2020 has been a rough year for everyone. The pandemic affected many lives around the globe. It was definitely a dark year for us all. And it would not surprise me to find out that most people are wary of what 2021 might bring us.

A few hours from now, we will be welcoming 2021. But are we all ready to do so? Are we ready to face 2021 confidently?

As for me, I am most confident with facing just about anything if I made plans for it ahead of time. Here comes my planner or planners. Yes, in plural form. Three to be exact.

The first planner I am able to purchase is the one from Belle de Jour. This is my first time to purchase a planner from them.

The Belle de Jour Power Planner Classic has a matte, hardcover exterior while the Belle de Jour Power Planner Leather has a softbound black matte leather.

It arrived looking like a present. It almost felt like I was unwrapping a gift!

The Belle de Jour Power Planner comes with a Lifestyle card and coupons! I sure am excited to use them coupons. (Frankies, here I come!) Also include is a magnetic bookmark. I find the bookmark very pretty.

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Important pages (Important for me, that is. To each his own!) included are the Monthly Planner, Weekly Planner, Menstrual Tracker, Cash Flow Tracker, Bills Tracker and extra Notes pages.

The Monthly Planner is spacious enough to write down important events (or deadlines—gotta beat those deadline!). On the right side and bottom right are extra spaces for additional notes. However, I wasn’t into the left bottom part of the page where every month they feature different companies and/or products with QR codes. I didn’t appreciate that they would include ads on their planner. I could’ve used that extra space for additional notes.

As for the Weekly Planner, it looked a bit cramped if you ask me. All seven days were confined in only two pages, forcing me to reduce my letters into minuscule to fit the spaces. The good thing though is that you will be able to see your weekly plans/itinerary at a glance. There are spaces provided below each day for additional notes. I do appreciate the positive words at the upper part of the Weekly Planner; it’s nice to start your day with positivity. The square spaces just below it, though, seemed redundant. I can just write my plans, or personal errands or things I am grateful for on the weekly sheet or at the extra spaces below.

Ah. The Menstrual Tracker. It is a must! You see, I suffer with PCOS, and this page will help me monitor my condition if I am improving or not. Of course, I still need to get my UTZ for confirmation but this tracker is an additional helping tool.

The Cash Flow Tracker and Bills Tracker may or may not depress me (hahaha!), I’m not sure. But the Cash Flow Tracker will definitely help me monitor my expenses (cough-Shopee-cough) so I can make adjustments if I am over spending (ehem-Lazada-ehem) or not. Perhaps this might encourage me to save more rather than splurge on things I really don’t need. The Bills Tracker is an added misery, I mean, handy tool for me to never forget my monthly responsibilities. #Adulting101

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There are pages added which I kind of find unnecessary.

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I am kind of worried for the elastic band at the back. I hope it won’t come off like what I had experienced before with other planners. I am a bit disappointed at the edges because it doesn’t have that perfect rounded corners but the Belle de Jour Leather one has, though. But oh! Just look at the Belle de Jour monogram; it looks very chic!

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WHAT I LIKE:

• The Menstrual Tracker — Need I say more?
• The Cash Flow and Bill Tracker — coz you know, adulting and stuff (lol).
• The inspiring messages every week.
• The BDJ Lifestyle Card and coupons.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE:

• Special Pages I might not be using.
• The QR Code at the bottom of the Monthly Planner — though it offers some perks, it still looks like an ad for me.

THE VERDICT — I like the Belle de Jour Power Planner. The thing is, it has too many pages that I might not use. It is cute and all, but it made me feel that it was more of an activity workbook than a planner. I wished those pages were made for jotting down notes instead. There is their Focus Journal or Navi Journal or the Essentials Planner which I think would be more of my type, however, I don’t like the cover designs.

Will I be purchasing their planner next year? Maybe. It depends. I like their cover designs for their Power Planners. So… it really depends on what they have to offer next year.

I will be posting Planning for 2021 (Part Two) next. What planner do you think will be next?