Erin Condren

Here she is, the  Erin Condren Life Planner with a horizontal layout. Isn’t she gorgeous?

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Ahh, what us planner addicts get joy out of. Am I right?!? 🙂

Seriously though, if you struggle with organization or productivity, using a paper calendar is an excellent way to get intentional about achieving your goals.

Personally, I work much better with a paper planner versus a digital one. Sure, I set alerts on my phone to remind me of events but the bulk of my organizing is done in my Life Planner.

I have found that a good planner is absolutely necessary for me to stay organized, remember the gazillion things I have to keep up with, and keep a clean(ish) house. When I’ve tried to do without a planner, I’m a disorganized mess.

If you love planners, check out some of my most popular planning posts:

• 10 Tips for Using a Day Planner for Maximum Productivity
• Staying Organized with the Erin Condren Life Planner
• How Productive Women Crush Time Management and Get so Much Done
• 50 Ways to Use your Personal Planner

Erin Condren Horizontal Layout

Now, on to the details.

New Features

There are some new upgrades this year. If you like, you can choose to have black, gold, or rose-gold coil binding. As you can see from the pictures, mine has a gold coil.

I have another one one with a black coil. You can see that one here. 

There are some other cool new features too. The notes section is expanded. There are now lined note pages, graph paper pages, and a few blank pages.

Another new option this year is the option to choose a permanent cover as opposed to an interchangeable one. Personally I love the interchangables just because there are so many design options. I like to change my covers out periodically.

I can see the benefit of a permanent cover though. They seem much more sturdy than the interchangeable ones. You can check out the hardbound covers here.

Customize Your Planner

As always, you can customize your planner with your name or whatever else you want it to say on the cover.

Also, you can have your own pictures printed on the front and back covers or on the  inside.

Sign up through my link and receive $10 off your new planner! (for new customers)

Layout

The planner opens up to a beautiful dashboard followed by a year in review spread which shows you the full calendar section. Next is a great area where you can write down goals month by month.

Each month begins with a blank page for writing notes and checklists followed by a monthly view spread.

Look how each week spreads out over two pages!

There is a lot of room for writing notes, to-do’s, events, and goals on each day.

The horizontal layout has expanded space for writing and creating lists. There is also a blank square to the right of each day for a daily gratitude tracker. It’s also a great place for decorative planner stickers, inspirational quotes, meal planning, shopping lists, homework due dates, appointments, hydrate/water tracker, or workouts.

Most notably, the horizontal layout is great for people who don’t necessarily need to track their days by times or appointments. As a result, it works perfectly for schedules that change by day, or that need to keep track of things daily but not necessarily hourly.

I  use this horizontal layout as an editorial calendar for my blog. I think the horizontal layout lends itself well to planning posts, social media, guest posts, and stat tracking.

After the calendar section comes the notes and sticker section. The double-sided folder, perfect for keeping track of loose papers, comes next.

Here is a video I made that shows you what the planner looks like inside.

I use an hourly layout in my daily planner and you can read about that here.

Don’t forget your colored pens (I love these) and sticker paper for your free printable planner stickers!

Do you love sharing your planning and organizing techniques with other people? Want to make money doing something you love? It’s super simple to set up your own blog through WordPress and Bluehost hosting for only $3.49 a month. Also, if you use my link you’ll receive a free domain name. Check out my step-by-step guide to getting your own site set up in minutes.

I love the little details that make this planner feel special and unique.  The inspirational quotes scattered throughout the pages are amazing.

What’s your favorite type of planner layout? Do you like the Erin Condren horizontal layout? Are you #teamhorizontal or #teamvertical?