Using the right planner makes a difference in how productive your day goes. If you choose the wrong planner, you will find yourself not using it. It takes trial and error for most people to discover what type of planner works best for them.
Weekly or daily format?Small or large? Ring bound or permanent bound? The Clever Fox Planner and Panda Planner are both A5 sized planners with a permanent binding.
Important factors you’ll consider to make a choice are whether you need a weekly or daily format and how much space you need for planning each day.
Clever Fox Planner Features and Overview
The Clever Fox Planner is the best student planner for people who don’t have a lot of homework. It’s also suitable for adults and students who prefer tackling their goals from a weekly perspective since it is an undated weekly planner.
There is no daily section, so you won’t feel overwhelmed. You can simply focus on the same two weekly overview pages during the week to finish your primary weekly goals. It has a monthly section as well so you can get a bird’s eye view of the month ahead. Schedule in important exams and project due dates here.
- Time: 12 months
- Dated or Undated: Undated
- Number of Pages: 200
- Size: A5
- Binding: Permanent
- Paper weight: 120 gsm
- Cover Type: Hardcover
- Extras: Three sticker sheets, attached pen loop, 100% recycled paper, three ribbon bookmarks, pocket folder inside back cover
Students can sometimes find themselves distracted by social media, YouTube, or other things. The Clever Fox Planner has a “things to avoid” section in the monthly section where you can remind yourself what you need to avoid getting distracted by while working to accomplish your goals and get good grades.
You can also write up to three ideas for improvement during your monthly review.
This planner works based on the concept that you can accomplish more by committing to less. Many people find themselves overwhelmed with long to-do lists. If that sounds like you, then you may find the Clever Fox the right match for your needs.
Vision Board: This planner has a two-page vision board in the front of the planner. You can use it to paste small pictures that represent what you want to attract into your life for the year.
Artists may choose to draw what they want to accomplish that year in the space as well. Be as creative as you want in creating your mini vision board.
Reward: This planner has a space for writing what your reward will be if you accomplish your main goal for the week. Some people have found that positive reinforcement in the form of little rewards for accomplishing their goals is helpful in increasing their productivity and keeping them on track.
Habit Tracker: The weekly planner pages have a habit tracker that you can use to check off or bubble in when you’ve completed each habit you’re trying to build. There is a circular bubble for each day of the week.
Dot Paper: In the back of the planner, you’ll find plenty of dot paper where you can take notes, brainstorm, plan projects, or do whatever else you find helpful in organizing your life and working toward your goals.
“How to Use” is Separate: The suggestions and examples for how to use the planner are included on a card that comes in the box with your planner. Most planners take up a few pages of space in the planner itself with this information.
We like that this planner frees up space in the planner itself by placing it on a separate card. You can glance at the card for ideas when you’re filling out your planner the first few times rather than flipping back and forth between pages.
Small Space: The biggest drawback to the Clever Fox is minimal space for writing what you need to get done during the week. If you have a lot of important tasks to write down, then this may not be the planner for you.
For people going through a period in their life with a smaller work load, the Clever Fox is a better choice than daily planners like the Panda Planner. Those with heavy work loads often find daily planners more suitable.
Bottom Line
The Clever Fox complements a minimalist lifestyle. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time planning each day, then this planner is a good choice. It functions with a weekly format, so you will be staring at the same two pages for the whole week.
Some people find this helps them focus better on their priorities for the week. Although there isn’t as much space for planning each day as in the Panda Planner, it can be viewed as a positive if you want to have laser focus on what’s most important.
Panda Planner Features and Overview
The Panda Planner is the best student planner for focusing on one quarter at a time. According to the makers of Panda Planner, some studies have shown that tackling short-term goals in a three-month period boosts productivity.
This makes it even more ideal for students who are focusing on doing their best each quarter of the school year. It works well for professionals as well. They can zero in on their short-term goals three months at a time.
By the end of the year, they will have likely accomplished the main goals of the year thanks to this helpful system for maximizing productivity.
- Time: 3 months
- Dated or Undated: Undated
- Number of Pages: N/a
- Size: A5
- Binding: Permanent
- Paper weight: 120 gsm
- Cover Type: Hardcover
- Extras: Eco-friendly, three ribbon bookmarks
In addition to being a science-based system for goal achievement, the planner was created by someone who was suffering from traumatic brain injury, lyme disease, and cancer.
He developed the planner as a way of helping him put his life back together. Principles of positive psychology and neuroscience research guided the creation of this planner.
The format of the planner consists of a monthly, weekly, and daily section. Each time period has a section for reflection and planning. It helps keep you highly organized and focused on your goals.
The format can make it easier for breaking down your goals into even smaller steps. When planning your day, you can flip to your weekly plan to ensure you’re staying on track and getting down the most important tasks.
Scientifically-Based System: Standard planners pale in comparison to those that are scientifically-based and geared at accomplishing your goals in the most productive way possible.
The design of this planner includes space for writing what you’re grateful for, what you’re excited about, how you’ll improve, and affirmations.
Morning Review: You start the day off right with the morning review that includes gratitude, anticipation, affirmations, focus, and exercise.
It serves as a good complement to your morning routine. And if you don’t have a morning routine yet, it’s easy to start one when you use this planner. Practicing gratitude daily, as this planner encourages, helps you become happier, reduce stress, improve relationships, and make progress toward goals.
Ebooks and Video Mini-Course: One of the top benefits of the Panda Planner is it comes with free ebooks and a video mini-course you can access online. They send you the link to the website where you can access the free content with the planner shipment.
The free content is on positive psychology, happiness, productivity, and goal accomplishment. Whether you are new to this or not, you will find a nugget of helpful information in their online content.
Short: One of the downsides of this daily planner is it only has space for three months, which makes it more expensive since you have to buy 3-4 planners during the year. It costs twenty five bucks for one planner, so for a year, you’re looking at one hundred bucks. The Clever Fox planner is more affordable, lasting for a full 12 months.
Cost: People who are new to planning may not want to spend amount of money on a three-month planner if they don’t know yet what type of format works best for them.
Some people thrive on weekly planners, whereas others need the depth of a daily planner. It depends on your personality and current life circumstances.
Time: It will take more time to use this planner compared to weekly planners like Clever Fox. That’s because it’s a combination of a monthly, weekly, and daily planner with each category including reflections and goal planning. Some people find it overwhelming.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Panda Planner is a great undated planner to use over a three-month period. It’s excellent for breaking down short-term goals into smaller steps and double checking that you’re scheduling the most important steps each day and week for accomplishing your top five goals of the year.
The downside is it’s on the expensive side for a planner. If you stick with it for the course of the year, it will cost you four times as much. It will take more time to fill out compared to a weekly planner too. Those who want to spend the least amount of time on planning their days may find weekly planners like Clever Fox a better match.
Insights and Takeaways
We think the Clever Fox is a better planner than the Panda Planner because it allows for more creativity and keeps you focused on the most important tasks to accomplish during the week. You will save a lot of time in the long-run thanks to the minimalist weekly format in comparison to the more in-depth daily format of the Panda Planner.
The vision board is another feature that won us over. If you like taking your planner with you everywhere you go or you use it at school, then it’s nice being able to view your vision board from your seat.
No planner works for all people, so take your needs and personality into consideration. Don’t be afraid to try different formats until you discover which works best for you.
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