Erin Condren Life Planner Review (18 Months Later)
Oh, the Erin Condren Life Planner! Where to begin? I purchased this planner in October 2013 in a flurry to get organized. I watched reviews and did my research before dropping about $60. I went back and forth on how I felt about the planner, which is why I waited to review it. I’ll just cut to the chase: I fell into the hype of this planner. For me the Life Planner wasn’t functional with my lifestyle and I felt restricted by its layout. Overall, this isn’t a bad planner, it just didn’t work well for me.
The Pros of the Erin Condren Life Planner
I’m a bit of a stationery and paper snob, so it’s also worth mentioning that the pages in this planner have a very nice texture. They’re not too thick and not too thin. I used multiple types of pens in this planner and never experienced any bleed through.
The planner came with stickers for labeling things within the planner as well as gift stickers with my name on them. Some stickers were blank, which came in handy for labeling containers in the pantry. However, the ones I ended up using the least were the appointment and event stickers. For example, there were 6 stickers for mani/pedi. Since I’ve gotten a mani/pedi maybe three times in my entire life, the likelihood of going six times in 15 months was slim to none. In fact, it was none.
The Cons of the Erin Condren Life Planner
The biggest issue I had with this planner is that I think horizontally, or in rows, and this planner is setup vertically, or in columns. This my biggest challenge with the design. Generally I like a lot of space to write, and I constantly felt restricted by the tiny little boxes. I have fairly drawn out (read: sloppy) handwriting so staying in the little space was annoying.
Another thing I disliked about the layout was the break up of the columns by times of the day (morning, day, night). With planners, I prefer to write down whatever needs to get done at the top of the space for that day, not chronologically. Honestly, my days really weren’t so busy that I need to break tasks down by periods. I can see this working for someone with kids or a lot of hobbies, but for a fairly regular person, it’s overkill.
My biggest gripe was with the metal binding. As a righty, the binding made writing things down in Wednesday’s column near impossible. It. Drove. Me. Crazy. The way I had to hold my hand just felt so unnatural and uncomfortable. This problem wouldn’t exist if there was an option to have dates horizontally.
My last issue with the planner is the size and the weight. I knew going in that the Life Planner wasn’t exactly great for someone on the go all the time. It’s heavy. It’s cumbersome. It probably won’t fit in your purse, and even if it does, your shoulder will probably hurt. I can see this being great for a student who carries a backpack or someone who wants a true desk planner.
What I Learned From 15 Months With the Erin Condren Life Planner
My biggest takeaway from the Erin Condren Life Planner is I’m probably never spending $60 on a planner again unless it’s a Filofax. I don’t exactly regret the purchase, but I can’t claim that I got my money’s worth. For me, the layout didn’t work. I realized I’m the type of person where I need to either have a simple planner or one I can customize entirely, which I couldn’t do with the Life Planner.
Overall, I would recommend the Erin Condren Life Planner to people who think and plan vertically and don’t mind a small space to work in. I think it would be really great for those who are really busy and want to break down specific parts of their day within a planner. Also maybe lefties.
If you’re interested in purchasing an Erin Condren Life Planner, you can do so here. Prices start at $50.
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