Passion Planner Passion Highlighters for $20: If your planner could use a little color, I really like Passion Planner’s highlighter sets. They’re nice and thin-tipped to fit into slim planner lines, and I especially like the vintage colors for adding color without it feeling neon-bright. You can use the highlighters to organize your plans by type (I like to do red for work, blue for my kid, yellow for things like doctor’s appointments, and green for my social life) or color-code your class subjects like we used to do with ringed notebooks.
Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen for $34: I never understood the appeal of a fountain pen until I bought one. A properly smoothed fountain pen nib requires very little pressure to write with and seems to glide across the page with a soft, satisfying scratching sound. I know, I’m one of those people now. Much of my initial skepticism came from the perceived complexity of caring for and using a fountain pen, which is very much overblown. My favorite pen of the dozen I’ve tested is the Pilot Metropolitan with the fine nib. It’s easy to work with, taking either prefilled ink cartridges, which you can pop in and out without ever spilling any ink, or you can fill it yourself using a converter and the ink of your choice. I started off using the cartridges, but eventually my quest for a waterproof ink led me to the converter and this sketching ink. Once a week or so, I dip the Metropolitan nib in the bottle of ink and twist the converter to fill the chamber with ink—that’s all there is to it. Whichever fountain pen you find works best for you, you’ll find you’ll have a quite simply better writing experience. —Scott Gilbertson
Plum Paper Seasonal Stickers for $10: There are a lot of stickers out there you could use for your planners, but my favorites—especially for the holidays—are from Plum Paper. They’re beautiful and fun, and are mostly nice and small to fit into small lines or monthly charts without eating up the entire section. I like that there’s a mix of shapes and styles, and you can also shop stickers for themes like home, fitness, wellness, and baby milestones. You can even make your own custom stickers (starting at $12), which are only thick line-style stickers where you can customize the word and icon on them. Still, very handy!
Planner Alternatives
Not everyone needs or wants a rigid planner. If you just need daily to-do lists or are a fan of bullet journals, consider getting a great notebook instead.
Former WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey opts for a plain, lined notebook. After trying dozens, her favorite is the Midori MD Notebook with paper made from cotton pulp (just like money!). It comes in lined, unlined, or dot-grid. Grey says there’s just something meditative about turning over a blank page at the beginning of each week and carefully jotting down her schedule, plans, and workload. Midori’s notebooks are designed to fit inside notebook or journal covers (which you can find all over Etsy). The pages are a subtle off-white and have a weight and texture that draw you in.
WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson says he doesn’t use a planner, but each day he writes down the handful of things he’s going to do on a single 3-by-5 index card. The index card with this to-do list lives in his pocket, along with a small notebook in which he jots down notes throughout the day—often the source of the following day’s to-do list. The notebook and index cards fit inside this very cool waxed canvas notebook cover. Gilbertson says he copied this system from one of the most successful people he has known, and after nearly 20 years, it’s still better for him than any other system he’s tried. It’s cheap, lightweight, and easy to manage. —Medea Giordano
