Clever Fox Planner Daily – Best Agenda & Daily Calendar to Boost Productivity & Hit Your Goals – Gratitude Journal Personal Daily Organizer – 14.5x21cm, Lasts 6 Months, Undated, Periwinkle

One major downside of working from home is too much time flexibility and the inherent potential for distraction and procrastination. I found that by 10am every morning I was worn out from having planned and re-planned my day, checking in on social media to distract myself, loading the washing machine when I should have been working, and generally wasting too much mental energy on indecisiveness around silly inconsequential stuff.After pondering planner/organiser apps for a few months I began researching how other freelancers had successfully pinned down how to create a routine out of a messy and unpredictable work and domestic life combo. I found really helpful reviews for a couple of planners but Clever Fox seemed to be the favourite by a clear margin.The pro's:It's beautiful. It feels special (so soft...). It's vibrant sitting there on the desk, and it screams "Use me to make every moment count. You complete me!"It's expensive. Yes, that is a pro. I'm damned sure I'm not going to spend that amount on a planner and leave it gathering dust in a drawer. The expense (ok, and the speshulness) keeps me accountable and encourages me to use it.Speaking of accountability, it's made me realise how much time I waste. Time I could be working, cuddling my dogs (It's become an important daily habit, good for the nervous system, relaxing, inspires creativity), doing fun stuff. I make sure I adhere as closely to the plan as possible and my productivity has increased, as has my newfound ability to take some chill time, guilt-free (it's perfect for achieving a work/life balance).It's removed the brain-ache of "what should i do next out of this massive list" - i've already decided the night before, and anything new or forgotten that comes up I add to next day's "to do" list.It makes you think of other important stuff like making time to see people.There's space to review your week and make notes - something I didn't think I would use, but it's really useful to refer back when planning the following week.There are so many features that I won't go into here, but it's really freed up a lot of headspace for me personally. My decisions for the following day are made at the end of each day when it's less overwhelming, and starting your day knowing that it's planned out for you is what has really worked for me. It's a lovely little piece of kit for anyone who needs to free up some headspace, time and energy.

I really like this planner. I have been using it for about a week and I am very happy with it. The layout is very easy to use, intuitive, and you still have a lot of choice as to the content you include in your sections. You can have a more work oriented or social/sport oriented goal for your day, for example. I find this helps me achieve more balance in my life, because it makes me think more in terms of "what do I want to achieve today?" and not just "what work problem do I need to solve tomorrow first thing?" At the same time, it is a planner, not a pre-printed bullet journal, which I appreciate. There is space for more than daily planning, but it is nor filled with pages of superfluous things which you'll never have time to fill. Just enough.The cover is sturdy and nice to touch and the paper is very good quality, which I appreciate since I usually write with coloured inks.

This planner is really great quality and an ideal gift. It comes in cellophane with a separate instructions booklet inside a quality lidded box which is also in cellophane. As a gift, I highly recommend it.As a planner, I thought I’d love it. I wanted to love it. But I don’t.Pros:- lovely soft padded cover- monthly/weekly/daily planning sections- quality paper so your writing doesn’t show through on the reverse- good sized pocket inside the back cover- elastic pen holderCons:- daily planning section splits the day into two side-by-side halves so you can’t easily block out a chunk of time (if you have to work 9-5 for instance)- to-do list sections are too small- the three ribbon bookmarks are almost the same shade of blue which doesn’t make it easy to find your section in a flash- the sticker sheets don’t fit in the pocket- no interest in the pages devoted to affirmations and gratitudes (I overwrote those titles to use them for 90 Day Goals)- HEAVY. Too heavy to be a portable planner which was why I chose an A5 size in the first placeSummary: great quality, layout needs tweaking, desk planner not a portable one

I've used my planner for a week and so far I'm quite pleased with it. It looks really nice, and I like the layout. It helps you narrow down your focus each day - your main goal, priorities, to-do list and schedule is on one page, so you don't have to flip around. This information is available at a glance so that checking your planner several times a day is more effective. The three ribbon markers help prevent the faff of flipping around - I use them to mark the month, week, and day.I chose the daily because, as someone with ADHD/dyslexia, I have difficulty with executive function and I just don't seem to experience time the way others do. Being able to "see" my day helps keep me on track.It is a little more expensive than the other planners I considered. But the quality is very good - very sturdy with thick paper - so I didn't mind.