Bullet Journal vs. Annual Planners vs. Undated Planners

Whether you are a seasoned planner or a beginner, you might have already asked yourself what kind of planner to get for the next year.

Which would be the best option for you? A bullet journal, an annual planner, or an undated planner? What’s the difference between these three and which would be the best one that will suit your needs. Before we start with the “planner showdown”, let’s start with identifying the key differences between these three:

Bullet Journal – this is not a planner but a customizable organizational system used in a blank notebook. It can be a planner, a diary, a sketchbook all in one notebook.

Annual Planners – or the classic planners/organizers – these are the planners that already have fixed layouts with the day, month, and year.

Undated Planners – an annual planner that has monthly and weekly layouts except it does not have specific dates printed on each page.

Ease of Use

One of the key differences between the three is the layout. The Bullet Journal Method is best used on a blank notebook, for the most part. Because it’s blank, you create as you go – you will have to write down the day and month before you get to write your tasks or notes. The undated planner is pre-templated with a calendar or a weekly spread and all it needs is for the user to fill in the dates, days, months, or year. Annual planners have layouts already printed out with dates for the specific year. With yearly planners, you can easily plot your tasks and appointments in the near future.

Winner: Annual Planners

Loser: Bullet Journal

Flexibility

Obviously, annual planners are fixed for a specific year. If your planner is set for 2020, then you can only use it for 2020 (unless you repurpose it of course). Undated planners kind of address that “issue” by leaving the dates blank for the user to fill out. That gives them a bit of flexibility when it comes to the date range for the planner.

Annual planners and undated planners are both pre-formatted with layouts. They would often have a monthly calendar and then a few pages for dailies. With these pre-formatted planners, usually, the space allotted for each day is limited (if not too much). If you have larger handwriting and/or have too many things to write, it might not bode well for you.

The Bullet Journal, however, is a customizable system. You start off with a blank page every time so you are in control of what you see in your notebook. Don’t have anything to write for today? Skip it and save space. You can write a list of things in one side of the page and then the daily logs on the other. It’s completely up to you.

Winner: Bullet Journal

Loser: Annual Planners

Cost and value for money

Even with technology, there has not been a real shortage of notebooks and planners. If you go to your local bookstore, you would still find annual planners on shelves. The price of annual planners vary depending on the quality of the paper and also the design. It can range from $5 to $50. And these types of planners are only good for a specific year. If you start at the beginning of the year, then you really get the bang for your buck. Undated planners are at the same price range but tend to have more value because you can use it any time of the year or any year for that matter. If you use it occasionally (every other month or as needed), you could use it for more than a year. The requirement for the Bullet Journal is – a notebook – any notebook. It doesn’t have to be a dotted A5 notebook. You could use a notebook from the Dollar Store (literally $1), if you really want to save money. Of course, if you really want a high quality notebook (e.g. STM or Leuchtturm), you will need to pay the price.

Winner: Bullet Journal

Efficiency

Planning and organizing tools are excellent tools to improve productivity and make us more efficient with work. While some seem to have more advantages than others, it will all boil down to what the user’s preferences. A bullet journal might be appealing because of the flexibility but this system will not work for others. An undated planner is flexible but still requires some effort and maintenance so some opt for a fixed annual planner. It really varies from person to person but at the end of the day, these are tools – it’s how we use it that matters.

Winner: All