Best Planners for Bloggers and Solopreneurs: Emily Ley Planner Review

(Last Updated On: December 28, 2017)

I’m excited to share my Emily Ley planner review with you! I’m a minimalist at heart, so the idea of a simplified planner caught my attention. But first, let me introduce myself: I’m a mama to two and a part-time blogger, so time is my most limited resource. As a result, I’m obsessed with time management, productivity, and planning.

Looking for a simple, minimalist planner to keep you organized? The EmilyLey #planner has you covered. Click through to check out my review and see a video walkthrough.

If you’re balancing a whole lot of work and personal responsibilities, you’ve come to the right place. In 2017, I bought 8 planners to test out and review. You’ll see links to all my other planner reviews below, or you can start planning your blog content using my free editorial calendar template.

This post includes affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something using my link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more on my disclosure page.

Other reviews in this series:

The Best Planners for 2018 (a round-up of my reviews for all the planners I tried)

Passion Planner

Day Designer

Erin Condren Life Planner

Productivity Planner

GoalDrvn Planner

Daily Greatness Business Planner

Best Self Journal

Commit30 Planner

Emily Ley Planner Review

The Emily Ley planners come in both daily and weekly editions. I bought the weekly edition so that I could compare it to some of the other weekly planners in my arsenal.

Overall, the planner felt very luxurious, but it was too “simplified” for my needs.

Care for a more detailed look? Check out my video review and walk-through here:

The Emily Ley Planner is a great option if:

  1. You want a classy, simple planner that will look professional at home and work.
  2. Portability is important to you. The Emily Ley planner is compact, so you’ll be able to stash it in your purse, briefcase, or diaper bag and use it on the go.
  3. You’re a minimalist planner. The Emily Ley planner has a simple design and very few “prompts.” If you like to write everything down or you have a busy schedule, you might not find enough space or structure here.

The Good:

The Emily Ley Simplified Planner feels truly classy. The cover is sumptuous, the pages are thick, and the printing and binding were top quality. If you want a planner that you won’t be embarrassed to leave out or bring to work, look no further.

Pen aficionados will love that fountain pens and other thick pens will glide across the page without bleeding through.

I love that you won’t get overwhelmed by this planner. Just looking at it makes me feel a little more pulled together and calm because there aren’t a dozen boxes to fill out on every page. If you tend to overplan, the Emily Ley planner might help you simplify.

The Bad:

The feminist side of me is a little offended that the only three things included in each day’s planning space are a to do list, blank space for writing appointments, and a box for meal planning. My husband does the cooking and meal planning at our house. I thought it was old-fashioned to assume that because I’m a woman, I must be planning dinner every night of the week.

Of course, if you are doing the meal planning at your house, this feature is useful! I just would have preferred a blank box that could be used for meal planning or some other task planning. Many people won’t be bothered by this, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

For me, this planner was also a little bit too small. I write big, and I like to write everything down. If you’re more of a minimalist, you’ll be fine!

Because the Emily Ley planner is designed to help you simplify, it’s not ideal for a blogger or solopreneur who wants to do business planning in a paper planner. I think you’d be better off with a planner like the Daily Greatness Business planner, or the GoalDrvn Planner to help you break down your goals and structure your day.

If you’ve got a planner, but you struggle to stick with the plan, check out Master Time Management, my FREE 5-day email course for bloggers and solopreneurs. Sign up below to learn how to stop the overwhelm and get more done every day.

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  • The Create Planner by Meera Kothand is the one I use for blogging and it is AH-MAZING. It’s the clearest, most focused planner I’ve found for bloggers.

    And I ADORE my KitLife.net planner for life/blogging/homeschooling all in one place. It really brings it all together.

    • Other people have recommended KitLife to me. I need to check that one out next. And I have Meera’s Create planner too! It’s SO good. I just haven’t had time to review it, otherwise it would be up here. 🙂