I am methodical and love to plan. Small wonder that I also love a planner. I’ve been searching for the right one. The Clever Fox Planner (Amazon Affiliate link here) checked a lot of boxes for me. But would I buy it again? Will it work for you?
I started this post in March. Well, we all know what happened back then & I basically abandoned the planner altogether (which is not like me). I have been focusing on marketing for the last few weeks, and I’ve started to use it again. It’s just amazing what a little planning can do for you!
I know this post is a stretch for a running linkup, but the reason I started to use this planner was to combine my running journal with a planner, because I didn’t really like using two journals.
No dates
Clever Fox is an undated planner. Which means you will have to write in dates for every month, every week, every day. Not a deal breaker for me.
The monthly calendar has room for this month’s goals, this month’s wins, and how you’ll improve going forward. In addition, it has spots for:
- Habits to Adopt
- Skills to Learn
- Things to Avoid
- Places to Go
- People to See
So far so good.
Weekly Plan
Before you get into the meat of your week, it’s time to set yourself up for success with:
- This week’s main goal
- This week’s priorities
- Work to-do list
- Personal to-do list
- Habits/Skills list with a checkbox for each day of the week
- Spaces to write out what you want to do in: healthy & sports, family & friends, romance & relationships, fun & recreation, personal development, and spiritual
I love being able to tick off the habits/skills I want to work on — and pretty much everything else, if I’m honest.
Now on to planning your day
Each day there is a place for:
- Today’s main goal
- Today’s priorities
- Schedule (broken down hourly from 6-9)
- To-do list
- Rate your productivity
- How I’ll improve
When I kept this with me, I found myself really focused on the things I needed to do. There is a page for each day of the week. You will need to write in the day and date.
Since going back to using this journal, I have discovered the schedule portion really isn’t necessary for me. I use it take notes, LOL! It takes up most of the page, though, which is a lot of space for something I don’t really need — you might need it, though.
Review your week
There is a blank page after all the days of the week for weekly notes. I used this for blog ideas, ideas for my YouTube channel, meal planning & meal prep.
Next to the Notes page is the Weekly Review, which includes fields for:
- A checkbox for this week’s main goal
- This week’s wins
Then there’s a series of questions for you to answer:
- What didn’t get done & why?
- What habits were not completed & why?
- What did you learn this week?
- How do you feel about your progress this week?
- How will you improve next week?
There is actually a lot more in the planner, including spaces for a vision board, a mind map, goals in various areas of your life, and even more.
Final Thoughts
Would I buy this planner again? No. It is too darn thick, and it’s only for 6 months! The 6 month thing wasn’t a deal breaker for me. The thickness is. I like to travel with my planner. I will take notes on what we did, where we ate, etc. I’ll track my runs and write notes on my race (because travel is almost always for a race for me!).
ETA: Yes, I wrote the above in March. I haven’t changed my mind; The Clever Fox is an awesome planner, but it’s not the right planner for me. The thickness is a big reason. The wasted space on an hourly schedule is another. I wish there was just blank space for actual journaling in the daily pages — I could use that for tracking runs (which I’m not doing anyway right now as we all know) or just journaling in general. I’ve been looking at the Simple Elephant Planner (Amazon Affiliate link here) and the Panda Planner (Amazon Affiliate link here)– not sure why I’m drawn to animal journals but of course I do love animals.
I found I didn’t really need all that daily space devoted broken down by time. A blank space, probably smaller, would have served me just fine.
I did learn that picking a main priority for each day, then several other (but not too many) to-dos was a real game changer for me. Of course I didn’t always do everything on my list, and some days I did other things that were just as important.
In the end choosing a priority and the other things that were truly important to me each day kept me much more focused and productive, and that is a great takeaway for me and something I’ll continue to do no matter what planner I decide on next.
ETA: Now that I’m back to using the planner, the above is still very true! I actually get more done if I think about the next day’s priorities the night before.
Do you need to be more organized?
Do you use a planner? Electronic or Digital or both?
Any recommendations for me?
Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner
This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.
Chocolaterunsjudy 
I love the structure of the Clever Fox planner!
I use a mix of digital (Outlook), physical to-do lists and a physical journal.
In my journal, I have similar fields like the Clever Fox planner: skills I want to improve in and areas that are important to me, such as physical health, mental health, socialising, nutrition, etc.
I also have a section “Hit of the Week” and “Flop of the Week”, that I discuss with my husband every Monday.
I love your entries! So neat and tidy!
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I really did like the structure of the planner, but I realized it wasn’t quite the right fit for me. Still looking.
So do you & Kai exchange hit of the week & flop of the week or is it just yours you’re discussing? Does he journal too? My husband definitely does not!
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Yes, Kai journals too!
Not as extensively as I do, but enough to exchange both our hits and flops of the week.
It’s always a very interesting discussion, haha!
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I like that he journals!
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I am a big planner. But I’m all digital. I use my phone calendar. I sync all events and addresses where I’m going. I put in notes. Almost every reservation and event says Add to calendar. My phone syncs to my watch.
It works. I’m in the car and I click on the event and it opens a map and I don’t waste time getting there.
Would never have the time to keep a written journal. And it’s not on my priority list.
Good luck finding what works for you.
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I still like to write things, although of course I use digital tools, too. Writing something down means I’m more like to actually remember it.
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So they say…
But if you are always on the go, you can’t carry a book with you. I don’t know what I did before I had a digital calendar and watch.
I still hang up a wall calendar but I always forget to write on it.
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Don’t use a wall calendar. For those sorts of events, I use my digital calendar.
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The purpose was so my hubby knew where I was (though not sure he looks) and important family stuff.
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I need to be more organized for sure. I am going to order the dated version of Clever Fox for next year to see how it works out for me. I do use a wall calendar and my phone but I like having a book to write in.
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I like having a journal, too. I’m definitely not getting the Clever Fox again, although I do recommend it — just not quite right for me. I hope it works for you!
I’m kind of leaning towards The Simple Elephant. I have used Erin Codren planners, too, & they’re really good, but the size was never right for me.
I really need to just bullet journal (basically make my own) but I’m too lazy, LOL!
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You could totally come up with a great one for yourself but that would take time that could be used for other things. The Simple Elephant looks good. That’s why there are so many available…personal preference is a thing.
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You’re so right! Many are really similar & that leads to analysis paralysis!
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I like that it’s an undated planner, but the 6 month timeframe would have been a dealbreaker for me. I like 12 month planners. I don’t travel with my planner too much, but totally understand how the thickness of the planner would be a negative. You don’t want to carry around extra weight if you don’t have too.
I have tried a few different planners over the years. I purchased an Erin Condren planner for 2021 – hopefully that works out well, it’s my first time using the brand.
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I have used EC for several years in the past — they’re very cool planners, but in the end not quite right for me. Hope you love yours!
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I used to use a calendar and would also carry it with me. Then a few years ago I switched to digital. I use Google for my calendar, email, and Keep for my notes. My school uses the same platform so that helps a lot. By the way, is that your writing? It is so neat!
Thank you for linking up with us!
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I can imagine using the same platform as your school makes things much easier!
I do use Google calendar, too. And the native notes app on my iphone (I have a LOT of notes on all sorts of things).
I do like to write things down, though, too. I remember it better!
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Sometimes I do write things down like things to do for school and my grocery shopping list.
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I actually do use an app on my phone for grocery lists. I can set them up by their location in the store & delete items as I shop.
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Which app is that?
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It’s ShopShop. It’s really simple — so the organizing by aisle is just from memory. But you can do multiple lists (think grocery vs target, although mostly I really just use one), and then you can check items off as you shop; you can also put in how many you want of a particular item– that’s pretty much all there is to it!
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So neat!
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I use Cozi, an online calendar that my daughter and I have shared access to. I wouldn’t remember to do anything if not for that. I wouldn’t take the time to write out everything in a planner like this one. I do write in my journal when I feel like it at night, but just to write about what’s on my mind/
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I really like to have a planner/journal. I’ve just been searching for the right one for a long time! My husband & I talk about a shared calendar but we never actually do it.
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I have a wall calendar (more for the hubby than myself), and that is located near our phone (which we really don’t even use much anymore LOL). I also have a year-long planner with plenty of space for the individual days/weeks/months…THAT’S where I put all my races (and “potential” races), as well as record my daily fitness activities (comes in really handy for writing the WRD). We usually get a ton of free calendars from our vendors at work, but we haven’t gotten ANY yet this season, so I might have to actually buy one. I’m not into the digital thing because I like actually writing (and doodling) on paper. That’s the art geek in me 😉
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No wall calendar here (there are almost no walls in our kitchen!). I agree, I like to write — and sometimes doodle– too. I do use notes apps & Google calendar though, too.
I’m a hybrid. 🙂
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I am also a pen and paper planner person. I schedule all of my blog posts in a planner and use the same one for appointments etc. I like to see the week and the month view. 🙂 Currently using the life planner from Erin Condren
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I used EC several years. I really liked it, but in the end, I just prefer a smaller sized planner. The hunt continues. 🙂
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I use an electronic calendar and a notebook. I try to keep all my appointments in my phone and outlook so they sync and I don’t miss anything. But i also like to have somewhere to make lists and take notes.
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I do use Google calendar & the notes app on my phone. I’m not completely a Luddite or dinosaur, LOL!
But I like to write things out, too.
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I use a Happy Planner (they sell them at Michaels, and you can use the 40% off coupon LOL!). I like having lots of daily space to plan out my day, and I like that it offers month and week views. I do keep a separate notebook that travels with me for daily to-do lists or meeting notes. I just can’t find a way to combine the two.
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A happy planner is a good name, anyway! And if it works well for you that’s happiness. 🙂
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My husband and I often get each other planners for Christmas. I’ve used Ink and Volt in the past and really like them.
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I haven’t heard of Ink & Volt so thank you!
I’ve bought my husband an Ansel Adams calendar for Hannukah every year. It’s tradition!
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I love planning and I love my diaries. And I haven’t moved online like many people I know. It has to be written down on paper. My husband calls it the “wood” that I carry around. As you can hear, he is all about things being online, but who is the most organised in the house? Me, so clearly his method doesn’t quite work!
Like you, I find it easier to combine everything in one so mine will have work stuff plus the running plus school stuff. Separating it never worked for me. Also, I carry mine everywhere so the thickness would have gotten to me too!
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I combine both digital and written, but obviously I agree, there’s something about the written word!
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I can’t get over your handwriting! it’s gorgeous! I suck at planning. I have a weekly planner I use for work deadlines, but I am still struggling with how to prioritize my work. So far writing tasks on sticky notes I can move to another day helps me not drop the ball when I have to juggle priorities.
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I was a graphic designer. Have been fascinated by lettering & alphabets since I was a kid. Although the writing in my planner isn’t quite my normal scrawl. 🙂
My Simple Elephant planner came yesterday and it is just that — simple. I still have room in the Clever Fox one — how clever of me to make a 6 month planner stretch out for a year. 🙂
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