I’ve teamed up with my friend — and planner extraordinaire — Sarah Hart-Unger of Best Laid Plans (the podcast) and Best Laid Plans Live (the in-person planning conference) and Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love (THE BOOK!!) and the lovely Heather from Sprouted Planners for a fun planner giveaway!
If you’ve been reading my blog for any significant amount of time, you likely know I am a huge fan of Sprouted Planners. I actually started using these products after Sarah sent me my very first Sprouted Weekly Planner. It’s been a perfect planner match since Day One.
In many ways, my planner feels like an extension of my body.
This November has been feeling a bit frenetic and I’ve decided there is no need to reinvent the wheel — I’ve already written about Sprouted planners and how I use mine. If you want to peek behind the curtain, here are a few relevant posts:
Fair warning: I am not a neat planner. There are messy pages, crossed-out plans, and lots of scribbles — but that’s exactly how I use planner. Real life, right?
I’ve only just started filling things in for 2026 and I’m feeling lazy. There tend to be a lot of identifying details (names, numbers) and I don’t particularly feel like blurring those things out for the internet.
So…you’re seeing my 2026 spreads blank, but feel free to refer to the links above to see the 2025 version in action.
MY 2026 SPROUTED PLANNER (DAISY BLUE)
SUCH A CUTE COVER! The cover, paper quality, and binding is simply unmatched in terms of the various planners I’ve used over the years.
I love (and constantly use) the removeable ruler.
The front pocket is one of my favourite features. And friends, THIS YEAR Heather has added a DOUBLE POCKET AT THE BACK.
These pockets are a perfect place to store fun snail mail!
I generally track goals (or, this year, my list of fun ideas and mantras) on the Year List.
There’s also a handy-dandy tracker. Which I used and loved…until I stopped going to the gym and now it’s a depressing reminder of how epically I stalled on my exercise goals mid-year.
But that’s on me, not the tracker!
I absolutely ADORE having laminated month tabs which make navigating between high-level month views a breeze.
I put each and every grid system on this spread to good use.
I use this layout to track birthday’s, social engagements, snail mail I’ve sent out, and month-level to-do lists!
The weekly spread is great. I love this thing and, again, have developed my own system to make use of all the features.
I also appreciate having dedicated space keep track of events stacking up for the following year. Be still my heart, how can we already be thinking about 2027!? Didn’t I just ring in the New Year of Y2K?
The Giveaway Details
Together with Sarah, we’re giving away two planners — one on each blog!
On my blog: enter to win a Weekly Sprouted Planner
On Sarah’s blog: enter to win an Hourly Sprouted Planner
To enter, simply leave a comment on one (or both) posts! We won’t allow the same person to win twice, but you can double your chances of winning a planner by commenting in both places.
Tell me anything — a favourite planning tip, what kind of planner you use now, or even your go-to pen (I know I’m not the only one who has strong pen opinions).
The Fine Print
- The giveaway runs until Thursday, November 13th at 5:00 p.m. EST.
- We’ll announce the winners on Friday, November 14th.
- Due to shipping limitations, this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. *I’m so sorry fellow Canadians
- Sarah will be mailing out both planners (thank you, Sarah!).
Finally, a huge thanks to Heather from Sprouted Planners for providing these planners to give away to two lucky readers (and for creating such beautiful planning tools for intentional living).
Good luck!!
- Bonus question: If you had to come up a single mantra for 2026, what would it be? I think in light of our planned months-long trip to Europe, mine is going to be Choose adventure.
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I love Sprouted weekly planners!
OMG. Can I just say how excited I am that you’re giving away another planner this year. You’ve raved about the Sprouted Planner in the past and I must say that I love the layout. I’ve been frugal in recent years and didn’t want to shell out the money for a more expensive planner, but would love to try out the Sprouted planner sometime! 🙂 I know there will be a lot of entries, but of course I’ll throw my hat in the ring and keep my fingers crossed (and my thumbs squeezed) for good luck!
Thank you – and Sarah and Heather – for hosting this amazing giveaway!
Make sure to comment on Sarah’s blog, too, to double your chances. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that you win <3
Don’t enter me into the drawing, but I wanted to shout out my favorite pens in case they bless someone else as much as they have me! I have terrible handwriting—so my favorite pens are Pilot FriXion erasable gel pens. The erasers do not damage paper, erase (nearly) completely, and do not leave residue. I think they use heat to erase—the friction of the action of erasing (hence the name). They also come in very fun colors (case and ink), refills are available on Amazon and in grocery stores, I love them.
Thanks for sharing!!! These sound familiar; I feel like someone (maybe Diane?) has mentioned these before? I might get a set for my daughter for Christmas!
Hey, I already commented but my comment doesn’t show – did it get send to spam?
I wanted to add my favorite pen: which is the Pentel R.S.V.P. in “fine”.
Gah. I am so sorry, friend. My comment section has been cursed lately. Fixed!
I will gift the planner to my daughter. Her life makes my head spin.
Ha! Love it <3
My mantra will be : fortitude!
Yeah, no upbeat mantra for this pessimist.
My planner consists of: white board, Google calendar, post it notes stuck on my phone and desk, and a small note pad. And a paper calendar , which is stuck in a drawer instead of on the wall.
Lovely planner- have fun with it!
Fortitude is a great mantra (which does feel upbeat in a way). It sounds like a rally cry and sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
Ooh, with nursing school coming up I could use a good planner. I currently use a plain blank notebook, with my favorite Pilot Precise v5 Extra Fine pens, but I have a hunch bigger artillery will be needed.
Haha – bigger artillery. Good luck with the draw <3
I won the Sprouted Planner last year, and I just wanted to say once again how much I’ve enjoyed using it! Thank you so much, Elisabeth! Of course, I won’t be entered in the contest – but I will be buying my own for 2026! I love the blue daisies cover!
I am so glad you enjoyed your planner, Michelle! That makes me so very happy to hear.
I was tempted to buy the bright yellow cover this year which is such a HUGE departure from my normal aesthetic, but Belle convinced me to go with blue daisies and it is very sweet.
My current planner is a wall calendar in our house… not very portable or useful when I am out in the world! Though I do love that everyone can look at it and see what is coming up. Would love to try the Sprouted planner!
I have a wall calendar too and used to rely heavily on it. These days I rarely use it because I am just so attached to my planner.
Good luck with the giveaway!!
In a year where many of my plans went awry, I’ve really enjoyed having a paper planner to navigate it all and be able to look back at how far I’ve done!
From a mantra perspective… I’m thinking about “forward is a pace and content is a goal…”
That is definitely something I appreciate about paper planners: being able to see “where I’ve come from” and “where I’m going.” It’s a snapshot of life which can be very motivating to see just how far things have come even if the progress feels microscopic at times.
I’m so glad you shared the various pages. This is what I’ve been looking for. I’d love to win one for 2026, but if I don’t, I’ll still be buying this to try!
I know planners are so specific and different people look for (and need) different things, but Sprouted has been such a workhorse for me. I’m a diehard fan at this point!
Ohh exciting!! I would love to be the winner! And I’m excited to read your blog.
I would love to try this weekly planner. Something about little check boxes really motivates me!
My new favorite pen is the Uniball Zento (available at Target), but my kids keep stealing them. Guess I need to get more?
Good luck. And awww…welcome to my corner of the internet <3
How fun!! What an awesome giveaway. My favorite tip is I start by “planning” the set in stone holidays. It helps me get started and then it feels less daunting because I’ve already started!
I’m actually not going to enter the giveaway this year, because I’ve already ordered a planner for 2026, and it’s supposed to arrive today! It’s not a Sprouted, but it’s more involved than my current planner- so I might go back and read your post about how you use your Sprouted, just to get some ideas.
I’m intrigued by these erasable gel pens AA mentioned- i also have terrible handwriting and I think these would be great.
I’ve actually put a set on my wishlist…think I’ll gift a set to Belle for Christmas!
When I retire next year, a planner might be just what I need!
Retirement. Exciting!!!! My mom always jokes she busier after retirement!
This Planner is so cute!
I would love to win this planner! I have been using a simplified one but am ready for a change for 2026. Thanks!
Oh, I like the hourly layout that Sarah showed on her blog, but this one does so many things, too! I’d love to try this planner because it looks like it could work for me for home AND work!
I use a cheap Amazon planner and a nice fountain pen my dad gave me. I feel like my pen deserves nicer paper than I offer her, but such is life.
Good luck with the giveaway! The paper in Sprouted planners is incredible!
I love the look of this planner. I have been using a blue sky planner that’s fine but not amazing for years but I’m never ready to pull the plug on something new. This would be a great opportunity for me try to something new.
I have the sprouted planner right now and really like it, but I haven’t ordered mine for next year yet!
I’m so glad you like the Sprouted planners; maybe you’ll get lucky and win!!
Do I even plan? Choose a mantra? Set goals? Think about intentions? Reflect on the results? Nope. I make lists and try to remember to write down my business miles and any upcoming appointments. I write in journals when there are things I want to remember, but do I ever go back and read those again? Nope. (What will I do with those journals? Should I get someone to promise to burn them when I die?)
If I had seen those Sprouted Planners 10 or 20 years ago, I would have been beside myself with excitement. So thorough, so organized, so perfect! Is this ennui just part of being in the Esses, out of the Tees and Effs?
These are the sorts of thoughts I write in my journals. Then if I ever looked back, I’d wonder if I was lazy or depressed or just low on sleep. And I’d wonder why I had wasted my (relative) youth.
So if I happen to win, I’ll ask Elisabeth who else wanted one and send it her direction. Why? HEY! I JUST THOUGHT OF A MANTRA—Own less stuff!
Your comment is well-timed; you’ll appreciate my Patreon post tomorrow. (It was scheduled for today but then I mistakenly posted TWO things on my blog today…and figured three things from Elisabeth’s brain was too much for the internet to handle.) In essence it’s a suggestion to own less stuff 😉
My favorite pens are Frixion 0.5 specifically, but I use all of them. I love them because I do not have a steady hand and they allow me to erase and rewrite easily or erase when plans change. My biggest tip is to do a Brain dump of everything you need to do, have scheduled, on your mind etc. Then prioritize the to dos and get the most important and needs doing soon scheduled on your planner. Do this as often as you feel is needed. Weekly is often good to start with. Jane’s Agenda Master Plan Collective group is where I learned this technique from.
I am excited to get the Frixion pens; these are going in my daughter’s stocking at Christmas (shhhh: don’t tell!)
Cutest collab! I will use any pen that doesn’t smudge– as a lefty, sumdgey pens are a THING.
How fun! I haven’t heard of these planners before but they look so great! I currently use a bullet journal with either a Pentel Calme multi pen or a Pigma Micron in black. And mildliners, of course.
I’m loving this giveaway. Thank you for hosting it.
Would love to win this planner! The erasable pens that AA mentioned sound intriguing. Will have to try them as I also have messy handwriting. My mantra for 2026: Let it go.
I would love to win one of these planners! I am having such a hard time keeping myself and my family organized.
I’m currently using a notebook I found at a yard sale to plan! But would love to try the sprouted planner… I always debate entering the giveaway, but I’ll go for it this year!
You have nothing to lose entering! But of course huge gold stars from me for using a yard sale notebook!
Soooo interested!! Would love to try this out 🥰
Love this planner and it’s layout!
I’m not entering the giveaway (I am still figuring out how to use a planner, lol, and I cannot have a dated one at all), but I am so excited for Sarah’s book to arrive in just over a month! Also, I love your blue planner. It’s so pretty!
I KNOW! The book launch is SOON!
What a great-looking planner! My daughter will be moving from middle school to high school in 2026 and wants to find a planner she likes to put her school work in one place with her heavy extra curricular commitments. I think this type of layout might work for her!
I have a freshly minted high schooler and while she isn’t interested in paper planning, I think this would be a GREAT planner for a teen. It’s spacious, thick paper, and is really nicely organized.
I’d love to be entered! I’m currently using a Simplified Planner but I got it deeply discounted (in June) and don’t think I’d pay full price for it next year… though I do like it!
Love these planners – gorgeous and well organized!
Paper planners are the best. Excited to enter again this year.
The planner looks awesome! Mantra for 2026 Don’t Overthink!
Would love this planner!
You mean there’s a better way than a dry erase board and a wall calendar that gets buried on my island, combined with a hefty notebook? I would love to give this planner a try. Thanks for offering the giveaway, Elisabeth. Maybe this is what my life is missing. 😉 The blue daisy cover is really cute.
Love it!!
What a pretty planner! I already have my Hobonichi for 2026 so don’t need to be entered for the drawing. My favorite pens are fountain pens. Before that, I loved the Pilot V5s and I still use those, but now I much prefer using my little cache of fountain pens. For journaling, I love the Mont Blanc I inherited from my mother (and the reason I fell into the fountain pen rabbit hole). It’s too broad a nib for my planner and letter writing. For those, my favorite is a Pilot Explorer in turquoise with a fine nib. It’s lightweight and writes beautifully.
Hmm, my mantra for 2026 will probably be “Keep on going” – at work, at home, in my writing, in my study, I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Best wishes to the lucky winner!
Fountain pens – what a delightful hobby. And a practical one too, for a writer!
Currently using a rifle paper planner that is 18 months starting in August that I buy in December so it’s on sale and use for a year. This one looks like a great alternative!
The planner looks really cute! I would love to be considered for the giveaway!
I would love to be considered for the giveaway. My fave pen– Sharpie S-Gel Medium. My motto for 2026– si, se puede
This looks great!
This planner looks really nice! I have been struggling to get my life organized and back on track and this seems like a perfect planner to get organized
I would like to throw my name in! My favorite pens are the Uniball one!
This planner looks so great! I just came over to your block for the first time from SHU’s blog. So excited to see your content. Thanks so much for hosting this giveaway!
Welcome, Monica <3
[…] case you missed it, yesterday Sarah and I hosted a planner giveaway (entries accepted until Thursday). That post I […]
I love Diane’s blog (found through yours, which I also love, and found through Kristen’s, which..you guessed correctly). That would be fun if she is indeed the person who likes the same pens 😁
The planner looks beautiful and practical.
I currently use a notebook that I add monthly calendar and goals to and a separate notebook for daily to do lists. But I have used already made planners in the past.
Planning excitment. Thanks for the fun.
I would love to try a new planner. I’ve been in a bit of a planning rut this year.
I use a Year at a Glance calendar (weekly version). It’s useful, but I’m ready for something with a bit more of a fun vibe. I move my written calendar stuff into my Apple Notes app each week. It may seem redundant, but it’s easier to glance it my phone (which I always have with me) to see what I need to get done (and what fun I will be having) in the upcom8ng week.
I think sometimes when I write things down in multiple places (which I do!) it helps me better orient to my schedule and I’m less likely to forget things!
I’d love to win one of these. They’re such pretty planners! I also just read your post about how you use it, and love the functional way you set up your layouts
Thanks. For me, Sprouted planners have been real workhorses. I love how they allow me to organize so many things so easily. And I love the aesthetics of the planners, too.
Left handed problems-I don’t have a favorite pen! But I would love the planner-my almost 11 year old has been begging for one and what a great one to start her on her (hopefully) organized journey!
If I had gotten this planner as an 11-year-old I would have been over the moon! It’s very fun and functional and definitely works for younger audiences.
I was so excited by the format I forgot add what I use for my current planning. For personal, I use a combination of Google calendar and a plain notebook. I write a new to do list each week for personal items and carryover anything from the prior week that I didn’t get to. For work, I use Outlook calendar and an excel spreadsheet with lists of items that are urgent, need to be done soon, items I’m waiting on, items I’m pausing on but want to revisit and long-term goals. I also keep my timesheet in this file. Sometimes I time block on my calendar.
I’ve tried several types of planners but haven’t found “the One”. I mostly use iCal even though pen/paper is more my vibe. I do like the Weekly layout of this Sprouted planner.
I have a particular affinity for the Uniball Signo UM-151 .38 in Blue Black. They are my favorite for sermon notes and to-do lists. I accidentally ordered a box of them, instead of a single, and wasn’t sad about it 🙂
I have tried to go digital, but my heart is really in paper planning!
New reader from SHU’s blog! Totally respect the desire for privacy, but I do wish I can see your filled in pages, esp the dashboards. They often feel like dupes of a monthly page to me… ty for the giveaway
Hi Dee. There are some links above for posts where I show all the different dashboards filled out!!
Thank you for sharing your beloved planners with us.
This planner looks awesome! I love the pretty blue
I’ve never used a planner, would love to see what it’s all about. Thank you for the giveaway!
This planner looks amazing!
I’ve commented but guessing it went to spam? Anyways, what I currently use now is a book that is just page after page of checkboxes to keep track of daily to-dos. I could definitely use something a little more.. organized? Thanks for the giveaway!
Nope. I deleted the second message. The first time someone leaves a comment it goes to a holding zone until I can approve it)! All good and you are officially entered in the draw. Good luck!
I would absolutely love to try out this planner! Like Goldilocks, I’ve been looking for one that’s just right for a long time 🙂
I would love to try this planner out! The cover design is super cute!
I would love to try this planner! I love all the types of Sharpie pens. It’s hard for me to use any other pen.