First Look: Day Designer for Blue Sky Daily Planner

Today (July 12, 2015) is the launch of the long anticipated collaboration of delicious planner goodness. Whitney English of the Day Designer planner has teamed up with Blue Sky Planners to bring planner lovers an assortment of affordable and adorable monthly, weekly, and daily planners. The collection can be found online at Bluesky.com or at your local Target store. 

  *Image courtesy of @raginasmith on Instagram*

As an avid planner lover and addict myself, you may already know that I've been absolutely dying to get my hands on the only daily planner that has come from the collection (check out A Day in My Life: July 4th). But, after a week of waiting, I was finally able to pick it up on a trip to Target this morning!

First, let's start with the physical characteristics of this planner. It has a beautiful black and white striped cover with pink and gold foil accents. It has a nice and thick plastic protective covering over the cover page, as well as the last page which has the same pattern. It is bound with a beautiful gold spiral detail which runs through a thick pink stripe. On the top right hand corner, you'll see a little flag (which is a common aesthetic used throughout the planner) that has "DAY DESIGNER 2015 to 2016" embossed in the gold foil. To my surprise, this planner is actually very thick, but I guess that should've been expected seeing as the planner has a page dedicated to every day over the course of 12 months. Each month is denoted with a plastic laminated tab, which is very sturdy and easy to turn.

I've done a size comparison to the Sugar Paper LA Planner collaboration with Blue Sky late last year for Target. You'll notice the Sugar Paper planner is larger in both height and width, but is much thinner than the Day Designer. The Day Designer measures approximately 8.5" x 5.5" and is about an inch thick. 

When you flip the planner to the first page, you'll find the title page which explains its contents. It runs from July 2015 to June 2016, covering the full "academic year" in the United States. Also, it includes a yearly reference calendar, monthly calendars, daily calendars, as well as lined note pages, which are found at the end of each month as well as in the very back of the planner. 

The next spread consists of a personal page where you can write your name in to declare authorship and property which is a nice touch. On the recto (or right) side of this spread, we have the yearly reference calendars which include 2015 and 2016.

Oddly enough, this planner comes with instructions which you'll see when you turn to the next spread. The headings for the instructions are titled "Start With The Big Picture," "Set Your Goals," "Design Your Days," and "Revist Your Goals." Rather than your basic average instructions that you might find in a manual, the Day Designer successfully gives one an inspirational way to use this planner - definitely a unique twist that I've never seen before. This is great for people who are new to planning and are overwhelmed with where to start.

 

Then, it goes into the four steps that were denoted by the headings. Again, the Day Designer really wants to make a personal connection with the owner, instead of having the mere regular pages you might find in your typical old school planner.

Finally, we make it to the first monthly spread. The boxes are fairly large for any sized handwriting and have lightly faded lines so you can write straight. On the verso (or left hand side) there is a notes and to-do box for the month, and on the bottom, a view of the month before and following the current month are there for reference.

  Now, the most exciting part - the daily planning pages! The Day Designer stays true to its name, letting you design your days in grave detail. As you can see, you get a day per page, with tons of different boxes for day designing. Let's take a deeper look!

• Today's Top Three: Here is where you may put your top 3 priorities of the day. These might range from things that are urgent and must be done that day or a simple reminder. 
• Quote Section: The Day Designer has also incorporated a classic twist on the "Quote of the Day" ideal. Not only is it fun to read a different quote everyday, but it's also great motivation and inspiration for a long day ahead.
• Today's Schedule: This is where you might put appointments, meetings, dates, or whatever may connect with a certain time in the day. I find this section extremely functional and practical. The times run from 6:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M., and my only complaint might be that it doesn't go to maybe 10 P.M.
• To Do: I like that the Day Designer gives you plenty of room to write down what must be done that day. This is great for work and when you're just plain busy! The check boxes are also a satsifying way to complete tasks.
• Tonight: This section is ideal for some added personalization and freedom. You can meal plan or write whatever plans you may have for that night, may it be TV shows or a movie date.
• Gratitude: The Day Designer seems to be emphasizing the importance of following through with your goals and reflecting on the day. If you become a religious user of this planner, you'll likely find yourself soon developing a great habit of appreciating your life and being thankful for everyone in it.

Lastly, let's take a look at the weekend pages because they are slightly different from the Monday through Friday daily pages. There are only a few changes, but they make a world of difference. The "Today's Top Three" section is now "Take A Time Out! Fun Things To Do." This planner clearly strives to portray a lighthearted attitude by reminding you to slow down from a stressful past week and take time for yourself. Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is that the weekend is completely combined. There are no separate To Do lists, which may be kind of a downfall to this planner, especially when you have a busy weekend to plan out. My advice would be to buy a To Do list pad from the Target Dollar Spot, and use these to substitute when needed (which is what I'll be doing). Another difference is that the bottom two boxes denote different ideas than the weekday pages. The "Next Week" and "Don't Forget" sections allow for future planning which may range from to dos to reminders.

Here is how I've started using mine! Not much to do on a lazy Sunday, but I'm glad I was able to test out the weekend layout first to see if it would be a challenge for me. As you can see, I've left a small paper clip on top so I can find where I am in the planner in a jiffy.

 If you are interested in the particular planner I reviewed, and want to know if there are any currently avaliable at your local Target store, simply use the inventory checker, type in your zip and the DCPI code, which is: 081-09-1985.

After briefly looking at the Day Designer for Blue Sky Daily Planner, will you be picking one up for this academic year? Or, will you be getting one of the weekly planners? I hope you've enjoyed this first look and do get a moment to see them all. Stay tuned for a post on how my daily pages turn out and how I decorate it.

Until next time,

~Alexa~