If you aren’t on board the bullet journal trend — personally, it made me more stressed about getting the ‘aesthetic’ right — there are plenty of other options available. For the supremely organised Type A personalities, several planners this year focus on self-care, goals and vision boards. For the more laid-back ones, there are stickers, habit trackers and the like. But if you’d rather just keep track of things using a calendar, there’s been some evolution there, too. Most recently, there are those that double up as postcards. Our pick of the season:
Dilip Nair Photography: Choose from eight variants featuring work by this photographer from Thiruvananthapuram. There is a bicycle series (continuing from his debut calendar last year), three options featuring people, three with photographs from Leh, and one set of monochromes. At the end of the month, cut along the dotted line and use the image as a postcard. Each calendar is shipped with an easel stand. ₹649 each, on dilipnair.com.
Poketo: Carry around the Guggenheim (New York), the Bauhaus Archive (Berlin), Louvre (Paris), and The Broad (Los Angeles), in this art travel journal. Keep your itineraries, accommodations and shopping lists in one place. There’s ample space to write down memories and highlights from each day, and an inside pocket to hold receipts and keepsakes. ₹2,190 on thepaperco.in.
Alicia Souza: The OG of Indian planners, Bengaluru-based illustrator Alicia Souza’s 2020 version finally has the pen loop that everyone has been asking for. Her quirky illustrations and pun-filled stickers make planning and organising fun. At ₹1,799 on aliciasouza.com
The Ink Bucket: Vidhi Khandelwal’s botanical illustrations liven up the cover of this ‘Live your Dream’ planner. Her artwork makes its presence felt in between the pages as well, highlighting spaces for monthly reflections, weekly affirmations and daily reminders. ₹1,799, on theinkbucket.in.
Gliterally Gold: These are focussed planners by Chennai-based graphic designer duo, Kamatchi Mohan and Preethi Singaravelu. They have one for make-up artists, to keep track of assignments and appointments (₹999), and another for bakers (₹1,100). The chic, minimalist aesthetic is quite appealing. On Instagram @gliterallygoldstudio.
Smythson: This year’s limited-edition Soho diary features a hand-painted bird on the calf leather cover, and silk lining inside. The gilt-edged pale blue paper comes with a week-to-view layout, and pages for notes. At approximately ₹46,000 on smythson.com.
Create your Calendar: Doodle, take notes and let your creativity flow on Locopopo’s DIY calendar, made with recycled paper. Created by the Mumbai-based design studio — which specialises in brand illustrations and packaging design — it is meant to be multi-functional, and “a meaningful gift to inspire yourself or someone to create”. ₹1,050 on locopopo.com.
Sentience 2020: “Our fundraiser calendar draws inspiration from Indian mythology, portraying emotions that affirm we are sentient beings,” says Sunil Menon, founder of Chennai-based LGBTQ support group, Sahodaran. For the first time, the lineup includes women and transgender models, too. ₹1,500. 23740486
Indian Women in Science: Have you heard of Dr Asima Chatterjee, an organic chemist whose work resulted in many anti-epileptic drugs? Or Suniti Solomon, who pioneered HIV-AIDS treatment and research in India? These inspiring women in science feature in a wall calendar with artwork by Sci Illustrate, a Munich-based scientific design consultancy, founded by Dr Radhika Patnala. The box set of postcards has stories of 30 inspiring ‘Women in Science’, through art. Approximately ₹3,900, on sci-illustrate.com.
Archetype Studio: This desk planner was designed “to enable busy individuals to better structure their daily lives”. Focus your planning around four key modules: business and career, home and family, health and fitness, and you. Jot down your weekly and daily priorities, and reminders to take a little time off for yourself. ₹2,400, on artchetypestudio.linker.store.
Let’s Goal: Get your productivity on track with this goal-based planner. With yearly and monthly spreads that make space for your current obsessions, introspection and tracking expenses, habits and meals, it also comes with freebies like a stylus pen, posters and washi tape. ₹1,536, on letsgoal2020.com.
This art-themed desk calendar from Red Earth features works by Abhinav Goswami, Bibhu Patnaik, Briana Blasko, Farhad Hussain and Yunus Khimani among others. At ₹ 1,250 on instamojo.com/redearth