Are you struggling to find your perfect planning system? Your unicorn planner? A sense of that ever elusive Planner Peace? Well, in today’s class I am going to help you finally find that peace by helping you identify the reasons why people fail to find the planner of their dreams and stick to using it so you can get more done!
If you are someone who is looking to become more organized and successful with the help of planning, the formula is pretty simple.
Step One: Find a reliable planning method.
Step Two: Make sure to write down and make time for all scheduled events and known tasks within said planning method.
Step Three:Do the things!
Simple, right?
Well, maybe in theory more so than practice. Step one can sometimes be a process of trial and error, which I get, but then again I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to find a system that conforms perfectly to our lives, when the truth is most people could make do with a pen and a notebook! Step two is a habit you just need to work on, making time to sit down and plan out your tasks and activities, and then also making sure you keep your planner with you in situations when you might need it so you can record information there making your system air tight. Step three, though, is were the real work is done and it’s really where all tutorials and direction for planning just taper off. Step three is go time, the moment of truth. To do or not to do, that is the question and if you are not someone with a lot of internal motivation, accountability and self-discipline, this can be the moment when the whole process falls apart.
If this is you, I get it!
Despite whatever you believe of me, how productive I am, how self-motivated and on the ball I can be, even I have moments were I see a task on my to do list and then I go blank. I might walk away from my desk for a while, take a break, or work on something else. I’ve clearly hit a wall with this task and I am trying to avoid it with all the psychological defense mechanisms known to mankind. For one reason or another, I’m experiencing resistance preventing me from starting and completing the task.
Resistance is the best way I know to explain this situation. Of knowing what I need to do next, but avoiding taking the action. It’s not something I experience with every task, and I think for the vast majority of us that is the case. We might not avoid all tasks we’ve planned, but we avoid some. This actually gives us really good insight into what’s going on with us in our heads- because that is where the resistance lies. When I hit this sort of resistance in my day, one of the things I tend to do is avoid working on a specific task and skip to something else on my list or go do something else entirely like start cleaning my house or meal prepping something. So, clearly I’m not just being lazy here, I am willing to do something, just not that particular something for a reason that is likely unknown to me in the moment.
The reason is unknown to me in that moment because my brain is causing the resistance and it doesn’t want me to see or understand whatever trigger or limiting belief this task is brining up. This is a normal part of the fight or flight mechanism in the brain. When the brain senses danger or anything it has determined is a threat to its delicate equilibrium, it puts us in a panic mode. Hence the reason I tend to see a task I don’t want to do and immediately get up and away from my desk to take myself away from danger. It’s also not uncommon to experience anxiety, mental strain, physical stress in the body, and other symptoms of a fight or flight reaction being triggered. It’s important to understand that we ourselves aren’t the ones deciding to have this response, instead it’s the programming of our brain’s autonomic nervous system that tries to protect us even when we aren’t aware of the danger. In the case of avoiding a task on our to do list, it’s clear to our rational mind that doing that task isn’t going to put us in harms way physically (unless the task is something that does involve danger, rare, but possible), but our brain has interpreted the task as a danger none the less.
Usually, the brain will trigger this sort of response to a task for one of a few reasons. First, if we have never done the task before. That’s pretty common. Our brains operate under a consistent fear of the unknown, and when we haven’t ever experienced something before, we get scared. Think of the jitters you got on the first day of school, on your wedding day or going to see a new doctor. Newness equals foreign to our brains and that means danger!
The second reason the brain might trigger this response is because we have some known existing anxiety over it. To give you an example from my own life, when I used to work at the fortune 50 before going full time for myself, I would dread our teams weekly calls or any event or interaction with my boss at the time because we did not gel. As a result, I would frequently avoid doing any work to prepare for those events (not going to make the situation any better, I know) because thinking about having to interact with my boss stressed me out to an unusually high degree. In fact, when I finally left my job, I gave my notice right after a one-on-one call with my boss and the day before we had a scheduled meeting together, and I didn’t even tell him, I emailed HR because I was literally shaking and overwhelmed with stress and anxiety. So, this is a bit of an extreme example, but I think it illustrates the point that sometimes we panic and avoid working on a task when we know we are afraid of it. Our known fear translates to a fight or flight response in our brains!
The third and final reason the brain might trigger this response is because a task is actually highly important to us and our personal identity. Now, this reason is something of a blend of the first two situations. It could be something we have never done before and something we are a little bit afraid of, but more so than that, it might be part of a larger goal that we feel strongly tied to. So, I find that when people set a personal goal for themselves, something they think is very important, something they feel called to do, or something they know deep inside is going to bring significant change to their lives, this can trigger the brain as well. I think the reason tasks related to the achievement of our goals ends up triggering our brains is because we have usually built up this goal in our minds, dreaming about it and fantasizing about it, that our brains fear the change you’re anticipating. I think of this as a subconscious anxiety response, similar to the second example but you don’t consciously know you are afraid of the tasks!
Okay, so these are three very significant reasons why our brains might set off a fight or flight response to doing tasks we have planned for ourselves, but what can we do to overcome this resistance? Eventually, we have to come back to the task at hand, and if it’s important to us to achieve it, we need to disable that fight or flight response and actually get down to work!
When this happens to me, when I get spooked by a task because I’ve hit a measure of resistance in the limits of my own mind, I use a simple but effective visualization practice to condition my brain. I’ll identify the task I need to work on and I will get myself in position as if I am about to do the work. For most of my tasks this means sitting at my desk, but if you’re avoiding cleaning out your closet or going for a run, this activity is best practiced in the situation where the task is to be accomplished for added ambience. So, once you’re situated in the right area, without taking any action, visualize yourself moving through the steps necessary to complete the task. So, if you were going to complete the task, how would you start? Imagine yourself taking the action and see with your minds eye the results beginning to form step by step until the task is complete.
Remember, you’re not actually doing anything right now, you’re just sitting or standing in the place where your task would likely begin and envisioning yourself doing the task like a daydream. If you need to, feel free to use some notes or an outline to keep your progress visualizing the task on track. This is you practicing to perform the task, and the great thing is, visualizing yourself doing the work actually convinces your brain that you’ve done it or that you have some experience that increases it’s confidence and therefore shuts off the fight or flight response. You might not think something like this, daydreaming yourself completing a task would have any affect, but science has shown that the brain can’t tell the difference between something that happened in reality and something that happened in your mind.
Everything is processed in your brain after all, those images you see in your minds eye of yourself performing the task are just as real as actually doing the thing, and get this, research has also shown that your body even records muscle memory from your visualized experience as well. This is why many pro athletes use visualization to practice when they are not at physical practice. Because this sort of mental rehearsal conditions your mind and your body to understand what it looks like and feels like for you to perform a task. This is why we see so many inspirational quotes about visualizing your goals and daydreaming about your future, because mental dress rehearsal increases the chances that you will actually take action and it will help you produce better results when you do because you’re prepared. You’ve done this before, even if it was all in your head!
So, next time you run away from or avoid a task that you had planned, take a moment to regroup and spend some time visualizing yourself taking the action. It might feel funny the first few times you try it, but like everything practice makes perfect!
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and anything you have to add, so please feel free to leave me a comment below. Also, let me know how this strategy works for you- I’d love to hear your experiences and of course celebrate your successes with you!
I hope your September has been a productive one for you thus far, I know mine has been for sure! You might have noticed that I am back to creating content on a more regular schedule now, here on the blog, on my youtube channel and on Instagram as well. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about today, my content schedule. I know my content has been on and off for a few years now. If you’re one of my long time followers, you know I used to hold myself to a strict schedule of 3 blog posts a week, one to two videos a week and nearly daily posting on Instagram. That was until 2017 when I decided to take a step back from my content and take a good long look at my goals and priorities for my life, my brand and of course my business.
Honestly, it felt so good when I initially let myself off the hook for content and refocused on myself. So much of my time had been spent thinking about and creating content for so long that it was nice feeling like I had gotten back so much time in my weeks to dedicate to myself and other areas of my life and business. I spent much of that found time focusing on my own personal goals, prioritizing my self-care, and deeply analyzing my future goals especially around my brand and business. In a lot of ways I feel like that time was spent helping me to really wipe the slate clean for myself to make room for the next phase of my life and business. But, the longer I spent away from content creation, the further I seemed to be from that next phase at the same time. Eventually, I made my way back to posting regularly on YouTube, and I even dabbled in and out of Instagram again, but I still didn’t feel like my next phase was starting yet. If you watched my Money Manifestation Declutter Series on my YouTube Channel, you know that since the Spring, I have been bustling with energy and ideas for my business again, but through most of the summer I kept feeling like I was being stifled by my own creativity. I had all these great ideas and not enough time to share them all on YouTube or Instagram Stories. I didn’t understand what was wrong with me that I was feeling back to my old content generating self, but my ideas didn’t seem to be as organized and efficiently produced as they once were. That’s when I realized what was missing. I was missing writing, and specifically I was missing blogging. Blogging was the first content I axed from my schedule back in 2017- I really thought I could do without it and channel my content creativity to video to make a bigger impact there, but I think I was wrong.
Yes, I can see the results of my videos more immediately, but I think for me, blogging and written content had a more cumulative effect on my business than I realized at the time. Most importantly, it had a cumulative affect on me more than I realized. Blogging does a few things for me that unfortunately video never will!
First of all, blogging gets me to write regularly, and although I had always been hesitant to admit this in the past, I really think at my core, I’m a writer. I definitely don’t see myself as a great video creator, that’s for sure and although I do some writing as part of video creation, it’s not nearly the same thing as sitting and writing out a 2,000+ word blog post. Undoubtably, writing has always been my strength and I think for a long time I took it for granted because it had always been a skill I didn’t have to think much about.
Second, blogging is something of a cathartic activity for me. When I think of cathartic writing, I usually think of journaling or poetry or even novel writing, but blog posts count too! I guess it doesn’t matter what you’re writing about, pouring your thoughts and words onto a page can be extremely therapeutic. Looking back now, I realize that so much of my failure to step into my well planned next phase was delayed because I was missing this key therapy that helped me manage my thoughts and ideas.
Next, blogging gives me the ability to quickly update my community on my ideas, strategies, products and general information I need to share. One of the problems I was having with my YouTube content was that I had so many ideas for content but not enough time to execute on them all. So I had to cull down my ideas, choose the concepts that I thought would make the best videos and just shelve the rest for later. At best, one full days work creating, editing and uploading video content could yield me at most two or three videos if I was extremely organized and focused. On the other hand I can write, format and schedule out at least twice that amount of content for my blog in the same time. I can share ideas and updates so much faster when all I need to worry about is writing them out and creating a picture for a post! Back when I was creating content regularly, I lived by a methodology of separating ideas into video content ideas and written content ideas, which helped me to optimize my content for each platform. With this system my content ideas didn’t have to compete for a spot on my editorial calendar because there was a place for everything I wanted to share and a plan for creating it so that all my ideas come to fruition.
Finally, blogging is how I manifest for my business and life! This point is actually very important for me and something I only realized recently. Because blogging produces more content, more ideas and more updates on my site more frequently, it actually helps me to feel in flow and in alignment because I am in a constant state of creation. When I create video content, it usually takes me a full day of work and then I don’t see the fruits of my labor published and live for a number of days. All that time and only once piece of content to show my audience. But when I blog, one day of work means days of posts popping up throughout the week. Even after all these years of blogging, I still get a flutter of excitement in my chest when I see a post has published on my blog, and that positive vibration is ultimately what helps me attract new members to my community, new customers to my products, and new ideas and inspiration to my mind. My life just flows better in every way when I’m writing and posting to my blog regularly!
Okay, so that was a really long and drawn out explanation for why I am back to blogging after my time away, and now I want to explain the true purpose of this blog post which is to share my new content schedule for the rest of 2019 with you and set some expectations from what you can expect from me this fall!
Fall 2019 Content Schedule
• You can expect 3 Blog Posts per week from me here on my site. These posts will include articles on productivity, planning, personal development, success and more. I do intend to also use my blog as a means to share quick updates and news about products, classes, and anything I have going on that might impact my community online and of course my business.
• You can expect 1 YouTube Video a week from me over on my YouTube Channel. These will mostly center on helpful tips, how-to’s and different tutorials that really utilize the video medium. I have a number of different planning and productivity videos on my to film list, but as a rough expectation I am aiming to share one planning video, one business video, one vlog style behind the scenes video, one Live class and one fun lifestyle video a month (depending on the number of weeks in the month). I’m also planning to shift my weekly upload day from Sunday to Friday in an attempt to keep my weekends clear of anything work related. You can find more information about my Live classes in the LIVE Event Schedule below.
• You can expect sporadic posting from me on Instagram. Right now I am building out a concept for my Instagram posting schedule, but I’d rather focus my time and effort on creating original content on my blog and YouTube. So Instagram will be mostly announcements, behind the scenes and quick tips when I have something I want to share.
• You can expect occasional dog videos from me on Tiktok. If you haven’t heard, I recently signed up for this platform and it is a complete time-suck but at least I now have a dedicated place to share adorable videos of my dogs, Starbuck & Sultan. If you’re interested in following along, definitely look me up, I’m @MissTrenchcoat of course.
• Right now I have no plan for Facebook or Twitter outside of sharing and reposting existing content. I believe my blog and Instagram feed are set to autopost to Facebook and Twitter, but I won’t be creating any dedicated content on either of those platforms for now.
If you’d like to join me for any of my upcoming LIVE classes or events, here is a running list of everything I have scheduled. Some of these events are ticketed and I will link you to where you can sign up, others are free classes I’ll be hosting on my YouTube channel, so make sure you are subscribed and feel free to turn on notifications so you are aware of when I post a video or go Live!
• Friday September 20th @ 1pm: Planner Peace Master Class, Free Live Workshop
• Friday October 18th @ 1pm: Money Manifestation Techniques, Free Live Workshop
• Friday November 22nd @ 1pm: How to Create a Successful Passive Income Business in 2020, Free Live Workshop
• Friday December 13th @ 1pm: Set Up Your Planner With Me, Free Live Workshop
• Wednesday December 18th @ 1pm: New Years Goal Setting Workshop, Ticketed Event
• Saturday December 21st @ 8pm: New Years Goal Setting Workshop, Ticketed Event
• Saturday December 28th @ 1pm: New Years Goal Setting Workshop, Ticketed Event
So that is my Fall 2019 Content and Live Event Schedule! I hope this post has been helpful to set some expectations for my content and how we can connect live for the rest of the year! Make sure to review the dates on that LIVE Event Schedule and mark your planners for any events you don’t want to miss. I’ll also be emailing out reminders for those Free classes if you are on my email list!
So, we are currently sitting at the head of the second week of September and before we know it, it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas (and the Winter Holidays) and then viola, we’ll blink and it will be 2020! So, last week I sat down to do some forward planning for the rest of this year so that I can have an intentional and well paced final quarter of the year. I highly recommend you do the same at some point this month because there is nothing worse than stepping into the busiest season of the year with no plan but a prayer!
Usually, my Q4 is something of a hot mess!
Obviously, part of this has to do with my business. Q4 is a very busy time of year for most businesses, and then on top of that, Q4 is really where I pull out all the stops on my home-maker vibes. I’m not usually what one would consider the traditional home-maker type, but during the holidays I morph into a completely different beast. My home-making type during the holidays is what I consider a perfect juxtaposition between Martha Stewart and Morticia Addams. Over-the-top theatrical, dramatic, dark, and yet surprisingly cheerful and welcoming. Home cooked meals, candles everywhere, multiple decor changes around the house, guests and lots of events and excursions. So, yea, my life usually gets pretty hectic, like most during the final season of the year, and making decisions and plans for myself under that sort of stress just leads me into a spiral of overwhelm and sometimes a bit of disaster management!
So, during this end of year planning session, the main focus I gave myself was to answer the following questions:
What were my hard line priorities going to be?
What did I absolutely want to get done no matter what, what would be great to have completed before 2020?
What would be my stretch goals (those objectives that I’d like to accomplish if I have the time but nothing concrete is riding on their completion)?
Answering those questions, a very clear picture began to materialize in my mind!
One of the top priorities for the end of the year was to make sure both myself and my community were prepared for the new year with clear 2020 goals! I know it might be weird to think of my priorities in terms of what I’m trying to accomplish for you and the rest of the community, but this is my role our community as I see it. So keep in mind when you do your end of year planning session, that it’s okay to have objectives for others that pertain to your role in their lives. Just make sure you are reasonable with your expectations of what you can accomplish in the name of others.
What I KNOW I can accomplish for both myself and each of you in the community is to host a series of live classes and workshops where I give you as much opportunity as possible to set your goals for 2020 and get time with me to answer your questions about the goal setting and planning process.
Last year I hosted a New Year Goal Setting & Planning Workshop that was a complete success, and it’s been my intention to do host a similar workshop again this year! So, I’m pleased to announce that I have opened up ticket sales for the 2020 New Year Goal Setting & Planning Workshop a little early so we can get this scheduled into our calendars and make the time to prioritize this very important annual task!
Now, let me give you some important details about the workshop. I loved last years workshop and so many of you reached out to tell me you loved it also, which I highly appreciate. But, I realize last year’s workshop would have benefited from a bit more strategic planning in order to ensure every single one of you had a stellar live experience.
The main issue with last year’s workshop that I want to remedy this year is that I need to teach this workshop multiple times in December, not just once! I know that the workshop is online and on-demand but, not everyone was able to attend the single workshop I hosted last year. Which is why I am very pleased to announce that due to my little Q4 pre-planning session, I have marked off time to host not one, not two, but THREE live sessions of the workshop!
The tentative dates for the 3 Live Workshop Sessions are:
• December 18th, 2019 @ 1pm Eastern Standard Time • December 21st, 2019 @ 8pm Eastern Standard Time • December 28th, 2019 @ 1pm Eastern Standard Time
Now, I say these are tentative dates because I have no clue what other obligations or family gatherings are happening during December, so I can’t fully plan for those right now (if only everyone were planning their year four months in advance lol) but I am very committed to these dates and times and if anything does change I will let you know and make up for the change with a rescheduled session!
For those of you who do pre-purchase your tickets, I’d love for you to reach out to me and let me know any suggestions for other times that work for you so I can keep those in mind!
Of course, when you purchase your ticket to the Workshop you won’t need to choose a single date, everyone who purchases is going to get access to all three live events so you have time to process your plans by attending more than one, or if you have questions during your first round and want to go through it again live, I know it’s great to be able to have more time with me live to get questions answered that may have popped up with you as you processed your goals the first time around.
With the Workshop, you are going to receive a set of goal planning worksheets for 2020, and once the live events are complete, you’ll have access to an edited replay of the workshop which will include the best version of the workshop plus all of the Q&A from the three sessions in one video. You’ll get access to the replay, plus email support from me through January 31st, 2020. Sound good?
Well, if you already know you are down for this year’s New Year Goal Setting & Planning Workshop with me, don’t wait to purchase, grab your ticket now with the early bird pricing because next month the price will go up!
If you have any questions about the workshop, feel free to let me know! You can leave me a comment down below or shoot me an email.
About two weeks ago I launched the 2020 update to the Charmed Life Master Planner! Thank you to all those who have supported the planner over the years and have already purchased your 2020 editions, I’m thrilled to have you as part of my #MasterPlanFam! But, for those of you who have not yet purchased, or aren’t sure about whether the Charmed Life Master Planner is right for you, today I wanted to give you some insight into what I believe makes the planner special and why you should seriously consider purchasing your copy for the sake of your productivity, organization and time management in 2020!
So many options or same old same old?
I realize that when it comes to choosing a planner for yourself for the New Year, the options are seemingly endless. Now more than ever we have so much choice for how to plan, what our planners look like and the price point that works for our needs. You can buy a planner in nearly every paper size you can imagine. You can buy a planner with every binding option technology allows. You can buy a planner in your favorite color, pattern, personalized with your name, refillable or disposable, you are drowning in a sea of options. Or so it seems on the surface. If you take some time to break open most of the options out there you come to find that although many planners seem different because they look different on the outside, once you get inside everything is the same but in different packaging!
This is the illusion of choice brought to you by the genius of marketing; selling you the same old planner in a pretty new package! I can remember a few years back before the boom of planning when planners came in two options, a professional gender neutral black cover and a pink cover for the ladies because all we were to planner marketers at the time were a default color. There were never major differences between the black and pink planners, but marketers at the time knew that women were interested more in style so they made a version of their planner just for us to meet our needs; pink was apparently the need of women.
If you think things have gotten much better for women in the planner world, look again. Yea, now we have more options than pink or black, we now have identical planners updated with more feminine font selections (less business formal, more fun and script fonts) and instead of just a pink cover, we now have many many stylized cover options intended to speak directly to the personal identity of all the different types of women. Such styles of women include; The Boss, Girly, Cat Lady, Fashion Icon, Boho, Unicorn, Brainy, Goal Digger, Tom-boy, Foodie, Kawaii, Sleepy, llama and Mom! If you think I’m being overdramatic about this, I’m not- take a trip over to Michael’s Arts & Crafts and you can view on one shelf planner covers that speak to each of these caricatures of women and more- they discover and add new styles of women everyday!
Again, when you open these different planner “options” you quickly find that everything is the same, or variations on the same few styles of planners. Month on two pages, week on two pages, contacts and notes. Month on two pages, day on one page, and less notes. The options across many different planners and across many different brands boil down to styles that result in one of two major planning and productivity issues. Either they are too basic in terms of what they give you, so if you aren’t a seasoned planner or naturally highly organized your plans become a mess that lack focus (monthly, weekly). Or they are too focused on the daily planning aspect which reinforces the trope of busy = productive and prevents the user from getting a big picture view of their lives and results (monthly, daily). So, essentially, the vast majority of planners out on the market are glorified overpriced calendars! Dated or undated, all these “planners” give you are spaces to write in what you are doing on which day. No true space to make your plan, just enough space to write down the tasks, appointments and meals that fill your days. No wonder so many within the planner community switch from planner to planner looking for a system that works for them- they are simply switching from one version of the same to another!
The Charmed Life Master Planner Breaks the Mold
The Master Planner isn’t like any other planner on the market because it’s not just a calendar. The Master Planner is intentionally designed to be a Functional Planning System and incorporates scientifically researched productivity principles to ensure you are keeping organized, getting that big picture view to track the direction of your efforts, but also giving you the flexibility to drill down to your day to find focus on the task at hand. The Master Planner isn’t just a planner, it’s a productivity tool that when you commit to using it, will help you learn to plan better, manage your time more efficiently and achieve more of what truly matters to you.
Within the planner you actually have three productivity tools in one as the planner is broken into three distinct planning sections. The first section is the calendar, which is ostensibly what you are purchasing when you buy most of the other planner options on the market, but with the inclusion of dedicated space for monthly task lists and tracking in line with well researched best practices for productivity!
Next, you have a dedicated yearly project planning section which is the second tool within the Master Planner. Within this section you have the space to truly map out your objectives and goals for the year and to track them so you always know where you and can actually see the results of your progress at a glance inside your planner.
The third and final section and planning tool is the Brilliant Ideas spreads. In this section of the planner you have the dedicated space to clear you mind of ideas, thoughts and plans to organize and act on them, and you have the ability to brainstorm new plans and ideas before you schedule them into your calendar. Imagine that, a planner that gives you the space to plan what you are going to do and capture all your ideas so that you are doing your best work before you schedule those individual tasks into your calendar! Truly, in soo many ways the Charmed Life Master Planner is head and shoulders above other planners and is unrivaled in it’s ability to help you focus on and improve your productivity!
I created the Master Planner because other “planners” on the market were not only failing to improve people’s productivity but they were also sending women the wrong message about their productivity. The message sent to women by most planners is that busy = productive and that the measure of your value as a woman, wife, mother, student, daughter and friend boils down to how many things you can check off a to do list in a day. I’m continuously alarmed by the number of women within my community who come to me asking me which of my products, classes or courses will help them complete a full days worth of work in just an hour or a weeks worth of tasks in a day. Of course the answer to this question is none of them will. Instead what my products, classes and courses strive to do is to give you strategy, intention and clarity to get into alignment so that you know what tasks are truly going to move the needle in your life towards the goals you want to achieve. No one can accomplish 40 hours worth of tasks in just 8 hours, but through strategy and focus you can certainly achieve the most impactful results of 40 hours of work within a single work day. But this idea that we need to check off all the tasks, do all the things and be all the things to everyone in our life as women is a detrimental state encouraged by society and perpetuated by the planner market that leaves women with a blank calendar spread and no direction or indication that she should not strive to fill up each empty space. If the point of a planner is so I don’t forget another mundane and uninspiring task that truly won’t impact my life one way or another, then I need a planner like I need a hole in my head. No, thank you!
Stop using a planner that makes you a slave to your schedule or endless to do list. Start using a planner that works with you towards the goals and dreams you want to achieve, because to me, that’s the point of having a planner and a worthy reason for prioritizing it’s use everyday! People often ask me how I remember to stick to using my planner, and honestly, if your planner was filled with the goals and objectives that light you up with passion and excitement for your life, you wouldn’t be able to forget about it!
If you’re ready for a better way of planning, get your Charmed Life Master Planner now and start seeing the difference in your days, weeks, month and year because I have seen the impact in my life and the lives of many within my community and I know you will too!
Wishing you the best for a Productive Week & Life!
This past Saturday I hosted the most AMAZING live planning class called THE PRODUCTIVITY EDIT! I really believe this may have been one of my absolute best live classes! Not only did I share some really great information to put your planning into perspective, but I also heard from so many of you that the content and energy of the class was very inspirational in helping you to step into the role of Editor-in-chief of your life, energy and time!
Those of you who have followed me for some time may remember that I am a great lover of magazines and each September I go out and get the “September Issues” of fashion magazines as an annual tradition to help feed my creativity. September is considered the New Year’s of the fashion world and so the very best and most up-and-coming content, design, photography and style is integrated into these key issues. It was with this inspiration in mind that I walk you through the very creative and original content of the class to help you think outside the box at how you can approach your planning and productivity this season!
So, the content of the nearly 3 hour class was definitely on point! And to add some extra icing on the cake, we also walked through some POWERFUL activities for getting focused on curating the next season of our year intentionally!
Those activities came in the form of guided worksheets from the workbook that accompanies the class, called THE PRODUCTIVITY EDITWorkbook. This valuable workbook is a must for anyone who wants to get the most out of the activities and planning strategies we walked through in the class.
THE PRODUCTIVITY EDITWorkbook is a 46 page PDF workbook that you can get in my shop, print out and use to creatively curate and plan the next quarter or season of your life!
• Do you struggle with traditional planning because you consider yourself more visual or creatively focused?
• Do you have goals or a vision for the direction of your life that you struggle to prioritize alongside life’s more urgent tasks?
• Do you find that you have different priorities or objectivess to manage through different seasons of your year?
• Could you benefit from a streamlined process for planning on a seasonal basis that can then be used in conjunction with any planner or time management system?
THE PRODUCTIVITY EDITWorkbook is a Seasonal Planning Guide for Curating & Editing Your Life that walks you through the 5 activities we performed within the class that follow along with the concept of stepping into the role of Editor-In-Chief of your life.
THE PRODUCTIVITY EDITWorkbook will help you:
✔︎ Learn to approach each new season of your year with a fresh vision and inspiration for the life you are intentionally curating!
✔︎ Align they key people in your life with your objectives and expectations to get the support you need to bring your goals to fruition.
✔︎ Set clear intentions for what you will achieve each season and use passive manifestation techniques to help you find the solutions, people, and resources you need along the way.
✔︎ Edit down your objectives into manageable plans that you can easily track and accomplish.
✔︎ Turn the everyday tasks and expectations of daily life into a streamlined plan with clear responsibilities and defined schedules.
So, what are you waiting for?
Check out the FREE class and get your copy of THE PRODUCTIVITY EDITWorkbook because this new approach to planning might be exactly what you need to blend inspiration with action for a successful season ahead!
I can’t wait to see what you accomplish with the help of the workbook, so please do keep in touch and share the progress you make designing your personal magazine for the season!
The Charmed Life Master Planner is a 12 month planner designed by Productivity Guru Alexis Giostra to help you Manifest Success with Less Stress! Plan your month, organize your tasks for the week, manage your projects for the year and work out all your brilliant ideas with this unique all-in-one planning solution!
What’s Inside | The 12 Spacious and Intentionally Designed Planning Spreads Backed by Research and Time Management Science to help you Plan, Organize & Execute:
DESIGNED FOR FUNCTIONAL PLANNING: This planner is designed to be a powerful analog tool to help you identify your priorities, manage your time and complete your tasks with three divided sections for your calendar, projects and ideas!
MORE THAN JUST A TO DO LIST: The purpose of planning and productivity is NOT to fill your days with endless tasks and meetings getting done more work in the same amount of time. Instead it’s about breaking down your thoughts and ideas into manageable plans that you can focus on to create the life you want to live. The Charmed Life Master Planner gives you ample space to explore your ideas, create your plan of action and then FOCUS on the tasks that will truly impact your life and bring value to your day.
ONE LIFE. ONE YEAR. ONE MASTER PLAN: Alexis firmly believes that you don’t need multiple planners, schedulers and notebooks to organize your life- just one single book dedicated to creating your master plan for your year! The Charmed Life Master Planner has been designed to be a single book solution for all of your planning needs.
JOIN & LEARN WITH OUR COMMUNITY: Your productivity and planning journey doesn’t need to end with the purchase of The Charmed Life Master Planner. Join Alexis on her blog Strange & Charmed, her YouTube Channel, and on Instagram to learn more about how to use your planner and different productivity philosophies! Alexis has also designed other great productivity and planning resources to educate and enhance your daily experience that you can purchase on TheCharmedShop.com!
Let’s take a look into the planner and all of the Functional Planning Spreads!
The Charmed Life Master Planner begins with a series of 5 Functional Planning worksheets for you to learn the basics of the Functional Planning Philosophy and then the planner moves into a series of 12 unique functional spreads to help you find clarity, organize your ideas and take action on your plans.
Plan out blocks of time for work, vacations, holidays and travel, or track reoccurring events with the yearlyTRACKER.
Create a more in depth planning overview for your year including school, work, or family schedules with the help of the four page yearlyOVERVIEW.
Map out your monthly schedule and 3 priorities for each week on the monthlyPLAN.
List out your master monthlyTASKS and create a personalized tracker perfect for expenses, habits, or additional task tracking with the monthlyTRACKER.
Create your daily plans, block of time and your top 3 tasks in the weeklyPLAN. (A5/Half Letter weeklyPLAN spread shown here, see alternate digital layouts below).
Map out your goals and projects for the year on the Yearly Project Tracker!
Codify your projectPLANs and Project Notes so everything is in one place for you to get organized and take action!
Get your ideas and plans out of your head and on to paper so you can prioritize them with the brainDUMP spread!
Generate your brilliant ideas and the rouge outlines of projects with the brainSTORM spread.
Keep additional information and notes stored in your planner in these lined takeNOTE pages.
Keep track of the contents of your planner thanks to the numbered pages and these Index sheets.
Next, choose the Master Planner format that is right for you!
The Charmed Life Master Planner comes in two formats, book bound and printable PDF.
The Bound Master Planner
If you are looking for a compact all-in-one planner, the bound format of The Charmed Life Master Planner is for you. You can choose between the Matte Black Undated Bound version of the planner, or the 2020 Dated Bound version with a color blocked Matte Marble cover.
Both of these bound versions are half letter dimensions (5.5″ x 8.5”) and only 1” thick making them very compact and lightweight options you can carry with you in most bags. The paper is approximately 26lb or 90gsm in weight and 98 bright white in color, which makes it excellent to use with a variety of pens, inks and highlighters with minimum bleed and ghosting.
This binding and size was specifically chosen for a number of reasons to make The Charmed Life Master Planner as functional and flexible a tool as possible. The soft cover book binding makes the planner a discreet and portable tool that you can confidently carry along with you in even the most professional of settings to keep all your plans and ideas organized together. The planner is sized to fit comfortably into a variety of everyday handbags or briefcases. The universal half letter size also accommodates a variety of notebook or compendium style covers available on the market for added protection and functionality as desired.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The minimalistic matte cover was designed specifically to make this planner timeless and elegant. You will find no external branding of the creator on the cover because this is your planner not a billboard for a personal brand. In order to minimize the look of fingerprints a matte cover was chosen over glossy, however oils from your hands will still accumulate on the cover and to clean these, all you need is a simple wet wipe. Keep in mind, this is a paper planner, so you don’t want to use anything too wet that might damage pages, but the careful and controlled use of a wipe or moist towelette followed by a dry microfiber cloth is sufficient to remove any visible oil spots without damaging the cover.
The Bound Charmed Life Master Planner is proudly printed and shipped from the United States.
Why a book bound format?
When I first began the project of creating this planner I had three non-negotiable values that I committed myself to.
Price, Aesthetic and Accessibility.
I had a specific price point that I wanted to stick to for the retail of this planner. I know there are many planners on the market that retail from as low as $1 to as high as $100+ but I had an idea in my mind for where I wanted my planner to be priced in the mix.
I also had a specific aesthetic I wanted to stick to. I knew I wanted the planner to be as streamlined and universal as possible, something that anyone could carry into any meeting discreetly, could pull out of a bag and take notes in comfortably without feeling out of place or self-conscious and was inconspicuous enough to just sit out on a desk without feeling like it was drawing unnecessary attention.
Finally, I wanted this planner to be as accessible as possible for my community, just as easy to access as my print on demand planners and tools sold within my digital shop. I personally hate to wait for things, I know patience is a virtue but when it comes to planners, I don’t want to wait for a pre-order of a product, and then wait for that period to be over and then wait some more for my product to be manufactured before it even ships out to me. Let’s not even get into how annoying it can be to want to order something and this it’s out of stock! I have been down that road before with products I wanted and it is not an experience I want to give my community. I want people to be able to see my planner, be able to order it as soon as they decide they want it, and then receive it within a reasonable period of time.
So, as I was evaluating options for binding and design for this planner with those three key values in my head, it became clear to me that the best way to achieve what I set out to do was with a book bound planner. But this wasn’t a situation where I was settling on the binding either, I am very thrilled that my planner is a bound book. I know in recent years you have seen me with ring or discbound planners, but before I formally joined the planner community, I used a softcover moleskine as my planner and I loved it. There is a part of my sentimental heart that romanticizes books on a level like none other and so for me personally, I am in love with the concept of a soft cover book bound planner. It comes with so many positives to me that it outweighs those few negatives that I know you all want me to address, so let’s talk about it!
Let’s start with the few negatives of a book binding as I see it!
1st NO SPIRAL. Yep, this is the one major negative of a book, it doesn’t spiral BUT let me remind you that a soft cover book CAN flip pages over on themselves and with no coil, spiral or rings or discs to content with, it’s actually a very comfortable experience writing in this planner whether you are left or right handed on either side of the spread!
2nd This actually leads in perfectly to the next drawback of a book bound planner, which is that it doesn’t lay flat on your desk. That’s true, this isn’t like a binder or spiral style planner that lays flat, however, again, you can keep a book bound planner open by flipping pages back and as any avid reader knows, you CAN train a book to lay open by breaking in the spine which is doable with this planner. Another easy solution for this would be to use a paper weight to keep your planner open OR to put it in a book stand. So there are some easy solutions to this problem as well!
3rd and final obstacle of a book bound planner is no reordering or personalization of pages. This is an issue any bound planner would face of course but we have found hacks around that in spiral bound planners haven’t we? Well, we don’t have many clever hacks for book bound planners yet but, remember, you can always add to a book bound planner with sticky notes, paper clips and loose sheets of paper, but there is one thing you still can’t do with a book bound planner: reorganize pages!! This is why The Charmed Life Master Planner comes with an index in the back and numbered pages. For those who are familiar with the bullet journal method you will be familiar with the concept of using an index to help you organize your book and quickly find and reference information.
So those are the three obstacles I see with a book binding, but we all know its not just book bound planners that have obstacles, no planner binding is a perfect solution, it’s just about finding the planner and binding that has the issues you are willing to deal with and the benefits you are looking for!
So, let’s talk about some of the benefits of a book bound planner and why I am so thrilled about The Charmed Life Master Planner.
1st It’s securely bound with your entire year and all your plans, projects and ideas in one place! Yes, I LOVE planners that you can customize and add and remove pages, but that’s only because in most customizable systems you need to constantly adjust and allocate space because they can’t hold everything you need. Well, The Charmed Life Master Planner is everything I will need in a year for managing my time, planning my projects and coming up with ideas! So there is nothing I need to add to this because, I have everything in one place!
2nd NO bulky cover or binding! So this is something you are going to have to see to really understand how excited I am about this binding. When I compare The Charmed Life Master Planner with the discbound planning system I was using before, it’s clear which option I would prefer to tote around. The discbound system is much bulkier! I cannot fit my discbound planner in my everyday handbag, BUT I can fit The Charmed Life Master Planner comfortably! Now, it’s important to note that the pages within each planner are the exact same, half letter sized 26lb paper, and yet I can only fit half a year of inserts, and a smaller project planning and notes section in my discbound. Again, The Charmed Life Master Planner is the full year and enough project plans, brainstorm and notes sheets for a year of ideas. Even if I were to switch this leather cover with a thin plastic option, the discbound is still bulkier and contains only half a year of inserts at one time.
3rd It’s sophisticated yet discreet! Can you think of anything more discreet and unassuming than a book? You can literally take a book with you anywhere you go and it draws almost no attention to itself. It’s not a cell phone or tablet that might need to be turned off or handed over in delicate situations. It’s not a leather planner that might be mistaken for a wallet and stolen. It fits seamlessly into nearly any work situation or life scenario without screaming “look at me- there is private information in here!” I love that this planner is so versatile, portable, gender neutral and yet elegant and sophisticated all at the same time.
The Printable PDF Master Planner
The Charmed Life Master Planner is also available in a Printable PDF option as well, for those who prefer the flexibility and personalization of printing and organizing their own customized system.
The printable PDF option comes bundled with 3 sizes of the Master Planner optimized for the various sizes of popular planner binders on the market and includes a full year of dated inserts.
Those sizes are Personal, A5/Half Letter and A4/Letter.
Other than their size, each PDF version of the Master Planner is nearly identical, except that they each have a unique weeklyPLAN spread design in order to optimize daily and weekly planning across the various sizes.
Above is the weeklyPLAN spread found in the A5/Half Letter Size.
Above is the weeklyPLAN found in the Personal size.
And, finally, above is the weeklyPLAN found in the A4/Letter size.
So, those are all of the current options for The Charmed Life Master Planner! I think you can tell for yourself that this isn’t your run of the mill paper calendar, but truly a complete functional planning system with the dedicated space and spreads to ensure you are making, organizing and executing on plans productively!
While other planners might be known for their variety of cover designs or the use of specialty materials that can leave the end user paying premium prices for ink and paper, The Charmed Life Master Planner has been intentionally designed through years of research to reflect the latest understanding of productivity science. Your planner should be more than a pretty accessory! It’s a tool that when designed properly and used regularly has the power to help you reach your goals and manifest your dream life into reality.
Want to see the planner in action? Check out this video for a quick review on the planner spreads and how to use each as part of my Functional Planning System!
What people are saying about The Charmed Life Master Planner!
“I use the Master Planner every day, it seriously has been an essential tool to help me go from feeling completely overwhelmed to feeling in control of my life. The plan and prep section in particular, I am shocked to find, I love the most.
Initially when I got the planner, I had no idea what I would do with that section. About a week or so ago, I was feeling overwhelmed and decided I needed to dissect the various components of my life that was making me feel this way. I made each box a component (e.g. work, wellness, personal goals etc.). I was shocked to find that I had three boxes dedicated to my work, and my personal goals that I needed to achieve (e.g. getting into grad school) was far too low on my priority list, based on how I was living my day to day life. That exercise alone really helped me to see how I needed to change the way I organized my life on a daily basis.
I am happy to say only one box stands for work now, and I have a lot more boxes dedicated to my long-term goals. I now try to make sure my work stays within work hours and not weekends. I’m a recovering workaholic, is what I’m trying to say! I also have an hour carved out every day to work on things like grad school applications. And in this short time, I have completely re-vamped my CV, gathered all of the pieces I need for the application. The last step is to write the cover letter, and I’m done! All within about a 10 day span. Plus I had a glorious weekend where all I did was relax.” – Sam R
How would YOU like to transform from overwhelmed to in-control? Sounds amazing! Let’s hear from another Master Planner user…
“Good morning, Alexis—
I simply want to take a moment to thank you. I have noticed a significant change in my mental health and overall attitude towards productivity since following you and your advice the past few years. Since April, my CLMP has served me well– even through the birth of my first child! Undoubtedly, my time for prioritization has arrived. Accepting the fact that I can NOT get 100+ or even 6 things done in a day has brought me a certain peace. (Top 3: tasks, not projects!)
My “projects” range from apartment upgrades, to maintenance for the commercial building that I help manage, to hosting large familial celebrations… I could not have remained SO organized without your thoughtful outlines! While I often resort to post-its and random lists for my brain dumps, the CLMP has become a safe nest for all of my plans. I will soon apply for graduation (A.A.S.) and begin work for my Master’s. Required courses, advising appointments, assignments, even thank-you notes for my professors!.. ALL managed with my planner. ♡ Not to mention my newborn’s doctor visits, my work schedule, etc.
I almost can’t wait to repurchase the planner… but I still have pages to fill! 🙂 Please know that you are greatly appreciated, Miss Trenchcoat. So many of us find inspiration and empowerment with your tools and shared wisdom!” – Jenalysa from TX
So, what are you waiting for? I would LOVE for you to purchase one of my Charmed Life Master Planners because it truly is a unique planner system that is designed for functional planning and productivity.
If you struggle with planning, time management or organization and want to finally get your life together for a productive and successful year, the 2020 Master Planner Bundle will help you reach your objectives!
This is NOT JUST A PLANNER! The Master Planner is a complete Functional Planning System intentionally designed to incorporate multiple scientifically proven planning, time management and personal organization strategies into one print on demand tool!
Do any of these questions feel familiar to you?
• Do you have a hard time sticking to using a planner, or find yourself switching from planner to planner looking for a system that works for you?
• Do you write things down in your planner but then still forget to execute on them?
• Do you take on so much at work and with your family that your personal tasks and goals constantly get pushed off to another day?
• Do you have a lot of different priorities and projects you are working on constantly and feel like it’s a struggle to make a solid plan that gives you peace of mind?
These are just a handful of the most common planning and productivity issues that the Master Planner was designed to solve.
Overcome overwhelm, streamline a scattered brain, and finally find focus to get out of your own way and get things done with the Master Planner!
The Master Planner Bundle comes with ALL 3 sizes of the Charmed Life Master Planner:
• Personal: Designed at 3.75″ x 6.75″.
• A5/Half Letter: Designed at 5.5″ x 8.5″ but can be printed properly onto A4 paper and cut in half to true A5 dimensions.
• A4/Letter: Designed at 8.5″ x 11″ but can be printed properly onto A4 paper as well.
Each Master Planner includes 12 unique planning spreads dated for 2020 (image gallery above)!
• Yearly Calendar
• Yearly Tracker
• Yearly Overview
• Monthly Plans
• Monthly Tasks & Tracker
• Weekly Plans
• Yearly Project Tracker
• Project Plans
• Brain Dump
• Brainstorm
• Notes
• Index
Please note that 11 out of the 12 spreads are the same across all three sizes of the printable PDF planner, but each size has their own unique layout for the Weekly Plan. All three are week on 2 pages, but optimized for each planner size, as you can see in the image gallery.
• The Personal Size Weekly Plan is a vertical week on two pages with 2 days sharing each column.
• The A5/Half Letter Size Weekly Plan is a vertical week on two pages with only the weekend sharing one column.
• The A4/ Letter Size Weekly Plan is a unique two page spread with one page dedicated to tasks and one page dedicated to a customizable scheduler, market list and meal planner!
With your purchase of the Master Planner Printable Bundle you will receive the following PDF files:
Refill pages have no pagination so you can add to your planner as needed!
These inserts are all print-on-demand PDF files for use at home or feel free to bring them to your favorite office supply store to have them professionally printed! Although these inserts will print on standard printer/copier paper, for best printing results, I highly recommend using 98 bright 28-32lb paper.
Refund Policy: Due to the nature of these items as digital downloads, no refunds will be accepted, so please make sure to check all images and read through descriptions carefully before making your purchase.
Copyright information: The copyright to all digital download pdf files remains with the designer, Alexis Giostra. Files are intended for personal use by the single purchaser within the year they are dated for and may not be copied, shared, distributed, resold or reused outside of the dated time frame.
Customer satisfaction is of the utmost important to me, and although I do not issue refunds on digital downloads, if you are experiencing any unforeseen issues with your purchase, please notify me immediately via email and I will work with you directly to resolve your issue!
Today I want to share with you another of my most productive habits that saves me time, energy, money you name it!
Meal planning!
I’ve had many requests to do a dedicated video on this topic, so I am going to share with you all my thoughts and strategies for mastering this essential habit.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!
In the video, I explain:
• What meal planning is!
• My process and strategy for meal planning & prep
• Answer FAQ’s about meal planning- Lots of tips & gems you might be curious about
• The EXACT tool I use to help me stay on track and create a regular habit of meal planning & prep- THE MASTER MEAL PLANNER!
In today’s video I’m walking you through my monthly review process and showing you all the secret planning tips I use to keep myself focused on my most important tasks for the month.
