We have officially started 2020. I’ve heard so many claims that this year is it, we are all winning! I am so here for it all. One thing I’ve discovered though is that in all the affirmations, encouraging words, inspiring speeches is that if you don’t have a plan of action in place to win, you are destined to lose. Whether your goal is to become a better more engaged parent, start a business, level up in your career, or lose weight you must take the time to plot out how you will achieve that goal. Enter into one of my favorite places, the halls of planners. For me my planner is personal, it holds the key to how I plan on achieving my goals, what I’ve accomplished, and what I am looking to accomplish in the near or far off future. Below I will review a few of the planners I use in hopes of helping you find one that will work for you and get you started on living out your dreams and purpose.

1. Last year I invested in the Sol Planner. An amazing planner that asks you questions and challenges your thinking daily to help you achieve your goals. The Pros: very detailed to help you complete your mission, a lot of space for writing your thoughts and appointments with details, thought provoking questions that will keep you accountable to yourself for making things happen. The Cons: you have to put the planner together, there is a binding ring and monthly and weekly inserts that you will need to put together before you can use the planner, the planner is bulky, you won’t be able to slide this into your favorite handbag, which if you are on the go and you like to have your information at your fingertips to write down notes makes this very difficult. The estimated cost of this planner is $50, which may seem a bit pricey but worth it if you can deal with the cons.
2. I was gifted the 2020 Christian Planner. Before I was able to delve into the planner I knew I loved the size and cover of it. It’s appearance is like a book and it has a strap that allows you to keep all the pages together.  If you are a speaker or minister this may be the perfect planner for you. The Pros: space within the planner for you to create a mini vision board (that means you can take your vision board with you), there are reflection questions that will get you thinking more along the lines of self-care and having a deeper connection to God, ample space for sermon/bible study notes I personally use it for notes I take before I host a LIVE. The Cons: If you are a creative there is not enough space to create, the lines for writing in appointments or reminders are very small and restrictive. The estimated cost of this planner is $35.
3. Let’s get crazy! That is the theme of our next planner the Goal Crazy Planner. After I concluded that I would only be able to utilize the Christian Planner for certain things I was in a frenzy trying to quickly find something that would help me begin to schedule my year. Enter the Goal Crazy Planner. This planner will get you thinking intensely about what your life looks like, how you want to improve the look of your life, and what steps are you willing to take to achieve your dream life. I like this calendar because it hits a lot of areas for me. I was able to review areas of my life where I am winning and areas that need improvements. The Pros: LOVE the detailed questioning of envisioning your current life and the life you want, the setting goals questions really get you to focus in on what you want to achieve, I also like that there is a corresponding website with videos to help you use the planner to the best of your abilities. The Cons: it’s a 90 day planner, which means in 90 days I will have to order another, if you are looking for something with dates and times already written in then this will not be one of your favorites. The estimate cost for one planner is $25 with the option to buy 4 at $90.

Whatever planner you choose make sure it’s one that works for you. While I love decorating my planner with stickers, fancy pens, highlighters, if at the end of the day it’s not serving its purpose, which is to keep me on task, then what’s it’s point?!

This is our year to achieve our goals and dreams. With proper planning and the tools you need, I am sure you are going to be very successful. Are you currently using a planner? What are it’s pros and cons?