Planner aficionados and devotees alike have most likely found themselves seriously deliberating between the superbly functional Michaels Happy Planner and the first-rate Erin Condren Life Planner.
For the established planner enthusiast, determining the planner best suited for everyday individualized use is a crucial matter of utmost importance.
A plethora of planners are constantly being tried and tested.While a lot of good planners exist, only few have proven themselves to be consistently great. After sifting through the substantial strata, the Michaels Happy Planner and the Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner continue to firmly hold their places at the very top of the planner pyramid.
Happy Planner vs Erin Condren – Truly Noteworthy
Both planners are aesthetically appealing, have distinctly unique features and have proven integrity and stature. So, how does the planner enthusiast go about choosing between the two biggest names in the industry?
The Basics and The Aesthetics
The careful and mindful management of your time is most likely a vital element of your life if you are a planner person. Your planner’s timeline should reflect your own individual needs and the way in which you tend to structure your life. You work hard at keeping things together and organized.
It is important to remember that your planner works with you in this way! It is easy to become stumped when trying to choose between these two wonderful planners. They’re both similar in their layout which includes weekly and monthly time displays.
As far as the expanse of their timelines is concerned, the Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner has the option of a twelve-month OR and eighteen-month time span, whereas the Michaels Happy Planner comes only with the eighteen-month dated option.
- How long will you be using this planner for?
- Is it for a specific event or a specific job?
- Or do you seek a planner specifically designed for the management of your very important regular, routine activities?
If seeking a planner for general day-to-day use such as keeping track of errands, your children’s various activities, or even checking off your many homework tasks for school, the classic Happy Planner would prove itself very worthy of fulfilling these functions for you as it exists in the standard classic or the student version.
On the other hand, if you need a planner constructed for a particular job or an event, the Erin Condren may be something to consider as it offers a distinct wedding planner or even a teacher’s planner in addition to it’s generic but also versatile common-use planner.
Aesthetically, one cannot lose when selecting between these two very well designed planners. Where the classic Michaels Happy Planner triumphs is in its vibrant, inspirationally themed planners.
Depending on what you need to give impetus to your inner sense of motivation or what you seek as far as an emotional appeal, the Happy Planner can provide you with the quotes, phrases, and artwork to keep you perpetually inspired and interested as you work through your tasks.
These vibrant, inspirational words and artwork spread thoughtfully throughout the Happy Planner keeps things interesting and, well, happy! To top it off, it is designed with a laminated cover, so whether it’s in a backpack or travels with you a lot from place to place, it is likely to be kept protected and remains intact.
Even so, the Erin Condren offers customizable covers with a vellum overlay sheet. The designs this planner offers range from lively florals to geometric patterns to calming plant-inspired themes. Artistically, the options this planner provides are very extensive.
The covers for this planner are also interchangeable, so if you get tired of one or are someone who likes to keep things constantly changing and interesting, this planner may very well be for you.
The versatility of the Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner cannot be beaten whereas the vibrant artwork provided in the Happy Planner is genuinely unmatched.
As far as special offerings and features are concerned, the Michaels Happy Planner stickers make it that much easier for you to customize your planner and make space absolutely your own.
The Happy Planner provides a plethora of stickers for you to choose from. There are stickers for students, for teachers, for different personality preferences, and for all of the various seasons.
These stickers have been specially crafted to fit on the pages of the Happy Planner, which dimensions are 7.75″ x 9.75″. While these separate sticker packs are not included in the base price of the Happy Planner, adding on only fifteen or twenty bucks for some very fun stickers may well be worth it if you will use them frequently or if you are a sticker fan.
- The Erin Condren also comes with extras, such as stickers, yet they are included in the overall price of the planner. However, these sticker sheets may not be as involved or as personalized as the ones the Happy Planner offers.
- On the other hand, the LifePlanner also comes with a bookmark, a folder, and a storage pouch.These additions may be extremely useful if you are someone who plans to accumulate a lot of papers that will need to be carried with you throughout the day.
- Additionally, this planner offers a sundry of dimensions ranging from 5″x8″, 7″x9″, 8″x10″, and 8.5″x11″. However, not all of the sizes come with all the additional aforementioned features.
- To make this planner even more appealing to the individual desiring a truly custom-built one-of-a-kind planner, The Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner also offers vertical, horizontal and hourly layouts.
Summary: Erin Condren
Getting down to the knitty gritty, as far as the binding of these planners goes, the Erin Condren can come in coiled or hardbound, depending on the size selected for purchase. Also, this planner’s paperweight weighs in at 118gsm, which may be on the heavier side if you’re someone who prefers to travel with a lighter load.
Finally, the cost of the planner may be what makes or breaks it for you if you are honestly someone who has found themselves oscillating back and forth between the two famed planners. The accomplished Erin Condren, with its custom covers, its custom layouts and its appealing extras has a price tag of about fifty-five sixty bucks (give or take a few) depending on what size planner you decide to choose or what add on’s or customizable features you have selected to include (if any).
Summary: the Happy Planner
The binding on the Happy Planner is disc bound, which has apparently proven themselves to be pretty lasting and durable as the smaller coiled planners sometimes bend or become detached. Much like the LifePlanner, the Happy Planner also offers monthly and weekly layouts in a horizontal format. You may still find yourself asking how do I choose just one?
Still, the charismatic Happy Planner with its solid cover, its creative art displays, and its top-notch sticker choices commands a price of approximately thirty bucks, which may be more appealing to you if you’re not looking to shell out an extremely large amount of dough for your planner. Compared to the Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner, the Happy Planner benefits include its functionality, its easy handling and its practical convenience. On the contrary, it does not offer as many cover options or designs as does the Erin Condren LifePlanner.
The LifePlanner surely succeeds in its affinity for customizability. Even so, where the Happy Planner wins big is in its spotlight on creativity and continual inspiration. With its quotes, pictures and themes, this planner’s offerings and add on’s may truly spice up one’s life and possibly make planning akin to the art or hobby of scrapbooking.
Final Notes on The Happy Planner vs the Erin Condren Coiled Life Planner
Choosing between these two planners is like choosing between the classic or the classy. Ultimately, these planners can likely be made to accommodate anyone’s particular preferences. So, choosing the “right”, the “best”, or the “perfect” planner is totally up to the individual to determine for himself or herself.
For the heavy-duty planner, the Erin Condren may be more appealing because its’ customizability and subsequent versatility may propel itself towards the title of the more professional planner. It does have more designs than the Happy Planner, so if you need options or are simply just looking for more, this planner may be the right choice for you.
Someone who needs a functional (but also fun!) planner may be more comfortable selecting the Happy Planner for their intended use. Conclusively, the Erin Condren Life Planner may be the planner the business-person, teacher, or special event planner finds right for them.
The Happy Planner may be preferred by the scrapbooker, the student, or the individual looking for a less expensive but also quality planner. The Happy Planner also provides an additional page assigned to each month; this may be helpful for the avid notetaker or frequent shopper.
Both of these planners continue to remain the best of the best. Both are aesthetically appealing and offer different perks for different people. Select the planner best for your own individual needs.
