planner layout bookbolt
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A strong school memory from the days of youth is how students kept their papers and, well, quite literally everything inside their prized “trapper keepers”. They were everywhere, and perhaps the single most synonymous thing with being a full-time student in the 1980’s. And everyone made them their own: favorite band stickers, sports heroes, paintings, drawings, doodles with a felt-tip pen… anything and everything to personalize the item. Every one of them was different, and reflected the personality and interests of the individual student. And they all had some sort of calendar inside.

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If you remember this commercial, you’re O.G.

Everything Old Is New Again

That personalized kind of planner is making a comeback. Perhaps not the oversized versions of then, but smaller, more concise forms are growing in popularity. And everything someone would need to create new and interesting kinds of student planners is available at your fingertips today with Book Bolt, the innovative software aimed at allowing your own inner designer to shine.

The medium of student planers is an exciting way to get many of your ideas out to potential customers! But what is today’s student looking for? And which kind of planner designs will suit these students the best? It really depends on what level they might be already in, or about to move into. Let’s look at what layouts work for different education levels.

Primary School Students

The grade level of the kid who will be utilizing the planner should be taken into account before deciding on a particular design. In thinking how to proceed with your ideas, you should consider a straightforward planner for primary school students so they have a spot to clearly record their tasks for each class they are in. Something fun and colorful is a great choice, students this age don’t want anything that looks too serious on the outside let alone on the inside.

Keep it simple, keep it fun an attractive. An excellent example of this is the popular “Global Datebooks Dated Elementary Student Planner”, found on Amazon. That version’s matrix structure offers daily, weekly, and monthly planning in an easy format to help younger students remain on top of things. Plus, it includes a clip-in bookmark/ruler combo, amusing planning stickers, and nineteen resource sheets on arithmetic, geography, social studies, and English.

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Fun and eye-catching, but practical

High School Students

If you are looking to design your Book Bolt project with high school-age students in mind, you will find yourself between their need for fun and exciting belongings without anything too immature. There are so many ideas out there today, including some based on what we grew up with. For instance, picture a day planner that adds significant functionality inside but also looks like a traditional composition notebook on the outside! Just one of many possible ideas you can come up with when planning out what you want to sell in this market.

A wonderful and unique spin on this, an excellent choice for the high school level, is the “Order Out of Chaos Academic Planner”, which sells for $19.99 on Amazon right now. This planner’s distinctive design, which was approved by students, allows you to see spare time slots next to extracurricular events and deadlines for tasks. A teen can determine when they have the time to complete a certain task or activity thanks to its structure. It was created by a renowned time management professional and is excellent for use in middle school, high school, homeschooling, or online study. It also fits kids with ADHD and learning difficulties perfectly because it takes the stress out of worrying about missing study or homework time.

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This layout takes a growing social life into account

College Students

When it comes to higher-levels of education, there are many more options but they all come as one of three main types:

  • Undated: All of the weekly and monthly portions in this type of planner are completely undated, so you may pick one up whenever you choose and start working right away (no more waiting until January 1st to get organized). Important dates and goals can still be written down, but the spaces are more loosely structured.
  • Dated:  The weekly and monthly pages are already labeled, and some planners have prompts or titled sections that will encourage students to more precisely plan out their goals for the upcoming year.
  • Bullet Journals: Entirely unstructured diaries that provide you the freedom to arrange your thoughts, keep track of your tasks and notes, and manage your life. A bullet journal is frequently a blank notebook, though they can also be lined.

When discussing higher education into the college years, popular examples include the faux-leather bound “Lemome Academic Student Planner”. The weekly spread of this planner gives space to write your daily calendar, specify appointments, and keep track of every daily event (if needed) within the overall weekly view. Each monthly section also includes an overview of the month and a notes section. It is simple, stylish, functional, and comes in an array of colors.

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Lemone (left) and Erin Condren (right) style planner pages

Another great choice to get inspiration from is the “Erin Condren Academic Planner”, which is quite customizable and even has licensed “Star Wars” themes for many of its versions. These come generally in a 7″ x 9” format, cover a full calendar year, feature a plated aluminum spine coil, and even include two Star Wars sticker sheets for the end user to adorn whatever they’d like. This version even offers the choice of coil color and adding the owner’s name to the cover. With this product, or something like it, the customization possibilities are endless.

Some may ask why even bother with “outdated” formats like paper day planners in today’s world where everything is screen-based and maintained online? It’s simple: nothing beats the tactile experience of writing your own notes for future reference.  Planners provide you with a concrete item you can take about. Additionally, their perception of time management might become more realistic once they are able to hold and physically write in your planner.

Additionally, writing anything down on paper helps kids remember crucial data. Writing requires more time than typing, needed time. According to studies, students who take paper notes in class learn more than their fellow students who type their notes and are more likely to recall due dates. By using the planners that you create, students can engage in data collection they way many of us grew to do it and reap the benefits of finding the joy in that for the first time themselves.

2 Comment

  1. Samuel Mullis

    I have seen a video about creating journals with book bolt. My question is how to you get a faux leather cover for its exterior?

    1. admin

      You would need to use an image for this, but because Amazon only offers hardcover and paperback options, it may lead to a disappointing customer experience.

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