Officeworks is one of my favorite places to buy stationery. So when they released new planners in their Otto range (their exclusive Officeworks stationery brand that always has nice notebooks etc.) I had to buy the 2018 Goals Planner!

This is not a sponsored post – I paid for the planner myself – all opinions are my own. 

Quick Facts:

• $29.95 AUD
• Size: 7.75″ wide x 9″ high
• Coil bound
• Cover can be removed (inter-changeable like the Erin Condren)
• Month starts on a Monday
• 2 page vertical weekly spread starts on a Monday
• Very functional layout – lots of checklists!
• Plenty of goal setting worksheets
• Weekends get their own day (not combined)
• Laminated tabs with the months printed on the front and back
• 1 color per month (ideal for color coding)
• Comes in 1 style only (although there is a Business Planner and a Wellbeing Planner in the range as well)

Note: The planner isn’t available online (in store only) and not all stores stock the planner. You have to ring your local store and check they have them in stock and they’ll bring them to the front counter for you to pickup.

This planner reminds me a lot of a cross between the Recollections Planner and the Erin Condren Life Planner.

It’s slightly shorter than the Erin Condren and Plum Paper. The font is very small in this planner so if you have large hand-writing it may not be a good fit for you.

Let’s take a look inside the planner

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Goal Setting Pages

The front of the planner has numerous goal setting pages including:

Project planning pages (there’s 4 pages i.e enough for 4 goals)

Annual Planning

I’m not normally one to go for pastel colors but I really love the colors of this planner.

2 page yearly planner

12 Month Goals Planner

The monthly planing pages are broken down into weeks so you can schedule when you’re going to work on your goals…

Holidays Reference List

Because this planner is Australian it has Aussie public holidays printed (yay!)

The pages is sorted into national holidays and each state and territory’s as well – love this!

There’s also a 2018 school terms dates page

The Monthly Planning Page

The monthly planner page is very functional. It lots of space to plan how you’re going to achieve your 3 goals for the month as well as checklists to break down what you need to do to get them done.

Each monthly spread has a divider with a tab – the paper feels slightly thicker than the rest of the paper in the planner but is not as thick as cardstock.

The goal setting pages at the front actually work with the rest of the planner – it’s not a case of writing down your goals and then that’s it – the monthly spreads tie back into those annual goals.

Each of the tabs features a different quote

The Monthly Calendar

The monthly calendar is 2 pages like most planners.

The week starts on a Monday (as does the weekly spread – yippee! – some planners have the month starting Sunday and the week starting Monday which makes no sense to me!)

The month is printed on the bottom right side of the page rather than at the top which really maximizes the planning space. It’s also handy when flicking through the planner as it’s easier to find the month.

Love the use of different shades of the 1 color – you could color code each month.

This monthly calendar gives every single day a full box planning space. Some calendars will split the bottom box into 2 to avoid moving the date to the top of the calendar – this one doesn’t do that (hallelujah!)

Overall this monthly spread is one of my all time favorites for planners – it’s very functional and aesthetically pleasing!

The Weekly Spread

The planner features a vertical layout similar to the Erin Condren Life Planner and MAMBI Happy Planner – only way better!

The pages tie back into the goal setting pages the start of the planner – each week features a top 3 weekly goals

When I use this planner for the 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge I’m going to use the top shaded box for each day for meal planing.

There’s priorities for the day (top 3) – love this as I almost always start with a top 3 for each day.

There’s 2 boxes with the title space that you can make it into anything you want. I’m intending to use them for blog planning.

There’s a daily gratitude section which to be honest, I won’t use – I’ll probably use white out to cover it or maybe some washi tape…

Related: Favorite washi tape for planning, planner decorating & color coding

At the bottom of each day is a daily goals and reminders checklists (each have a top 3) which would be great for cleaning, bill paying and those other day to day tasks.

Lots of task sections for each day…

The Tabs

The tabs are laminated and durable – the month is printed on both sides.

The Extras

Like with the Erin Condren, this planner has a snap in bookmark / page marker

A couple of notes pages at the back

It also has 4 sheets of colorful and functional & motivating stickers at the back

As well as a double sided pocket folder and a pocket book contacts & perpetual monthly calendars

The front and back covers have gold foil style font. And the back cover has a nice quote printed on it!

Pen Testing

I tried a variety of well-known (and not so well-known!) pen brands including Papermate Inkjoy, Staedtler Triplius, Pilot, Kikki K, Uniball Signo, Typo, Smiggle etc. Both the ballpoint pens and gel pens had some minor ghosting (see through) on the back side of the pages.

Related: Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 

Pros of the Otto Goals Planner

• Very well though out out planner – there is no wasted space
• lots of goal setting pages – much more than most planners
• Durable laminated cover
• Laminated tabs and the month is printed on the front and back of the tab
• Affordable – only $30AUD
• Love, love, love the colors!
• 1 color per month – great for color coding
• Boxes of the months aren’t split in 2 – every day of the month has the same amount of planning space
• Plenty of checklists
• The weeks on the monthly and weekly spreads both start on Monday (some calendars don’t do this)
• Cover can be removed (interchangeable like the Erin Condren)

Cons of the Otto Goals Planner

• Pens show slightly through the other side of the page (light ghosting)
• The writing (and writing spaces) are small. if you have large hand-writing you may find yourself running out of room
• Only available in store – rather inconvenient that you can’t buy it online. If you live outside of Australia you won’t be able to buy this planner unless someone lists them on eBay

Size comparison

Here’s the Otto planner in comparison to the Erin Condren. It’s wider but shorter

Related: Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 

Same deal for the MAMBI Happy Planner…

Related: Honest review of the Happy Planner by Me and my Big Ideas (MAMBI)

…And the Plum Paper Planner

Related: Plum Paper Planners Haul & Review (better than the Erin Condren?)

Would I use this planner?

Overall it’s a very functional planner, has nice colors and I’m excited to try it for the 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge!

If you’re a fellow Aussie, this is a much more affordable alternative to the Erin Condren planner (the planner is cheaper, you won’t have to pay for international shipping or wait ages for it to arrive).

Update: See how I used the planner in this post!

Related: Using the Otto Goals Weekly Planner (blue & pink themed weekly spread)

More planner reviews:

• Review of the DYMO Letratag label maker (is it worth buying?) 
• MAMBI Happy Planner Recipe Organizer Review
• My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review
• Mi Goals Planners Haul & Review (Planners made in Australia) 
• 5 Planner supplies you should never skimp on
• 7 Planner supplies I don’t regret splurging on
• Smiggle Stationery Haul (worth the cost?) 
• Review of the Plum Paper Memory Keepers Book 

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