Transformer Planner VS Frankenplanner

So there’s been a lot floating around lately about “frankenplanning” in different planners, and the easiest, I think, to do this with is a Happy Planner because of the discs and how easy it is to add things and take things out. When I started learning about frankenplanning, I learned there is another term used for Happy Planner called “transformer planning” or having a “transformer planner.” Today I’m going to talk about the differences and a little bit about each type, we’re looking at transformer planner vs frankenplanner!

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Transformer Planner VS Frankenplanner

I do a little bit of BOTH frankenplanning and transformer planning, which I talked about in my 2019-2020 Happy Planner setup. To be honest, the differences here don’t really matter all that much, but people have been asking me what the difference is, so I thought we would talk about it.

What is frankenplanning?

Let’s start with frankenplanning. Basically, this is kind of how it sounds with a bit of a Frankenstein reference in there. You take your Happy Planner and “frankenplan” other planner accessories/planner types into it. Here are some things you can do to create a frankenplanner-

Change your cover- I’ve recently been looking at making my own custom covers and it is so fun!
Change your discs– change their colors, get expansion discs, or create a custom color combo.
Combine different Happy Planner layouts into the same book.
Create a Happy Planner totally from scratch by purchasing a cover, discs, expansion packs, etc…
Add printables or other pages to your Happy Planner by punching them with the Happy Planner punch

What is a transformer planner?

Okay, so frankenplanning basically consists of customizing your planner and changing it up with features that you want and need in your planner. Creating a transformer planner is really similar, but also very cool. This is my main Happy Planning style lately and I’m a bit obsessed.

Creating a transformer planner is when you combine multiple planners- covers and all, onto one set of Happy Planner discs. This is where those expander disks can be really handy, but they aren’t totally necessary. In my transformer planner I combined a vertical weekly planner with pages from the undated budget planner and from the undated fitness planner that were released last year. You can do this with dated planners, too, you just have to be wary of how bulky it is.

My rule of thumb is if I’m combining two planners, I’ll include 6 months of each planner together, or for three planners, 3 months of each planner. You may also want to purchase an extra set of regular Happy Planner discs to store your extra pages on, or you can store them in a gallon sized plastic bag to keep them safe while they are waiting to be used.

For my transformer planner, the back and front covers were my original vertical weekly covers, then I had the front fitness cover marking the beginning of that section, and the front budget cover to mark the beginning of that section.

I also did a bit of frankenplanning in this planner, by including some of my printables, plus some notes filler paper, creating a totally custom planner for myself.

This is the main reason I have always LOVED the Happy Planner- the customization options that the discs give us that you just can’t get from a coil bound planner.

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of a transformer planner vs a frankenplanner when it comes to Happy Planner planning. For even more information on the Happy Planner, check out this post on everything beginners need to know from The Savvy Sparrow.