I see this question often on comments or reviews of 17- and 18-month planners, and I'm always surprised by the question. Personally, I like to plan as far ahead as possible in my planner so more weeks is always better.
17 month planners begin in August, and 18 month planners begin in July. Both go all they way through December of the following year. These types of planners are very popular and many people prefer them.
But, some people argue, why not have a 12 month planner that begins either in August or January? Those extra months are just going to go to waste.
Well, I disagree.
First, the reasoning behind a 17- or 18-month planner is that you can start the planner at the beginning of the academic year and plan all the way through the end of the following calendar year. These planners are often geared toward students, and moms of kids in school. It's more convenient to schedule the entire school year in one planner.
So then why the extra months? Why not just have the planner end in July and start a new one again in August?
Well, there are several reasons:
Some people really do like to plan all the way to the end of the next year.
Some people (like students who will graduate at the end of the school year) need to transition to a January-December planner
And, some companies only make 17- or 18-month planners and don't have separate academic-year and calendar-year versions. With both the academic and calendar years covered, they have a wider potential customer base.
To those folks who say the unused months are wasted, I say, never!! Those pages can be used as Notes pages, and don't we all want more notes pages in our planners??
**Edited to add: now that we are almost at the end of the school year, I am realizing just how valuable an 18 month planner can be. As our after-school activities are ending for this term, they are being scheduled to resume in August, some at different days/ times than they currently are. If I were using just a 12 month academic-year planner, I wouldn't be able to schedule these new times for the autumn term. Being able to plan the entire school year in one planner, and then plan the start of the new school year in the same planner, is hugely valuable!
Do you use a 17- or 18- month planner? Why?
I agree no such thing as wasted months. Also if you have gone through the year and change your mind about the planner your using you have choice....or dare I say lose your planner
ReplyDeleteWho besides Moleskine makes 18-month planners?
ReplyDeletePaperblanks!
Deletehttp://blog.paperblanks.com/2013/05/18-month-academic-dayplanners/
Oops. May have gotten myself into trouble here.
Delete;D
DeleteI don't like 18 month planners. I'm a January-December girl so if I happen to need an 18-month-planner, it would be because I switched gears and it was all I could find. I would use it until the end of December and then start fresh with a "real" calendar for January.
ReplyDeleteBut it was interesting to hear another side.
I buy them when I have had major planner fail and have abandoned the 12 month planner I bought at the beginning of the year! Otherwise I don't really see the point of them unless you are a student or a parent.
ReplyDeleteI love 18 month planners, only I would design one from jan-June :-) I use the last 6 months for thorough forward planning, so right now I'm using it to put in commitments running through the autumn, and figuring out how those months are likely to look, but without having to carry 2 books around! I'll buy a new planner sometime soon and spend some planning time in the summer transferring stuff over. I'd prefer to do this in Jan, but have never found a suitable product!
ReplyDeleteI love 18 month planners, only I would design one from jan-June :-) I use the last 6 months for thorough forward planning, so right now I'm using it to put in commitments running through the autumn, and figuring out how those months are likely to look, but without having to carry 2 books around! I'll buy a new planner sometime soon and spend some planning time in the summer transferring stuff over. I'd prefer to do this in Jan, but have never found a suitable product!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHere's another question: Where do we buy a 6-month planner, to cover January to June, before we go on yet another 18-month planner?
ReplyDeleteThat has always been my beef with 18-month planners, the 6-month chunk in which I have to buy an entire year's planner and just use half of it. But I do love the concept of an 18-month planner and I have used a couple before.
Now if there was an 18-month planner that starts in January and ends in June of the following year. Hmm.
I use the Mom's planner wall calendar and I love it except for all the wasted months. It just makes the calendar heavier. I don't use a planner. I like the wall calendar, it hangs on my frig for the whole family to see. It would be nice if they made an August to July calendar. I think those would really sell. For those mom's that need something to be on display for the whole family. Something to consider. Keep those 17 & 18 month planners but make a practical back to school 12 month calendar.
ReplyDeleteI use the 17 month Mom's Planner Wall Calendar. I love it except for the wasted months. I have it hanging on the frig for the whole family to see. The extra months make the calendar heavier and more difficult to stay put. I would love for them to make a 12 month calendar that starts in August and ends in July. I think mom's would buy those up. Keep the 17 & 18 month planners but make a wall hanging calendar that is practical. Call it the Back to School calendar. I would be a faithful customer!
ReplyDeleteI still don't get it, ha ha. Let's say I have my 17 month planner, come December 2016 I need a new planner as my 17 month one has come to an end. So I buy a new one which has 5 months 8/2016-12/16 which are already expired (and honestly just make the planner bigger than I need it to be w/more weight).
ReplyDeleteOr let's rewind time and say I bought the planner in July for August 2016 and use it through August 2017 (having used the remaining pages in 2017 for 'plan ahead' as some have said), Then what? Do I just REWRITE everything from those months (Aug 2017-Dec 2017) into the new August 2017-Dec 2018 planner?
To me it seems like more work, having to rewrite 5 months of plans.
Anyways there used to be the 'Plan Ahead' page for the year in the back of planners, so if there was anything major I could jot down vacations, or specific dates if needed. I didn't need a whole extra 5 months of pages, to write this out.
This really doesn't solve the problem of not having to carry 2 planners come the end of the year (or mid-year), but now it's just 2 thicker planners with wasted pages (depending on when you start writing in each) and a bunch of rewriting. All very confusing. Just give me a 12 month planner with that one page for 'A year ahead at a glance page'.
You took the words write out of my mouth! This is exactly how feel also!
DeleteSo you buy an 18 month planner that begins in July 2015. When you get through December 2016 you can't start another 18 months. This is true of students and the rest of us, too. Do we start out 2017 with a 12 month calendar and/or wait until July or August of 2017 for the next 18 month calendar. This is frustrating! I'll bet they could sell 18 month planners to a lot more people if they made them both ways ... beginning in July or August and beginning in January.
ReplyDeleteIf an 18 month planner ends in December why can't the next one you buy start in January. They could sell a lot more planners if they made them both ways. All those millions of us who are not students or teachers or parents of school children are in the market for continuous planners without extra months.
ReplyDelete