12 of the Best 2026 Annual Planners to Buy Right Now If You Love Good Design and Want to Get Your Life Ordered and Organized

Stop procrastinating: these freshly printed diaries are all you need to stick to deadlines and give a fresh look to your office life

Rotating gif showcasing a checkered Hobonichi Cover Cousin (A5) Unsodo Shin-Bijutsukai (Flower) A5 Cousin Size 2, decorated with blue, white, red, and brown squares and flowers, sitting against a checkered pink, white, and red background.
Want to get your hands on this iconic Hobonichi archive notebook cover? Simply pick your favorite planner 2026 from the ones listed below, keeping in mind its A5 size.
(Image credit: Hobonichi)

Whether you intend on using them to set yourself reminders, for keeping memories, or boosting your productivity from the get-go this year, you need to get yourself a good annual planner.

But what are the diaries set to steal the show in the coming months? The coolest stationery brands have outdone themselves this year with great design — so much so that you might be a little spoilt for choice.

To help you get your ducks in a row from as early in the year as possible, I have turned to my decades-long love of all things paper and pen and identified 12 beautifully crafted yearly planners sure to make every day at work — or in school — count. Selected for their distinctive look, from vintage-inspired buys to hyper minimalist ones, each of the paper planners below was designed to infuse character and calm into your everyday life.

From the in-demand Japanese stationery houses giving your office a retro-fueled vibe to collectible desk accessories worth adding to your arsenal, this edit of 2026 year planners lets you get ahead, in style.


Searching for more ways to stay grounded, inspired, and proactive this year beyond drafting every thought that comes to mind on your favorite 2026 planners? Damson Madder's Unplugged cabin is the 72-hour getaway you need to value "every moment offline," Livingetc's wellness writer Amiya Baratan reports.

Gilda Bruno
Lifestyle Editor

Gilda Bruno is Livingetc's Lifestyle Editor. Before joining the team, she worked as an Editorial Assistant on the print edition of AnOther Magazine and as a freelance Sub-Editor on the Life & Arts desk of the Financial Times. Between 2020 and today, Gilda's arts and culture writing has appeared in a number of books and publications including Apartamento’s Liguria: Recipes & Wanderings Along the Italian Riviera, Sam Wright’s debut monograph The City of the SunThe British Journal of PhotographyDAZEDDocument JournalElephantThe FaceFamily StyleFoamIl Giornale dell’ArteHUCKHungeri-DPAPERRe-EditionVICEVogue Italia, and WePresent.