owners make when planning. You would also grasp how to develop your unique style to help you attract investors and loans, help – when, where and how to get it – and how to stand out.

5. “The Art of The Start 2.0” by Guy Kawasaki

It’s not just about drafting a business plan; there are other necessary things that can affect your small business when you are starting. To help you plan and achieve your goals more easily, Guy Kawasaki, who you might know from the Canva design platform, has prepared the “essential guide for anyone starting anything”.

Get access to real-world counsel on how to perfect your pitch, crowdfunding, bootstrapping, the role of social media and other digital innovations in drafting the ideal business plan.

6. “The Complete Book of Business Plans” by Joseph A Covello and Brian J Hazelgren

This title made it to our best business plan books in 2022 because of the examples it provides. Get ahead with the dozens of business plan templates this title offers. Do you need motivation or counsel on attracting the right investors? Only by answering these questions in detail can you create a successful business plan to help you begin a profitable company.

You’ve got all you require in detail here, including the right steps to statistical analysis. You can even grasp how to pick the right business partners and plan for success and business longevity.

It does not matter if you are a first-timer or starting your fifth organization. With this book, you would be forced to ask yourself every difficult question that needs to be answered.

7. “The Founder’s Dilemmas” by Noam Wasserman

Business planning goes beyond market research, drafting a pitch and attracting investors with a business plan template . Along the line in this never-ending journey, you would need to think about leadership and how it can affect your new company. The staffing and leadership roles and whom you employ can say a lot.

The author, Noam Wasserman, helps you look at these factors before they can become issues. Take a break from the “how” and “why” of the ideal business plan and focus on the “who” in this interesting read.

8. “Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies” by Rhonda Abrams

Not every business plan will work, and this title would help you determine whether the one you have in mind is a winner. Authored by an expert in all business matters, Rhonda Abrams, you can learn about positioning, organizational costs, proven strategies for funding, and the competition.

With graphics, exercises, and worksheets to make reading fun, this is one of the best business plan books in 2022 and you will discover a thing or two, especially if you take some guidance given by other experts.

The guidance you get and the information you consume when starting any business are crucial to its success. Don’t start one of those companies that fold up early on because of poor organizational design and systems. To plan properly, you need to master tips and tricks from the best of the best, and you can get this by reading the best business plan books in 2022.

So, pick one of the titles in this carefully curated list and download MoreBusiness.com’s sample business plans today and you’ll be well on your way to planning a successful business that promises longevity.

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The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan

• Ivaylo Durmonski
• Reading Lists

There are a lot of insightful thoughts around the concept of planning. In a sense, planning helps you forecast the “weather” of your business. Prepares you for what might happen. And distance you, hopefully, further away from your business going to dust. Most importantly, it allows you to think about the type of tasks you should focus on doing today. Do we know how to plan our business if we’re not business owners , though?

There is nothing wrong with having a regular job.

A lot of people are doing it.

Theoretically, since we’re born. We enter a sophisticated system of government-operated institutions that aim to spit us out after approximately 20 years, ready to help someone else grow his dream business.

You’re thought -sort of – how to plan your career. But you’re never thought how to plan your business.

Regardless of your current situation. The idea of starting a business or learning basic business skills will surely reach your mind at some point.

If you’re still not sure whether or not this is something you can achieve on your own. The business books mentioned below are specifically selected to boost your planning skills.

These books, of course, primarily serve business owners or people that are dreaming of becoming such.

Yet, these reads will definitely expand your horizon even if you don’t plan on starting your own thing right now. They will give you a perspective that will force you to think long term – the best way of thinking.

The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan:

1. the goal by eliyahu goldratt, 2. the one page business plan for the creative entrepreneur by jim horan, 3. mind your business by ilana griffo, 4. business plan template and example by alex genadinik, 5. the best-laid business plans by paul barrow, 6. smart business by ming zeng, 7. measure what matters by john e. doerr, 8. your next five moves by patrick bet-david, 9. business model generation by alexander osterwalder, 10. playing to win by a.g. lafley.

What’s the book about?

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt is a novel. A fascinating story that describes the life of a business owner who is facing a series of obstacles that, if not handled well, will lead to a catastrophic ending of the company he is running. Mr. Goldratt presents this fictional business environment to teach us an important lesson: That the speed of a convoy is determined by the slowest ship.

Who is it for?

Especially interesting for people who already own businesses but are struggling to grow. For people who can’t adequately articulate what is wrong with what they are doing. Eliyahu Goldratt teaches us that we should observe a business as a series of systems . The faster the systems operate. The faster you’ll grow. To speed up this process, first, you need to identify the weakest link and improve upon the process.

Thought-Provoking Quote:

“Since the strength of the chain is determined by the weakest link, then the first step to improve an organization must be to identify the weakest link.” Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Get the book | Read my summary

In this book, Jim Horan compiles his years of experience as a Fortune 500 executive and business consultant. The pages will help you quickly form a simple business plan based on the most successful companies in the world. The book goes through the 5 stages every organization hoping to make a profit from their products and/or services needs: Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Action.

This resource is great for people just starting their online or offline venture. Folks who are considering the idea of starting a business but are not quite sure what to do first. The One Page Business Plan For Creative Entrepreneur will show you the exact steps you need to begin your entrepreneurial journey.

Get the book

This long-winded title is here to show you how to start a business from scratch. Ilana Griffo, the author, shares her journey on how she started her side hustle which eventually become a six-figure design studio. A lot of readers describe this title as everything you need to learn about being your own boss. Of course, it all starts with planning.

Great book for anyone dreaming about starting a creative project both online and/or offline. The honest tips and the real-world insights will show you exactly what you need to do. How to start and how to plan your day. The book is the perfect companion that will be your guide in your money-making journey.

Simply put, this title will help you create a professional business plan. The author even boasts that you will do the planning in minutes. Not that you should rush. But the included exercises and the questions Alex Genadinik is asking in the book will help you think critically about your overall structure and the products you will be creating – or refining if you already have existing goods.

The program presented in this title is used by a number of universities to teach students how to plan better. As stated in the description, the book… “will help you identify the most effective business strategies for your situation.” You will start by writing a short 3-sentence business plan which will focus you on what’s truly important.

“Product: What is the product or service? What benefit does it provide and to whom? Can you make it inexpensively and of high quality? What form will it take? Website? App? Brick and mortar business? Marketing: Identify a few of the most effective marketing strategies to promote your business Finances: What are the major sources of revenue? How will this happen profitably? When will you achieve financial sustainability? Do you need to raise money for this? How much?” Alex Genadinik

The first book I read on business planning. Foreword by Richard Branson. This title is dated, but still adequate even though everything is happening online these days. The text will teach you the most important ideas around planning a business. It’s full of case studies about different projects and ideas. The author carefully explains how to present your business plan to others in a way that everyone will get.

This book will explain in a simple way why it’s essential and how you should approach the subject of planning in general. The ideas inside are great for people who are looking to raise money or get approval from seniors for their proposed course of action. Also, if you’re still not convinced that you need planning, this book will surely change your perspective.

Written by Ming Zeng, the former Chief of Staff and strategy adviser to Alibaba Group’s founder Jack Ma. This book presents a framework that will help business owners create a winning future strategy for their companies. The titles reveal some of the revolutionary practices Alibaba developed to rapidly increase efficiency.

We commonly read about what Google is doing or about what other Silicon Valley unicorns are working on. It’s a good idea to take a fresh eastern perspective on how to operate your business. Smart Business will show you how to use cutting-edge technologies to plan and scale your business.

Measure What Matter will teach you how to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as an approach to make decisions in business. The legendary John Doerr has helped some of the best companies in the world to scale and exceed their yearly goals by using this simple method.

With time, every owner begins to collect all kinds of data to measure whether or not his project is succeeding. Sadly, many entrepreneurs end up being fixated on the wrong things. This book will explain what you need to measure and why. Helping you focus on the right things so you can reach explosive growth.

“We must realize—and act on the realization—that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.” John Doerr

In short, this book is about figuring out what you should do next. Taking a holistic view of your business is always a good way to think about where you plan to go. Occasionally, though, you also need to think and plan about what you should do right now – planning your next few moves. The steps inside this title will help you gain clarity on what you really want, who you want to be, and what to do to get these things.

For those who are not only working on businesses, but in business as well. Patrick Bet-David explains how to not let emotions cloud your judgment. How to switch from a broad view of your business to a narrower view. Essentially, the lessons inside will help you identify your true self. Understand who you want to be and where you want to go, both in your life and in your business.

“Your vision must align with who you want to be. Your choices must align with your vision. Your effort must align with the size of your vision. Your behavior must align with your values and principles.” Patrick Bet-David

Full of visual elements, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers will help you soak up the knowledge and figure out your own business model. This is not your regular book where you’ll be presented with a wall of text. The title is full of infographics and design elements that will prompt you to actively work on defining your business plan and your strategy.

I’d say that this book is for people who are kind of tired of the traditional corporate-heavy jargon that is usually part of business literature. This title combines useful information and presents it in an easily digestible matter that will surely increase your comprehension and your participation when using the material.

“People are moved more by stories than by logic. Ease listeners into the new or unknown by building the logic of your model into a compelling narrative.” Alexander Osterwalder

Written by a long-standing Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO, this book might seem a bit dry for your taste. Well, it surely is. Rarely anyone below CEO will relate to the mentioned examples. Yet, this read will change the way you think about your business. You’ll become more strategic with your daily decisions. You will become better at identifying what to do and what not to do.

Great companies do not become great by accident. They become great thanks to the strategic choices they make. Even if you don’t end up getting the book, simply consider the title for a moment: “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works”. Now, ask yourself, are you playing to win, or are you simply playing? This question alone will disturb your current processes and assist you in finding the best course of action for your business.

“The heart of strategy is the answer to two fundamental questions: where will you play, and how will you win there?” A.G. Lafley

Some Closing Thoughts

Business planning is important for various reasons.

Not only you’ll get clarity on where you’ll want to go. But you will also set a to-do list that will portray how to get to where you want.

More specifically, conducting a business plan will force you to think about what type of business you want to create. Understand your core motivators. Help you find your unique proposition and how you are different from the rest of the businesses out there.

I’ve hand-picked the selection of business books above so you can plan better. Of course, you don’t need to read all of the titles. Usually one or two from the list is enough to get you moving in the right direction.

If you’re looking for more reads on the topic. Make sure to check my must-read business books list. Or, the selection of books on how to start a business (plus my business book summaries ).

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The 5 Best Business Plan Books (& Why You Shouldn’t Read Them)

You probably know that having a business plan will improve your chances of success in starting and growing your business. Reading the right business plan book can help you craft the perfect plan. But, there are more efficient ways than reading a book to learn about business planning and to complete your plan. In this article, I’ll show you such options, and if you’d still like to read a book, I’ll tell you the top 5 business planning books to consider.  

Why You Don’t Need To Read a Business Planning Book

There are many books about business planning that you could read, but why shouldn’t you? 

The simple answer, time. 

Reading even the best business plan books will take time to read and then process, and this is on top of the considerable time it takes to complete market research and write a solid business plan.

Instead, technology has provided today’s entrepreneurs with easy-to-follow simple business plan templates that teach you how to write the business plan as you complete the plan. Although every business is unique, a business plan template will offer you a great starting point and often includes customizable financial plans specific to your industry.   

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

The right business plan template will include all essential components of a successful business plan including:

• Executive Summary
• Company Overview
• Market Analysis
• Customer Analysis
• Competitive Analysis
• Marketing Plan
• Operations Plan
• Management Team
• Financial Plan

You can learn more about each of these business plan components and how to write a business plan from the business planning experts at Growthink.

    Finish Your Business Plan Today!

If you enjoy reading & want to learn more….

So, you don’t actually need to read a business book, but if you do, learn from the experts who have ventured on the same entrepreneurial journey. Their practical advice provides a step-by-step guide through the planning process to help you complete the necessary market research to stay competitive while completing the financial analysis needed to secure funding.  

How We Can Help You Succeed

At Growthink, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners develop business plans to start and grow their companies. With this extensive experience, we’ve created a simple business plan template and business plan examples for 100+ sectors (and we’re still going!) to save you time and make it even easier to write a successful business plan. Check out the links below or learn more in our Business Plan Writing Help Center to help you launch or expand your successful business.

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

19 Best Business Plan Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Business Plan books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best business plan books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
• Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
• Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Business Plan Books

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

The fastest, easiest way to write a business plan.

The Art of the Start 2.0

The time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything.

Guy Kawasaki

Successful Business Plan

Secrets & strategies.

Rhonda Abrams

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

A pro shares a step-by-step guide to creating a plan that gets results.

Hal Shelton

The Lean Startup

How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses.

The Founder's Dilemmas

Anticipating and avoiding the pitfalls that can sink a startup.

Noam Wasserman

How to Write a Business Plan

Mike P. McKeever

The Complete Book of Business Plans

Simple steps to writing powerful business plans.

Joseph A Covello

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

Get new customers, make more money, and stand out from the crowd.

Business Model Generation

A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers.

Alexander Osterwalder

Starting a Business QuickStart Guide

The simplified beginner’s guide to launching a successful small business, turning your vision into reality, and achieving your entrepreneurial dream.

Ken Colwell

Mind Your Business

A workbook to grow your creative passion into a full-time gig.

Ilana Griffo

Writing Winning Business Plans

How to prepare a business plan that investors will want to read and invest in.

Garrett Sutton

Burn the Business Plan

What great entrepreneurs really do.

Carl J. Schramm

Anatomy of a Business Plan

The step-by-step guide to building a business and securing your company's future.

Linda Pinson

The Book on Business Planning

Writing a Convincing Business Plan

Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D.

Hit the Deck

Create a business plan in half the time, with twice the impact.

David Ronick

Creating a Business Plan For Dummies

Veechi Curtis

• 12 Books You Should Read Before Starting a Business www.businessinsider.com
• Business Plan Books www.mymoneybooks.com
• The 9 Best Business Plan Books www.thebalancesmb.com
• 20 Best Books on The Business Plan - Bigger Investing www.biggerinvesting.com
• 20 Best Books on How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 www.profitableventure.com

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The 24 best planners of 2024, from stylish daily diaries to annual agendas

Start the year with the perfect tools for productivity and organization. The best planner keeps your schedule, deadlines,  goals, and thoughts organized. Though no planner is one-size-fits-all, these daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly diaries allow you to chart your goals, appointments, ideas, and more all in one place. Some planners work great for strictly scheduling the hours of your day, while others work better for your long-term goal-planning success. The best planner for you comes down to personal preference in how you chart your time.

Planner styles get even more detailed, and we break down the ways to choose what's right for you at the end of this guide. We spoke with two stationery store owners and a productivity expert to get their advice on how to pick a planner.

"There are lots of different, great planners, and it just kind of depends on thinking about how you want to plan your week and how you want to visualize your week," said Jeremy Crown, who co-owns Little Otsu , a paper store in Portland, Oregon. Whatever style of planner you prefer, we've covered the basics of the best of what's out there.

Daily planners

For more detailed planning, daily planners offer hourly breakdowns of your day. Daily planners are one of the most popular formats. They tend to be bulkier than weekly or monthly planners but offer the most flexibility. These are ideal for students, teachers, and parents who need to keep careful track of a busy schedule.

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Weekly planners

Weekly planners are great for a zoomed-out view of your goals and to-dos if you'd rather look at the big picture instead of the day-to-day. These planners are less detail-oriented than daily ones but will have daily space to keep track of appointments and assignments. They're ideal for scheduling everything needed to complete multiple goals over a period of time.

Monthly planners

Monthly planners are ideal for professionals or students with several projects or classes to juggle over a long period of time. Though they provide less space than daily and weekly planners, they allow for a strong overview of deadlines and key dates. They're also a great option for parents who need to keep track of doctors appointments, extra curricular activities, and events for a big family.

Yearly and quarterly planners

Yearly or quarterly planners provide the most scope for those with specific personal or business goals. For this category, we considered both big-picture goal planners and 3-month planners that really drill down into how much you can accomplish in 90 days. For the latter category, you'll find that 90-day planners often have weekly and daily pages and space to plan out the quarter. That said, they're still distinct from daily and weekly planners because they focus on achieving longer-term goals, rather than plotting out your days. 

How to choose a planner

There are an overwhelming number of planner types. Chandra Greer, who owns Greer , a stationery store in Chicago, Illinois, prioritizes stocking her store with functional, quality options, knowing they might not be the right fit for everyone. "I'm more interested in the function," she said. "Is the layout useful? Is it something that is going to withstand being your daily friend for 365 days?"

To find out what will work for you, you can start by considering what qualities are most important to you. "I think if you sort of start with, 'What is it that I want to use this for?' that gives you a good starting point," said Alexandra Cavoulacos, founder of The Muse and author of " The New Rules of Work. "

Consider daily, weekly, or monthly formats

For some people, a planner is merely a portable calendar, Cavoulacos said. Other people want to track projects and create to-do lists. The amount of detail per day will start to dictate how much space you need.

Dated or undated

There are many reasons you might decide to buy an undated calendar. "People might decide on March 28th they want a planner," said Greer. "But if a planner is dated, they're already three months through the year." 

Plus, with an undated planner, you can always pick up where you left off without wasting days' worth of paper. 

Horizontal or vertical

When someone comes into Little Otsu looking for a planner, co-owner Jeremy Crown first asks, "Are you more of a task-oriented planner?" He thinks people with detailed schedules or long to-do lists may prefer the column format of vertical layouts, while those who like making notes or doodling might prefer the horizontal layout.

Some planners also use a "dashboard" view, with a week or day on one page and the other dedicated to habit trackers, gratitude prompts, and other fill-in-the-blanks. 

Doctors, nurses, and chefs always want pocket-sized notebooks and planners, said Crown. You might want something big enough to hold your sprawling handwriting but small enough to carry around in your purse or messenger bag. 

Minimalist or full of prompts 

Planner aesthetics range from very bare-bones to packed with extras like quotes, charts, and check-ins. 

"You want your planner to inspire you," Cavoulacos said. "I do think the sort of aesthetic piece, the inspiration piece, is also something that shouldn't be forgotten," she said.  

Both Greer and Cavoulacos point out that you can add your own quotes and personalizations to even the most minimalist planner, as long as there's space. "It could become more of a person's little command center," said Greer. 

Paper quality

If paper quality is high on your list of importance, Greer suggests taking a close look at who makes a planner. 

"I definitely gravitate towards manufacturers who have a background in paper," she said, recommending several Japanese notebook or paper companies with planners such as Midori , Paperways , High Tide , and Kokuyo Jibun Techo .

Even if you're not into paper, you'll want to pay attention to the cover's material. Hardcovers will stand up to more wear and tear than softcovers. "Sometimes people will trade that durability for something that doesn't cost very much, but definitely people are expecting [their planner] to get through the whole year and not look like it was run over by a truck," Greer said. 

Binding 

It's important that planners lie flat since you're writing in them. Many are spiral-bound, but others are stitch-bound. Either will let you write on them, but you can flip one side of the book behind the other with a spiral binding. "A lot of people are kind of indifferent between spiral and stitch bound now, as long as it lies flat because that's really what they're looking for," Greer said. 

Another concern with the binding is whether it will keep the planner together for the whole year. Some glued-in pages might not hold out as well. "If you have something that's stitch-bound or spiral, it's very sturdy for the long haul," Greer said.

Why not just use a digital planner?

"I don't necessarily think a planner is for everybody, just like any particular productivity hack or tool," Cavoulacos said. There are plenty of people who prefer to keep their calendars and notes strictly digital, and getting a paper planner might not make sense for them. 

If you're on the fence, she suggests asking yourself what's attractive about a paper planner. "I think for a lot of people, it's slowing down, right?" Cavoulacos said. "It's like the lack of distraction. It's the moments to think, to cross things off — the satisfaction of crossing things off." 

For Crown, it's more personal than a phone calendar. "It's your life in a book," he said. "[By] the end of the year, you have this book that was like, this is what I did. That's something that the phone doesn't do that well." 

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here . Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected] .

• Main content

How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

Best Planner for Entrepreneurs

Confession time… I’m totally a notebook-a-holic, paper planner aficionado, and workbook addict.

I’ve tried a ton of them, and this is not a new theme in my life…

My mom has pictures of me carrying a bag full of mini diaries, post it note packs, and ruled notebooks when I was just a toddler. I wouldn’t let anyone throw out or touch my paper products, and when we moved into our house my mom mailed me all of my paper addiction “collection”.

My paper planner addiction took on a more “serious” role when I became an entrepreneur, because I had a reason to use all of these awesome productivity tools I kept finding.

And I’m always open to trying a new type of notebook, too. My husband has to steer me away from the paper aisles at Target, and I avoid shopping when it’s “back to school” time because I will end up bringing home more paper products than I can use.

Over the years, I’ve tried a ton of different entrepreneurial paper planners, so with the new year around the corner I thought I’d do a full on review.

Choosing The Right System For You

Now I need to say that none of these are products that you absolutely NEED to have. That might sound weird, but from my personal experience it’s not so much about which notebook or planner you use… As much as actually using it on a daily basis to get stuff done that really matters.

So please take this side by side planner comparison as a fun way to pick a helpful tool for your year… And not as a “silver bullet” that will change your life.

Yes, if you pick one of these and you end up putting it to good use you will most definitely have a productive year and get a ton of amazing traction in your business .

But that will be because YOU made it happen. You just happened to have a cool and motivating sidekick notebook to make it easier. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission for recommending them, but I would be sharing this review with you regardless of the affiliate links.

So with that caveat out of the way, let’s take a look at these pretty planners, shall we?

1. Briana Borten’s Rituals For Living Dreambook

A few years back my friend Briana held a successful kick starter campaign to produce her Rituals For Living Dreambook , and I think it’s just gorgeous.

This is a combination life planner for the big things you want to accomplish in the next 1, 5, and 10 years… and a system for breaking it down into smaller chunks that you can take action on week after week.

I like how there’s an emphasis on doing something fun for yourself each week, giving gratitude for the amazingness in your life, and also picking only 3 top priorities per week. The size of the planner is also great, small enough to carry with you, but it carries enough gravitas to make you heed your dreams.

Who it’s for: This dream book is most definitely ideal for entrepreneurs, and while it’s not a daily planner it will give you clarity on a weekly basis to move toward your goals. Oh, and there is a daily planner option / addon you can check out, too!

2. Daily Greatness Business Planner

I finally got to play with the Daily Greatness planner , and it’s been an amazing way to think through business decisions and think big.

What I like about it is that it’s an un-dated yearly planner, so you can start using it anytime (no need to wait for the new year!). It also includes finance and budget worksheets, quarterly goal setting pages. Plus there are specific prompts for daily, weekly and quarterly planning.

If you like to plan on paper, there’s a social media content planner section, the one-page business plan to keep you focused, and on-going check ins to keep you motivated throughout the year. They also offer non-business planners for your overall life goals, I have a feeling it’ll be the perfect fit for those looking for a colorful planning tool!

Who it’s for: The Daily Greatness company offers different journals and workbooks based on your needs, but I’m especially keen on the Business Planner for entrepreneurs. The books are colorful and flexible enough so you can be your own guru! (Plus when you use my link you get 5% off.)

3. The Course Idea Planner

I released my own paper planner for creative entrepreneurs who want to create online courses. This isn’t a weekly or yearly planner, rather it’s a course creation planner. The first iteration of this paper planned sold out in 2018, and I’ve just updated and re-released in as a print-on-demand version.

The Course Idea Planner is a paper planner that focuses on bringing your best ideas to market, by helping you plan and take action. It helps you brainstorm, refine, and market your online course ideas successfully.

It’s the exact process that I use to launch successful programs on a regular basis (having earned millions of dollars in my business with this process), including how to mind-map an idea, schedule a marketing campaign, and even write a sales page for your course.

It’s 190 pages of course-refining exercises, copywriting prompts, and step-by-step guidance to capture your best online course ideas and make them happen.

Who it’s for: This Course Idea Planner is for creative entrepreneurs who want to create an online course but get distracted by all of the options online. This planner is the safe space to explore course ideas further and the proven process to market them successfully.

4. Strategic Coach’s Weekly Planner

This isn’t a weekly planner that you can just purchase, because you need to be a client of the Strategic Coach program (which is a yearly mastermind-style program that runs just under 5 figures per year)… But I wanted to include it here because I like to joke that it’s my most expensive paper planner.

One of the things I really like about this planner is that you start a new one every quarter, and there’s a big emphasis on celebrating your successes along the way.

There are also places to track the different tools that are specific to Strategic Coach, like splitting your days between Focus, Buffer, and Free Days.

Who it’s for: This weekly planner is only for Strategic Coach clients, but you can draw inspiration from their Positive Focus page and make reviewing your successes a habit. I really like that it condenses all the practices of the program into doable daily habits!

5. Whitney English’s Day Designer

I first started using my Day Designer back in 2013 when Whitney English was a sponsor for our Off The Charts event. I fell in love with the impeccable design, the focus on the entrepreneur’s busy day… and the gorgeous daily quotes.

This daily planner is a beast because it includes one page per day, but this is great because it allows you to write down daily meetings right beside your daily to-do’s.

This was the first planner to offer such a simple and effective design, and it’s still a winner today. One drawback for myself personally is that I prefer to organize my meetings and calls via Google Calendar, and keep my paper planner for my own todo items.

Overall, I absolutely loved using this day designer and it definitely kept me on task and productive!

Who it’s for: Designed for busy creative entrepreneurs, it blends productivity and design beautifully… It’s one of those planners that you won’t want to get rid of, but it is pretty bulky so you won’t be carrying it around with you a lot if you travel often.

6. Emily Ley’s Simplified Planner

The next contender is very much on the same plane as the Day Designer, and it’s equally beautiful and practical. The Emily Ley Simplified Planner has a touch of whimsy and it’s won a couple of awards for design in the printed products industry.

I got whisked into the excitement last year because I couldn’t decide on which cover design I preferred (all so pretty!). I ended up not using the planner as much as I anticipated, despite the fact that it’s gorgeous, because of the small space for writing out tasks.

Just like the Day Designer, there’s a page per day which makes this a bulkier planner and you need to squeeze your meetings and calls beside your daily tasks.

The quotes and calendar are a nice perk, and it’s expertly designed and I hear this year the planners are a little lighter and more portable, too.

Who it’s for: From my understanding, this planner is more geared toward moms and busy ladies of any kind. It’s less entrepreneur focused, and it includes a spot to mark down what you’re making for dinner, too. These planners are gorgeous and very colorful !

7. Savor The Success Daily Action Planner

This planner is good for the commitment-probes among us, because one planner only represents one month at a time. That means that you’re not tied to a planner for an entire year, which might suit you if you want to play the planner field a little.

This also makes this planner one of the more expensive options, since you’ll need to get 12 of them to cover your whole year. That being said, this action planner has a few features that make it stand out.

One of the things I love about it is the emphasis on writing down tasks for the week – and who you are delegating them to. This helps you offload or at least start to see how you can stop being the bottleneck in your business.

The other cool feature is the “outgoing ships” section, which is all about doing one small daily action that might bring back a cool opportunity.

My only complaint with this planner is that there isn’t a ton of space again to write down tasks, since it is a smaller planner and it tries to fit a ton of different types of things on each page.

Who it’s for: This paper planner is most definitely designed for entrepreneurs, and you can tell that it suits the creator’s workflow to a T. I recommend giving it a try if you’re looking to fine tune your daily planning and try something different.

8. Erin Condren’s Life Planner

This is one paper planner that I have yet to try , but have heard great things about. This one is ideal for you if you like having a weekly at-a-glance view of your calendar.

Personally, it reminds me of the types of agendas and planners that we had in our primary school years… and it doesn’t provide enough space to enter my daily tasks.

But I can see how it would be really beneficial for planning lots of different weekly events, so if your business has more of that type of flow (and you’re not on the Google Calendar train) then this might be a good option for you.

Who it’s for: I can see this planner being a life saver if you travel a lot and need to keep track of different appointments, important dates for launches, and really looking at things from an at-a-glance viewpoint. It could even make a great editorial calendar!

9. The Passion Planner

The Passion Planner is another kick starter success story, and I love the ethos behind the brand. It’s aimed at a more mainstream audience who are ready to embrace their passions and make a change to their daily lives.

The design shows a full week of days over two pages, which is a nice compromise from the full-on (and heavy!) daily planners out there… This gives you just enough space to write down all the meetings and calls you might have, with another section for your todo items in more detail below.

I do like how tasks can be broken down into personal and work, and how there’s a “top priority” and “errands” category, too.

Overall, I think it’s a fun and very usable planner with cute quotes and lots of function packed in. It doesn’t have the same design flair as some of the others, but it might just spark your passion!

Who it’s for: Ideal for anyone who wants to break down their bigger yearly or monthly goals into doable weekly action plans. It’s got a younger vibe and the founders are really passionate about what they’ve created.

10. Ink + Volt Planner

This is a new planner that I discovered just last year, and they have both a dated version or an undated 6-month “ start any time ” version.

There are a few things that really made me enjoy using this weekly planner: it offers a monthly “30 day challenge” which is great for changing habits or going after bigger goals. It’s also got useful journaling prompts, and nudges you to review your monthly and yearly goals each week.

Plus, it has a great “2 in one” system where the first half of the notebook is your weekly planner and the second half is reserved for notes. I usually have two notebooks going at a time, and with the Volt Planner I’ve been able to reduce it down to just one. The only downside in my opinion is that it’s a no-frills black notebook, which isn’t as pretty or colorful as some of the other ones on this list.

Who it’s for: This planner is awesome for more corporate ladies who want some introspection along with their high-power goal achieving. I also think it’s perfect for you if you travel a lot, since you can have all of your important tasks and notes in one place.

11. Blank Notebooks – Make Your Own!

Okay, now that we’ve looked at a ton of different options for planners and workbooks… let’s be honest here: if you’re reading this, you’re a highly creative entrepreneur and you might be hankering to make your own!

From some of my comments above, you might have guessed that I sometimes feel stifled by boxes that are too small for my tasks or that don’t necessarily focus on the things I want to focus on.

That’s where picking a pretty blank notebook comes in! Although a blank or lined notebook won’t have a calendar or other cool prompts, it does tend to bend to whatever planning system you prefer.

If you don’t quite know how to organize your tasks or todos, I recommend taking a look at the Bullet Journal .

Some of my favorite blank notebooks are spiral bound, so it’s super easy to keep my “today” page open and make notes about future days or review past weeks, too.

So What’s The Best Planner for Entrepreneurs? You Decide!

There’s no one-size-fits all when it comes to choosing the best planner for entrepreneurs, but I think each of these is a strong contender.

Now that I’ve shared my take on some of the top entrepreneurial paper planners out there, I want to know what you think!

I’d love for you to leave a comment and let me know:

What’s your favorite notebook, planner, or organization system?

I’m the founder of a tech startup called  AccessAlly , a powerful course and membership platform for coaching industry leaders.

I’m also the creator of the free 30 Day List Building Challenge :

Digital + physical books to help you create and sell your course like a pro:

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Our Favorite Paper Planners

By Jackie Reeve , Kaitlyn Wells and Melanie Pinola

You can find plenty of phone apps to help you keep track of your life, but stationery lovers know the power of writing it all down on paper.

It’s hard to beat the satisfaction of crossing something off your to-do list with a sharp pencil or a smooth pen. And unlike calendar and to-do list apps, paper planners let you color outside the lines, literally and metaphorically.

Because scheduling needs vary from person to person, and we all like to plan our time differently, we focused on planners that are customizable or offer more versatility than standard dated planners. (But we also list a few quality, straightforward monthly-and-weekly planners, in our other good planners section .)

We’ve researched 149 planners and tested 65 since 2017, and we’ve discovered that most (but not all) of the best planners cost $50 or less. There are so many good planners that we can’t recommend a single standout; instead, we’ve found six, in a range of styles, that people with different priorities will love.

These include a minimalist, undated weekly calendar , a modular traveler’s notebook , a refillable ring-bound organizer , a customizable planner with colorful pages , a planner with simultaneous monthly and weekly views , and a planner you can design yourself .

If you’re not sure which type of planner is for you, we cover how to choose the right planner . You can also see how we made our picks .

Wherever possible, we’ve chosen options that are widely available and come in different sizes, layouts, and colors.

The research

Why you should trust us, best minimalist calendar: muji recycled paper weekly planner, best compact, modular option: traveler’s company traveler’s notebook, best ring-bound planner: filofax the original organizer, best highly decorated option: erin condren lifeplanner, best planner for multitasking: laurel denise mini horizontal weekly planner, best customizable planner: agendio planner, other good planners, what about hobonichi planners, how to choose the right planner for yourself, how we picked and tested, the competition.

For advice on what to look for in a planner, and to gain insight on why paper planners are so popular in this digital age, we spoke with Shu Yao, co-founder of JetPens ; Erin Condren , creator of the hugely popular Erin Condren LifePlanner; Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson Books and Goods for the Study ; and Kristin Damian, who runs the planner-sticker company Krissyanne Designs .

This guide builds on the extensive work of planner lover and senior staff writer Jackie Reeve, who also follows the online planner community: Planner enthusiasts share photos and tips for setting up their planners, decorating their planners, or using their planners for more than simple scheduling. She uses nearly half a dozen planners, from various brands, to compartmentalize and organize facets of her life.

Senior staff writer Kaitlyn Wells considers her productivity style to be “organized chaos.” After college, she found it difficult to maintain a paper planner habit, and she favors reminders scattered across her mobile device, sticky notes, and reporter’s notebooks. Still, she went into this guide excited to explore several variations on hacking one’s to-do list. She found several planners she likes, and she is confident you’ll find one you enjoy using, too.

Senior staff writer Melanie Pinola is a die-hard stationery fan who has tested and reviewed notebooks , pens , and mechanical pencils for Wirecutter since 2019. Prior to joining Wirecutter, at Lifehacker she wrote extensively about productivity topics, including planner reviews and time-management techniques. She’s always happy to discover and try a new planner or productivity system.

Muji Recycled Paper Weekly Planner

Best planner for simple scheduling.

This bare-bones planner is our most inexpensive pick. It’s a thin, cardboard-covered booklet with undated pages for each week in a year—no more, no less.

Buying Options

Why it’s great: If all you need is a slim calendar to keep track of weekly tasks and appointments, the Muji Recycled Paper Weekly Planner has a minimalist, elegant design, and it costs much less than any other pick on our list. It’s a no-frills planner with simple boxes for each day of the week on every page.

This planner is small and thin, so it fits easily in a bag, but the layout still leaves sufficient room for writing. Depending on how much you have going on, you can split each day’s wide box into sections for work and personal deadlines, or tasks and meal plans, or any other way you want to compartmentalize your days.

Because the planner is undated, you can start your year whenever you’d like, and you can skip weeks guilt-free. As the name implies, the planner is made from recycled paper.

This planner has understated, medium-gray lines and fonts that are less distracting than those in our previous slim planner pick, the Jstory Large Weekly Planner . Despite the Muji’s dollar-store price,its smooth, cream-colored paper holds up well to all types of writing instruments, including markers and fountain pens. The stapled book doesn’t lie quite flat when opened, but it comes close.

Muji also offers a monthly recycled paper planner , which you can pair with the weekly model. It’s the same size and price.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

With this planner, you’ll find no bells and whistles, like extra room for notes. Yet the Muji Recycled Paper Weekly Planner’s simplicity is part of its appeal. If you typically have a very packed schedule, you’d be better off owning a planner with a different layout or more room for each day, such as the Erin Condren LifePlanner , the Filofax The Original Organizer , or the Agendio Planner .

Size: A5, approximately 8.3 inches by 5.7 inches

Traveler’s Company Traveler’s Notebook

Best for combining a planner with different notebooks.

This planner is a cross between a simple calendar and a beautiful journal. And you can fill it with a range of inserts for any type of planning.

May be out of stock

Traveler’s Company Traveler’s Notebook, Passport Size

Best pocket-size modular planner.

This more-compact version can fit in large pockets or small bags.

Why it’s great: Of all the planners we considered, the Traveler’s Company Traveler’s Notebook was the most popular with our testers. The simple leather folio holds thin notebooks inside (secured with an elastic band), and you can invest in whatever notebook inserts fit your planning needs. There are over a dozen options for inserts on the company’s site as well as on Amazon . Because of its compact size and its ability to add things like a zipper pocket and card holder, you can use the Traveler’s Notebook as an all-in-one organizer and wallet for wherever life takes you.

This is the original Traveler’s Notebook, a style of planner often interchangeably called the Midori (the company’s name before 2015). You can find many other brands of this style inspired by the original (they’re sometimes called “fauxdori”). And some of them are great options if you like more colors and patterns.

But the original Traveler’s Notebook is more widely available. It also has a large following in the online planner community, and the Instagram hashtag #midoritravelersnotebook is full of inspiration. While testing, we discovered that several staffers already own the Traveler’s Notebook and love it.

How the Traveler’s Notebook has held up

Senior staff writer Jackie Reeve has been using the Traveler’s Notebook since 2016, and she said it just gets better with age. The leather is soft and beautifully worn in, plus she said it’s easy to throw in her bag without damaging it.

Several of our staffers still use and love theirs, including senior editor Marguerite Preston, who said the system of swapping notebooks in and out works really well. And she said it leaves a lot of room to experiment with formats that work well for her. “My system has definitely evolved over time,” she said. “It’s also fun that you can find third-party sellers of all kinds of variations of inserts on places like Etsy.”

• The leather, which looks pristine when new, quickly becomes worn with visible scuffs and scratches (we think this just adds to the character of the planner). Also, the notebooks won’t lie completely flat. One of our 10 staff testers thought the regular size was too big for the portability he wanted. Using the passport size and keeping fewer notebooks inside would address those concerns.
• Note that the Traveler’s Notebook comes with a blank notebook by default, so you’ll need to buy a planner insert (normally $10 to $15) separately. Options include undated monthly , weekly vertical , and weekly horizontal plus notes section .

Sizes: regular, 4.9 by 8.7 inches; passport, 3.9 by 5.3 inches

Colors: black , brown , camel , blue

Filofax The Original Organizer (personal size)

The best refillable planner.

Though expensive, this Filofax planner is the highest-quality leather option we tested, and it’s small enough to fit in a bag. You can also purchase refills for it from multiple other brands.

Filofax The Original Organizer (A5 size)

A larger refillable planner.

This bigger, A5-size Filofax is just as good as the smaller version, but this one has more writing space. It works with any A5 inserts, so you can purchase refills from whatever brand you like.

Why it’s great: If you want a high-quality refillable planner for business, we recommend Filofax’s The Original Organizer (which is still made by the English company that made the high-quality leather organizers iconic in the 1980s). The layouts come with a good amount of writing space for each day, and the planner has plenty of plain paper in the back for notes and lists.

We looked at several other business planners in stores, including synthetic-leather versions of the Day-Timer and Day Runner planners, and we tested leather and synthetic-leather planners from Franklin, Levenger, and Quo Vadis. The quality of the Filofax planner stood out—the leather looked and felt exceptional, and the stitching was neater. We also prefer the Filofax planner’s overall look, layout, and color choices.

Filofax’s The Original Organizer comes in fewer sizes than other three-ring planners (only two for the model we tested), but it offers more insert options , including dated and undated calendars and an August-to-July academic diary . Third-party companies on Etsy also sell inserts specifically designed to fit Filofax planners. We tested the Personal size, which would be good for carrying in a handbag. The Original Organizer is also available in a larger, A5 size, which works with any A5 paper insert. Be cautious with the Filofax personal-size inserts—some planner brands change the size slightly so that it doesn’t fit a Filofax, or they call it something else, even if the paper fits.

How Filofax’s The Original Organizer has held up

Senior staff writer Jackie Reeve, who has owned and used The Original Personal Organizer in the Union Jack print since 2016, notes that “the leather itself is in great shape, and there’s no real fraying at the stitching or along the edges.” One Wirecutter staffer has had problems with the rings misaligning on her Filofax organizers, but that hasn’t been a universal experience.

Our testers thought Filofax’s The Original Organizer was austere and expensive for a planner. But once you purchase the cover, you only have to buy inserts in subsequent years. If you’re looking for a more affordable ring-bound planner, or if you’d prefer faux leather to real leather, you might like the Simple Stories Carpe Diem A5 Planner (a former also-great pick). It comes in the same personal and A5 sizes, as well as several bright colors and feminine designs. Jackie has had a Filofax planner since 2016, and it still looks new.

Sizes: ring-bound personal, 5.38 by 7.38 inches; ring-bound A5, 7.8 by 9.2 inches

Colors: 17 colors, including the classic leather, patent leather , and pastel Union Jack print

Erin Condren LifePlanner

A customizable planner with an artsy aesthetic.

This designer pick is decorated on the outside and the inside. It features a cover you can personalize, and there are three layouts to choose from.

Why it’s great: If you could use a bit more color in your life, and you’d like to motivate yourself with inspirational quotes and fun stickers, the Erin Condren LifePlanner will give you the most options. At 7 by 9 inches, it’s bigger than most of our other picks, and therefore it has more writing space per day. Our testers liked that it comes in a choice of weekly vertical, weekly horizontal, or hourly layouts. And there’s also a wide range of removable, interchangeable laminated covers —from Hello Kitty and Star Wars designs to abstract shapes to custom photo collages.

Unlike most other planners that have only a cover design and plain pages, the LifePlanner offers three interior-design themes (floral, typography, or paint strokes). The monthly pages are decorated with the theme you choose, the monthly tab pages feature motivational quotes, and the weekly pages’ colored accents match the tabs. The paper has a slightly toothy texture that’s satisfying to write on, especially with a pencil. Due to the high-quality coil binding, the pages move smoothly, so the planner sits flat when it’s open on a desk.

In addition to the included stickers, there are plenty of accessories—covers, stickers, sticky notes, pens—widely available for decorating the LifePlanner. An Etsy search for “Erin Condren stickers” alone yielded more than 100,000 results at the time of publication, and Erin Condren’s site offers plenty of other accessories . If you’re interested in the planner community, the LifePlanner has active posters on Instagram , in Facebook groups, and on YouTube channels .

The planner is sold through the Erin Condren site as well as at Amazon and Staples, but to customize it you’ll need to stick to the official website. The official site also offers specialty planners, including academic planners with class scheduling pages, teacher lesson planners , and a wedding planner book .

How the Erin Condren LifePlanner has held up

Senior staff writer Jackie Reeve has been using Erin Condren planners off and on since 2015, and she still enjoys their durability, layout, and range of available third-party accessories. She found the LifePlanner to be an ideal planner for PTA meetings. Her one function-related complaint is that in 2019 the company changed the layout of its pages slightly, so the perfectly sized stickers she had stockpiled from various Etsy sellers no longer fit. The official site also offers specialty planners, including academic planners with class scheduling pages, teacher lesson planners , and a wedding planner book .

• Some shoppers may not want to support the Erin Condren brand, due to a June 2020 incident the founder was involved in that inflamed tensions surrounding COVID-era social-distancing policies and the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests . Since then, the company has released planners celebrating identity, including Pride Month and Black History Month collections, and donated some of the proceeds to charity. The company is also no longer owned by Erin Condren herself but rather by her longtime business partner, who is also co-owner of EC Design. This is still the best highly decorated planner because of the customization options. However, if you don’t want to shop from Erin Condren, we recommend The Happy Planner or the weekly or daily planners from the Black-owned Ivory Paper Company .
• As for the planner itself, in our initial testing some of our testers wanted something more portable; it is about an inch thick and best suited for using on a desk. Softcover and ring-bound versions are available, though they’re not as customizable as the coiled-bound model.

Sizes: coil-bound , 7 by 9 inches; coil-bound A5, 5.8 by 8.3 inches

Colors: 80-plus prints for coil-bound

Laurel Denise Mini Horizontal Weekly Planner

A planner with a holistic monthly and weekly view.

This planner’s innovative layout lets you simultaneously see your broad plans for the month, along with the weekly and daily details.

Why it’s great: The Laurel Denise Mini Horizontal Weekly Planner has a layout and design unlike any other. Instead of the standard monthly spread followed by weekly pages (or, worse, a section of monthly pages divorced from their weekly counterparts), this planner combines a monthly calendar with weekly pages in one spread.

Say what? How? Flip open the wide planner (it measures 9.875 inches wide by 7.25 inches high), and you’ll find a monthly calendar on the left, a notes section with a monthly to-do list on the right, and, nestled in between, four to five half-size sheets for the weekly pages. This means you can see your appointments and special events in the calendar view while also seeing your day-specific notes and weekly to-dos at once. It’s a game changer if you’ve ever struggled with balancing long-term planning and day-to-day focusing.

In addition to this unique layout, the Laurel Denise planner offers two yearly pages at the front to plan out goals and things to remember, a monthly habit tracker, a few notes pages at the back, and a page for lists like hobbies, gratitude, and books. We like that these pages are available but not forced on you on every page, as you find with other planners.

The Mini Horizontal Weekly Planner is dated, but Laurel Denise also sells undated planners and vertical weekly planners . These are all substantially larger than the Mini; they are sized like scrapbooks or large photobooks, so they’re not as portable. Other variations include a dated academic planner , teacher planners , and project planners .

To unlock the full potential of this planner, check out Laurel Denise’s guide on how to use the planner system for inspirational implementations.

Even though this planner is a “mini” version, it’s wide when unfolded. You can fold the Laurel Denise Mini Horizontal Weekly Planner back, but then you’ll lose the benefit of seeing each week spread across two pages. So just know you’ll need some space on your desk to use this planner.

Sizes: mini, 9.875 by 7.25 inches; regular, 12.75 by 9.25 inches

Colors: evergreen (mini), various colors and patterns for the larger planners

Agendio Planner

The best customizable planner.

This planner offers a seemingly infinite number of customization options, so you can create one that’s truly your own.

Why it’s great: If you’ve never had a planner that’s been just right for your needs, the Agendio Planner could solve that problem. It’s the most customizable planner we’ve come across.

In addition to offering three planner sizes, three paper thicknesses, three layout formats (days shown in a column, row, or grid), and a myriad of hardcover and spiral-bound printed covers, the Agendio Planner lets you fine-tune just about everything on the page, such as the fonts and font colors. You can add your own events or repeating activities, like monthly meetings or gym schedules, and they can be highlighted in different colors. This is the best way we’ve found to create a one-of-a-kind planner.

We think the best feature of the Agendio Planner is its “pagelets” page sections—blocks that can be used for notes, lists, reminders, and more. You can customize the pagelets’ sizes, labels, background shading, and line spacing. A specific type of section, called the “span,” stretches across a vertical weekly spread, so you can view tasks or projects that overlap multiple days and plan your time better.

For further customization, this planner has an “extra pages library,” which includes templates such as budget, habits, meals, and meetings. And, as with this planner’s other pages, you can place these extra pages wherever you want in the book.

• If you don’t like making a lot of decisions, the Agendio Planner is not for you. It can be as overwhelming as redesigning your bathroom, and going through all of the customization options can take a good part of your morning or afternoon. But we think it’s worth it if you want a very specific, personalized planner.
• The price of this planner changes depending on how many bells and whistles you add. Tabs, extra pages, and detachable corners, for example, cost extra, and you won’t see the full price of the planner until you’ve finished customizing it. The typical cost is between $45 and $95, according to the company.

Sizes: journal, 5.5 by 8 inches; medium, 7 by 9 inches; large, 8.5 by 11 inches Colors: over 150 soft spiral-bound printed covers; 10 synthetic leather hard-cover colors

If you’re looking for a traditional, dated planner: Consider the MochiThings Medium Ardium Planner . The bookbound Ardium stands out from other basic monthly and weekly planners due to its elegant design details, such as the colored page edges that group the months together, the sturdy cover with a grippy feel, and the light brown accent shading on each page. The layout offers a two-page monthly spread followed by two-page weekly spreads with the days of the week in boxes on the left and a gridded note page on the right. MochiThings makes a variety of planners in other formats and styles that may be worth exploring as well.

If you have a packed agenda and need a planner with daily schedules: The Day Designer Daily Planner may be for you. It has a roomy, two-page spread for each day, with sections for top priorities, a daily schedule, to-do list, notes, and prompts such as deadlines, gratitude, and dinner. Because it’s a daily planner, the Day Designer is very bulky, and the pages can be hard to turn. The “mini” size is 6.6 inches wide by 8.3 inches tall, with a 1.5-inch thickness, and it weighs almost 2 pounds.

If you want a customizable planner that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort to create: Check out the Plum Paper planner. It's not as thoroughly customizable as the Agendio Planner, but it’s simpler to design, with fewer steps to make choices and a more-intuitive user interface. A “simplified” mode reduces the number of options to choose from, for an even more streamlined process. To be clear, the Plum Paper planner still requires an investment in time and effort—a bit more than for creating a photo book, for example. Yet it may not be as overwhelming for some people as the everything-you-may-want-and-then-some Agendio. The Plum Paper planner is available with coil or disc binding, and there’s a hardcover with a printed design option, instead of the standard plastic cover.

If you want a planner with goal-setting and habit-tracking prompts: Consider the Purpose Planner . It’s an undated, large (7.5-by-9.8-inch), six-month productivity planner, with sections for lists like “to buy,” reading, bucket lists, and to-do lists for work or home. The Purpose Planner encourages you to think about all aspects of your life and the roles you play (such as parent, employee, sibling, artist, pet owner), so you’re on top of everything that matters to you.

If you need an academic planner: The Class Tracker is the best student-focused planner. It has pages for jotting down each semester’s schedule (including the summer break), and each day in the two-page weekly spread has sections for assignments, tasks, and quizzes/exams/papers/projects. Some sections may feel too prescriptive or unnecessary, such as the habit-tracking “self care corner” and “X weeks until Y” parts. The cardboard cover isn’t as sturdy as those of most of our main picks, and the design looks dated, but the structured layout does the job.

If you’ve researched options for artistic planning, goal tracking, or bullet journaling, you might be familiar with Hobonichi planners. This Japanese brand is known for its Tomoe River Paper , which is ultrathin (almost half the thickness of a piece of copy paper) and known for its resistance to bleeding and feathering from many different pens (even fountain pens). This paper keeps the Hobonichi planners slim and lightweight, even though they are packed with a page for every day. And it makes them very appealing for artists and journalers who like portability.

Several Wirecutter staffers use Hobonichi planners and love them, and in our tests the Hobonichi Techo Original and the Hobonichi Techo Cousin fared quite well. We’re not featuring them as main picks because their availability is limited. JetPens stocks Hobonichi planners, and Hobonichi has an Amazon storefront . Several of the covers we looked at on Amazon had low stock. But shipping time is much shorter on Amazon, and you’ll have a better user experience on Amazon than ordering from the Japanese site, which one staffer noted was very basic. If you find a planner and a cover you like in stock on Amazon or JetPens, or if you can find these planners locally at a stationery shop or bookstore, they’re worth a look.

Planners are for anyone who likes writing things down on paper, and they can be a particularly good tool if you’re unhappy with digital options for tracking your time and your task lists. As Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson Books, told us, “You can approach it on your own terms. It’s calm and still, it doesn’t beep out reminders.”

The best planner will accommodate the way you think and what you want to capture, rather than forcing you to fill in a template that doesn’t fit your needs. Some people use planners not just for looking into the future but also as a sort of journal or scrapbook, for jotting down memories. So finding the right planner that you can use year after year is indeed a win.

To sort through the many options, consider the following:

Layout: If you just want to keep track of your appointments and deadlines, if you don’t use a planner to take notes, or if you’re a minimalist, you might prefer a sparse calendar—for instance, the Muji planner’s weekly horizontal format, which offers a wide block of space for each day stacked on top of the next.

People with a busy schedule—including those who manage a multi-person household—will need more room for each day. A vertical weekly format, where each day is laid out in columns, would divide the days into time chunks for many appointments or events. (Most of our planner picks offer a vertical layout as well as a horizontal one.) Or you might need a thick planner, such as the Day Designer, with one or two pages dedicated to each day.

Dates: Dated planners conveniently print holidays and sometimes other time-sensitive information, such as moon phases, so you don’t have to write those down yourself. Undated planners, however, let you start whenever you want and skip days or weeks guilt-free. If you have an erratic schedule (for example, if you’re a freelancer), an undated planner may suit you best.

Size: Most planners come in “journal” notebook sizes, 5.5 by 8 inches. These are ideal to use on a cramped desk and to take with you on a commute to the office. Larger sizes, of course, offer more room to write, but they also take up more space. So consider where you’ll use the planner most and whether you want it to be portable.

Cover and binding: Softcover planners made of cardboard or laminate weigh less, but they aren’t as sturdy as hardcover planners. Coil-bound planners are easier to fold flat or fold back than stitched planners, but they can snag on other objects in your bag. This can be an aesthetic choice, too. Think about the type of notebook you like to use best, and apply that to your planner choice.

Design: Last but not least, pick a planner that looks great to you. You’re going to use it every day, so it should bring you joy every day.

Our best advice: See if the planner company offers printable layouts (typically PDF downloads). Print them out and spend a week with them. Or check Instagram for that planner, to see how others are using the layouts, and consider how you’ll use them.

Paper planners encompass a broad range of options, from minimal, undated books with very little formatting to neatly partitioned pages. Some have no adornments or decorations inside, while others have pretty themes and cheerful, motivational messages throughout. We looked at the whole spectrum and decided to select planners in different categories, with an emphasis on those that are customizable or offer some flexibility beyond the standard dated monthly-weekly format.

We researched dozens of brands to narrow down our testing picks, and we asked Wirecutter staffers what they would want to pay for a new planner. You can generally expect to pay less than $50 for a good planner, with a few exceptions. A planner should fit your specific needs, and you may discover that a simple, inexpensive planner you find at a big-box store works better for you than our picks.

Since 2017, we’ve tested 64 planners in different rounds, and our testers have included a mix of paper-planner owners, people who wanted to get a paper planner, and those who’d tried paper planners and were dissatisfied. They gave us notes on what they would personally look for in a paper planner (size, writing space, fonts, the feel of the materials) and how they wanted to use one (simple scheduling, goal planning, and so on).

Our testers looked at each blank new planner and gave their feedback, and in some cases they changed their criteria after examining a planner in person. This is what happens to a lot of people—they buy a planner and later realize it isn’t right for them. So we tried to pick planners that worked for what people actually wanted, not what they thought they wanted.

We knew of several brands through the planner community and what we personally used; we also talked to several staffers about what they used, and we interviewed experts, who helped us determine our criteria for picking planners to test. The following features are the ones to look for:

Customization: We looked for planners that offered different page layout options, as well as many cover colors and designs, so more people could find the best fit. For ring-bound planners, we wanted a standard paper size so we could swap in any inserts from any compatible brand.

Plenty of space for writing: We wanted planners that had enough room for us to jot down tasks, appointments, and notes. We looked for tall, well-spaced lines or boxes wide enough to fit two or three words in a row.

A sturdy and low-frustration binding: JetPens’ Shu Yao noted, “Many planners are meant to last the entire year or academic year, so it needs to survive daily wear.” Coil bindings allow for smoother page-turning than disc bindings, which have individual, disconnected discs that don’t move fluidly together. A ring-bound, refillable planner is especially useful if it holds a standard, easy-to-find paper size. Book-bound or hardbound covers are less bulky than the other types. We preferred planners that let the book lie flat when open.

High-quality materials: We wanted planner covers that held up to wear, paper that was pleasant to write on, and sturdy tabs that didn’t bend when flipped. Sarah McNally of McNally Jackson Books told us, “A planner is a physical relationship you are embarking on. You will touch it as much as a wallet for the next year.” Laminated, leather, or hard covers last longer than cardboard or card-stock covers. And the paper should be creamy and sturdy—Yao told us this is a key consideration when JetPens looks for planners to carry. You don’t want paper so flimsy that it tears as you turn the pages or lets ink bleed through to the next page.

A variety of sizes: We looked for brands that offered both smaller, portable sizes and larger, desk-appropriate sizes. Especially with refillable planners—which are often a pricier initial purchase—we liked having size options that were standardized across a few brands of planners and inserts (such as the A5 size, which fits 5.83-by-8.27-inch paper).

Availability: We decided to focus on brands that were readily available online and, preferably, in at least some physical stores. The experts we interviewed gave us some great suggestions for smaller planner companies, but many of those could be difficult to source and were too niche for this guide.

With all of the planners we tested, we paid close attention to the paper quality and how well the sheets held ink from Sharpies and Uni-ball gel pens. We looked at the construction of the bindings and how sturdy the covers were, and we considered how useful the layouts were and how much writing space they offered. We also painted on them with watercolors to see how the paper held water and color.

This is not a comprehensive list of paper planners we’ve tested. We have removed models that are discontinued or no longer meet our criteria.

Refillable planners

The Simple Stories Carpe Diem A5 Planner is a former also-great pick. And if you avoid buying leather, or you want something less expensive than a Filofax planner, it’s a great choice. It comes in fewer colors than Filofax’s The Original Organizer, and most binders and inserts have a feminine design. In stores we’ve seen these only at Hobby Lobby, but they’re still easier to get than many of the imported planners we’ve tested and recommended. It’s also available in a personal size.

The Happy Planner is a highly decorated planner, similar to the Erin Condren LifePlanner. We didn’t like this planner’s disc binding; opening it all the way around to look at one page at a time wasn’t as smooth as with a coil-bound planner. However, one of our staffers long-term tested this planner for a year and told us the format really worked for her, and she didn’t mind the discs. You can technically refill these planners, swap covers, or add inserts, but they’re so often on sale at craft stores that most people just buy a new one each year.

The Levenger Circa Weekly smartPlanner felt more useful than the Franklin planner we tested, but it’s expensive (a leather cover is sold separately), and we’ve found disc-bound systems more difficult to use.

We reconsidered the classic FranklinPlanner Original Weekly Ring-bound Planner in 2018, after initially dismissing other versions we saw in office-supply stores. We tested the compact and classic sizes and found the Franklin inserts to be especially cramped for writing space, compared with what you’d get with the Filofax planner.

Spiral-bound planners

The Papier Planner , available in spiral or book binding, offers a wide range of cover styles that you can personalize with your name or initials. We tested the academic year version, but the majority of panelists preferred the Class Tracker’s higher-contrast pages and darker fonts. That said, two panelists (including one college-bound tester who dislikes planners in general) preferred the smooth feel of the Papier’s pages, as well as its helpful sections such as schedule, deadlines, and project notes. It’s worth a look if you want an academic planner that looks and feels a bit more elegant than basic monthly-and-weekly planners.

The Day Designer planner is a former pick, and it’s senior staff writer Jackie Reeve’s personal favorite for everyday use, but it’s bigger and bulkier than our picks. If you like a weighty planner that you can leave on your desk, this one has a hard-board cover, sturdy spiral binding, and daily page layouts with space for appointments, to-do lists, and notes.

The Planner Pad is another former pick, and we recommend it if you’re looking to group your tasks and appointments by category. Its highly structured format isn’t as flexible as those of our picks, but the layout may match how you like to divide your week and your days.

Our testers weren’t wild about the Blue Sky Weekly and Monthly Planner ’s layouts, which have a pattern on every page. But Blue Sky offers endless print options, so you may find one you like. Blue Sky previously offered an academic year planner with extra functionality for students, and we liked it, but it no longer exists.

We tested the Black-owned Ivory Paper Company’s 12 Month Daily Planner , which is similar to the Day Designer planner. It’s a nice book with a pleasing cover, but the paper felt like copy paper, and the page layouts were less sophisticated. It was hard to see how this planner cost more than a Day Designer planner, which isn’t cheap.

The At-A-Glance weekly appointment book is a classic business planner available at office-supply stores, but it was a bit too big, too businesslike, and too narrow for us to write in the hourly format.

We recommend Field Notes notebooks as the best pocket notebook for jotting stuff down, but our testers didn’t like the Field Notes 56-Week Planner . They said its looks were less appealing than those of other models, and they noted the lines on the paper were too dark for what they wanted in a planner.

Book-bound planners

The only thing keeping us from fully recommending the Muji High Quality Monthly Planner is its limited availability. If you want a standard dated planner, run to get it when it comes out every November to December, because the silky paper is just exquisite.

The Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal 2 is an excellent notebook with guidelines for bullet journaling (also known as “BuJo”). But we eliminated this former pick from the running because it’s really more of a blank notebook than an actual planner, which should have at least some date structure.

Similarly, Rhodia’s Goalbook bullet journal contains only grid-dot paper, with no instructions or tips, and our testers found that design to be too freeform. Our testers thought the cover was too fragile (it was already dented at one corner from shipping) and that the grid dots on the pages were too dark.

The Moo Perpetual Planner is an undated planner with high-quality paper, as one would expect from the company that makes the best business cards . It has a versatile format, with blank space on the top third of each page and days shown in columns beneath that (the week spans two pages). We found the columns a bit narrow (they’d require tiny handwriting to be usable). And we found the colored cardstock dividers for each quarter to be somewhat puzzling to use (they’re all lined differently, with an isometric pattern on one section). However, we like that this planner invites creativity in terms of figuring out how you’ll use the space provided.

The Paperage Planner has the same high-quality, thick paper as the lined journal , which is our budget notebook pick. The planner has a standard monthly and weekly layout, and it’s a good option if you want to spend less than $15 on a hardcover planner with a sturdy cover. We think the MochiThings Medium Ardium Planner feels more polished and special, though it costs more than three times as much.

We tested the Lemome Weekly & Monthly Planner in summer 2020 after seeing it rise in popularity over the previous year. It has a 1950s prep-school charm to it, with a black cover, gold lettering, and a pen holder. After the MochiThings Ardium Planner, it’s the next-best book-bound planner we’ve tried. It’s not very expensive, but the layout is notably basic, and it comes in only one color.

A former pick, the Panda Planner Classic has the most structured layout, with prompts and partitioned sections, such as “Today’s Priorities,” “Morning Review,” and “Things I Will Do to Make This Week Great.” It may be too prescriptive for most people, and it covers only three months, but if you want to try a new productivity system, it’s ideal for goal planning.

The Passion Planner was unpopular in testing because of the inside page design, the cramped writing space, and a cover that showed greasy thumbprints. One staffer liked the visual design of the layouts, but we preferred the Purpose Planner for goal tracking.

The Full Focus Planner is another option similar to the Purpose Planner and the Panda Planner Classic, with prompts to help keep you accountable and productive. In our tests, it wasn’t as intuitive to learn to use, and that might be a barrier for people to stay with it.

The Productivity Planner is also laid out with prompts and involves a system for tracking your time and output. But of all the planners we’ve tested, this one is the most complicated to use—it has 34 pages of instructions at the start of the book. It also lacks simple calendar layouts to track appointments or to plan ahead for projects and goals.

The Jstory Large Weekly Planner is a former pick for bare-bones, simple scheduling. The Muji Recycled Paper Weekly Planner has a less distracting minimalist design, and it usually costs $15 less.

The Ohh Deer Daily Planner offers only enough room for four months’ worth of entries, so you’d have to get three per year, making it one of the most expensive planners we’ve tested. And though this planner is sold in several cover designs, each one features a slightly different interior layout that isn’t disclosed on its product page.

Planners we tested or looked at that lacked sufficient room for jotting down daily to-do lists and notes include the Papier Planner , the regular-size Moleskine planners , and the Leuchtturm1917 Week Planner .

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.

Meet your guides

Jackie Reeve

Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.

Kaitlyn Wells

Kaitlyn Wells is a senior staff writer who advocates for greater work flexibility by showing you how to work smarter remotely without losing yourself. Previously, she covered pets and style for Wirecutter. She's never met a pet she didn’t like, although she can’t say the same thing about productivity apps. Her first picture book, A Family Looks Like Love , follows a pup who learns that love, rather than how you look, is what makes a family.

Melanie Pinola

Melanie Pinola covers home office, remote work, and productivity as a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. She has contributed to print and online publications such as The New York Times, Consumer Reports, Lifehacker, and PCWorld, specializing in tech, work, and lifestyle/family topics. She’s thrilled when those topics intersect—and when she gets to write about them in her PJs.

Further reading

The Best Paper Shredders

We tested top shredders for use at home and in small offices and found easy-to-use workhorses that can help protect your identity.

What a Wirecutter Home-Office Expert Uses to Organize Her Desk

Velcro strips, a glass easel, and a desk pad are just a few of the things our productivity expert uses to get through each workday.

How to Go Paperless With Your Home Office

Here’s how to save your tax records digitally so you can get rid of the paper in your home office

5 Tips to Declutter Your Home Office

Clutter can creep up on you when you work from home. Here’s how to get organized so it doesn’t mess with your focus and productivity.

Top 11 Little Business Books With Big Impact

Use These Short Books to Master Topics that Will Improve Your Career

• Management Careers
• Job Search Resources
• Hiring Best Practices
• Employment Law
• Employee Motivation
• Employee Management
• Management & Leadership
• Employee Benefits

Susan Heathfield is an HR and management consultant with an MS degree. She has decades of experience writing about human resources.

One trend in business books is the short management book, often written as a story or fable. These business books are approachable, useful, and may help encourage more people to read. And, as an employer, that's what you'd like to see—right? You're in favor of ongoing career development.

These business books pack a solid punch in a small package. Read some of the favorites that managers and HR staff recommend. You'll quickly agree with their assessment and understand why they have such universal appeal.

High Five! The Magic of Working Together

by Kenneth V. Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles, others (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 0688170366 -

Fired from his job for failure to be a team player, Alan Foster helps a boy's hockey team learn both team secrets and hockey. Help from a retired girl's basketball coach, chants, cheers, focus, skill development, and knowing that, "None of us is as good as all of us," help Alan learn so he can teach. I love this book.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass) ISBN-13: 978-0787960759 -

Assigned to lead a dysfunctional Silicon Valley executive committee, Kathryn Petersen, a traditional manager, appointed CEO, watches and observes the effect of the group's interactions on its members and on the company's progress and results.

Following her instinctive knowledge about people and using her skill in building teams, she identifies the factors that are undermining the group's effectiveness. In story-style,

Lencioni tells how to overcome the human behaviors that corrupt this executive team's success: the lack of trust , fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of personal accountability, and inattention to results. A must-read for teams that strive for optimum success.

The 1% Solution for Work and Life

by: Tom Connellan (Peak Performance Press) ISBN-13: 978-0-9769506-2-2

Feeling a bit discouraged about your life and work? Not getting as excited as you once were? You can change this by doing one small thing just 1% differently than you are right now. Sound easy? It's not, but if you do one small thing differently for thirty days, it becomes part of your available toolkit.

And, 1% plus 1% plus 1% adds up. Follow Ken on his journey as he meets and learns from six One-Percenters, people who have transformed their lives using the ideas shared in this book. Even if you're after just a small improvement, each chapter gives you ideas that you can adapt now. For me, my new 1% shift? No email in the morning until I have published something. I am on the path.

Just Do Your Best

by Chuck Harwood (Group Fare Productions) ISBN - 13:978-0881971019

In just 108 pages, the essence of performing successfully on your job is distilled and shared. In an out-of-the-ordinary management setting: a visit to a cattle ranch, Mr. Harwood identifies the five critical factors in job success.

Knowing your job well, and continuously improving what you know, is the first. The second factor is making good decisions. Enjoy attending the management meeting with the ranch employees - the daily lunch table at the ranch. Visit 15 additional workplaces he uses as examples for the five factors. Insightful, fun book.

Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

by Harry Paul, Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen (Hyperion) ISBN: 0786866020

Based on the fun-loving fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Market, a supervisor learns how to create an environment in which employees are excited to serve customers and each other. Find out how she transformed a toxic work environment!

The One Minute Manager

by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 0688014291

Can several million people be wrong? Read the book that spawned the dynasty! Timeless tips for supervisors and others who want to increase their effectiveness with people. Learn how to catch people doing something right and the power of clear, understandable goals. Though deceptively simple, this is a great read!

Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment

by William C. Byham (Development Dimensions International) ISBN: 0962348317

This continuing favorite may be hard to find but it's worth the search. Join a supervisor who is transported to a state in which he can suddenly "see" the real impact his actions have on whether staff is enabled to think, contribute, and find meaning in work. Experiment and learn with him as he changes.

Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You: Do What Needs to Be Done

by Bob Nelson (Hyperion) ISBN: 0786867299

Written directly for employees, the book has great tips about how to express individual initiative and self-empowerment at work. "Doing what you're told," no longer brings success for the individual or the organization - if it ever did! Everyone has the capacity to fulfill this "ultimate expectation." Share this book to help people find out how!

Gung Ho! Turn on the People in Any Organization

by Kenneth Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 068815428X

The story, told as a fable, provides a three-part strategy for motivating employees. Make sure people know why their work is important, give them control over how they do their jobs, and provide encouragement are the success factors. The story is told by a plant manager who learned these truths from a Native American manager.

The Peon Book

by Dave Haynes, Chief Executive Peon (Berrett-Koehler) ISBN: 1576752852

Not just a regular management book, written by an executive or a consultant, The Peon Book recommends you get the information you need to lead and manage people from the people you are trying to lead and manage. If all else fails, ask! What a concept!

Who Moved My Cheese?

by Spencer Johnson (Penguin Putnam, Inc.) ISBN: 0399144463

Explores positively approaching change through a parable populated by mice and "littlepeople," mouse-sized people. If you're an expert in change management , give it a chance; the book will make you smile and remind you of key change issues.

Others will find change management tips, real encouragement, and the sense that change is "doable." It's a book for everyone. Enjoy!

• How to Make the Transition Into a Career in HR
• Society for Human Resource Management – SHRM
• Want 5 Tips to Help Managers Improve Performance Appraisals?
• Build a Strategic Framework Through Strategic Planning
• Alternative Cost-Cutting Strategies to a Workforce Reduction
• Why HR Should Report to the CEO
• Create Value With Human Resources Measures
• Become a Much Better Business Communicator
• Develop a Successful Human Resources Department Business Plan
• How to Do Human Resources Strategic Planning
• The 3 New Roles of the Human Resources Professional
• What You Should Know About Electronic Monitoring of Employees
• 6 Tips For Handling Employee Complaints
• 10 Things You Should Never Tell HR
• Why Employee Performance Appraisal Does Not Work
• How to Make Strategic Planning Implementation Work

Life Between Weekends

Make Every Day Feel Like Saturday

The 10 Best Planners of 2024-2025, Reviewed & Compared

This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here .

When you’re really trying to get your life in order, you know a planner isn’t just a planner. The right one can make you feel more organized, less stressed—more on top of it all. But with so many out there, ranging from free to triple digits—which agendas are worth buying? Without being too bulky or having too little space to write down what you need? What’s the best planner for you ?

I’ve been a planner obsessive since middle school, and over the years, I’ve tried almost everything. They keep me from ruminating over the same things endlessly (while worrying I’ve forgotten something) and help me destress and focus. I’m constantly trying new ones, from traditional agendas, mid-year, academic and productivity planners, to wellness logs and bullet journal-inspired ones—but there are only a handful I keep coming back to and would recommend.

In fact, for this year’s selection of the best planners, I tried seven new styles, and wound up with two new brands in the mix. Here are my favorites I’ve tested, so you can reach your full potential in 2024 and beyond (no matter your goals or organizational style).

One quick note: Right off the bat, I list whether each planner is dated or undated, aka whether the planner comes printed with each day’s date or not. The latter is more evergreen, and great if you want to pick up a planner and get organized whenever—not just on January or in August. But they can be annoying, because you have to manually fill in each day’s date.

The Best Planners & Agendas of 2024 & 2025:

1. best planner overall: lh agenda anna bay quilted weekly planner.

• Is This Planner Dated or Undated? Undated
• Chic quilted cover
• Inspiring intro section to help you set goals for year ahead
• Portable/lightweight
• Somewhat pricey

I’ve never had so many people stop to ask me where I got my planner or simply compliment me on it until I started using the Anna Bay Quilted Weekly Planner by LH Agenda. The Australia-based company’s agendas are every bit as stunning IRL as they look online —the quilted vegan leather is plush and easy to wipe clean, and it can be monogrammed for a custom touch. You can get a closer look at it this video :

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Candace | Baker, Crafter, Blogger (@lifebetweenweekends)

But, what’s even better is how portable and functional it is. It’s about an inch thick, clocking in at about 5.8 inches by 7.8 inches, and inside that small package is an incredibly well-organized approach to planning out your year: Each two-page spread lets you see the week at a glance, with a spot each day to highlight your top three priorities and an overall notes/intentions section for the seven-day span. There are also sections for planning out what you’d like to get out of the year and each month, AND you can buy planner tabs and other accessories to truly make this book your own. I’m obsessed. (If you want to know more, check out our in-depth review .)

• Best Discount: Sign up for their emails (at the bottom of the page ) to score 5 percent off your order; free shipping on orders of $90+

2. Best Customizable Daily Planner: Papier

• Customizable cover
• One page for each day’s tasks
• It only spans 4 months
• Can get pricey ($100/year)

This is the best planner I’ve found for organizing all aspects of your life while still being ultra portable. The Daily Planner includes the week at a glance, with detailed entries for each day, as well as weekly meal planning pages and room for notes. I’ve heard some people complain there isn’t enough space in the daily section, but you’re given a whole page (!), with areas to break down your schedule hour by hour, list your top three tasks to achieve and have room for general to-dos and notes. The book would have to be larger to provide more space for notes, which would make it bulkier (like the Priority Planner , which is nearly the size of a textbook and not so easy to tote around).

Another pro: The customizable covers make it feel extra special, making it a great gift for college-bound students (or anyone who needs to get their lives together).

• Best Discount: 25 percent off your second book
• Another Discount to Try: Score 10 percent off when you sign up to receive emails from Papier.com

2. Most Budget-Friendly Undated Planner: Brass Monkey Hidden Agenda

• Compact size (smaller than novel)
• Daily to-do list section and scheduler to time block
• Time blocks only run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Meant to start your planner on January 1st…and forgot? You can pick this one up anytime. While Brass Monkey recently changed its layout, the new version makes even better use of each page. It still has the fun facts and playful snark—all packaged in a fun, irreverent-yet-upscale design—but there’s more room to map out each day. It now includes a daily to-do list and notes section, as well as ways to block our your calendar from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (People who work alternative hours may not love that feature as much.) The two-page Month in Review is a fast way to reflect on the past 30ish days before heading into the next stretch, too. Its cloth-wrapped hardcover binding lends a luxe touch, and at 6 inches by 9 inches, it’s easy to stow even in a small purse.

If you prefer the older, full week-at-a-glance style, you can still buy it for $16 on Amazon , though it looks like quantities are limited.

• Best Discount: 10 percent off through the brand’s site if you sign up for emails , but you only score free shipping on orders of $30+. Score free shipping on the planner if you order through Amazon and are a Prime member.

4. Best Undated Planner for Students: Notcoy Daily Planner

• Aesthetically pleasing
• Plenty of room for to-do’s
• Spiral binding keeps pages open when laid flat
• Thick paper, so ink doesn’t bleed through
• no option for time-blocking day
• limited space to list meetings (5 max per day)

If you appreciate aesthetics, and your style skews more whimsical, this is the planner for you. This spiral-bound book is undated, so you can start whenever, and each day is divided into sections so you can easily note meetings, to-do’s, your top priorities and reflections at the end of the day. There’s a week in review, too, and it comes with fun stickers to help you highlight important moments—or just imbue a little more joy into your day. There’s enough room in the planner to last you six months, so you can test it out for a semester and see how it works for you. (Oh, and if you need more convincing, check out the full Notcoy review .)

• Best Discount: 10 percent off when you sign up for their newsletter

5. Honorable Mention: Slimmest Planner for Students: Blue Sky 8.5″x11″ Planner

• Is This Planner Dated or Undated? Dated, runs January through December
• Size of full sheet of paper
• Spiral bound makes it easy to jot notes without book closing on you
• Feels flimsy compared to hardcover books
• Not as chic (more practical)

Despite all of the bells and whistles my other planners have, I find that outside of Papier, this is the planner I used the most day-to-day when I was in college. Why? Every three days is a full page, giving you plenty of time to jot down the day’s meetings and tasks, yet the planner itself is very slim, like toting a magazine. It slips easily into a laptop sleeve with my MacBook, making it easy to take on the go.

• Best Discount: 79 percent off on Amazon, plus one-day shipping is available via Amazon Prime

6. Best Planner for Work/Entrepreneurs: At-a-Glance Foundation Planner

• Can track almost everything, from water to budget, with it
• Small, compact size
• Great goal-mapping section
• Intro guide takes intimidation out of getting started
• Clean, minimalist design
• Like all undated planners, can start anytime

Previously, the My PA Planner got my vote for this category, but I couldn’t get over just how bulky it was—and how the business-planning features felt so specifically tailored that they seemed to appeal to a nice audience. This is where the Foundation planner excels. It features a mind mapping and goal setting section in the front to help you focus, then it delves into a two-page monthly calendar, before offering a two-page spread per week.

It’s all packaged in a slim, hardcover book with a magnetic closure, so Post-Its and loose notes aren’t as easy to spill out. It looks professional and sleek, and it gets the job done well, while being easy to tote from meeting to meeting. See my in-depth review here .

• Best Discount: N/A

7. Best Wellness Planner: Silk & Sonder Annual Subscription

• Is This Planner Dated or Undated? Dated, each one spans one month
• Inspires as it helps you organize
• Something to look forward to each month
• Includes recipes & other bonuses you don’t find anywhere else
• Can feel flimsy
• More wellness journal than traditional planner/agenda

Calling Silk & Sonder’s spiral-bound book a planner is an understatement. Yes, you can use it to track your to-do’s and manage your calendar, but each planner lasts for a month and includes meal, habits and mood trackers. If you subscribe to their service, you can also access workshops and guided audio reflections for getting your thoughts out on the page. Check out our full review here .

• Best Discount: Use code FREEMONTH to score one month free on an annual subscription.

8. Best Tiny Planner: The Home Edit 5″x8″ Planner

• Is This Planner Dated or Undated? Dated
• Great for jotting down just the essentials
• May not have enough room per day

Leave it to decluttering gurus The Home Edit to come up with a sleek, streamlined planner in a tidy, tiny package. This flexible little datebook still has fairly spacious spots for each day’s tasks, yet it’s small enough to fit in a purse. Plus, it includes a section to list your goals and brainstorm what you want to get out of the year ahead.

• Best Discount: 10 percent off your first order when you sign up for their newsletter, plus free shipping on orders over $100

9. Best Planner for Teachers: The Happy Planner Daily, 12-Month Planner

• Pages are designed to be customized
• Great for bullet journalers and creative types
• Engaging design
• Bulky, particularly the giant spiral-bound rings

This planner lasts the longest of the bunch and is the most customizable (there are all kinds of dividers, pockets and stickers you can buy to trick out your Happy Planner). It’s great for crafty types, who like to bullet journal or vision board just as much as they like tracking their to-do’s. Or for anyone who needs a bit more space, say if you need to brainstorm a few lesson plan ideas or jot down notes between classes, which is why I recommend it for teachers and other creative-yet-organized types. It is a bit bulky though, and I found I rarely decorated its pages, even though I aspire to that level of *aesthetics.*

• Best Discount: Free shipping on Amazon for Prime members; currently $10 off (normally $35, now $25)

10. Most Innovative Planner: Laurel Denise Mini Vertical Weekly Planner

• Is This Planner Dated or Undated? Dated, runs July through June
• Lets you see week and month at the same time
• Incredibly slim and portable
• Decent space for notes
• Includes space for monthly and weekly to-do lists
• Can choose whether week starts with Monday or Sunday
• Daily space may be too narrow for some (recommend using a .05-point pen)

You’ll need a fine-point pen to really make use of this planner’s narrow columns for each day, but I found I really liked the Laurel Denise layout. The planner itself is incredibly slim, with each week featuring half-width pages, so you can see the week and the full month at the same time. It’s great for people who tend to plan ahead, or if you need to cross-reference appointments and other deadlines.

The planner comes with two adjustable bookmarks, which are much better than ribbons for holding your place. Plus, there are ample notes pages, formatted bullet journal-style, so you can organize stray thoughts or key points during a meeting without having to carry a separate notebook (or tap away at your laptop).

• Best Discount: Sign up for email alerts to snag 10 percent off

How I Chose the Best 2024-2025 Planners:

I’ve been reviewing planners for the past 10+ years. Here’s how I go about testing them:

• Research the top planners on the market, both in terms of reviews and general buzz. Include any new/under-the-radar brands that seem worth a closer look.
• Buy or receive samples of said planners, making no guarantees that any will be featured (or included favorably—I only share what I truly like). Use them for at least one month, noting the pros/cons and who the planner would be best for, since what works for me may not work for someone else.
• The best planners are: roomy enough to maintain basic to-dos and meeting notes without being so bloated/bulky that you can’t carry them around. They offer additional tools—like weekly or monthly reviews —but don’t have so many ‘inspirational’ pages that you feel too overwhelmed to use them (or worse, they’re so detailed they really only apply to very few people). Other important factors are paper/cover quality, durability, aesthetics and value .

What’s the Best Planner for Me?

Ask yourself 3 questions:.

• What do you need the most help organizing and tracking? Is it your to-do list? Do you prefer an hour-by-hour breakdown of the day ahead, because you’re in a ton of meetings or appointments?
• How much space do you need for a day’s tasks? (And how much writing do you actually like to do?)
• How portable do you want your planner to be? Do you want something slim and bendy, like a folder? Something small that can stash in a purse? Something big enough that you can jot down every stray thought—and bulk doesn’t really matter, because you’ll be keeping it in one place for the most part?

The Main Types of Daily Planners:

• Annual or Yearly Planners span one calendar year (January through December). They often pop up in stores around November or December, with pages pre-printed with the dates for the year ahead. They’re helpful for keeping track of dates at a glance, and they’re often clearanced out of stores by mid-February.
• Academic or Mid-Year Planners usually start at the end of summer and run through the school year. Some can be 18 months long, allowing for more long-term planning.
• Multi-Year Planners are often intended for goal setting, as they span multiple years and let you track your progress over time. They’re a rare find.
• Undated Planners are great for starting fresh at any time of the year, because you write in each day’s date. That can make them a little annoying for long-term planning, unless you take the time to jot every date of the year in ’em in advance, but they’re also nice if you stop using it for a few weeks then pick things back up—no pages wasted.

Is a Paper Planner Worth It?

It really depends on your organizational style. I love them for the ability to brain dump everything that’s on your mind (especially since a University of Tokyo study found that you’re more likely to remember things when you physically write them down), and I use a digital calendar to alert me to meetings, so I don’t miss them. It’s that one-two punch that helps me stay on top of things.

What Daily Planner Is in That Top Image?

So glad you asked! That’s the Anna Bay Quilted Planner by LH Agenda , which appears in the third spot on this list.

Why Trust My Planner Recommendations?

While I’ve tried a few other big name brands, I didn’t include them on this list simply because many felt too bulky, or overly simplistic, or straight-up pricey (for what you get) to include. If there’s a brand you love that I didn’t include, I’d love to hear it. DM me @lifebetweenweekends .

A previous version of this story included Rachel Hollis’s Start Today Priority Planner . Since the planner itself has sold out and has been discontinued (and it’s rare to find on eBay), we’ve removed it from this list.

Author: candacebd

Candace Braun Davison is a writer, editor and recipe developer who divides her time between New York and Florida. She's written articles that have appeared in PureWow, Delish, House Beautiful, Cosmo, Elle, Esquire, Elle Decor, Veranda, Good Housekeeping and more. She's also published and contributed to multiple cookbooks, including a tailgate cookbook specifically designed for USF students. A portion of the proceeds benefitted student scholarships at the university. View all posts by candacebd

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Nashville Airport Marriott

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Welcome to Nashville Airport Marriott

At Marriott Hotels®, we know that our job is to stay one step ahead, always anticipating your needs. So, as you and your needs evolve, so do we. As masters of our craft, we believe our legacy is built with every stay®.

Rooms & Suites

Rates vary by date & room type

FEATURED AMENITIES ON-SITE

Hotel information.

Check In: 3:00 pm

Check Out: 12:00 pm

Pets Welcome

Non-Refundable Pet Fee Per Stay: $50.00

Maximum Pet Weight: 50.0lbs

Maximum Number of Pets in Room: 2

On-Site Parking

Daily: $18.00

Weekly: $126.00

PerStay: $18.00

Two Rivers Café

Atrium bar & restaurant, fresh connection, more ways to enjoy your stay.

Fitness Center

24 Hour Fitness Center with PreCor treadmills, ellipticals, Peleton bike and free weights.

Swimming Pool

Let Your Stay Take You Further

Broaden your experience with us, whether by deepening your knowledge of cocktails in our Greatroom or learning something new with Manchester United.

Food for Your Journey

Pick up a fresh snack on your way out or linger over a meal with us. From light bites to classics with a local twist, enjoy food that is familiar yet elevated beyond the expected.

Experience Marriott at Home

Bring thoughtfully chosen details from our home to yours, from our iconic Marriott Pillow to our bath and body collection.

Getting Here

2200 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 37214

Property Details

Accepts: Credit Cards

Property has elevators

For more information about the physical features of our accessible rooms, common areas or special services relating to a specific disability please call +1 615-8839770

Accessible on-site parking

Self Operating lift or a sloped entry in hotel swimming pools

Van Accessible on-site parking

Accessible Entrance to On-Site Pool

Entrance to On-Site Business Center is Accessible

Entrance to On-Site Fitness Center is Accessible

Main Entrance is Accessible

On-Site Restaurants are Accessible

Hearing Accessible Rooms and/or Kits

Mobility accessible rooms

Roll-in Shower

Frequently Asked Questions

The check-in time at Nashville Airport Marriott is 3:00 pm and the check-out time is 12:00 pm.

The pet policy at Nashville Airport Marriott is:

The parking options at Nashville Airport Marriott are:

On-Site Parking: Daily: $18.00; Weekly: $126.00; PerStay: $18.00

The property amenities at Nashville Airport Marriott are:

Yes, Nashville Airport Marriott has free Wi-Fi available to hotel guests.

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2200 Elm Hill Pike,

Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 37214

Fax: +1 615-3194521

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