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It’s the Erin Condren LifePlanner Launch this week, and I’m so excited to be able to show you the Colorful Layers Hourly LifePlanner along with some of the new accessories that will be available starting this week!
The new 2023-2024 Erin Condren LifePlanner is now available! Read more…
I’m so thankful to the Erin Condren Team for providing me with the new 2020-2021 LifePlanner and accessories to review for you!
Erin Condren LifePlanner Designs & Options
It’s the best time of the planner year: when Erin Condren releases their new planners for the coming year!
And this year is double special because there are two beautiful options for interior designs to choose from; Layers and Flower Power.
Inside the LifePlanner you can choose between three options for your weekly planning pages:
- Vertical
- Horizontal
- Hourly
Each of these options also comes with a monthly calendar page, two lined notes pages per month (and some in the back), and a flex dashboard page for additional planning and notes.
Each planner is customizable by choosing and personalizing your cover, your layout, and your coil color.
The standard coil is Platinum, but for an upcharge you can swap it out with either Gold, Rose Gold, or Black.
My 2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner that I get to show you today is a Colorful Hourly layout in the Layers design, and I chose a black coil.
And I have to mention that the pictures will not do this planner justice! The beautiful colors in the Layers pattern are so, so vibrant and beautiful!
Layers Signature Design
I think Erin Condren does a great job with their signature design every year, but I honestly have to say that I think Layers is my favorite ever.
The beautiful swirls and colors remind me of geodes, and the message behind the design really resonated with me.
It reminds me that the small things we do consistently are the things that create our foundation.
When we build good habits, we are creating a foundation that is strong and can support us during every day, and during hard times.
Outside the LifePlanner
Each coiled 2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner comes with a storage box. This year the box has the beautiful Mid-Century Circles Design in light blue and foiled silver.
The quality of the box has greatly been improved since last year. It is the same style with a slide in cover, but the cover has been reinforced and is much sturdier.
I love these boxes for holding things like the EC gift labels, coupons, and quote cards. I have a second box that I use to hold all my extra interchangable covers.
Inside the LifePlanner
If you’re anything like me, you probably want more pictures than words. I’ll try to answer the basics, but I wanted to be sure to have tons of pictures for you!
In the Beginning
I love that Erin Condren always has this vellum overlay in the front of the LifePlanner! It just makes me happy every time, in every design. And of course Layers is no exception!
And the beautiful quote spread in the beginning of the LifePlanner.
I’ve seen people do so many creative things with this year at a glance calendar page. Having it to reference comes in handy so many times! My favorite thing to do is mark future holidays, especially those with changing dates (like Easter and Thanksgiving).
I love using these colorful transparent dot stickers over the dates.
Monthly Calendar
One of my favorite things I love about the colorful versions are the colorful tabs. I can associate the color tab with the month and easily flip to the right place.
And speaking of flipping to the right place…
One of the many improvements made to the LifePlanner this year is that the tab now flips open to the monthly page instead of the dashboard spread!
I was worried that in order to do this they would take out the dashboard pages. Instead, they just switched the order so the dashboard is now after the monthly spread!
There were also some changes made to the Dashboard planning spread. Among my favorite is that the notes page on the left is actually a lined notes page! Of all the note pages styles, lined is my favorite. Mostly I’m thrilled that they got rid of the awkward page with the colorful border around a completely blank section.
Other changes made to this page was to take out the structure of the sections on the right side. The top two sections used to be labeled “Birthdays” and “Goals” and now are blank. I saw more people altering the use of these sections than I saw using them for what they were intended. Having them blank gives the flexibility for everyone to create what they need.
Weekly Layout
When I started using an hourly a few months ago (switched from a vertical), I was just so grateful for lines that I didn’t care how big they were. And I don’t really plan by the time slots anyway, so the time range doesn’t matter to me.
But…
I know a ton of people were really disappointed about losing the half hour lines.
And this year they are back! Which I have to admit, I really love having the thinner lines. Sometimes it was hard to put in all that I needed to get done during the day, so having more lines is really helpful!
I also love that they kept the shaded box at the bottom. That space is perfect to put in something that you want to distinguish from the rest of the day. It also feels really balanced having color at both the top and the bottom.
In the Back
Notes Pages
There are 11 lined notes pages!! It’s my dream come true! We’ve already talked about my obsession for lined notes pages, and I was thrilled to see that ALL the notes in the back are lined!
Last year was a mix of lined, dot grid, coloring pages, and a hexagon page that no one really seemed to know what to do with. So now not only is it all lined (sorry to all the dot grid fans), but there are a ton of notes pages! In all fairness, it’s probably the same amount of pages. But it seems so much more functional to me having them all lined.
Contacts Page
One page they did keep (okay, and the next one too), is the contacts page. I know we all have numbers in our phones, but I love using this for addresses. Especially the addresses of all my planner friends.
Future Planning Calendar
This is another page that they have still kept in the2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner. It is a great page for anything that you know is coming up in the next year. It makes it so easy to transfer events to your next LifePlanner.
Stickers
In the back of the 2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner there are 4 sheets of foiled stickers. There are some decorative, but most are functional. Also, starting last year they made the stickers from the back of the planner available for sale separately (and I have some to show you later on in this post). So if you love the neutral stickers, but want a colorful planner, you can have both.
Can we just talk about how pretty the layers design looks on stickers! I also love that they kept the hexagons.
Folder/Perpetual Calendar
The last thing in each 2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner is a folder and a perpetual calendar. The new Layers design is gorgeous on the folder.
Let’s Talk Planner Accessories
I also have some of the new Layers planner accessories to show you. I love the Layers pattern on everything! It really is one of my favorite designs!
Layers Designer Sticker Book
Every year Erin Condren comes out with a new sticker book that matches the new signature design. Since they have two designs this year (Layers and Flower Power) there are actually two new sticker books.
These pictures are from the Layers collection. The stickers include a variety of paper types. Regular matte paper and the clear stickers have been in previous books, but this year they also added two sheets of washi stickers.
There are 12 sheets of stickers total, which is the same as in previous years.
LifePlanner Stickers
I mentioned these stickers earlier. They are the same stickers as the ones that come in the back of the LifePlanners. I have them in the Colorful Layers version, but you can also get them in Layers neutral and Flower Power.
Designer Pen
I love pens. I have hundreds of pens… on my desk. Last year Erin Condren released a high quality ball point pen with the Kaleidoscope design. This year they brought back the pen again in the new designs, Layers and Flower Power.
It is a heavy weight pen and feels good to hold. Although it is a ballpoint and not a gel (my favorite), it writes really smoothly and dark (it has black ink), without skipping.
Plus it comes in the prettiest box!
Snap-in StylizedSticky Notes
These are the prettiest sticky notes! I love the variety of sizes and designs, especially the longer lined sticky notes. But my favorite features is that they can snap right into your planner.
There are 9 pads of sticky notes, with 20 in each stack (180 total).
I also just have to point out that the cardstock backing that comes in the package is absolutely gorgeous. I will find something to do with it because it is just too pretty to throw away!
Snap-in Wet Erase Layers Dashboard
The Wet Erase Dashboards are so great for adding extra space to your week. One side has a lined section for priorities and a checklist for things to do. On the back there is space for each of the days of the week.
It can be used for just about anything, but some of my favorites are:
- Meal planner and shopping list
- Planning out daily exercise and health goals
- Reading or study schedule
Snap-in Ruler
The snap-in ruler comes with the LifePlanner. But I wanted to include it here in case you wanted to purchase it separately or wanted an extra.
Last year they redesigned the ruler with a new material that is much more flexible and less prone to breaking. It also now is frosted instead of clear. While last year’s had the kaleidoscope design on it, this year’s is more generic with just the Erin Condren asterisk and logo. It’s simple and classic and I expect they will keep the same design next year.
Compliment Cards
Compliment cards are something that also come with each LifePlanner; three of them to be exact. But they are also something that can be purchased separately in packs of ten and they have become some of my favorite things to have around.
They are beautiful, business card size foiled cards with uplifting messages on them. Their intended purpose I believe is to write little notes to encourage someone else. But I also like to take my favorites and keep them around me.
I use them as bookmarks with coil clips in my planner, put them in the front of my Plan for It Pouch (which sadly aren’t for sale anymore), and hang them on my bulletin board above my desk.
What I Wish Was Different
I can only think of one thing that I wish they offered in the Erin Condren LifePlanner that they no longer do, and that is the Plan for It Pouch. This is a clear plastic pouch that Erin Condren used to give with every LifePlanner purchase. I understand that changes have to be made sometimes, and I don’t fault them for not including the pouch anymore. But what I really wish they did offer was the option to buy the pouch separately in the matching design. I have plenty of the older designs, but I would really love one with the new Layers pattern.
*Side note* Unfortunately they don’t even sell the older designs of the pouch anymore. They are one of my favorite products so I’m really sad they are gone.
Additional LifePlanner Options
I love the coiled weekly Erin Condren LifePlanner. But for those that are looking for something different, Erin Condren also has two new options to choose from.
First is the LifePlanner Binder. These were launched last year and are perfect for someone who likes the flexibility of adding additional pages into their planner. Another benefit of the binder is that page can also be taken out; either to plan for the week or month, or to just keep less in their planner at one time.
The second option was just released this year, and it is the Daily Duo LifePlanner. It is a coiled planner just like the weekly LifePlanners, but with daily planning pages. Because this would be an enormous book with an entire year of daily pages, it has been split into two coiled planners, each with six months of planning pages.
So if you need an options that isn’t the standard coiled weekly planner, Erin Condren has more options to choose from, and even more coming later this year.
I can’t even express enough how much I love the changes Erin Condren made to the LifePlanner this year! It’s like they fixed everything that people were upset about last year, but didn’t introduce a lot of new changes that might be hard to adjust to.
I love my Erin Condren LifePlanner and I can’t wait to start using it in July!
Did you, or are you, buying an Erin Condren Life Planner this year? Let me know in the comments which one you choose and the accessories you love!
