BATTLE of the PLANNERS feat. The Planner You WISH You Knew About

It's that time of year again to pick out a planner! Many companies just released their 2016-2017 academic planners, which go from July through June, including one company you probably have never heard of - Blue Sky Planners. These incredible (and I really mean incredible) planners are sold both online and at your nearest Target store, and they make keeping track of everything you have to do as a busy college student a total breeze. I've used these planners consistently for the past 6 years or so, and I swear by the quality and the price (can you say under $15!!!). Last year I even bought a Lilly Pulitzer agenda and had so many #ragrets because I didn't like it as much as my trusty Blue Sky planner. While we're at it, help me decide which of these two planners you think is best for next year in the comments below! Now let's break it down: 

This first style is the traditional Blue Sky planner. This particular cover design is by the company Dabney Lee - Blue Sky always partners with the most amazing brands! I love that this planner has a plastic pocket for a cover. It makes it super easy to hold random papers, forms, or photos that you might want to keep handy.

NOTE: Both of the planners I'm looking at today are the 5x8 size. Blue Sky planners come in lots of different sizes, as big as 8.5x11 and as small as 3x6! All through middle and high school I used the 8.5x11 size and it was perfect (so many classes, so much homework). Now that I'm in college, I like using the smaller 5x8 size because it's less bulky to carry around.

The inside of this planner is really great! Each month starts with a monthly calendar layout, proceeded by weekly pages. There is so much space to write down all your assignments! One of the big reasons why I started using Blue Sky planners in the first place was because I couldn't find any others that had as many lines for writing! There is more than enough room to write down everything that you need for each day, with extra to spare. You can also customize this space however you like with stickers, post it notes, or fun doodles.

This second planner I want to talk about is one of the most EXCITING collabs I think has ever happened. Day Designer, the super popular new planner and life organizer, released a collection last year with Blue Sky, and they decided to do the same this year!

There are so many planners to choose from in this collection, but I opted for the daily planner with the navy stripes. Of course, it's a bit thicker, and therefore bulkier to carry around in my tote or backpack, but I think that the features included make it well worth it.

It looks just like the normal Day Designer except this one only costs $11.99 at Target!! Major heart eyes. Seriously, run to your closest Target before these sell out, because they're gonna go fast.

Just like the normal Blue Sky planners, each month has a monthly spread followed by weekly, or daily, pages. The only difference between the normal weekly spread and these daily pages for Day Designer is that each daily page is laid out slightly different, in accordance with the Day Designer layout.

For every weekday, there is a Top Three section, as well as a motivational quote to start things off. The two middle sections are broken down into Schedule and To Do, one with times and the other checkboxes, so that you can keep track of every little thing you're doing throughout the day, and then check it off when it's complete (does anyone else get serious satisfaction from doing this?). The bottom two boxes are marked off for Tonight and Gratitude, which I especially like. I'm in such a high stress environment at school, that it's very important for me to take a moment and recall all the good things too. 

For the weekends, a single page is divided between both days. Once again there is a quote at the top of the page, alongside a checklist for Fun Things to do that weekend. Then, there is a schedule for both Saturday and Sunday, and the bottom boxes are for Next Week and a Don't Forget! 

I have to say, I really love the Day Designer collaboration with Blue Sky, but I have no clue whether or not I will like having my days laid out in a schedule or just nice blank lines to fill in however I please. Which would you pick? Comment down below! Also check out some other fun planners here: