In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating your very first discbound planner. From choosing your materials to assembling everything together, let’s dive into how to build a planner that works for you.

Step 1: Choose Your Planner Size

The first decision you’ll need to make is what size planner you want. The beauty of discbound planners is their versatility, so you can choose a size that best fits your needs. At this time, Paper State is only stocking A5 discbound planners and accessories as we want to maximise the variety of inserts we can provide during our first year. We will soon be adding A6, and will add additional sizes including A4 if demand dictates it.

We really believe that A5 is the ideal starting size for most planners - not to big, not too small, easy to fit into a handbag.. and you can really bulk it out with large discs if you want lots of content contained inside. We do see the argument for a smaller A6 planner, especially if you're a traveller or need to take it everywhere with you (we often see travel planners and budget planners set up in A6) so we're aiming on stocking A6 covers and inserts around September 2025.

• Plastic Discs: Lightweight and low cost, plastic discs come in a variety of colours and sizes. If you're rough with your planner or using very large plastic discs, you may find that occasionally they do crack - but this is unlikely to happen in your early days of planning, so are an affordable option to test the discbound system, and you can always swap to metal discs later. Some people also prefer the look of plastic discs as you can get clear and white discs - great for a minimal and neutral aesthetic.

• Metal Discs: These are more durable and offer a premium, high-end look. Metal discs will last the distance and are happy to endure rough handling and years of use. Paper State currently stocks metal discs in gold, rose gold, and black, with more colours to come in the near future.

• Size Considerations: The size of the discs determines how much you can fit into your planner. If you're just getting started you may want to start with discs around the 28mm diameter size, and then upgrade if/when you need to.

Think about how many pages you plan to include in your planner and opt for discs that give you room to expand. If you plan on adding more pages over time, it’s best to start with larger discs.

 

Step 3: Choose Your Covers

Your planner’s covers set the tone and protect your pages. Paper State currently stocks frosted and clear plastic covers and vegan leather covers. We will also be adding cardstock covers in the near future.

• Vegan Leather Covers: Durable, professional, and available in a variety of colours.

• Cardstock Covers: Cardstock allows beautiful designs to be printed on them, so cardstock covers can really add colour and interest to your planners.

• Plastic Covers: Plastic covers are a great option if you're using a vegan leather wrap-around cover over the top. We print beautiful designs on plastic covers, as well as offering them plain, adding a layer of protection over any inserts or dashboards you wish to be able to see when your planner is closed.

Note: you need to decide whether you want to use a wrap-around cover, a clip-on cover, or both. A wrap-around cover looks more like a traditional ring-bound planner, and ideally you'd pair a vegan leather wrap-around cover (for maximum planner protection and a luxe look and feel) with a plastic or cardstock clip-on cover (you wouldn't want to use a vegan leather clip-on cover within your wrap-around cover as the clip-on cover will then feel quite bulky and not slide as smoothly into the wrap-around cover inside pocket).

Many people have one or two wrap-around covers, but may have 4-6 individual discbound planners with a variety of types of clip-on covers - this way, whenever you need to take your planner with you, you can slip it into your wrap-around cover to keep it safe in transport. Even if you use a vegan leather clip-on cover generally for your planner, it takes 30 seconds to clip off your cover and clip on a thinner plastic or cardstock cover ready to slip into your wrap-around cover.

Note that you clip-on covers come in sets of 2, and you'll want to clip one on the front, and one on the back, of your planner.

Step 4: Plan your content

Next, you want to plan the contents of your planner, it's best to write down all the things you'd like your planner to include. If your list is getting pretty long, you could select to break the list down into categories and actually create a couple of leaner planners rather than having everything in the one planner (eg I personally have a planner for my day job, one for my business, one for my family and one for myself).

Step 5: Add dashboards and tab dividers

Once you have a plan for the structure and content of your planner(s), I'd recommend ordering a 'planner contents' insert so you can actually list out the contents of your planner and have this insert sitting right at the front of your planner.

It can also be a good idea to add some tab dividers and dashboards to visually and physically separate the sections of your planner. A dashboard could simply be a punched page with a beautiful image on it, or it could say something, like the name of that section (eg "Finances, Lists, Schedule etc). Your tab dividers would lay on top of your dashboard. We stock frosted plastic tab dividers so you can see the dashboard underneath. Then you can add a label to your tab so that it's easy to find when your planner is closed or open to another section.

Step 6: Select Your Pages

Now comes the fun part—choosing all the insert designs that will sit in each section of your planner(s).

We have a huge collection of inserts availalbe today, with more added all the time.

have an idea for an insert you'd like us to create? Let us know via our contact us page.

Step 7: Assemble Your Planner

Once all of your items have arrived, it’s time to start assembling your planner(s).

a) Add your discs to your selected clip-on covers.

b) Add in any tab dividers you wish to use.

c) Label your tab dividers.

d) Add in a contents page to the front of your planner, and write out the contents of your planner.

e) Add in any dashboards you want to the beginning of your tabbed sections.

e) Add in your inserts, in the order you want, one tabbed section at a time.

Step 8: Customise and Accessorise

Now that your planner is built, it’s time to make it truly yours! You can personalise your planner with fun accessories, such as stickers, washi tape and pockets.

Step 9: Maintain and Expand Your Planner

As you use your planner, you may find that you need to adjust or expand it. The beauty of discbound planners is that they can grow with you. If you need more space, simply upgrade your discs to a larger size. You can also add more pages, inserts, or even extra sections as your planning needs evolve.

Since the discbound system allows you to rearrange pages at will, you can also experiment with different layouts and designs to find what works best for you. There’s no need to replace your planner every year, as you can simply update it with new inserts and materials as needed.

Conclusion

Building your first discbound planner is an exciting and rewarding process that lets you create a system tailored to your needs. Whether you’re managing work tasks, personal projects, your family life, or all of the above, a discbound planner gives you the flexibility to organise your life on your terms. By following these simple steps, you’ll have a planner that helps you stay on top of everything while reflecting your unique style.

Ready to get started? Explore our range of discbound planner covers, inserts and accessories to build the perfect planner for you!