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If you have ever wanted to try bullet journaling and didn’t know where to start; or just found that it was too much work to keep up with, you might just love the Clever Fox Weekly Planner.
I received the Clever Fox Weekly Planner and Sticker Book from Clever Fox for free to review. I will always give my honest opinion.
A few years back I decided to try using a Bullet Journal. It lasted a few weeks. But it really just turned out to be too much work to set up each week… and month… and everything else that I needed in my planner. And since I started it in an attempt to simply my planning, it just kind of backfired.
But I have a planner that I want to show you today that might be the perfect answer for someone who loves the idea of a bullet journal, but doesn’t want to set up monthly and weekly pages. Or, if you are like me, didn’t appreciate my own “creativity” enough to want to look at the pages after they are created.
Why is the Clever Fox Weekly Planner like a Bullet Journal?
I’ll go into the details of the layout and quality of the Clever Fox Weekly Planner in a little bit, but first I want to talk about why I think it could be perfect as a hybrid bullet journal.
This planner is similar to most planners in that it has printed pages for each month and week. (There is also a daily version for those that prefer that layout). There are even some goal setting pages in the beginning. Clever Fox is big on goal setting, so it was a given that they would include these type of pages in their planner.
But what makes the Clever Fox Weekly Planner unique (and most like a bullet journal) are the dot grid pages in the back. About 50 of them. Without a doubt, that is the most notes pages I have ever seen in a weekly planner. This makes it perfect for adding in your own collections and information you want to reference, just like in a bullet journal.
Let’s Talk Quality
I never do a planner review without talking about the quality of the actual book. So before talking more about the features, let’s get into the technical stuff.
Cover
The Clever Fox Weekly Planner has a hard, sturdy cover. I choose the rose gold metallic color, but they have more than 10 colors to choose from.
The cover has a leather-like feel and texture. It seems durable. I’ve been throwing it around for a few weeks now and haven’t had any damage on it.
Extra Features
Bookmark Ribbons – Each weekly planner comes with three ribbon bookmarks. I love that there are three ribbons because without tabs, this makes it much easier to find certain pages. Three is a perfect amount for adding in one at the month, one at the week, and one at your notes in the back.
The colors of the ribbons on my planner match my rose gold cover, but I did see some older versions that had a basic blue, green, and red ribbons. It seems like they are switching from the standard colors on the planners to colors that match the individual cover. I don’t know if any of the current planners for sale still have the old colors. But mine did come with matching colors, which I was grateful for.
The ribbon colors I got are mauve, burgundy, and a golden yellow.
Elastic Closure Strap – I absolutely love when books come with attached elastic to keep the book closed. This makes it so easy to throw into my purse without worrying that something else in my bag will get jammed into the book and bend my pages. The color of the elastic matches also my cover.
Pen Loop – This is another favorite feature. It has a matching pen loop for keeping your favorite pen with you all the time. And this is a large pen loop! I was able to easily slip in my PaperMate Flair. The Pilot G2 also goes in, but not as easily just because of the rubber grip on the pen. The size is big enough though. So many pen loops are tiny and only hold a few select pen styles. And usually those are ballpoint, which I don’t like using as much as gel pens.
On a side note, I’ve found the perfect pen for those tiny pen loops… It is a clicker gel pen, without a rubber grip. So it slides in easily. And as an added bonus, it also writes really nicely.
Pocket – There is also a pocket on the inside back cover of the Clever Fox Weekly Planner. The pocket is made out of a thick paper, but the sides are actually a ribbon type material that is much sturdier than just paper would be. I’m impressed that they thought of this detail. I’m sure it will make the pocket last much longer.
Binding – The Clever Fox Planners have a sewn binding. This allows the pages to open and lay flat, anywhere in the book. If coils, rings, or discs have ever gotten in your way of writing, this will solve all those issues.
Paper Quality
There’s a lot of planner qualities that are up for negotiation. Paper quality is rarely one of them. As Planner Addicts, we are also often Pen Addicts. And we need the paper in our planners to hold up to our favorite pens.
The Clever Fox Weekly Planner lives up to my high paper standards. It is 120 gsm paper. I tried out PaperMate Flairs and InkJoy Gel Pens and both worked perfectly without even a hint of shadowing on the back.
And it is smooth. I absolutely love smooth paper. Nothing is more irritating when trying to write and the pen keeps catching on the paper. I don’t even know how its possible, but some papers are just awful for writing on.
What’s Inside
Now that we’ve cover the book itself, let’s talk about the pages that make the planner unique. I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but even planners that have the best quality are really only as good as the contents inside. If the layout doesn’t help you progress and get things done, then it really doesn’t matter what the cover is made out of.
Goal Setting
Clever Fox is a company that consistently focuses on achieving your goals. Each planner that I have seen has a section for goals. And since goals are majorly important to me, this is a quality that I really appreciate that they have included.
The Weekly Planner is no different. Not only are the first 8 pages specific to your goals and what you want to accomplish, but each monthly and weekly layout also has sections that focus on those goals.
Monthly Layout
The Clever Fox Weekly Planner is an undated 12 month planner. This just adds to the flexibility it has to become a sort of bullet journal. Starting at any time means that you don’t loose any pages just because you decided to buy in March instead of December. I started mine in February.
Another thing worth mentioning about the monthly layouts is that they are all grouped together in the beginning, after the goal pages. The ribbon bookmarks come in handy here since one can be used for the month, one for the week, and another for either your goals or to mark your notes in the back.
Each month has your standard boxed calendar, and this one has a Sunday start. Although, since it is undated, changing the start date would be extremely easy you prefer to start on Monday… or Wednesday. No judgement here.
The sidebar includes spaces for:
- Habits to adopt
- Skills to learn
- Things to avoid
- Places to go
- People to see
Then underneath the calendar are sections for your goals (of course), your wins for the month, and how you will improve next month.
Weekly Layout
Just like the monthly layouts, the weeks are undated. They are also all grouped together in the planner. Especially with an undated planner, I appreciate that they set it up like this. When the weekly pages are placed between the months, it’s hard to know if there should be 4 or 5 weeks in each month. With them all grouped together, there is no need to skip valuable planner space because one week has 5 pages when it only needed 4.
The left side of the page is your sections for each day of the week. Like in some planners, Saturday and Sunday are split in half. However, because they are taller sections than Monday-Friday, I feel like the space is pretty similar in size of what you can include on each day.
The right side of the page has sections for:
- This week’s main goal
- Priorities for the week
- Notes (this is a dot grid section)
- To do list
- Habit tracker (also something common to bullet journals)
- This week’s wins
- How I’ll improve next week
I have to say that normally when pages have pre-determined sections, I often don’t find much value in them. But since I have been using this planner for the past few weeks, I find that I am actually using these sections.
I love using the notes section for reminders of what I have going on next week. It helps me to prepare for the next week so I don’t get blindsided by something happening on Monday or Tuesday that I had forgotten about.
Thoughts on the Notes Pages
This is where the Clever Fox Weekly Planner really stands out to me. This planner has over 50 dot grid notes pages! I feel like by adding that many pages, they are mixing a planner with a notebook.
And I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of using it as a planner hybrid with a bullet journal. You get all the monthly and weekly pages, laid out and ready for your plans. And then all these notes pages for everything else that you could possibly want in your planner! Reading and movie lists, favorite meals, budgeting, random notes and to do lists, favorite quotes, shopping lists, meal plans, a list of your favorite Beanie Babies. I absolutely love that they thought to include this.
Using the Clever Fox Weekly Planner
I’ve also created a video flipping through the Clever Fox Weekly Planner and showing how I used the monthly and weekly spreads. Be sure to check it out if you would like to see the planner in more detail.
I love the guided spaces, and I love that there is also room that can be used for what you need. I’ve never had much luck with pages that have pre-determined areas. But I found the weekly pages easy to use, and more valuable than I expected.
I also love the Clever Fox Sticker Book and how they planned it intentionally to go with their planners.
The date dots are perfect since it is an undated planner.
Overall Thoughts
I can’t think of anything that they missed when designing the Clever Fox Weekly Planner. The quality is amazing. It has all the physical features you could possibly want, including great paper. I love the focus on goals, celebrating your wins, and doing better next time.
What is your must have planner feature? What is an absolute deal breaker?
