Before becoming a mom, you may not have realized all of the other jobs you were about to take on. But now that the truth of your routine has set in, you probably could add chauffeur, chef, tutor, party planner, school volunteer, nurse, and a variety of other job titles to your resume.
If you’re anything like I am, you probably find that it’s hard to keep up with everything. But the moms who “make it look easy” use tools to keep themselves organized and make their days go smoothly–and you should too.
One tool that is essential for moms (especially stay at home moms looking to create a practical schedule) is a planner. Having a planner is a critical part of keeping track of everything that you have to do, manage, keep up with, schedule, etc.
Some people use different planners for different things–one for work, one for home, one for meal planning, etc. Personally, I like to keep it all in one place so I’m not having to go back and forth and check my work calendar before committing to a social event and things of that nature.
But it might work best for you if you have a planner that is devoted entirely to things that you have to do with or for your children.
In this article, I am going to talk about the benefits of buying a planner as a mom, some tips for using your planner, and finally, the 10 best planners for moms for 2024.
Don't have time to read the entire review?
Here's a quick look at our favorite planners for moms:
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Best Overall Choice: BestSelfCo’s Self Planner | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Runner-Up Option: Panda Planner Pro | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Value for the Money: Erin Condren's Coiled LifePlanner | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best for Achieving Your Goals: Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Option for Productivity & Time Management: Clever Fox Planner PRO | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Customizable Planner: PurpleTrail Mom Planner | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Planner for Managing Everything in Your Life: Orange Circle Studio Do It All Planner | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best for Managing Multiple Children's Schedules: momAgenda Desktop Spiral Day Planner | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Planner for the Whole Family: Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
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Best Planner for Creative Moms: The Reminder Binder | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
Benefits of Using a Planner
1. Keeps You Organized
Of course–above anything else–using a planner is going to help keep you organized. While life and schedules can quickly get out of control, having a central place to at least create a game plan will reduce the amount of stress that you feel when life gets busy.
As I’m sure you’re well aware, things don’t always go exactly how you planned them, but being able to flip you planner to the following week to see what you have coming up is very helpful when you’re trying to schedule something or work in some extra time to (fill in the blank).
2. Maintains a Record
When was the last time little Johnny had a teeth cleaning? Did you send in your taxes? How long has it been since Sarah’s rash showed up?
I write every significant occurrence down in my planner so I can always go back and confirm anything that later comes up in question. The interesting thing is that some of the things that I write down that I think I will never have to know in the future are often the things I am flipping back to find.
Keeping a record of when you paid the bill for gymnastics or when your kids are scheduled for their next doctor’s appointment is a critical part of being organized.
3. Helps to Ensure Proper Time Management and Punctuality
When you review the upcoming day in your planner, you can confirm the times of the events that you have scheduled and plan what time you need to leave point A in order to get to point B on time.
It can also help you with time management if you find that you are constantly short on time. Using a planner can help prevent you from running around just doing one thing after another without looking at the bigger picture.
Instead, it can help you schedule your days so you’re efficient with your time and stay on track. It can also keep you from over-planning.
4. Helps Prioritize and Increase Productivity
With your entire to-do list in one place, you can easily sort your urgent tasks apart from those that can wait. You can then give your urgent tasks more of your time and attention. Prioritizing things will help you plan and help you be sure to meet all of your deadlines, which in turn will minimize stress.
It will also make you more productive because you won’t find yourself wasting half a day on a task that is really getting you nowhere.
5. Check-Ins
With a snapshot of everything you have accomplished over the past week or month, you can take an objective look at the progress you’re making toward your goals.
Not only can this keep you accountable, but it can also keep you motivated if you’re working toward something specific. Having concrete check-ins for your goals will help you live a more intentional life.
For example, if you have a goal to lose weight, maybe you record a weekly weigh-in to help you measure your progress. Or if you want to spend 30 minutes a day reading to your kids, you can record this by marking each day off with a check box.
6. Serves as a Catch-All
A planner is a good place to tuck receipts into that you want to save or reminder cards for doctor visits. Any little pieces of paper that end up in your hands throughout the day that you don’t want to lose track of can go in your planner so you always know where to look when you need that information again.
7. Stress Relief
When you’re overwhelmed with things that you have to do, you’re going to feel stressed out. But if you’re able to make time for everything that you have to do and not worry about forgetting anything, you can let some of that stress go.
Once you get in the habit of writing things down, it can take the pressure off of you to remember everything that you have to do .
You can also use your planner to schedule some time for self-care so you can be sure that you’re keeping your mental and physical health a priority.
Tips for Using a Planner
With these benefits in mind, it’s also important to note that no planner is going to be effective unless you use it. Getting into that routine and making it a habit to use your planner is worth the effort. Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re just getting started with a planner.
1. Refer to Your Planner Regularly
Take time every day and every week to review your planner. This will help give you a mental refresher on what you have coming up on your agenda.
For your daily reviews, you can use your planner as a brain dump at the end of the day to write down any last-minute things that you have to do the following day, and then a reminder when you review it in the morning.
For your weekly review, you can plan to make progress on some of your broader tasks by filling in some gaps of time doing tasks that are not time-specific such as doing laundry, having coffee with a friend, or mowing the lawn. You can also take this time to consolidate any loose notes that you have left around.
2. Use the Monthly Snapshots
Wherever the whole month is laid out in your planner, record dates that do not change. This could be birthdays, anniversaries, holidays–anything that you know way ahead of time is a day that is “blocked off” for something.
3. Color Code
If you use one planner for everything (which I suggest you do), color code your work-related tasks, your family-related tasks, your social life tasks, etc. so you can easily distinguish one from another.
4. Write Down Concrete Tasks
Write down tasks in their entirety to increase your chances of following through. For example, if you have to RSVP to a party, you’re more likely to do it if you have “Send an RSVP to Kate’s birthday party” written down in your planner than if you just have “RSVP” jotted somewhere.
5. Be Picky
You can’t say “yes” to everything, Use discretion when deciding what actually makes it into your planner. If the school asks you to volunteer to be a room parent and you simply don’t have the capacity to do so, don’t feel like you are obligated to agree to doing it just because you were asked.
6. Bring it Everywhere
You never know when you will have to write something down or when you will need to refer to your planner for something. Because of this, you should help yourself always be prepared by getting a planner that is not cumbersome to keep with you at all times and then actually keep it with you at all times.
Leave it somewhere obvious when you’re home so you have easy access to it and grab it on your way out of the door.
You will have to determine what style of planning works for you, whether that means recording everything in a “brain dump” fashion or only writing down the most critical tasks.
While some people prefer to have some graph paper or blank paper incorporated in their planner for notes, others prefer a more minimalist planning approach by only recording scheduled tasks.
No matter what your preference is, you are sure to find a useful planner among these 7 best planners for moms:
Best Planners for Moms
1. Best Overall Choice: BestSelf Co’s Self Planner
BestSelf Co’s Self
The BestSelf Co’s Self Planner is designed for people who want to think bigger and achieve more, find harmony, and build deeper connections. It's more than just a planner: It's a tool for personal development, and has been seen in Buzzfeed, lifehacker, CNN, Business Insider, Huffington Post, CNBC, Inc., and the New York Times, among others.
This planner helps you manage your time so you can work toward your goals and live a life you love. It's the best way for busy moms to get organized and stay focused.
BestSelf Co’s Self Planner is an undated six-month planner with templates that help you prioritize, plan for the future, organize tasks, spend time on what matters most, and take control of your life.
Templates include a benchmarking tool so you can focus your successes and identify areas that need improvements. It helps you figure out not just what you have to do with your time but empowers you to figure out what you want to do with your time, and work towards those goals.
You can plan big projects, focus on daily habits, and improve your life.
BestSelf Co’s Self Planner measures 7 x 10 inches, with ivory white 100g paper that is fountain pen friendly. It has two ribbon markers and a back pocket for loose notes. The perforated corners are helpful for quickly skipping used pages. It comes with a black or a coral cover.
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2. Runner-Up Option: Panda Planner
Panda Planner
Panda Planner is the best planner for moms who need a boost of positivity and a productivity tool along with their planner. The Panda Planner offers three sections to keep any busy mom organized.
The daily section helps users rewire their brains to think more positively and prioritize important tasks in order to boost productivity. The weekly section help you keep up with your progress and plan for the short-term future.
The month section helps users get organized, meet goals, and develop better habits.
This planner offers a minimalist design to put you in control of your life. It has a high-quality durable hard cover and heavy paper, so it is perfect to keep in your bag on the go. It offers enough space to write to be considered a journal and planner all in one, so this is perfect for moms who love to write things down.
3. Best Value for the Money: Erin Condren's Coiled LifePlanner
Erin Condren's Coiled Notebook
Erin Condren's designs grew out of her own experience as a busy mom, and her beautiful, customizable planners and notebooks have become must-haves for women who want a simple, attractive way to manage their time and stay organized.
Erin Condren's Coiled LifePlanner has been perfected over 13 years of feedback and has been purchased more than 2 million times.
This best-selling planner has 12-18 months of weekly views to help you stay on top of all your projects and goals, and is completely customizable for your needs, making it a great value for the money.
Erin Condren's Coiled LifePlanner has yearly, monthly, and weekly calendars, so you always stay on track. It has space to track calendar events, habits, and goals.
It is made of thick, 80# Mohawk paper for a beautiful writing experience. It comes with 4 sheets of coiled-in stickers for decoration and customization, and a convenient reusable storage box.
Erin Condren's Coiled LifePlanner specializes in options and upgrades. You can choose your cover design from among hundreds of options and colors and have text added if you like, or upload your own cover design.
Choose your coil color, choose whether you want 12 or 18 months, choose your interior design theme, choose a horizontal or vertical layout, and choose from three different interior layout options. There are also a wide range of accessories available, so you can truly have the planner of your dreams.
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4. Best for Achieving Your Goals: Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly
Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly
The Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly is the bestselling planner founded on the belief that our outcomes and results in life are determined by daily habits.
More than just a planner, this diary is designed to help you create a compelling vision for your life, set and achieve goals, acknowledge your strengths and overcome weaknesses, change disempowering habits to empowering ones, overcome your fears, and be a happier person.
That's a lot for a planner, but thousands of people have found that this journal has held them accountable and helped to change their lives. It's a fantastic tool for planning your days and achieving your goals.
The Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly is an undated, yearlong journal so you can start any time. It has 52 undated weeks, with 6 daily pages per week.
The templates guide you through 4 morning and 4 evening steps of meditation and visualizations, intentions, dream journaling, and gratitude, along with self-awareness exercises and inspiration.
Weekly and quarterly check-ins keep you focused and committed, with a yearly review that celebrates your accomplishments and highlights new opportunities.
The Dailygreatness Original Diary and Planner Yearly measures 24 x 18 cm, and has a vegan, flexible, smooth matte cover that is lightweight, durable, and beautiful.
The 488 pages are 85gsm uncoated paper, and it has two ribbon markers. Tabbed sections make it easy to use and navigate, and it has a unisex design with a classic look for anyone.
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5. Best Option for Productivity & Time Management: Clever Fox Planner PRO
Clever Fox Planner PRO
The Clever Fox Planner PRO is an agenda and daily planner combined with a goal-setting tool and a gratitude journal.
Clever Fox believes that the act of writing with a pen is the best way to program the mind and help reach your goals, so they set out to develop the perfect planner for productivity, time management, goal setting, and self-reflection.
With this planner, you can develop a vision for your life, stay inspired, set goals, and work towards your goals every day. It's an incredibly popular productivity planner that is also your life coach in a book.
The Clever Fox Planner PRO has self-discovery and self-awareness exercises to help you get in touch with your inner beliefs, develop a vision for your life, and then turn that vision into a plan, with monthly, weekly, and daily sections to keep you inspired and motivated.
The full size 8.5 x 11 inch planner gives you plenty of room to record and reflect, and the soft faux leather cover looks and feels stylish. It has three ribbon bookmarks to mark your days, weeks, and months, and an inner pocket for loose notes and small items
The Clever Fox Planner PRO comes in rose gold, amber yellow, black, blue, dark pink, lavender, lime green, orange, purple, royal blue, and turquoise colors. It comes with a set of stickers for decoration and inspiration, a user guide, and is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
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6. Best Customizable Planner: PurpleTrail
PurpleTrail offers the best customizable planner for moms that is great for those who like to be able to have some control over the content of their planner.
This option allows you to choose the layout of your pages, the ideal size planner for your needs, your cover, your start date, and any add-ons that you choose. You can choose from a horizontal or vertical layout, a 6×8 or 8.5×11 size, and one out of 200 cover design options.
This planner is very easy to customize to your own preferences and needs as a mom, so you will be more likely to use it than something that has come pre-determined to be useful for you.
Some helpful add-ons that you can choose include note sections, to-do lists, password lists, address books, important dates, stickers, and pockets.
You can also choose from three different cover materials: hard, laminate, and synthetic. But no matter how you want your cover to feel, each PurpleTrail planner comes with thick, 80-pound paper that won’t bleed through if you’re using a fountain pen or something of the sort.
This heavy-duty planner can stand up to the messes that kids tend to make.
7. Best Planner for Managing Everything in Your Life: Orange Circle Studio Do It All Planner
Orange Circle Studio Do It All Planner
Orange Circle Studio Do It All Planner comes with a fitting name, as moms really do tend to do it all. It is the best option for moms who like to keep track of everything in the same place, such as their family’s plans, meal plans, workout goals, etc.
This planner is small, making it portable, yet large enough to record all of your plans and stay organized. This planner will last you for 17 months and comes with 300 stickers to help you keep track of your appointments, tasks, and activities.
It also comes with convenient lists that you can tear off and use for a shopping list or a to-do list. The convenient pocket that is included is great for storing important notes or papers.
Each weekly spread allows you to organize your schedule by task, time, or keep track of up to six different schedules. Each week begins with an inspiring quote to start your week off strong and a pretty drawing to add some color. This planner is great for moms who want to keep everything together in one place.
8. Best for Managing Multiple Children's Schedules: momAgenda Desktop Spiral Day Planner
This updated version of the highly popular momAgenda offers attractive new covers and additional space to take notes. momAgenda Desktop Spiral Day Planner is the best planner for moms who have several children in their family, as it is designed to maintain the schedule for four kiddos.
It offers a unique format that lets you keep track of your commitments, along with those of your children and a meal planner–all on one page.
This planner spans 18 months and offers a lot of extra space for your jam-packed schedule. An inspirational quote is provided for each week to help keep moms motivated to do their best work.
Moms love this planner because it is durable, so it can handle the wear and tear of being in a handbag all the time. It is also a convenient size for carrying with you and its attractive look often gains attention.
9. Best Planner for the Whole Family: Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer
Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer
This 17-month planner is the best option if you are looking for something to keep a central place for the whole family to use. Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer offers a large-grid design so you can easily keep track of your family’s schedule, meal planning, and activities.
It also comes with colorful stickers so you can keep track of any important dates or notes.
Users appreciate the amount of room this planner offers to write to-do lists and maintain reminders. This allows you to easily keep up with your bills, shopping, chores, and other details of your family’s life.
Finally, there is a place on this planner to keep all of your family’s important medical information so you can have it on hand if you need it in an emergency.
10. Best Planner for Creative Moms: The Reminder Binder
The Reminder Binder
The Reminder Binder is the best planner for moms who want a cheerful option that is artfully decorated. This planner makes it fun to get organized, as it was designed by an artist who is also a mom–so she understands how important it is to have an effective planner.
Each monthly calendar grid has cheerful accents and colorful stripes. There is a lot of space to make notes, as each two-page spread is 24” by 12”. This planner opens vertically and then offers horizontal daily planning space.
Every month includes a section for making lists, so you can make sure that you get everything that you need to finish accomplished. This planner comes in a top-selling format and has a section for reminders and contact numbers that is ideal for babysitters and caregivers to reference.
Final Thoughts on the Best Planners for Moms
There are so many benefits of using a planner, especially for busy moms who have a lot of schedules to keep up with. Any of the planners listed in this article will help you become more organized, relaxed, and take some stress off of your daily life.
And if you're looking for more resources to help you find the right planner, be sure to check out these articles:
- 35 Free Weekly Planner Template Printables
- 9 Best Study & Academic Planners for Students
- 10 Reasons Students Should Use a Paper Academic Year Planner
Finally, if you want to level up your productivity and time management skills, then watch this free video about the 9 productivity habits you can build at work.
Connie Stemmle is a professional editor, freelance writer and ghostwriter. She holds a BS in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her 4-year-old daughter, running, or making efforts in her community to promote social justice.
