Gartner Studios Calendars & Planners

What's the difference between a planner and calendar?

Although both planners and calendars are tools for organizing time, they serve different purposes. A calendar typically provides an overview of days, weeks, and months, allowing you to see and track key dates, holidays, appointments, and events at a glance. It acts more as a visual roadmap of where your time is allocated. The most popular formats are desk calendars, wall calendars, and dry erase calendars.

A planner is more detailed and is designed for planning and managing your specific tasks, goals, and commitments. They often have space for notes, to-do lists, goals, reminders, and come in daily, weekly, or monthly formats. A planner not only allows you to schedule and track time but also to actively plan, manage, and document your life or work.

In essence, a calendar is a tool for viewing time, whereas a planner is a tool for organizing and managing that time in a more detailed manner.