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Best Ring Planner Inserts: The Ones I Print for MeePlus
Print-your-own six-ring inserts are the ones I actually use. They go in a MeePlus SlimPad, personal size. They do not drop into a Lochby or a Traveler's Company notebook.
The MeePlus SlimPad in the personal size has quickly become a critical piece of my planning. I have used it for about two months, and this article walks through what makes it great and how I use it, starting with the inserts.
Ring planners from MeePlus, Plotter, and other brands let you move pages around. When I finish a week, I take that sheet out and archive it, where I can still reference it later, and put a new sheet at the front.
The other benefit is that you can buy almost any type of paper and refill as needed. I have also started designing my own inserts.
MeePlus sent me a lot of these products for review and even engraved my channel name on the binder, and I am grateful to them. They did not pay for this article. This article includes affiliate links, including a MeePlus referral link, so I may earn a commission if you buy through them.
Watch the full video if you want the desk tour.
Print-your-own is the insert I keep
I had seen horizontal weekly inserts for the MeePlus, but I could not find a vertical one like the layout I wanted, so I designed my own.
My vertical weekly folds out, which gives it much more space. One sheet holds at least two weeks.
It has the usual hourly planning across the top, plus meal planning and habit tracking at the bottom. That is a lot of information on one sheet for such a small size, and I am very happy with how it turned out.
I also designed a project dashboard that folds out the same way. I have been experimenting with this folding format because it fits much more information on one sheet.
Each project gets its own dashboard and a few pages behind it, where I write notes and anything else relevant to that project. I do not have to organize everything up front, because I can move sheets around later.
I am making the inserts in different sizes, including A5, A6, and several ring sizes. If you need a particular size, let me know and I will prioritize it. The Complete Planner Set collects the sizes in one place.
If you want to try the format first, grab the free insert and print it out. It is available on this site, so you can try the format and test a few prints and cuts before you commit to paid inserts.
How I turn paper into a ring insert
I had some grid sheets lying around that turned out to be surprisingly fountain pen friendly. I printed a few, punched them, and put them in the binder for sketching or anything else.
To punch the holes, I use a Bira Craft 6-hole punch, and it works great.
Once you get used to printing your own layouts, or buying paper and printing on it, the process is easy. I trim the edges with scissors. I can also buy bulk Tomoe River paper for much less, then cut it to size and punch it.
How to print planner inserts walks through the printing. Planner insert sizes has the size chart.
I also punched some Rhodia paper I had on hand, plus a few leftover weekly pages I never used. Both are really high-quality papers.
There are many ready-made inserts too, from MeePlus and from third-party sellers: lined, weekly, horizontal lined, blank, square, and grid. You do not have to commit to one. You can keep a few grid sheets for sketches and a few lined sheets for journaling, all in the same binder.
What I used before the rings
I used Traveler's Company planners for a while, both the dated and the undated versions.
The trouble with bound planners is that you commit to one format and then have to stick with it.
This year I started with a Sterling Ink vertical weekly with really nice Tomoe River paper. I am almost done with it for the first half of the year, and I filled it well.
The only downside is that a few busy weeks left blank pages. That will not happen with the ring planner, because I only add the sheets I use.
A bound planner locked me into its page order. One of my biggest challenges was deciding how many pages to leave for a big to-do list, a project, or a collection. That bothered me quite a bit, and I wanted a system where I could move things around.
I am still happy to use a bound notebook for anything chronological, like the journaling I do daily and weekly. For projects, lists, and anything else that moves around, I never know how much space I will need, and the ring planner has been perfect for that.
The binder these inserts are built for
MeePlus sent the SlimPad in Pueblo leather, in the olive colorway. I requested the large pen loop so it could hold my Pilot Vanishing Point, and the pen fits with no problem. That is exactly how I carry it.
What inspired me to design my own inserts was the MeePlus monthly insert. It fits a whole calendar on one sheet of paper.
When I unfold it all the way, I can see almost a year at a glance, with plenty of space to write. That fold-out design inspired my fold-out vertical weekly, which I have been enjoying a lot.
I chose the 13-millimeter rings. MeePlus also offers 11 and 16 millimeters, and 13 sits right in the middle, which I think is the sweet spot.
My binder is not completely full, and turning pages or moving them around feels comfortable, with no worry about tearing them.
The leather is aging beautifully, and I love that it matches my wallet, which is made from the same green Pueblo leather.
Do these inserts fit a Lochby or a Traveler's notebook?
No. Traveler's Company notebooks and the Lochby Field Journal are elastic-band covers built to hold booklets, not six-ring pages. The inserts I print are cut for the MeePlus SlimPad's ring spacing, so check the ring size and page dimensions before you try them in any other six-ring binder.
I also would not recommend a ring binder as a pocket journal. Smaller ring binders exist, and I have seen people carry them in a pocket, but I think the rings get in the way too easily.
The inserts I print are for a six-ring planner, and mine is the MeePlus SlimPad in personal size. If you want a pocket notebook instead, see Best Pocket Notebook for Everyday Carry.
What still bothers me about rings
Ring planners have a couple of downsides. Rings are great for flexibility, but the spine has to be thicker to house them, even when the binder holds little paper.
The SlimPad does a good job of staying slim, as the name suggests.
The other downside is price. A typical notebook cover runs around $50 to $60, while the MeePlus costs $100 or more depending on the size. For that price, you get a really high-quality piece of leather, a spine that looks very durable, and the ring system.
There is one thing rings do better than booklets. A pet peeve of mine with some Traveler's Company notebook inserts is that the pages do not lie completely flat. In the ring binder, every page lies completely flat.
The comparison I would actually make
| Insert | What I used | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Print-your-own (Planning Engineered templates) | Fold-out vertical weekly, fold-out project dashboard | Layouts you cannot buy, two weeks on one sheet |
| MeePlus official | Fold-out monthly calendar they sent | A year at a glance without drawing boxes |
| Cut-down paper | Grid sheets, leftover Sterling weeks, Rhodia | Paper you already like, punched to fit |
| Bound weekly | Sterling Ink vertical weekly, Tomoe River | Chronological weeks. Not for projects that grow. |
I designed my fold-out vertical weekly because I could not find anything like it. The planner inserts I make are available in my shop.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Do ring planner inserts fit a Lochby or Traveler's Company notebook?
No. Lochby and Traveler's Company notebooks are elastic-band covers built for booklets, so six-ring planner inserts do not fit them.
What hole punch do you use for ring planner inserts?
I punch my ring planner inserts with a Bira Craft 6-hole punch, and it works great. I trim the edges with scissors.
Where do I start if I have not bought a binder yet?
Start with the free printable insert on this site to see how a ring system works and to test a few prints and cuts. If the punch and the size are right for you, try the Complete Planner Set.
Did MeePlus pay for this?
No. MeePlus sent me products for review and engraved my channel name on the binder, but did not pay for this article, which does include affiliate links such as a MeePlus referral link.