How to Find the Best Planner for Your Purse?

How to find the best planner for your purse

Are you looking for a recommendation for a planner that will fit in your purse? If so, you are in luck because I am going to give you some insight into the way I think about portable planners and planning on the go and hopefully give you some ideas on the best type of planner to keep with you in your bag. Whether you are toting your planner to and from the office, you are taking it with you to run errands, or you work from a mobile office scenario, there are plenty of reasons why you might be concerned about getting the right planner to fit inside your purse or briefcase! So, let’s get started by identifying your specific needs!

Do you need to bring your planner with you?

Obviously, the reason we are discussing the best planner for your purse is because you think you need to bring your planner around with you. But ask yourself, do you really need your planner with you or do you simply want to bring it with you? I love my planners as much as the next planner addict and for a long time I would tote that thing around in a big bag so I could have it by my side, just in case I needed it! I imagined myself sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office or at lunch with my husband, making notes and plans in the downtime, writing a grocery list, or generating new blog post or video ideas. But the truth was, I rarely ever pulled the planner out of my bag to do anything but admire it. Sitting in a waiting room at the dr’s office isn’t very conducive for taking notes. I always have a hard time writing in my planner when I’m not sitting at a desk or table and inevitably any notes I made while just sitting would end up looking like chicken scratch and my type A brain would make me re-write the list when I got home. Even at lunch, I might pull my planner out for a moment, but tuck it back into my bag worried that a drink or condiment might spill on it at the table. Point is, I carried around that planner for months and months before I realized it was just dead weight in my bag. Sure, I do have times occasionally when I do need to bring my planner out with me, but those occasions are few and far between. It stays in my office where it is safe and whenever I have information I may need to bring with me, like a shopping list, I pull that list page out of my planner and put it in my pocket or wallet so I have it with me. When I’m out and about and have an idea, I open up a notes application on my phone or send myself an email. So, think about it. Do you really need that planner with you? Be honest with yourself!

What exactly do you need with you?

Okay, so you if you got this far and you are sure you need your planner with you on the go, the next step to figuring out the best planner for your bag is to understand what exactly you need with you. Does your whole planner need to come with you, or can you use a more portable planner as a little sidekick in your purse? I am not a fan of the two planner system, but I do see situations where it can be useful. If you are someone who works at an office and you bring your planner to and from work with you, it may be a good idea for you to just keep a separate planner at work, particularly if you work at a job where you do not take your work home with you. If your work obligations end as soon as you leave the office, perhaps keeping a separate planner at work would be easier than toting one back and forth. Perhaps you are someone who keeps perfect records of their finances and expenses and you need a small planner to keep in your bag to track spending, make shopping lists, and note the occasional address? Having a pocket sized planner that doubles as a wallet may be a good supplement without having to take a larger planner with you. Finally, maybe you are someone who can make due with one smaller planner for everything in their life. A personal sized planner tends to fit in a variety of purses and many people make do with that size on a daily basis. Consider what you need this portable planner for and how much you really need with you to avoid carrying around unnecessary information and weight.

What is your everyday purse style?

Now, the final point we need to cover to determine the best planner for your purse is what style purse you actually carry. If you are a professional who works from a mobile office and needs everything with them from their hour by hour schedule, project notes, client information- the works – you probably already carry a large tote bag or briefcase that a larger planner would fit into. But, if you are used to a shoulder bag or cross body type, you will need to find a portable planner that fits into your smaller bag or resolve to carry a larger tote. Also, does your bag tend to be messy or orderly? The state of the interior of your bag will determine whether or not you need a zippered planner like this beauty from Kate Spade or if you should perhaps consider keeping your planner in it’s own storage bag to keep from damage. Many spiral or coil style planners like the MAMBI Happy Planner may need extra coverage in a purse because they lack protection- nothing is worse than the edges of your planner cover and pages bending or ripping. These are things to think about when choosing the best planner for your bag.

Making the best fit

Here are some things to consider when choosing the best planner for your purse. Keep in mind, these opinions are just from my own experience, but hopefully they will help you come to a decision about the best planner for your purse!

• Pocket sized planners tend to fit in a variety of smaller bags and can double as a wallet if you need to save space in your bag.
• Personal sized planners also work in many common styles of handbag and can also double as your everyday planner so no need to split up information.
• A5 sized planners and larger would require a large tote or briefcase.
• Softcover and/or spiral planners should be kept in their own storage bag or in their own compartment if being transported in a purse or briefcase.
• Filofax planners tend to be on the slimmer side as opposed to Kikki K planners which are often wider, puffier and have larger rings.
• If your planner will be on the go often, opt for a zipper style closure as opposed to a button or elastic closure that leaves the edges of your planner exposed.
• Keep in mind the material of your planner, some leathers are extremely durable and easy to clean in comparison to vegan leather options, and cloth exteriors are also difficult to keep clean if they are being handled in a variety of locations.
• Charms or embellished paperclips that stick out of your planner may be a bad idea for your on the go planner as they can get easily damaged in transport.

Other resources

• How to get started with a Filofax Style Planner
• What’s in my portable pen pouch
• How to make reusable to-do lists for your planner
• How to archive a paper planner

I hope this post helped you to determine the best planner for your purse! Obviously, this post was designed to help you figure out first and foremost whether or not you need to bring your planner with you on the go, so hopefully you have some clarity on that going forward and can make the best choice for you! Of course, if you do decide on a on-the-go planner, I’d love to see your selection, so make sure to take a picture, post it to Twitter or Instagram, tag me @MissTrenchoat and use #CharmedGTD in your description so others in the community can get inspiration from your planner as well!

xoxo,