The best daily planner for entrepreneurs

I have always enjoyed being organized. I suppose it comes from how my mother raised me. We were taught to always have things in order at home. So much so that I joking refer to her house as a museum. Everything is in place, in order, where it should be, and at all times. I carried that level of organization over into my professional career. Where I haven’t been consistent is with the type of daily planner that I have over the years.

My vote for the best daily planner for entrepreneurs

Rest assured that if a new solution came to the market I tried it out. Remember the classic Day Planners? I used that sort of daily planner for years and years. When technology had advanced to the point that electronic daily planners began displacing paper, remember Palm Pilots, I started trying those solutions out. You could say that I had DPI, or daily planner indecision.

The good news is that I am recovering from DPI. I think.

So, today I want to share with you three solutions that I have used in the recent past and what I liked or disliked about them. One thing that I am still struggling with is whether I prefer a paper daily planner or an electronic version. To that point, I’d love to here your comments on that subject (paper or electronic). Finally, one more note. I have linked to each of these products. They are not affiliate links and I am not being compensated to share them.

Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt

I shared this daily planner first because it is the one I am currently using. I have been using it for about six months now. I have to admit that my first go around with this planner is what hooked me on using it since I had a super productive quarter.

What I like about it:

• This planner introduced the concept of a “habit tracker” to me
• Each planner is meant to be used for only one-quarter of a year
• It includes various templates (Goals, Daily Rituals, a Weekly Review, and a Daily schedule with tasks) that help you stay focused
• Each day has a full page Notes section

What I think it is missing:

• Paper is never searchable
• Although it could be used for some personal matters, it feels like it leans heavily toward a professional planner
• The cost — this planner is the most expensive of the other two options I will be mentioning

Next Level Planner by Next Level Daily

I bought this planner before I was finished with my most recent Full Focus Planner. So, I have not used it yet. But the Instagram Ad gods were pretty smart and fed it to me at the right time. I actually bought two. The first was already cheaper than my Full Focus Planner and they then offered me a 40% discount to purchase a second planner.

What I like about it:

• The cost was less, partially due to a sales discount and then subsequent purchase discount
• It has a section to help you focus on life balance
• It nicely balances personal and professional planning
• The habit tracker is built into each day’s plan

What I think it is missing:

• Not enough space for taking notes in your planner each day
• There is a vision section, but no actual goals planning section

The BOSS Daily Planner

I bought this planner yesterday. This one is an electronic planners were pretty smart and fed it to me at the right time. I actually bought two. The first was already cheaper than my Full Focus Planner and they then offered me a 40% discount to purchase a second planner.

What I like about it:

• The cost — since I can duplicate the document in my notes app I can reuse this planner over and over until infinity
• I’m not “killing trees”
• Just about everything you would need is in one document (Daily, Weekly, Monthly notes plus a habit tracker, goal setter, and more)
• Its searchable

What I think it is missing:

• You have to purchase a separate app to be able to use the planner on a smart device. The company recommends either GoodNote or Notability
• Scrolling between tabs is tough, at least for me since I am using it through Notepad +
• Writing on a smart device doesn’t feel as good as paper
• Since the file contains everything you need for a year it has a lottt of tabs to flip through

So, which is the best daily planner?

Since I am the type person that likes to consolidate everything into one place my plan is to use up all of my paper planners, that will take me about nine months, and then switch to the electronic BOSS planner. While writing on an electronic device doesn’t feel the same as paper, I like the idea of having everything in one place at a much lower cost. The BOSS planner cost me $26 and will last forever. Since it will handle all of my planning needs I just don’t feel it is a smart use of my money to spend hundreds of dollars a year on a paper planner. Plus, the search functionality of an electronic planner is critical for me since I regularly revisit old entries.