How To Be Sure Your Next Planner Is The Right Fit!

By Deana | July 19, 2022 |

This planner’s too big. This one is too small. That planner has the most beautiful cover, but the inside is a little less than inspiring. This one has too many questions about my life, dreams, goals, and what I had for dinner last night… 👀 Sheesh! Is it just me or is finding the right planner fit for you bringing you back to the childhood story of Goldilocks?

What does a girl have to do to find her next planner? And not just find, but one that FITS – you!

Before you think I’m knocking planners, both the physical hold-in-your-hand kind and the types of folks who love them, relax. No one is a sucker for a pretty planner or a fabulous plan more than this girl. 🙋‍♀️

But here’s the thing…

when did our planners stop loving on us? Seriously, we keep breaking up with them as quickly as we’re caught planning to buy the next one.

You know where to find us leading into January or July –> on the hunt for our next planner! We’re either getting our year off right or giving it another go for the “academic new year”. Either way, industry sales consistently show us, that our next planner is as irresistible as Goldilocks trying to find her right fit among all the Bear Family’s stuff!

Commercial Break!! It’s not the planner sis, and if you think that, you might want to grab this lil’ guide here

👇

It’s not your fault.

Who wouldn’t get all dreamy-eyed with the promises of productivity, organization, status, and their “proven strategies” – all with the stroke of a pen?

But here’s where it all falls apart for us. Those planners we lug around start becoming our guilt-ridden records of what we feel we’re not achieving.

Just me? Or are those spaces left blank seem to scream “you’ve missed the mark”. And the days we didn’t have time to fill in or skipped because there was nothing “noteworthy” we accomplished. Next thing you know, it’s just another reminder of how much of a mess we think we are because we can’t even seem to get our planners right.

First, you are not a mess, failure, or missing the mark on your life by not having or using a planner. So let’s get those lies right out of your head. As a matter of fact, it just confirms all the ways that are just not working for you and your life right now.

While we are not going to try and resolve or dig into all of your life’s areas right now, we are going to stick to the planner part. The part that has you finding the one that does work for you and your actual life.

5 Steps to make your next planner a Goldilocks-like fit for you:

Step #1

Know what attracts you to a new planner in the first place.

Is it the size, color, graphics, quotes and sayings, or layout? What is its IT factor for you? Only you can answer this, but at least be honest with yourself. What matters is that it means something to YOU and does the important job of sparking something INTERNALLY in you. Just remember that inspiration is an inside job and motivation is the outside result. 😉

Step #2

Know what moves you to even try and use the planner that you ultimately decide on.

This is about what’s on the inside pages. Beyond the layout, size, color, etc. What information is this planner prompting you to record? You have to make the decision if those things are important to you.

For example: if there is a space to track your water intake for the day, only you can determine if that helpful or hurtful to you. As in, if it’s just going to make you feel guilty for all the water you’re NOT drinking, then this may not be a good fit for you.

Step #3

Know what your deal breakers are within this planner you are committing to using.

In the above point, I gave the example of tracking your water intake – is that a deal breaker for you? If it’s not a hurtful aspect of your potential progress, then I’d say it’s something you could ignore if the rest of the planner has what you need. Does your perfect planner have daily pages, weekly pages, or just calendar pages with big spaces? Decide on what your planner has to have for you and then if any extras are deal breakers or not.

Step #4

Know your must-haves that have to be in the planner that you ultimately choose to use.

Does your planner need to be pre-dated or undated, have pre-filled times or spaces for you to fill in the start of your time of day? Knowing your attention span, what will keep you using your planner consistently? I have clients that use the 30-Day Prioritized Focus Success Planner simply for the monthly calendar, weekly plan, and assessment pages. Some only concern themselves with the daily time-log and priorities page that includes the brain dump area, grateful heart space, and a favorite spot – the wins & whines for the day!

Step #5

Know the expectations you have in mind for the planner you have in the first place.

A planner cannot make you do anything. So if you are suddenly of the mind that “the planner” (whichever one you chose) is going to make you be more on time, productive, organized, or anything of the sort, you’re kidding yourself. You cannot just carry around the planner and expect things to change. There are way too many out there looking the part, but simultaneously frustrated with why the results they want are not happening. Only you can take the action needed to create the habits that will affect desired outcomes.

With these 5 steps, you will be well on your way to making sure your next planner is the right fit for you.

For you, that part is very important. After all, you know you best so it would make total sense that you decide which planner is your Goldilocks fit!

I’m partial to the 30-Day Prioritized Focus Success Planner myself. It’s not too big, too small, but just right for the goal-getter who needs encouragement, accountability, and bite-sized plans. You can get yours HERE.