Find a visiting card in my room and you’ll see a to-do list written in illegible handwriting at the back. Pick a laundry bill and you’ll see a story idea caption right next to the smiley doodle. If you’re my co-worker you would have seen me furiously adding post-its of chores on top of the grocery list, combined with a dream list I have of mundane things like — ‘Movies to watch’ or ‘Books to read’. I had even e-mailed myself a strict ‘Things To Do’ list a couple of times. That was my life in 2008.
Cut to 2016, I have Google Keep, which I’m still trying to figure out, Trello that is making my work life a tad easier, and a wholesome Google calendar that is back in action. And sometimes, I work on Evernote and Wunderlist — both of which are awesome. That’s me just showing off my app-prowess but sadly, none of them make me complete; some of them are so techy that it flies right over my head.
So, I still run to my trusted journal or planner to figure out my life on a daily basis. The date calendar keeps my sanity straight when I suffer from Mommy brain. And the rows and rows of daily pages come filled to the brim with ideas and favourite notes. And these days, I have upgraded to ones that come with stickers and cute captions, and empowering #girlboss type quotes. That’s why when someone said it’s almost 2017, I jumped up and got to researching on the BFF I will have with me next year — my planner. Here are the contenders — all of them claim to be amazing and since there are no borders on shopping nowadays, we got you the ones that are popular abroad as well (ask Pammy aunty in New Jersey to bring it home). Plus, they are pretty!
*Most of them are tried and tested, by me, by my friends, and people I know on my FB timeline. And some might look staid and boring but the inside pages pack in a punch, so don’t judge a book by its cover!