This time the planner Top will be different. First, planners in the Top will be listed on a "first come, first served" basis - not strictly "best of the best". The main aim is to catalogue everything within arm's reach. Second, with a large dose of subjectivity and sarcasm (may all the world's planner gods forgive me!), emphasising each planner's pros and cons. Why? Having compiled this Top for the fifth year running, I understand that Latvia's planner offering still competes poorly with what foreign manufacturers offer. We'll see how it is this year...

1. Oh My Days planner

Four types - "Light Green" planner, "Dark Blue" planner, "Day" planner, "Night" planner. €18 each.

Photo: @OhMyDaysplanner

"+" Pleased that both genders and different tastes have been considered - both vibrant and ascetic, both inspiring quotes and well-chosen stylish photographs.
"+" A sticker set in the back pocket for marking special events throughout the year.
"-" Hard covers with metal corner pieces.

2. Manilla planner

Manilla has prepared 7 different cover designs this year. The traditional notes section at the end of the planner, a pocket and pleasant paper quality to the touch. €19.50 each.

@Manillalv

"+" I always enjoy Manilla's work, as it incorporates calligraphic, handwritten texts. These will be in the 2020 planner too.
"+" Elastic closure band - a great thing if the planner lives in a bag every day and is pulled out and put back dozens of times.
"-" A shame that Manilla is following the trend of stuffing planners with what are essentially pointless pages like self-development goal-setting, goal activities, and similar. As if the user isn't capable of keeping focus on their life or professional goals on their own - as if everyone needs a coach, a supervisor, a nanny to constantly remind them: this is what you need to achieve, oh dear, you didn't achieve this, but never mind, you'll do it tomorrow.

3. ZIB* planner

Also available in two colours - raspberry pink and blueberry blue - faux leather covers with embossed relief. Bilingual - in Latvian and English. €22 each.

Photo: @ZIBstore

"+" A functional pocket on the inside back cover, for slipping in note slips or business cards to carry along. Nice.
"-" The hard covers and faux leather are reminiscent of the generic planners that fill bookshop and stationery store shelves as the year draws to a close. But this is the carefully developed and uniquely positioned one, am I wrong?
"-" Colouring pages - WTF?! That certainly makes the planner heavier and thicker.

4. Dream Light Planner

The author is Lelde Kovaļova, who has been successfully launching uplifting planners since 2017. For the coming year in two colours - pink or black. Each planner comes with a gift bag + a card inscribed "For the Amazing Woman". €17 each.

Photo: @dreamlightplanner

"+" Each planner has been given an inspiring name - "Life is a beautiful journey" and "The right moment is now".
"-" Hard covers with sharp metal corner pieces.
"-" Rather saccharine design. If you're not quite a blonde on high heels, you might wonder where to be seen with it?!

5. MY TIME MANAGER

A planner targeted at ladies only - in cream and fuchsia colours + floral patterns and drawings on spreads. Target audience, judging by the FB post - student, office worker, young mum, beauty specialist, pastry chef, but not (I'll add) freelancer, entrepreneur, manager, leader, etc. €17 each.

@mytimemanager

"+" A ladylike, non-saccharine cover tone and a short, honest name - just not clear why in English if the planner itself is in Latvian.
"-" Forgive me, but infantile font. The idea was probably to approximate handwriting, but it looks like the letters from a clumsily typeset greeting card from the late 1990s.
"-" The cover binding resembles a university thesis binding - just a different, smaller format.

6. Small Planner for Big Goals

Yoo-hoo, a newcomer to the Top - "Small Planner for Big Goals". The planner's author and creator of the Hanna Anna pastry shop is Dace Minikoviča. I noticed it thanks to a press release in the newspaper Dienas Bizness. The planner is available in pistachio green and latte colour - very patisserie-esque.
The author herself defines the target audience as: "...young ladies working in offices for whom it matters to strive for and realise their ideas and dreams. Those who plan their daily life and budget, but gladly prepare something special for holidays." (quote from the article)

@HannaAnnaplanotajs

"+" Really like the concept pitch: "A small-format planner intended for goal-oriented people who strive for results. It will take up little space and can safely be taken along in a small bag."
"+" Concise style, great font choice, the usual lines on spreads replaced by dotting (something original).
"+" Great section for budget planning (promoting financial thinking - nice!), purchases and contacts.
"-" Slightly bothered by the merging - something is needed to separate the weekdays, perhaps one dotted line marking the end of one day and start of the next.

Updated 01.12.2019.

7. Day Planner "Padomnieks" (The Adviser)

Also a newcomer. As the author herself - graphic and interior designer Alīna Dukāte - has described it, this is a day planner for 2020 for those who want to smile, dare, be inspired and act. A6 size, hard velvet covers in three colours - Royal Red, Marine and Charbon (black). The day planner includes 366 tips from representatives of various professions and publicly recognisable Latvian personalities + free space for notes.

In addition to the day planner you can purchase the book "STILS" (Style), which describes seven basic dress codes, includes style-setters' advice, wardrobe-building recommendations, etiquette nuances, etc.

Price in shops - €20–26; better value on the website www.padomnieks.com

Photo @padomnieks

8. Mākoņoga planner

This year it's expanded considerably - 28 different variations - larger and smaller formats; hard and soft covers; with the option to personalise by printing up to 5-character initials on the cover; in Latvian and English; in various tones - from anthracite black to a barely perceptible soft beige tone. Consistent with previous years' style. Planner price - €35–37

Photo @cloudberrydesignstudio

9. "Ūdensputns" (Waterbird) Planner

A newcomer to the iinuu Top. Authors Elīna and Gunita (again, that typically Latvian habit of introducing oneself by first name only), describe the planner's vision as a life book "that will let you meet your inner true self, improve productivity and define your priorities."

Ascetic on the outside, deep dark blue cover tone - as befits the depths of water. Again, naturally, the hard covers characteristic of Latvians. An employee at one of Latvia's leading publishers once told me: books must be published in hard covers, otherwise Latvians won't buy. Well, this one is from that school. Inside the planner are pages for colouring and transforming what starts as a black-and-white ascetic planner into a colour symphony. Price when ordering on the website - €25.

Photo @udensputns

10. Letiņš 2020

I thought it might not appear this year, but it HAS. Smaržeklis has pulled it together and the planner for the coming year is ready. Twelve artists' illustrations, spiral binding, two sizes (A5 and A6) and five different cover designs. Prices - €12–19

Photo @smarzeklis.lv

11. Piparmētra planner "Bloom in Everyday Life"

This year PIPARMĒTRA planners are available in three ascetic pastel tones - soft pink with rose gold print, dusty rose with rose gold print, and light grey with silver print. The planner includes watercolours by artist Alise Ķīnaste + more space for notes, dreams and thoughts. Hmm, looks good, unpretentious, nothing superfluous. Price - €25.

Photo @piparmetracom

12. Funny Fennec planner

Uh, yet another newcomer (quite a few have sprung up this year - cause for rejoicing). The planner content is in English and offers various tips on "work-life balance", how to prepare for a job interview, how to be healthier and happier, etc. Available with 17 different cover types. Price - €16

Photo @funnyfennec

13. "ArSauli Plānrādis" (With Sun Day Planner)

Made from recycled paper, metal spiral binding. Marks the solar calendar celebrations, wisdom from folk songs and ancient Latvian life knowledge. Price - €18

Photo @MarasGadaRits

14. Jete's planner "Plan Not to Plan, or Leave Room for Improvisation, 2020"

Third year of publication, first year in the iinuu Top. Painting images on monthly spreads. Authors: Inga Uļinska, Zanda Lapsa, Sanda Rumpētere, Jete Patrīcija Kublicka, Signe Neimane, Ilona Šnikvalde. Size - A6, hardcover binding. Motto: "Create, think and feel. Always." A great artistic approach. Price: €12

Photo @iedvesmojete

15. I'mperfekt 2020 planner "Today Is the Best Day"

As a perfect accessory at every business meeting. Texts by Ieva Cipruse, drawings by Krista Miltiņa, Sanda Undzēna, Viviana Maria Staņislavska and Anna Ābolа. Hmm, somehow reminiscent of the Moleskine planner style, which is my all-time favourite. A plus - it's in Latvian, because the trouble with foreign planners is that I always miss the name days. Limited print run. Price - €24.99

Photo @ImperfektLV

16. BEAUTY DAY planner

Cover - faux leather in six colours, metal corner pieces for cover protection, weekly spread with time slots from 07:00–20:00 (oops, my business breakfast meetings starting at 06:30 can't be scheduled), a purchase tracking table, client tracking table, space for notes. Price - €17

Photo @Beautyday

My 2020 planner:

Paperblanks Shiraz 2020

A foreign one again, but a different one this time. A completely atypical choice for me (remember my super-slim, ascetic, bright red 2019 Moleskine planner?!). The design on the cover originates from Shiraz, the mecca of Iranian (Persian) artists. It is claimed this cover was inspired by a 16th-century book created during the flowering of the Persian Safavid dynasty, when Suleiman the Magnificent - the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire - ruled. A book-style binding, a small handy bag-sized format, weekly spread + adjacent notes page, a pocket at the back with an address book or space for business cards, elastic closure band and two sewn-in coloured bookmarks. Evidently the combination of two values spoke to me - richly gilded cover design + inner pages built on the principle of "nothing superfluous, but everything necessary". Price: €16.99

Photo @paperblanks