Why I Switched From a Bullet Journal to a Franklin Covey Planner For 2022

May 4, 2026

Hello friends and welcome back! Today I want to discuss the reasons why I switched from planning in a bullet journal to using a Franklin Covey Planner System. There are many benefits (and maybe cons) to using both of these systems. I will list these below for you so that maybe it will help you in making your own decision as to which system you might want to use too. When I say “system”, I mean that the bullet journal is one of a kind in that you literally create it yourself. If bullet journaling interests you, and you want to learn more about the basic system, please read my blog on the basics: https://sandradahl.ca/bullet-journaling/what-the-heck-is-a-bullet-journal. If you want to use a bullet journal, but also need productivity, read my blog on productivity for bujo’s: https://sandradahl.ca/bullet-journaling/https/sandradahlca/blog-page-url/https/sandradahlca/blog-page-1 .

When I first heard about bullet journaling, I was utterly AMAZED. I consider myself an artist - I have been painting, drawing and creating since I was just a wee young lassie. My favourite medium was pencil drawing and shading, mostly because it was easiest to carry around, but I transitioned into colored pencils as I got older. The point, is that I understood the basics of bullet journaling ( I had read Ryder Carroll’s book after all), but I was inspired by Amanda RachLee to create art in my bullet journal too. At the time, I already had my son and I didn’t have tons of spare time to create art simply for the sake of creating art. But, if that art was incorporated into a planning system, for some reason that made sense to me at the time.

Now, on the other hand, before finding the bullet journal system, I had been using a Happy Planner to plan out my life. I had always used some sort of planner system, mostly the cheap DayTimer or DayRunner brands from Staples because they were easily portable, cheap and easy to find. I have always been busy, whether working full time or going to school full time.

I will call this the turning point in my life. I had recently quit my Sobeys job, found the bullet journal system and there were a few months when that’s all I did. My son was still four and still wasn’t in school. I think I took that summer to unwind, relax and just chill from what seemed a whirlwind of business, stress, heartache and pain. (Check out my blog on Trauma: https://sandradahl.ca/all-about-me/https/sandradahlca/blog-page-url/https/sandradahlca/blog-page-1 .

About the same time, I was inspired to start my own Youtube channel. It started with Amanda RachLee, and also Emily Jean Beauty. (Maybe that’s why I started my YouTube channel with Makeup and Beauty Tutorials). I had always wanted a job where I could do what I wanted, make my own hours and not have to answer to anyone else. I wanted to do computer work, but also incorporate art somehow. GUESS WHAT? Fast forward almost three years later, and I’m living my “dream” work life, where I am busy 48/7, but none of what I do really feels like work. I love it, it’s my passion and I am so happy that I had the opportunity (thanks mostly to my wonderful husband for allowing that to happen)!

Of course, soon after, we had our daughter, and now I am as busy as ever. I found I needed to change my planning system a little bit. Since I have added my Blog and Sticker Shop (and various other tidbits here and there) to my business, I have less time for drawing out artistic spreads in my bullet journal and I felt the need to get a planner with a bit more structure. So now I simply fill it in, no need to decorate if I can’t. Of course, I do still make the time to make my planner look pretty, but there are other books I use that are simply pen and paper. True, bullet journaling can be simple and not overly time-consuming, but art is one of my main focuses. I will explain down below how I split up planning and art and I have still kept my bullet journal for artistic expression and certain goals that I want to carry forward.

The main reason why I picked a Franklin Covey Planner over any other planning system on the market, is because of a book, or a series that I first read over a decade ago. The author is Karen Marie Moning. The series is the “Fever Series”. MacKayla Lane is the main character, and the narrator of the book. She talks about her sister Alaina and how she always faithfully carried her Franklin Planner with her wherever she went. (P.s. This is one of my favourite series of all time!)

The main reason I didn’t get a Franklin Planner back then was price. The binders in the ring-bound system are very pricey, especially if you like leather. (Leather lasts forever, and never goes out of style). Plus, I didn’t do a lot of online shopping back then, and the planners are only available in the States, so were not easily accessible to me at the time.

Here is the list of pro’s and con’s for the Bullet Journal System and the Franklin Covey Ring-Bound System for your perusal:

BULLET JOURNAL:

Pros:

You create anything you want
You can use any notebook you want (dot grid notebooks are easiest)
there are no limits
you can have as many or as few layouts (spreads) as you want
you can plan yearly, monthly, weekly, daily or hourly all at once in the same planner
you can make room for extras like pictures or drawings or journal entries

Cons:

The options are limitless, so it unnerves a lot of people (draw a blank as to where to start)
Notebooks can be pricey
people tend to compare their work to other’s and it can make you feel like your work is not good enough
You might be inspired to set up beautiful spreads, not have time to fill them out and then feel guilt about leaving them blank
Time consuming if you add artistic spreads

FRANKLIN COVEY RING-BOUND SYSTEM:

Pros:

You can buy pre-printed inserts
Binder options allows you to put in/take out anything with ease
Insert options are limitless - you can create your own, buy from Etsy shops, or from Franklin Covey
Binders and inserts are beautiful, classy and stylish
You can buy different size rings to allow for more or less inserts
Many different binder options available

Cons:

Very pricey
Hard to pick from the wide variety of options
Shipping is expensive (if you don’t live in the U.S.)
Inserts are fairly cut and dry - you cannot customize unless you buy from Etsy shops or create your own
You might still feel guilty if you don’t use every single spread (i.e. options like the day on two pages have a notes page that you might not always use).

HOW I CURRENTLY USE MY FRANKLIN PLANNER AND BULLET JOURNAL SYSTEMS TOGETHER:

So I do still use a bullet journal system, but no longer for my main planning goals. I keep it for more artistic endeavours, such as drawing challenges, small paintings, lettering practice, and habit tracking. I enjoy using markers or colored pens in my bullet journal to make it colourful. Color adds joy to my life 🌈

I may still create a beautiful artistic cover and “Monthly Title Page”, but I no longer put pressure on myself to carry the theme throughout my bullet journal. If I stick to the same color scheme, that’s good enough for me.

My Franklin Planner now carries my main Life Categories under different sections. My schedule contains the year (future planning section), monthly, weekly and daily planning pages. I’ve got sections for family, meals, personal and school. If you want to see more, check out the videos below on my YouTube channel at Sandra Dahl.

Preliminary 2022 Franklin Planner Setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmZr3QIIbYI&t=279s

January 2022 Franklin Planner Setup:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKnDBXPXmFE&t=1325s

Bullet Journal 2022 Setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dQ7xS3D6ZI&t=1s

January 2022 Bullet Journal Setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALw4SXS_r98

Official 2022 Planner Lineup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa-CFCQj4Ik

I hope today’s blog has given you some ideas or inspiration for your own planning journey and process. Be true to yourself, and don’t pressure yourself too much. The planning process should be fun and allow you to live your life the way you want to live it. Make your planner work for you, not the other way around!

Cheers!

Sandra