In my 20s I used to take pride in never having to make lists and keeping everything in my head. And planning just seemed far too grown-up and organised.
Nowadays, I love to free up my brain by using beautiful planners to help me with goal setting and to keep me motivated and on track in my business and personal life. A huge part of using my planner to see how far I’ve come, how I overcame my challenges, what I still need to change and how I plan to move forward.
I’ve used Leonie Dawson’s goal setting and planning tools for the past 2 years, but now that planners aren’t part of this package anymore here’s my short list.
Firstly, I recommend you do something I wish I’d done at the beginning:
Think about what you want your planner to do for you and how you want to use it.
Do you want an appointments diary, a goal setting planner, a journal or a combination of all 3?
Do you need or would you like to be part of an online community to help keep you motivated?
How about some videos to help you achieve your goals?
It’s easy to get side-tracked by all the pretty covers and marketing messages, but remember this is about you creating your best-ever 2018. Think about your way of working, your goals and choose something that resonates with you and that’s going to work for you. If you’re not going to join a marketing community, I suggest you schedule time – in your diary – to check in monthly, weekly and daily to review and move forward. And the best tip I picked up from another review (yes, I’ve spent way too long on this!) keep your planner open and accessible!
I was simply looking for a daily/monthly planner to help keep me on track for 2018. I did get a little side-tracked and bought 2 (though for different purposes).
I haven’t put them in order as I think this is a personal choice.
Ultimate Day Planner.
Available in a choice of designs (this is the galaxy design) this planner has everything to get organised for next year.
A year at a glance planner that you can remove and hang on the wall.
A chart for the year showing monthly goals and results chart.
A vision board.
Then what you would expect – weekly appointments page, goals and targets achieved page, a mini day planner, including an Important Events not to miss. ‘To do list’ tick boxes and ‘thing that made me smile today’, so no need for a separate gratitude diary.
Statistics for social media, turnover and profit.
Where I am now and where I want to be including a ‘Wheel of Values’.
It comes in thick paper cover, so not hard back but with a plastic front and back ‘cover’ for spillages etc. Also, there’s a plastic A5 pocket at the back and an elastic binder.
Overall a great planner with inspirational quotes and a choice of colours.
http://amzn.eu/7mHfHMP
One Day at a Time by Abby Wynne.
This is a beautifully designed diary with themes to ‘reflect, to be grateful and to be inspired’. There aren’t any appointment times; a small box and inspirational quote for each day, more of a lovely journal to record thoughts and ideas.
Mine has just arrived, so I can provide some more information as there weren’t any pics of the inside on Amazon or Abby’s website.
There’s a theme for each month on a beautiful ‘nature’ background pic, with a quote. I opened on March which reads “PEACE’ with an intention (I love intentions) ‘This month I will continue the work of improving my relationship with myself’ with a quote ‘When you have peace within, real peace with others I possible’ Thich Nhat Hanh.
There are also monthly exercises and prompts for affirmations ‘Today I can…’ ‘Today I trust…’
A beautiful journal and personal diary.
http://amzn.eu/9yyny9M
Tools 4 wisdom planner
This is a gorgeous spiral bound planner with tabs for each month. A choice of designs makes it more personal to you.
It’s a week by page planner, with appointment times from 5am til 10pm, so great if you’re an early riser or have evening appointments. Also, small sections for notes, priorities and gratitude thoughts.
Each month there’s a page for a monthly priorities list and Goals (I like the Why and How sections to help you to get them done!)
A Goal Mind map page and step by step section towards achieving your goals.
A personal and professional goals section.
Where am I now Where do I want to be How do I get there?
A good comprehensive planner containing a back pocket, a ribbon and stickers, so a little playful too J
Available in a choice of patterns with a front cover of “Always believe in yourself’ in A4 or A5.
http://amzn.eu/6R200DS
Danielle Laporte The Desire Map Planner
This is a gorgeous spiral bound planner with a hard-back cover ‘What I will do to feel the way I want to feel’.
There’s a daily and weekly edition, depending on how you’re going to use it.
The planner is filled with beautifully creative and inspirational words and ‘soul prompts’ in addition to the usual scheduling you would expect from a planner.
There’s a monthly check-in and goals for the month.
A lovely reminder list of ‘suggested Core Desired Feelings’ at the side of each page prompts you, according to one reviewer ‘to remember my soul…not just the tope things I need to get done.’
There’s a blank space at the end of each week to capture inspiration, ideas, and new business concepts so they are all in one convenient place
Indented tabs and perforated corners to remove so you can find your way to today easily.
It contains astrology events, which is a bonus!
Danielle is also a bestselling author, member of Oprah’s super soul 100 and author of ‘The Desire Map’, which prompted the crreation of the Planner.
If you don’t know her work, this might be a good time to check it out! Danielle’s 2018 planner looks like a beatiful way to keep you motivated, inspired and focussed throughout the year.
Deluxe Law of Attraction planner
This gorgeous rose gold planner aims to re-programme your mind using methods used for NASA astronauts. It includes a vision board, steps to design your dream life and goal setting tools. It also includes a free minute video routine to help you on your journey. And an 8 step programme to set goals and achieve them, including time management tools.
As a planner, it includes mind mapping, monthly goal-setting and overview.
Weekly to do lists, feel-good lists and gratitude journal are a great addition to the planner.
I like the ‘Reflect on Your month’ section, prompting you to look over insights, progress and how you learned from fears that you encountered and how you moved past them.
It contains a dated academic planner July 2017 to July 2018.
There’s a map pocket at the back too and lots of inspirational stickers J
It even has a 90-day money back guarantee.
This planner looks like a great planner for reflection and motivation, with added bonuses of the 8 step programme and video routine.
The Girls Mean Business Awesome Marketing Planner
Available through the Facebook page or website, this A5 planner is bright, full of tips and practical advice with sections on creating your vision, setting targets, media planning and a lovely gratitude and to do list section.
There’s a week to page and monthly diary.
It’s not just a marketing planner though. As part of your purchase, you gain access to an online planner portal, mini-courses, a Facebook group and weekly ‘bum-kicking’ emails to keep you motivated and ‘on your toes’.
A fun and motivational planner and potential to join a community to keep you on track.
http://thegirlsmeanbusiness.com/
There are, of course, plenty more planners out there for you to choose from, including an Astro Moon planner…
Hopefully, I’ve helped you choose a lovely planner to help make 2018 amazing for you. If you haven’t guessed, I chose the Ultimate Day Planner (if I was going to choose again I might go for Danielle laPorte’s, so maybe for 2019!) and Abby’s One Day at a Time is my extra gift to me to journal and dream …
As I send this out it’s 18 December, my mum’s 80th birthday and the last new moon of December. So, a great time to let go of what no longer serves you. And if you still have some work to do, how about writing it down and setting an intention or letting it go in whatever way works best for you? Or try the new moon ritual in this great blog…
http://foreverconscious.com/sagittarius-new-moon-7-day-ritual-december-2017