Category: Planning

January has become synonymous with new beginnings. Although you do not need to wait for January or the first of a month or a Monday to start something new, why not take a moment to reflect and visualize what you want for yourself this month?

I know, I know, it’s actually February and you might be saying but January is over! But like I said, we don’t need the first of anything (year, month, week) to do any of this. We are all busy and we do what we can when we can. You could even wait and do this next month if it better fits your schedule! 

First, grab a notebook. 

Now, open it to a blank page and think about the last year. What did you accomplish? Think big and small. List out at least five things you achieved. How did you feel after you hit those milestones? Which one are you most proud of?

What did you not get done that you had hoped to? What obstacles were in your way? Be honest with yourself. It’s ok to not have reached all your goals or even dropped some goals. Life gets busy. Things come up and plans change. Did you drop a goal because it no longer served you or did you drop it because it was hard? Did you adjust because your work schedule changed or because you wanted to watch TV on the weekends instead? (And that is totally ok too! We need some downtime to relax)

What is the greatest lesson you learned?

Who were your biggest inspirations over the past year? What made them stand out? How did they make you feel? List them out and refer back when you are feeling a bit low and need a boost. And create another list of those feel-good social media accounts you can head to when you need some inspiration!

What word would you use to describe your past year?

Ok, so we have looked back. We know our wins. We have an idea of what takes us off track and people or accounts that bring us motivation to keep going. Now we need to decide what we want this year. What do you want more of this year? Less of? Write them out. 

Is there anything you need to stop doing? (Like making excuses, or is that just me?)

Start writing out where you want to be at the end of the year. How will you feel? What will your biggest win be? What words and feelings best describe future you? For example, let’s pretend you want to start running but don’t see yourself as a runner yet. Write down that at the end of the year you will be wearing those cool running shoes and spandex, sweating it out on the treadmill/road/trail, while your favorite playlist blasts in your ear. Describe your outfit. Write out details of where you are at. Write out that playlist that’s bumping in the background. Be sure to include how you will feel when you hit that goal

Do this for all areas you want to change.

Now, you’ve got a mental image in your head and on paper. Write out the steps it will take to get there. In our runner example, you will need to first get your gear if you haven’t already grabbed it. Next, get that gym membership or trail pass. Maybe your next step is to put on your running gear, maybe you don’t even leave your house but you put it on, walk around, and see how it feels. Next, maybe you run to the mailbox or end of the block. Keep writing out all those little action steps. Remember, it’s the small, daily steps that will help you achieve the big, long-term goals.

On the days you are struggling, pull out your notebook. Read through your vision. Look at those motivational people and accounts. Evaluate your plan, update as needed, and get back to work. You can always adjust and change your plan as you learn more about yourself and your goals. 

And if seeing someone else achieve big goals doesn’t serve you? Remember, they didn’t get there overnight. They took all the little steps, they just didn’t show you the process. Because the process can be messy. It’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna take time. Not everyone likes to share the behind-the-scenes. The big wins get much more traction on social media than the messy, small stuff.

Where do you want to be at the end of this year? What do you want to achieve? Let me know in the comments and maybe we can help you determine all those little, messy steps to get there!

This year I decided to try out the One Little Word to help me visualize for myself. Check out my video walking through the kit from Ali Edwards. 

Will the Hero’s Journal work for someone with ADHD?

The Hero’s Journal ($50) is one that has often been recommended for people with ADHD because it gamifies goal setting and each day’s page looks a little different so you get the newness factor. It is not a typical planner. It is a quarterly goal planner meant to help you through one goal, or quest.

The Hero’s Journal is split into three acts and is meant to cover 91 days. It is undated so if you take a break you can easily jump right back in. You will travel through a story over your 91-day journey. They currently offer three different storylines. Legend of Istoria is for fans of fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. Istoria Magic Academy is more suited for fans of wizards and witches such as Harry Potter. The third is Galaxy of Istoria for those that love outer space and movies like Star Wars or Star Trek.

I went with Galaxy of Istoria because I love Star Wars. And space in general.

Each A5 book comes in a keepsake cardboard box,  is bound in vegan leather, and has gold gilding on it. It comes with a ribbon to mark your spots. The pages are 110 gsm ivory paper. The pages are black and white (ivory technically) so you can color them in to add to your story! A matching themed bookmark with a 30-day habit tracker was also included. 

What is in the actual book?

The front and back cover contain a beautiful map of the Galaxy of Istoria. It is made to look like it is on older parchment with folded corners and tears. Next is your name page with a cool drawing to color in. This is followed by a letter from the creators. 

Then we get into the story and your call to adventure followed by questions about if you refuse the call. Next is finding your north star or your why you want to achieve this goal, and defining and accepting the quest.

Next is the “how to use” guides starting with the breakdown of the daily pages, chapters (every seven daily pages), and acts (four or five chapters). The acts represent the beginning, middle, and end of your story. 

We move into the first Act with an Istoria Galaxy Guide introducing the people and places. Then we have our seven daily two-page spread. The daily page includes space for gratitude, a schedule or list area, allies and threats, top three tasks, and a dot grid space to use as you see fit. As you move through the first seven days the illustration on each page changes. 

When you complete the chapter you submit your mission report (what you excelled at) and file your report (two reflection questions). Once you have completed four chapters you get to name Act 1 and move to Act 2 (repeat for Act 2). At the end of Act 3, you get to title your whole story and you receive a certificate of completion. 

There are three additional pages in the back with an Istoria Galaxy Guide featuring character drawings and info. Lastly, you get 13 lined note pages. The back cover also has a flat folder you could store scraps of paper or stickers in. 

Since this isn’t one I can really use partially and give away, I am going to attempt to use it for the duration of the book! I was going to use my word of the year goal but I think I am going to switch it up and use it for my health goals.

Because lord knows I need it.

Once I have completed a section, I will update on how it went and what my thoughts are at that point. And once I complete it, I will give my final verdict if it worked and if I would recommend or purchase it again for another goal.  

I’m looking forward to coloring the pages!

Have you used the Hero’s Journal? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? If you haven’t used the Hero’s Journal, what do you think you would like or dislike about it?

Watch the entire Does it Work for ADHD series on YouTube to see what has and hasn’t worked so far! And be sure to let me know what planner you would like to see as part of the series!

How do you keep track of all your bills and when they are due?

A monthly budget calendar is a great way to see at a glance what bills you have coming up and what paychecks you will have to pay those bills. You do not have to buy a separate calendar for this but it does help to have one you can see quickly and at a glance. You can easily print out a calendar from Microsoft Word or google a monthly calendar. There are a ton of free options out there!

What should you put on your monthly budget calendar?

First, fill in your paydays. If you have a spouse I suggest using different colors for each person’s payday. For example, I use purple pen/highlighter for me and blue for my husband. It makes it really easy to see with a quick look when you will have money coming in each month. 

Second, add your bills on their due dates. You may want to include the amount as well. I use black ink for bills because once they are paid I will highlight them with purple or blue highlighter, depending on whose paycheck covered the bill. 

Finally, if you want, put any events that you may need to budget for. Do you have a birthday coming up that you need to buy a gift for? Maybe an event you need to purchase food or supplies? What about medical or dental appointments and co-pays? Having these on your calendar will give you a good idea of what you need to budget for and from which paycheck.

Now you have a monthly budget calendar and can easily see when you will have money coming in and going out. You can quickly see which paychecks will cover what bills and events. A monthly budget calendar is an easy way to stay on top of your expenses!

Do you already use a monthly bill calendar? If so, what are your tips for staying on track? If you don’t, will you implement one into your budget? Why or why not?

Do you choose a word of the year or rather, does a word choose you?

I’ve done word of the year in past years but it wasn’t until 2022 that I created a spread and let my word guide me. For 2023 I decided to dig deeper with my word and am participating in Ali Edward’s One Little Word.

You do not need to do something like One Little Word to have a word of the year. You can do your word of the year however works for you. I do recommend making a spread somewhere with your word, the definition, and what it means to you. That way you can reference it throughout the year to help keep you on track. For the last two years, I have made this the first spread in my bullet journal for easy reference. 

Why should you pick a word of the year?

Your word of the year should:

• Give you guidance for the year
• Help determine your goals
• Give you clarity and focus
• Keep you motivated
• Set your intentions

Your word of the year can help you determine what you want or who you want to be. It can help you figure out what you want or need to accomplish. Your word can guide how you would like to grow. 

What it should not do? Limit you. 

Your word choice should give you the freedom to plan and achieve your goals. You get to decide what your word means to you. You have the dictionary definition but why did you choose it? What about the word spoke to you and what you want to achieve during the year? This is why I believe it is so important to define what the word means to you.

For 2022, my word was Create. To me, that was anything that involved creativity. I allowed reading to count because I am visualizing and processing the story or info the author has written. It also involved art, photography, and my planner spreads. Because yes, playing with stickers is creating something!

For 2023, I have chosen renew. I’ve mentioned this many times but if this is your first time here, I was diagnosed with ADHD at the end of 2021. Throughout 2022 I realized how much of myself I had masked over the years. I am ready to shake those masks off and be me again, quirks and all. 

If you want to learn a bit more about One Little Word, be sure to head over and watch my video on YouTube. And be sure to subscribe while you are there so you don’t miss future One Little Word videos!

What is your word of the year? Feel free to share in the comments and, if comfortable, a little bit of why you picked it or how you plan to implement it during the year!

This was a tough one. I am not even sure why it was on a list for people with ADHD. It seems more geared toward trauma, depression, and anxiety. I know people with ADHD can also have those but this was more than just a planner. This is meant more for someone in therapy and taking multiple medications. 

At first flip through, I realized I would never use a lot of the included sections but I tried to spend some time in each section but it was very overwhelming. So I tried to stick to only the planning pages and I used it for two weeks before throwing in the towel.

I did not like the planning pages at all.

First, you cannot turn the pages if you use all three included bookmarks. I first tried to mark the monthly section, notes, and today but had to remove the monthly and notes in order to flip the pages. Instead, I moved the monthly pages to the daily page section so everything I was using was together.

I did like how the monthly spread had the habit tracker down the side column. I actually filled it in for each day I used the planner! I thought the boxes were a good size for a monthly view as well. Even with their rating system, I felt there was enough room to write in what I needed.

I HATED the daily pages. There wasn’t really a good spot for a to do list or other notes I like to put in my daily, such as my husband’s work schedule or dinner. I ended up using the Top 5 Goals as my to do section and when I had more than 5? I wrote in the time section. 

I never used the affirmation, notice, kind words, or grateful boxes. I feel a couple of those boxes would be better as to do list spaces or blank so I can note schedules or dinner plans. There was also a spot to check if you took your morning or evening medications. I did it for like two days then gave up on it.

This feels like another one of those planners you need to look at every night and “journal” in. I’m not always good at reviewing my planner once I’ve checked out for the evening so I usually play catch-up the next morning. If you are good at doing a nightly check in this might be better for you than me. 

Final Verdict:

The CanPlan Mental Health planner feels like a very specialized planner for a very specific person. I was not that person. It is way more than just a planner. There are prompts and questions you can write out your answers to. There is space for therapy notes and trigger responses. It definitely felt more aimed to depression or anxiety, not just ADHD.

If you are looking for a daily planner, this is not it. The daily pages do not have enough room for actual planning. It leans more towards a journal/mood tracker than a planner. 

It felt like too much for someone with ADHD.

I was a little surprised by the paper. It felt very thin and smooth, like basic office printer paper but it held up well to a ballpoint pen, gel pen, and mildliners. My Tombow dot pen did seep through so you want to be careful with anything more inky/juicy than pens and highlighter. 

Would you use the Can Plan Mental Health Planner? What did you like about it? What do you think you would dislike about it?

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to catch the next in the Does This Planner Work for ADHD series!

How do you keep track of your cleaning routine and home projects?

Recently Erin Condren released a Companion Planner and at first, I was like, no, I don’t need this. But after thinking about it for a few hours I realized it would be perfect for my Clean Mama routines and trying to get all the stuff done around the house.

This would also work really well for budgeting, project planning, and continuing education.

The monthly calendar spread will mark which days I plan to do specific tasks. With Clean Mama, I will pick a day to tackle the rotating and monthly tasks. I will also assign days for decluttering different areas. After the monthly spread is a habit tracker. I will use this for the five daily cleaning tasks. I used a Tombow to highlight every other week to offer a little differentiation. 

Following the habit tracker is a productivity page. I have six rooms/areas I want to focus on decluttering and deep cleaning this year as well as fixing up. Our house is going on 14 and starting to show its age. I will declutter, deep clean, and note what needs to be fixed or updated on the productivity page. I will note anything we need to buy or if it’s beyond our abilities to hire someone to do (like plumbing or electrical). 

My plan is to tackle the living room in January for the deep cleaning, decluttering, and making notes. Then for February, I will move to the kitchen/dining area for the decluttering, deep cleaning, etc while I pick up anything needed for the living room. In March, we will fix up the living room. 

This is all subject to change. 

After that, there are two pages of checklists with four checklist sections on each page. I will use these for the weekly, rotating, and monthly Clean Mama tasks. For the weekly tasks, I used two vertically and again used the Tombow to differentiate between weeks. I have a couple of checklists left over. I’m not sure how or if I will use them.

Finally, there are four pages of lined note pages. I haven’t decided how to use these yet. It will depend on if I need more room for the items on the productivity page. Or if something else comes up while using it. The lined pages could be very versatile and change each month if needed. 

I was originally going to put all of this in my bullet journal, but I think this will work out much better and I don’t have to create spreads from scratch each month. 

How would you use the companion planner? What could I use the extra checklists and lined pages for?

Want a chance to win the Flora companion planner? Head over to the YouTube video or the Instagram post (or both) to enter my giveaway! 

The giveaway is open from 1/8/2023 to 1/15/2023. It is not sponsored by Erin Condren, YouTube, or Instagram. The giveaway is open to residents of the USA. One winner will be chosen from all entries from a random generator on 1/16/2023. The winner will be notified on the platform they entered and has one week (7 calendar days to respond) to respond or a new winner will be chosen. 

Have you ever looked at a planner and thought it was simply adorable and you had to have it? Yet, once you got it you had no idea what to do with it! The obvious way to use a pocket planner is on the go but many of us use our phone calendars when out and about to track appointments and other things and there isn’t a real need for a pocket planner.

But, if you’re like me, and just love the size of the pocket planner or just HAD TO HAVE the new colorblends version from Erin Condren, here are seven ideas for using the pocket planner!

1. Bills or Budget Planning
   1. Use the calendar page to show all your pay days and bills due at a glance. You can use the side notes column to list your budget categories and your budgeted and actual amounts for the month.
   2. On the Dashboard you can list out your monthly goals, list any upcoming events that may add to your budget, and create a low or no spend tracker. The notes page can be used as an expense tracker for your checking or credit card. 
   3. On the weekly spread you can write when your bills are due, make notes about your purchases, and do a mini budget by paycheck on your pay days!
   4. The note pages can be used to create your category breakdown, monthly category comparison, debt pay down, and/or net worth info.
2. Fitness Tracker
   1. Plan out your workouts on the monthly spread and use the notes column to track total mileage, weight, or any other stat you want for each week.
   2. On the dashboard, list out your goals, add any important dates (have a race or competition coming up?), and make a tracker! You can use the notes page for weight, body fat, and measurements.
   3. Use the weekly spreads to make notes about how your workout went, how you feel, stats, and weather.
   4. The note pages are perfect for a monthly recap, review, and start plotting the next month!
3. Memory Keeping
   1. Note any upcoming events or important dates one the monthly calendar
   2. You can use the dashboard a few different ways like favorite photos from the month or make notes about what your favorite activity was. You can also plan out your activities!
   3. The weekly spreads are perfect for making a few lines about what you did that day.
   4. The notes page can either be a “Best of” or another photo dump!
4. Personal Learning
   1. Use the monthly spread to plan out your monthly personal growth plans!
   2. The dashboard is perfect for your monthly goals and tracking any dates you may not be able to work on your growth. You can use the note side to make a tracker.
   3. You can use the weekly spreads to make a few notes about what you learned in the video, book, or article.
   4. The Notes page can be a monthly wrap up and looking ahead to the next month or quarter!
5. Content Planning
   1. The monthly calendar is perfect for knowing when you are going to publish blog posts or videos.
   2. You can use the dashboard to track stats and growth goals. In important dates, enter those holidays you don’t want to miss posting about! And the notes page can be for all those ideas that pop up during the month.
   3. Put your social media posts in the weekly spreads. Note when you are going to post that Fitness Reel!
   4. In the notes section, track your affiliate link referrals and money coming in and out.
6. Goal Setting
   1. Use the monthly calendar to plan when you will do the weekly actions you determine on the dashboard.
   2. Your goals can go on your dashboard and the weekly actions for each week on the notes side.
   3. Use the weekly spread as your to do list and check off as you go.
   4. Do your monthly reflection in the notes at the end of the month.
7. Reading Tracker
   1. The monthly calendar can be used to track your days read, pages read, or when you stated and finished a book.
   2. Put your goals and the books you read in the month on the dashboard and track your ratings in the notes side.
   3. Use your weekly spread to do a mini book review for the book you finished that week!
   4. You can use the end notes pages to do a monthly faceoff to see which book was the best you read in the month! Or create a TBR (to be read) takedown to see if you are reading more than you are buying. 
   5. The extra note pages in the back would be a series tracker. Use a page or two for each series and mark off as you finish each book!

How would you use a pocket planner? Which of the seven ideas is your favorite?

Want more planning content? Join the Runs on Planning group!

For the final quarter of 2022, I wanted to try out the MakseLife daily inserts. Having them in my agenda would be handy, and I desperately wanted the weekly overview page. I grabbed a quarter when MakseLife had a big sale to clear out some of the older stock.

I used the inserts for October, November, and December. 

Personally, I don’t think the price point is worth it. Unless you are using it for all your planning. Each quarter is $44 ($176 for an entire year). You can get the flagship for $76 or the set of four companion notebooks for $58. The previous year is currently on sale for $26, which is much more reasonable. 

Overall, the undated inserts are really nice. They are meant to be punched and there is plenty of room in the margin without touching any of the actual planning areas. The companion notebooks can also be punched but because they aren’t specifically made for this, it does punch some of the writing areas.

I wanted to try these inserts for the weekly overview. I loved the weekly action steps in the companion notebooks but didn’t like I had nowhere to plan them out over the week. The weekly overview page was set up nicely and I did like it but it was small. And I have large handwriting. Some weeks were harder to fit all my weekly actions on it. It definitely gave me ideas for how I want to use the flagship in 2023.

As I have an Erin Condren Daily Duo, I didn’t use the MakseLife daily inserts as intended. The daily pages are set up nicely with space for your daily focus, top three, to do list, a blank hourly area, and a dot grid space. I grab one when I have a couple of days I want to get a lot of content done. I can break out the different types of tasks in the to do list or hourly area and make notes in the dot grid section. 

The pages also work well for projects. I will put the project under the focus, put the top three things, and start making lists and time table for completion. 

Overall, the undated daily MakseLife is a great planner but for the price point, I just can’t recommend it. Even if I wanted to switch from my Daily Duo, I wouldn’t get this as it would be about $100 more per year than my daily duo. Lastly, I would never do an undated planner for my daily use. I’d be annoyed filling in all the dates!

Have you used the MakseLife quarterly undated daily inserts? What did you like about it? Do you think it’s worth $44 a quarter?

Interested in more planner reviews? Check out my YouTube and be sure to subscribe for future reviews!

Have you figured out your 2023 goals yet?

If not, you are not alone. I’m still trying to get mine all worked out. Maybe we can help each other get our goal planning on!

Before you set up 2023, let’s take a moment to review this year. And no judgment – you did awesome no matter how much you could get done. Some days you are a supper star and some days you need to chill on the couch. Both of those are ok! So no beating yourself up if you feel you fell short.

Use it to fuel your plans for next year instead.

You may want to grab some paper and your goals from way back in January 2022. My goals for 2022 were: 

• Read 52 books
  • I did not hit 52 but read over 30
• Use only current stickers
  • Nope, I bought tons new stickers BUT I did make a point to use many of my older stickers.
• Watch 6-8 photo classes
  • Yes
• Make art
  • Yes
• Journal
  • Got off track for a few months
• Lose weight
  • Nope
• Run 50k
  • Nope
• Yoga and strength work
  • Nope
• Pay off credit card
  • Yes!
• Build Emergency Fund to $2,000
  • Yes
• Grow Social Media
  • Yes
• Self Care Sundays
  • Fell off this one about six months in

Before you start setting goals for next year, think about a word of the year. I started really using this last year to help set my intentions for the year and it really helped. A word of the year should inspire you and give you guidance for your year. It can help you clarify and focus on who you want to be and what you want to accomplish. It’s all about how you want to grow.

This year my word was create. I wrote out both the dictionary and my definition and listed out ways I can create. I tried to do something each day that revolved around create.

For 2023, I picked the word renew. I put a lot of thought into my word and my why behind it. About a year ago I was diagnosed with ADHD and started medication in February. The diagnosis and medication made me realize how much I had been masking and how much of myself I was shoving down.

That is not a good feeling.

I decided I wanted to take the time to get to know me again. Renew is part of that journey. As my word of the year it will guide my year and help me to focus on digging my personality out. It will show up in some of my goals and activities.

What do you think your word of the year will be for 2023 and why? If you feel comfortable please share it with me. I would love to support you as you work towards whatever you want to accomplish!

Now that you’ve reviewed your previous goals and set your intention for the year, start thinking and planning out your goals for next year. You can pick your categories and start writing down your ideas. It’s ok to get messy here. Write something out, let it marinate for a few days, and come back to it. If it still resonates with you, keep it. If not? Scribble it out and write down what feels better.

You don’t have to figure out your goals all in one sitting.

I’ve been working on mine over the last few weeks and I think I’m finally getting them where I want them. They don’t need to be perfect and they don’t have to be forever. You may review them in a few months and adjust or drop them. 

The important part is getting something down to help guide your future actions.

I follow the MakseLife system and break my goals down by their categories. I have more in some areas than others and they may change over the year. Many of them revolve around things I love (art, photography, content creation) and finding out who I am (journaling, style). Not everything falls under finding out who I am but renew still applies. For example, our house is getting old and needs some small repairs and decluttering. The house is getting in on the renew too! 

What goals are you thinking about for next year? How do they tie back to your word of the year?

Want to have some planning and budgeting accountability? Join the Runs on Planning group for monthly challenges and support!