DIY Weekly Desk Planner: Easy Step-by-Step Guide to a Beautiful Standing Calendar

In This Article

Design Your DIY Weekly Desk Planner
Design Your Desk Planner Cover
Export and Print Your Desk Planner
How to Bind Your DIY Weekly Desk Planner

Want to make a DIY weekly desk planner with a standing base? This tutorial shows you how to design dated weekly pages in Planify Pro, print them on cardstock, and bind everything with O-wire into a standing desk calendar. It’s a great project for anyone who loves making custom planners — and a perfect way to stay organized on your desk.

You’ll design the weekly spread layout, customize colors and fonts, create a matching cover, and assemble your DIY weekly desk planner with chipboard covers and wire binding. If you’re new to binding, check out our guide to book binding methods to see how wire binding compares to other techniques.

What You’ll Need

Paper to print out inserts — see our best printers for planners guide
Cardstock
2 Chipboards
Cinch Binding Machine
White Glossy Sticker Paper
O-wires
Paper Cutter

Design Your DIY Weekly Desk Planner

Opening Planify Pro and clicking Create a Planner to start the DIY weekly desk planner

Selecting Half Page A5 size from the Size menu for the weekly desk planner

Step 1: Start Your Planner

Click Create a Planner
Select Half Page A5 size from the Size menu at the top

Navigating to Template Starter and selecting Weekly Planner DATED template

Choosing an A5 dated weekly planner template and applying it

Step 2: Choose Template

Go to Template > Starter > Planner Tags A: Weekly Planner DATED
Select the desired A5 template and click the Template button

Switching Edit Layout to ON to customize widgets on the weekly spread

Changing calendar language and start date settings in the top menu bar

Step 3: Customize Layout

Switch Edit layout to ON to customize widgets as you like
Change calendar to language or start date you prefer on top on menu bar
Switch Edit layout to OFF

Selecting the date flag widget and customizing it to preferred language

Choosing a font and applying a style theme to the weekly desk planner

Step 4: Customize Text and Style

Select the date flag and customize it to your preferred language
Go to Text, select a font or upload your own to apply on the header
Go to Style, choose from the available styles on the top menu bar, and select the one you want to apply to your calendar

Adjusting layout spacing for binding and duplicating pages with auto-date rendering

Step 5: Set Layout and Duplicate Pages

Go to Layout to adjust the spacing according to the guide for calendar binding
Click the three dots, fill the desired number of pages and select render timing

Design Your Desk Planner Cover

Adding a new empty page and selecting a full-display pattern for the cover

Completed desk planner cover design with moon pattern in Planify Pro

Create Your Cover Design

Click Add Empty Page+
Switch Edit layout to ON to remove all widgets
Go to Pattern, select Full display, and then choose the pattern you like

Export and Print Your Desk Planner

Opening Save Export menu and selecting Batch Generate PDF for all planner pages

Downloading the PDF and setting print scale to 120 percent for cover and 100 percent for inserts

Export Your Files

Go to Save/Export > Export PDF > Batch Generate PDF > Click to Download PDF
Open your file and print out
Note: In this tutorial, we recommend scaling the cover to 120% and the desk calendar inserts to 100%

How to Bind Your DIY Weekly Desk Planner

This DIY weekly desk planner uses O-wire binding with a standing chipboard base — the same technique used in the half-hidden wire notebook tutorial. For other binding options, see our guides on signature binding and PVA glue binding.

Cutting weekly planner inserts to size with a paper cutter

Punching binding holes in the planner inserts with a Cinch machine

Step 1: Cut and Prepare

Cut calendar inserts with a Paper Cutter
Make holes in the calendar inserts with a Cinch
Cut Chipboards following the guide above

Peeling sticker cover and placing chipboard in the center for the desk planner base

Trimming sticker paper edges and folding them around the chipboard cover

Step 2: Apply Sticker Covers

Peel the sticker cover and place the chipboard in the middle
Trim the edges of the sticker cover and fold them with ruler
Take white sticker paper to place inside the covers

Punching holes in the finished covers and creating the standing base piece

Folding paper piece and gluing it to both sides of the cover for the standing base

Step 3: Create Calendar Base

Make holes on the covers
Cut and fold a piece of paper following the guide above to create the piece for attaching the calendar at the bottom
Apply glue to each side of the paper piece and attach it to both sides of the cover

Cutting O-wire to the size of the desk planner cover

Adding inserts and covers to O-wire and pressing with Cinch to complete the DIY weekly desk planner

Step 4: Final Assembly

Cut O-wires to the size of your cover
Add inserts and cover to O-wires and press it with Cinch

More DIY Planner & Notebook Tutorials

Enjoyed making this DIY weekly desk planner? Explore these other handmade planner and notebook projects:

DIY Half-Hidden Wire Notebook Create a professional wire-bound notebook with a hidden spine technique

DIY Folding Gratitude Notebook Make a wire-bound gratitude journal with folding cover and moon theme

DIY Sliding Notebook with Tear-Off Inserts Build a refillable notebook with Chicago screw binding and perforated pages

DIY Double-Door Christmas Planner Double wire binding with a folding holiday cover design

DIY Planner Journal Booklet Make a staple-bound cherry-themed planner journal from scratch

Book Binding Methods Guide Compare wire, coil, PVA, and signature binding techniques

Ready to Create Your Own Planner?

So, who knew creating your own DIY weekly desk planner could be so fun and easy? Want more tips and inspiration for building your own custom planner or launching a personalized planner brand? Check out our blog for a helpful beginner’s guide: “What You Need to Start a Planner Shop” and Courses to help you get started.

Planify Pro has more DIY tips to help you personalize your planner, whether you’re designing a gift, building a product line, or just creating a layout that works for you.

Check out these easy tutorials and bring your custom planner ideas to life Click Here! Don’t forget to visit our Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest for more inspiration. Let Planify Pro help you on your journey to planner success!