WHY I MADE THE TRANSITION
For years my husband used to harass me as I attended to my schedule on my smart phone (at one point I think it was the Palm Treo – remember that thing?). “Stop messing around on your phone, and just write it down!” he’d say in annoyance (also because he hates smart phones in general). I clearly didn’t agree . . . until I tried it. Now I wasn’t willing to go as old school as him (He has a Franklin Covey planner that I think he’s been refilling since 2001), but last year I did give in and buy a Passion Planner, which I did enjoy. I found writing things down and checking them off by hand was so much more rewarding and the visual (with the help of some highlighters) helped me really see how I was spending my days, both personally and professionally. I went with the Passion Planner mostly because it had been recommended by several mentors of mine and although I used it all of 2016, I found the blandness of it didn’t really fit my personality and lifestyle. It has great features, but it just didn’t inspire me as much as I hoped a PASSION planner would. It’s not to say that I don’t recommend it; it just wasn’t the right fit for me.
If you happen to be addicted to your phone calendar, trust me, I totally get it. And when I transitioned to a written one I had full intentions of keeping up with both and of course, I haven’t . . . I may still try this year but with three new planners, I don’t have much hope. But I want to tell you the best thing about NOT having my calendar on my phone is that when I’m out and someone asks me to commit to something I honestly have to say to them, “I don’t have my calendar on me. I have to get back to you.” (It’s helped get me out of a lot of things I don’t really want to do or at least gives me time to think about it). Outside of that, I’ve simply found that having an actual hand-held planner has kept me from double-booking myself or overbooking myself. And I just love all the extras the planners I’ve chosen have to offer. I can’t say it’s for everyone, but I’ve definitely found it’s for me!
WHAT I INVESTED IN THIS YEAR
As 2017 approached and I obsessively looked for the right planner, even asking some of you to weigh in on my personal Facebook page (Thank you again for your recommendations.), I decided that I actually wanted to have 2 different planners – one for my life as a mom (Sara Broihier) and one for my life as Sara Haley (Did you even know I had 2 names? I’ll save that for another blog. LOL). Why? I’m feeling like my 2 main roles in life (mother and entrepreneur) need their own space for me to succeed. I’ve seen and heard about these women who are planner obsessed and have multiple planners, and honestly, when I first heard many of them talking about in on various Periscope chats, it made my head want to explode as I pondered “Why do they need so many planners? How do they remember which planner has which information? How do they make sure none of it conflicts?” Honestly, I still wonder some of these things, and I’m acknowledging that this idea could totally blow up in my face, but I have a feeling like many things we pre-judge in life, it might all start to make sense to me very soon.
PLANNER #1: THE DAILYGREATNESS PARENTS JOURNAL: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RAISING CONSCIOUS KIDS & CREATING A HAPPY HOME
My decision is also based on the fact that I found 2 planners (actually 3 – just wait, I’ll explain) that I couldn’t resist trying. The first one is by Daily Greatness. They have a general planner but also more specific ones for Business, Wellness, Yoga, Training and Parenting. The DailyGreatness Parents Journal: A Practical Guide for Raising Conscious Kids & Creating A Happy Home is the one I couldn’t resist getting my hands on. It includes a calendar, which I plan on using for keeping track of my kids’ and parenting activities, checklists and tools for personal and parental growth, and sections for journaling and including your family milestones. This one serves a little more as a journal than your traditional planner. Check it out HERE and save 5% on your purchase.
PLANNER #2: BRILLIANT LIFE PLANNER
For my professional life, I decided to go with the Brilliant Business Moms’ Brilliant Life Planner. It’s super inspirational and motivational, which is definitely what I need when it comes to my work. If you haven’t read my blog before, I have a hard time pulling myself away from my kids and frankly wouldn’t if I didn’t love what I do so much. (By the way, this planner is for anyone, not just business.) It has more specific goal setting, as well as a calendar at to-do’s. It just doesn’t have all the parenting specific stuff that the DailyGreatness Parents Journal does, which is why I decided to keep this primarily for business, although I will be doing my overall planning in here as well. I also know I will have to be super organized this year, since we’re adding another member to our family, on self-care so I’m hoping that this planner, or perhaps both planners (I need all the help I can get! LOL) will give me space to remind myself to take care of me too. Plus, this probably sounds really superficial but I love how pretty this journal is. Unlike my experience with the Passion Planner, I have a feeling the brightness of the Brilliant Life Planner will keep me more excited and interested to stay on track with my “planning.” Click HERE to find out more and get $5 off.
PLANNER #3: MOM’S PLAN IT PLUS CALENDAR
I honestly had no intentions of getting a third planner, but then my friend Jenn (who just came on board the Sara Haley team – yay!) recommended the Moms’s Plan It Plus Calendar. After Jenn described it to me and I read the reviews I decided this would be fun for the family. NOTE: This is a Wall Calendar. It has 5 spaces for family members which will definitely help with coordinating schedules, a magnetic strip across the bottom if you want to hang it on the fridge, fun event stickers that I know my kids will love, and a bottom edge pocket for storage (goodness knows I can always use more of that!). Honestly I got this mostly for the boys to have fun with and something to refer my husband to when he says ˆWhat’s going on this week?” Remember – he has a Franklin Covey, so there’s no coordinating schedules via the internet. Plus, at varying prices from $10-$15 on Amazon, you can’t beat the price. Get it HERE.
I’d love to hear what you’re using this year as your planner, whether it’s on your phone or in a binder. What made you decide to go with it, or what do you hope to accomplish with it? Leave your comments in the section below. And if you don’t have a planner yet for 2017, I hope you’ll give one of these a try!
(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Why I won’t go back to my phone
