So Typical Me: Part 2 - Review

So Typical Me is a Swedish company specialising in highly customisable planners and notebooks. This is the second of two posts reviewing them. In this part, I review my new planner. To read about my requirements in detail, and the ordering process, check out So Typical Me: Part 1 - Designing and ordering.

Score: 7/10

Summary: Fantastic customisation, and a great price point (for EU and UK customers). Could use more monthly spread options, and the elastic closure lets it down slightly.

Review ratings

I score all products from zero to ten. Anything above a five is a positive review. Anything below five is a negative review. There is also the "joy score", which is my very subjective "does this give me the happy feelings" score. Read more about the rating system.

What I was looking for when ordering

I wanted an hourly planner to use for work. This meant it needed good space for todos and notes, but I wasn't bothered about weekend space. I also wasn't too worried about a yearly overview. I wanted something that would be cheerful: that I'd enjoy picking up each morning, and enjoy having sat in front of me all day. This meant both the cover and the interior look and feel were important.

Planner images

I've also done a video if you want a more detailed walkthrough.

The good

There's a lot that I like about this planner!

Great price point: £25.90 (as of August 2023) for a heavily customised 12 month planner is excellent - and don't forget the free shipping.

The paper: ok, the paper is smooth, and I generally prefer a toothier/textured paper. The smoothness does mean inky pens may smudge if you don't give them a minute to dry. However, there is very little ghosting and no bleed through with any of the pens I tried. That's very good going (and again, especially for the price point).

The customisability: you really can customise every page, and most have an excellent range of options. The weekly layout offers tons of variety. If you want to see customisation process in detail, check out my video.

The page frames: it's a small thing, but I love having this splash of colour. I'm a functional planner, I won't be adding loads of stickers, so I appreciate being able to easily add some design flare (the frame is optional if you prefer a more neutral look).

The planner is true to the website: what I received looked like what I saw when customising. It's always a bit uncertain when ordering online. Colours in particular can look different on screen, and it can be hard to get a sense of scale. But I'd say their customisation tool gives a really clear picture of what you'll actually get.

The bad

The only real negative is the way the elastic attaches to the back cover. It has two problems: it leads to marks on the cover, and it creates quite a large bump which is hard to write on. You can remove the elastic, which is probably what I'll do. It would be nice if So Typical Me offered a separate elastic band that went round the planner, rather than one that anchors to the back.

Wishlist

This section covers things about the planner that aren't objectively bad, but that I might change or think could be improved.

I'd love to see more options for monthly spreads. For work I'd prefer a dashboard spread, but their only dashboard spread had a really distinctive design that wouldn't have fitted with the rest of the planner. A neutral dashboard would be amazing.

And if they could possibly squeeze in just a couple more pages, a better yearly overview would be a good addition. They could make it optional (like the monthly spreads), so people who prefer more notes pages can choose that instead.

I'd be interested in seeing a six month planner from them. I like quarter and half year planners as they allow you to experiment with different options without waste. It would also allow for a lot more notes room, which opens up loads of different customisation and usage options.

Joy score

9/10

Despite a few gripes, I really love this planner. I'm a sucker for customisation, and the page frames is a small touch that just lifts the whole thing.

Wrap up

I'll almost certainly buy more So Typical Me products. I could see this becoming a regular choice for my work planner (though being me, I could also see myself changing annually because I can't resist trying other options). It's functional, fun, and affordable.