I Have a Winner in the Catholic Planner Debate

In a previous post, I compared two planners. At that time, I wasn't sure how my CTTY (Catholic Through The Year) planner was going to hold up. As a full-time public school Speech Language Pathologist, I travel between a couple of schools and my planner gets thrown into my bag at the end of the day. I wasn't sure how the coil binding was going to do as the year marched on, but I was extremely pleased with how well it held up.

My planner on the last day of school.

As you can see, the planner held up famously! It looks as good on the last day of school as it did on the first. I pre-ordered one for next school year as soon as I received the email that pre-orders began.

Advantages to Disc Binding

There are some differences, but I'd say the differences are definitely for the better! One major difference is the binding. Martina has given a choice of having the planner already punched for using a disc system, or, if you prefer, you can have the planner without holes so you can bind as you wish. She has also given a choice of colors for the cover.

I use the disc system for my therapy book at work, so I went with the disc. There are at least a couple of advantages for using the disc system

1. If there are pages you won't use, it's super easy to take them out. You can save them in case you decide you want to use them, then it's really simple to put them back in the planner.    

   

   These are some pages that I don't think I will use, so I took them out.

2. Don't like the way the planner is organized? You can rearrange the pages so they will be just the way you want them! 

Looking Inside the Daybook Planner

The monthly views have remained the same, but there are a couple of subtle changes in weekly views.

2018-2019 Planner

2019-2020 Planner

The Notes, Daily Examen, and Monthly Quote are on the opposite page from the previous one. A nice little feature has been added: bubbles to mark off daily water intake. There are 8 bubbles per day.

But that's not all you'll receive! In addition to the monthly/weekly views, you'll receive a bundle. This includes a whole slew of extras! There are some features that were in the previous planner:

The Spiritual Sketch pages were in the front of the previous version of the planner, but can easily be placed wherever you prefer them to be.

 The Monthly Devotion pages were just before the monthly and weekly views. Again, they can be moved wherever you prefer them.

 New Pages in the Bundle

 In addition to a Daily Examen on the weekly view, there is a more extensive Examination of Conscience included. This takes the 10 Commandments and breaks them down for a more thorough examination.

There are 5 pages of "to do list". With the disc, I can move a page from week to week so I don't forget anything.

 A "mood tracker" and "habit tracker" are included, 1 for each month. Will I use the mood tracker? It's doubtful at this stage in my life, but I definitely see how it could be very useful for NFP.

 There are note pages all of the place in this planner. Very helpful, indeed! Again, with the disc system, I can pop these pages out and in where I need them. If I had to pick one thing I didn't like about this planner, it would be that there are no lines on these pages, just graphs with dots. It's definitely not a deal-breaker for me!

I absolutely love this feature! I can write the names of the books in my ever-growing stack of books to read, then color them when I finished it. Great idea to include this page!

There's one thing I added on my own: a pocket for my stickers. I took a piece of card stock, punched it using my disc puncher, folded the bottom up a bit then stapled it. I had to trim the side off a little before I stapled it, but I think it will do. (If you don't have a disc puncher, you can use a single hole puncher, punch the holes in it, then clip an opening to fit it on the disc.)

There are additional bundles that are available for purchase: Household Management, Homeschool, Blogger, and Fitness. There are also half-sheet bundles to help with meal-planning, self-care, to do, and organization. AND, there are blank pages available: graph, blank, lined (yay!), and dotted. 

Is this the perfect planner for you? I honestly can't answer that question; what's best for one person may not be the best for another but I would definitely give this one a try. At $40, it is less expensive than another popular Catholic Planner, and in my experience, holds up much better. Now the question is: Will the discbound hold up as well as the coil bound? I'll be able to answer that question better at the end of the school year, but at least I know if it doesn't, I can take next year's planner down to an office supply store and have them bind it for me. This is absolutely, hands-down, the best planner I've used!

There is an option to download Daybook as a pdf for only $12. I'm not sure how much it would cost to have a professional print it out for you but if you have a  decent printer, this may be the option for you.