Productivity

Personal Development Productivity

This 5 Second Hack will Greatly Improve Your Self-Control with Habit Formation

Hello my Charmed Ones!

As you may already know, I have been doing a lot of research into the human brain over the past two years to learn more about how it functions, how our neural net is created and it’s role in helping us achieve patterns of positive productivity and success in our lives. When it comes to success and productivity, so much of our results in life come from the idea of establishing strategic habits and routines that make our ability to plan, organize and execute a naturally integrated part of our personalities. For example, it’s fair to say I am an organized and productive person, but that’s not a result of any natural instincts or talents, instead, that is a result of years of repetition and work nailing key habits that lead to routines for success in my life. No one is naturally wired to be productive, maybe some of us have some inborn traits that make it easier for us to reason the most effective plan, or give us an edge when it comes to spacial organization, but all god-given talents are absolutely useless unless they are acted upon consistently.

This is both good news and bad news for those of us who strive to improve our lives because on one hand it means that anything someone else has achieved is also achievable for you with work and dedication, but on the downside, it means we have to focus a lot more on being intentional with each action and habit we establish in our lives. If you’ve ever tried to establish a new habit in your life, you know how hard it can be to achieve this, because unfortunately the way our brains function, things that we have done in the past create an often automated response by our brain that compels us to perform a habit, out of…well, habit!

This is because for a majority of our days, our brains are in an autopilot like mode controlled by an area of our brain known as the basal ganglia. In may ways the basal ganglia appears to be something of a central hub of our brains, it controls many of our body’s automatic functions and responses. Many functions we don’t give any strategic thought to, like the movement of our eyes, the way our body moves, our thoughts and even our emotions. Most notably however, the basal ganglia controls our learning and, you guessed it, our habits!

So, throughout the course of our days, the basal ganglia is in control of the show. Which means that in order to change a habit, to make new choices for our lives and build up a pattern of repetition for any new habit, we need to switch off the basal ganglia strategically during the day. Obviously, we don’t want to turn it off entirely, we absolutely need it to function, and it’s not like you can ever truly turn off an area of your brain anyway, but, if we want to successfully make a switch in our routines, add in a new habit or swap a bad habit for a better one, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could temporarily silence that voice in our head that automatically tells us NOT to do that new awesome habit we know will change our lives? Because that voice is coming from the BG, and I don’t know about yours, but my BG is a complete loud mouth who often screams bloody murder if I want to make even a tiny little change that will benefit my day. Sure, he might let me try something new once, but if I try to repeat a new task to start paving the new neural pathway for the establishment of that habit, you’d think I was fugitive from the law the way my BG calls me out and emotionally tracks me down until I turn myself in and submit to its will. But, alas, there is a way to silence the basal ganglia, to mute it’s cries and demands for attention in your moment of need when you are trying to make a better more productive choice.

A few weeks ago I learned about an ingenious little hack that you can use to switch the the center of control on you brain away from your basal ganglia and focus it on the part of your brain known as the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex or PFC is the area of your brain that controls, of all things, planning and complex decision making. So, hitting mute on BG and metaphorically changing the channel to give the PFC more control during strategic moments of habit formation is exactly the hack to master in order to make the often difficult process of establishing new habits and routines, easier! It’s not a miracle cure by any means, but when you switch control from the BG to PFC, it makes it easier to make the right choice, to choose that new better habit and to say no to any bad habits that don’t serve you but your BG just can’t shut the heck up about!

Are you ready for the hack? It’s so simple, but the most profound lessons in life often are!

All you need to do to hack your brain to switch control from your basal ganglia to your prefrontal cortex is spell the current day of the week backwards right before you go to execute your new habit.

I know, it sounds silly, right? But, I promise you, this is well researched and tested science! Let me explain how it works.

So, I will admit, it’s not necessarily the day of the week that figures into the effectiveness of this hack. But rather, it’s the fact that spelling a word backwards, a word you might not know backwards by heart, activates your PFC because it requires you to envision the word in your mind and then carefully list out each letter back to front. So, this hack could be used with any word. You can spell the current month backwards, you could spell your name, your pet’s name, your street address- all of it works to activate the PFC! I just think that for me, if I choose the same word to use everyday, like my name, eventually I am going to start memorizing it and this hack could loose it’s effectiveness. So, by choosing to follow this hack with the days of the week, everyday when I go to do this task is a new opportunity for me to have to remember what day it is (and most days I can’t even tell you what month it is accurately without some thought) and then take the time to spell it. So, I’ve put my own little spin on this hack, but feel free to do what works for you!

So, let me explain a little more in depth how I’d expect you to use this hack.

Let’s say you have chosen a new habit to integrate into your life, working out is a nice generic example! And you have struggled to get yourself to go to the gym in the past. Well, before we even get to using the hack, you’d probably benefit from choosing another habit to override or swap with the new habit of going to the gym. So, if you are someone who perhaps comes home from work and then hits the couch to watch TV, perhaps that would be a good habit to swap out. You’ll need to have a plan in place for how you’re going to execute on a regular basis, so identifying that old habit of come home from work and plop on couch as the cue and habit we are going to override with the new habit of come home from work and grab gym bag to drive to gym, is a nice seamless override. Maybe you could even do one better and instead of coming directly home from work, you drive directly to the gym, bag already packed and in your car (but that requires a few extra steps for accountability). Whatever you choose as your cue and old habit to override, you need to solidify it as your ongoing plan in your mind and ideally in your planner and with an alert or reminder on your phone because the first step to successfully executing a new habit is to remember it’s the new habit!

Once you’ve taken care of those formalities, now you are ready to execute the hack as a means of overcoming obstacles and objections you know your BG is going to flood you with as soon as you see that reminder and stop to decide whether or not you are going to follow through with the plan! So, as soon as you see your alert (or better yet, add this as the name of your alert that way you don’t forget to perform the hack either) ask yourself to spell the day of the week backwards.

First, you’ll identify what day it is, then you’ll see the word in your mind, and then you’ll start spelling it out one letter at a time in the reverse.

Achievement unlocked- your prefrontal cortex is now activated!

From here, you’ll now tell yourself it’s time to execute on the plan and guess what? With the intelligent and mature portion of your brain now in control, you should encounter far less mental resistance. Your PFC will send you messages that this is actually a good idea and praise you for remembering to prioritize this important habit. It’s like you’ve got your own personal hype man in your head, as opposed to that downer friend who is always low key doubting you and sabotaging your success. Of course, at the end of the day, this is still your brain and you still need to take action. Your PFC isn’t going to suddenly override all your functions and do the work for you, but it will make it easier for you to make the right decision and not fall into the temptation of laziness the way your BG would.

So, I hope this little hack helps you to make some strategic changes to your habits and keep you accountable to yourself and to your own brain for the routines and results you develop with your choices and actions! I’d love to hear how you enjoyed this hack and how it works out for you. I definitely think this is one of those hacks that will serve you better as a reminder in your phone for when you’ve planned to do that habit swap, so make sure you don’t miss that key step because you want the PFC to get in control of your decision making function before the BG has a chance to rain on your parade!

Thanks for checking out this post, leave me a comment with your thoughts down below and I am wishing you a very productive week ahead!

xoxo,

Productivity

HOW TO KNOW WHEN DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT?

While I was creating the content for the CharmedGTD Productivity Bootcamp last month, I stumbled upon a question about productivity that seemed to really resonate with those participating in the challenge. How do we know when done is better than perfect? It was something I discussed as part of one of the prompts, to Choose 5 Projects to Focus on for the Week. The premise of the prompt was that sometimes, overachievers such as myself who like to be super productive, will say they limit their focus on projects to just five, but then ultimately schedule more than that into their week. Thus, creating a situation where we don’t have focus, our attention is everywhere, and even though someone like myself who may do this sort of thing regularly might be able to complete all the work, it raises the question of if we are doing our best work?

Those of you who have been following me for a while know I am all about the line “done is better than perfect.” You could say it happens to be my personal productivity motto. For me, it addresses the essential truth that perfect as a standard doesn’t exist and those who keep striving for this standard are often allowing fear to rule their actions by putting off finishing a project or handing in work or releasing a creating into the world because it doesn’t meet the standard of perfect. The connection between fear and perfectionism often holds people back from moving on to the next thing and enjoying the fruits of their labor, which is why my general opinion of perfectionism is that it’s a lie that fear tells us to prevent us from success. It’s a way of self-sabotaging our work and productivity so we never have to face the criticism that ultimately comes when people are doing any sort of work really. Truth is, even the most beloved and celebrated work throughout history has received heavy criticism, you can’t please everyone, so why try?

But, I also have come to an equally problematic realization about the concept of done is better than perfect, that hits close to home for me. What if we use this concept to continue to move on to the next thing and the next thing as a means of never having to go too deep or put in too much effort into our work? It’s almost like the flip side of perfectionism, a defense mechanism against criticism that keeps some people, myself included, putting in as little effort as possible so that we can create a higher output, but at a lesser quality than we would achieve if we slowed down and created a little less but created it a little better. I definitely recall situations when I used my done is better than perfect mentality as an excuse to move on from a project without having to put extra effort into it, perhaps now I can see it was a defense mechanism I created to shield me from criticism. After all, I know criticism is inevitable, so if it comes, what better defense can I provide myself then “well, you may be right about what this is lacking, but I did all this in only a week/month, I’d like to see you do better!” It’s hard to argue with a statement like that. Yes, it’s not perfect, but how could you expect it to be in such a short time. I have to admit, I know I’ve used this anti-perfectionism stance as an excuse before, if not to others but mostly to myself, but why?

Well, again, I think this comes down to the vulnerability that comes from creating and putting out work over and over and over again that specifically goes out to the public eye, and wanting a defense mechanism to protect from criticism. For a very long time, I’ve operated under the personal belief that my lazy effort was better than most people’s “perfect.” This belief originated in college when I would very often write a paper in about two hours that received an A (I called this my two hour term paper) while my classmates would toil for days writing a paper that resulted in a C. I know that I’m a good writer/communicator/teacher so when it comes to any project that involves these strengths, I’ve essentially brainwashed myself into believing that I can get away with handing in my lazy effort because it’s worked for me for so long. Even this post I am writing right now, I am nearly 800 words into this and I started writing maybe 15 minutes ago. I have had to edit very little and so far I am very pleased with the flow of this so, guess what? Once I’m done writing, I am going to slap a photo on this and post it without thinking too much about it so I can go about my day and move on to the next thing I need to do! Maybe this sort of done is better than perfect attitude is acceptable for my free content, and maybe it works for some of my paid content too, but where do I draw the line? How do I know when done is better than perfect or if done a little better, or a little slower, or a little more is actually the standard to hit?

How to know when done is better than perfect?

Okay, so I hope we can all agree at this point that the standard of perfect doesn’t actually exist. Perfect is too vague, too non-specific, too immeasurable to base the vast majority of our work off of. That being said, I do think there are things in life that do deserve for us to reach towards an ideal of perfection, but since this isn’t a measurable objective, our standard of perfect will ultimately only be met once we have the feeling that our work is finally ready! Since there are truly no actionable tips I can share with you on how to reach that state of feeling like your work is ready, let me focus today on sharing some important questions you might want to ask yourself to double check your work to see if it’s ready for the world or if you should do a little more work on it.

How important is this work?

When thinking about whether you’re ready to finish a project and move on to the next thing or to release said project to its audience, think first about how important the project is to you and to your audience. Let’s take this post for example, I’ve already explained that this wasn’t much work at all for me to write and that I know I won’t be putting very much time and effort into this after I’m done writing, and that is because this one single post isn’t incredibly important to me. I didn’t have to write it, it was an idea I had that I wanted to share but I don’t have anything specifically important I am trying to achieve with this other than simply sharing an idea and hopefully inspiring my audience to think about this and apply it in their lives. Now, if this post were part of some content marketing I was doing, meaning it’s part of a marketing campaign for my business, well then I would probably take a little more time with it making sure it was as well thought out as I could make it. And if this post were not a post and where instead a sales page for a product, well then, you’d bet more planning and strategy would go into the time I was spending working on it. So, when it comes to whatever you are working on, before marking it complete and handing it in, determine how important the work is to you and to the audience you are creating it for. If your working on a report you send out on a weekly basis with updated sales figures for your team, yea that’s probably important to the people who get it, but you do it every week so it’s probably more important that the numbers in the report be right as opposed to you getting fancy with graphics and extra language or analysis since the life of the work is only about 7 days. If the report is meant to be shared at an annual operating meeting for your entire company, well then by all means spend some extra time on the quality of your analysis and graphics because this is a one time event you are preparing for.

When is this work due and how flexible is the due date?

The next thing to think about when it comes to whether done is better than perfect in your work is the due date for the project. If you are done a project today that is due next month, well then you have some time to think about it and adjust. If your project is due tomorrow, there is only so much you can do in that time. If you have flexibility with your due date, meaning you can ask for more time because perhaps you feel like you really want to do the extra work, then ask for it. I don’t think there is anything wrong with pushing out a due date in order to get a better product if you just aren’t happy with it!

Who is going to see this and what investment was required?

I’ve mentioned a few times already the concept of the audience for your work, this is essentially the person or people who will see it and I’d say one of the most difficult things to determine when we are doing our work is guessing at the expectations of that audience so you can please them. In some cases, you can actually talk to your audience and find out what they expect so you can tailor your work to those expectations, but if you can’t, it’s up to you to use what you know about them to determine the standards. Another thing to keep in mind about your audience is the investment they have made into the work you’re producing. So, again using the example of this blog post, no one had to pay to read this, it’s freely available. If this were an article or content in one of my products however, then I need to evaluate my work in terms of pleasing my paying customers who’s expectations I want to meet and exceed with this content so that they find value in it and are willing to purchase again in the future. If you are doing a project for work, clearly you are being paid for your work, so there is a level of professionalism and standards your workplace may have, and if you are working on a project that might go out to a client or customer of your job, again, consider their investment or their potential investment in your company if their expectations are met or exceeded with your project.

Can you beta-test this with your audience before releasing it?

Something I try to do as often as possible is to beta-test my products with my audience, meaning that I will get volunteers from my community to try out a class or course before I release it publicly. That way I can make important changes before it is seen my a wider audience and I am actually able to consult with individuals who belong to the audience I am trying to please. Even if you are not running a business as I am and creating products for sale, this is still a concept you can likely use in your own life. When I was in college, something I neglected to explain to you about those two hour term papers was that I would very often write those papers a week or so before the due date and then hand them in as a first draft to my professor to review. They would gladly accept my paper early, would read through it in a day or so and return it to me with their corrections and input to make the paper better according to their expectations. So, once I had those corrections all I needed to do was spend a little time making the changes they gave me and then hand the paper back in on time for that A! Seriously, this process gave new meaning to the term easy A! It’s not just with business and school that this can be applied, you can likely also do this with certain work at your job- in fact, I bet for important projects your boss may even already schedule in time to meet with you to review your work which might seem daunting except for the fact that this actually makes your job easier because you can put less effort into the first draft than you might think, and then put in more effort once the project has been reviewed. This isn’t about getting out of doing work, but this is about knowing when to put in the most work, and for me, I have found that once you have your audience’ input, then you can do the bulk of the important work instead of doing a lot of work ahead of time before you know what they want and how they will react to what you’ve produced.

Could this work be changed or upgraded in the future?

The final question I always ask myself when I am working on a project is how permanent the results of this work really are, if I put out a post with a spelling error in it, is this permanent or can I change it? If I release a planner insert with a spread I’m not 100% thrilled with, can it be changed and released later? For much of my work the answer does tend to be yes, and I do spend a good amount of time taking feedback from my audience and upgrading or updating products in a stream of new iterations in order to bring the end result as close to perfect as possible over time. A great example of this from my business would be my Charmed Life Master Planner inserts. When I first released that insert pack back in the summer of 2015 I was pleased with it, I knew it worked and had value as it was, but I still wasn’t sure about a few pieces in the design. Year over year I have been taking the feedback from my community and those who purchase the planner to tweak the design. Again, because perfect isn’t a measurable objective, some people may have seen my first iteration of inserts and thought it was amazing, even if I felt like there was more potential. But, if I had no released those inserts as is back in 2015 and then every year since, I would likely not have refined the design to the place it is today, which I am so very pleased with! So think about your projects and what you are working on and if you can release it now with the intention in your mind to learn, adjust and refine as you go along!

So, I’m looking at the clock, it’s been an hour and ten minutes since I started writing this post and I have just hit the 2,600 word mark, so I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say on this topic. I hope this internal commentary on this post hasn’t turned you off, you know I don’t usually add these sorts of details, but for the topic of this post I thought it would be helpful for you to see in real time (sort of) what my unedited process for writing an article is like. If you have thoughts you’d like to share on this, please do leave me a comment below so we can discuss and I’d love for you to share more personal insight into how you determine whether your work is done and perfect or not! Thanks for stopping by and spending a piece of your day with me, I do hope it was inspiring and enlightening for you!

xoxo,

Functional Planning Productivity

The Productivity Edit | FREE Seasonal Planning Class

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 EDIT Workbook. 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 EDIT Workbook 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 EDIT Workbook 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 EDIT Workbook 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 EDIT Workbook 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!

xoxo,

Filofax Functional Planning Productivity

THE CHARMED LIFE MASTER PLANNER | TWENTY TWENTY

ONE LIFE. ONE YEAR. ONE MASTER PLAN.

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:

• 1 Yearly Tracker
• 1 Yearly Overview
• 12 Monthly Calendars
• 12 Monthly Task & Trackers
• 52 Weekly Planners
• 1 Yearly Goal & Project Tracker
• 40 Project Planners
• 20 Brain Dump Worksheets
• 20 Brainstorm Worksheets
• 30 Lined Notes Pages
• 8 Index Pages

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.

ONE LIFE. ONE PLANNER. ONE MASTER PLAN.

What are you waiting for? Start creating your Master Plan today!

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.

CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE THE CHARMED LIFE MASTER PLANNER THAT’S PERFECT FOR YOU!

Functional Planning Personal Development Productivity

How to Meal Prep!

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!

CLICK HERE to get your copy of THE MASTER MEAL PLANNER: a 52 Week Meal Planner & Recipe Organizer!

Enjoy the video!

xoxo,

Online Business Productivity

How to Manifest Money by Decluttering Your Space

In today’s video I am going to declutter my home office with the intention of manifesting a whole bunch of money! No- I’m not going to be showing you how to use an app to sell things you aren’t using online, today I’m going to talk about a formula that I have used in the past to bring in serious abundance and show you how I’m going to do it again!

In the video you will learn about:

✔︎ The exact process I use and how I implement it 

✔︎ An awesome book you should read on the topic

✔︎ A simple but effective tool to keep you on track

✔︎ The AMAZING results I experienced in less than 2 weeks!

→ MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO

✔︎ Where I’ve been: http://bit.ly/2I9CCP2

✔︎ Get Rich Lucky Bitch: https://amzn.to/2Vpshou

✔︎ Radiant Journal: https://theradiantshop.kelseychapman.com/journal

✔︎ Radiant Journal Sample: https://theradiantshop.kelseychapman.com/journal-freebie

Manifest Money by Decluttering Your Space

I hope this video and the process helps you maximize productivity and manifestation with your next declutter project! I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below and for more of the behind the scenes of my productivity, life and business, make sure you are following me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat!

xoxo,

Productivity

An Important Question About Your Productivity!

I’d like to ask you a question…

Are you excited about today?

✔︎ You have a plan laid for what you need to do, where you need to be and know by the end of the day all the most important things in your life will be taken care of.

✔︎ You feel like your life is together. Like the successful, productive and organized person you know you are.

✔︎ You’re not worried about anything, you’re not rushing to get things done or thinking about skipping meals or your personal tasks to make sure you get urgent priorities for others accomplished.

✔︎ You’re not putting out fires at work or at home, everything is under control and moving according to plan.

I truly hope this is how you are feeling today!

My students have these kinds of days often and I love hearing them talk about them because I know they feel in control of their lives and their is no greater feeling than that!

But for most of them, days like this were few and far between before they started working with me and my productivity resources.

• Their lives felt rushed.

• They had little time for themselves.

• They often fell asleep and woke up with a sense of exhaustion and overwhelm.

That is seriously no way to live, not when I know that just a few simple tools, strategies and skills can begin to transform your life in a matter of hours.

That’s right, I said hours! Because there are resources that you can access and implement immediately that can drastically change your productivity and release that sense of overwhelm.

Once the overwhelm is out of the way, you can ease yourself into a new way of living, a better way of living, by aligning your daily actions intentionally with your priorities and goals.

You, too, can wake up feeling refreshed, with a sense of purpose and direction, knowing that you have a solid plan in place for your day, and the knowledge and stamina to hurdle obstacles throughout your day.

If this is how you would like to feel in your own life, you owe it to yourself, your family, your job, your community, and anyone else that relies on you to show up and do your best work everyday, to invest in the resources that will make you an inspired, motivated, and productive person!

If you are ready to get started on this new path, I recommend you begin by purchasing your copy of YOU GOT THIS! The Goal Setting and Planning Workbook.

YOU GOT THIS guides you through 132 pages of real world productivity lessons, 16 instructive and enlightening activities, and 18 step-by-step worksheets to help you:

✔︎ Get clear on your priorities: Stop feeling like you’ve got your head on a swivel jumping from priority to priority working exhaustively but not making any significant progress for your efforts.

✔︎ Set achievable goals: Start putting your attention on strategic goals with action plans so clear you can practically feel the final result.

✔︎ Organize and simplify your life: Feel the relief that comes from systematizing mundane tasks, and enjoy the time you’ve earned back for efficiently managing your life.

Remember, if you are struggling to fight overwhelm, poor habits, and the downward spiral of anxiety caused by them…

NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES!

You need to take action and make a change if you want things to change in your life. I promise you, no matter what your situation, there is a better, more productive way to live and through learning and implementing my key strategies, you can feel relief in a matter of hours, you can create a plan in a matter of days, and you can see concrete results in a matter of weeks!

What are you waiting for? Make TODAY a very productive day for you and purchase your copy of YOU GOT THIS now!

Functional Planning Productivity

2018 Holiday Sale Preview!

Hey Productivity Buddy!

THE TIME HAS COME!

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and The Charmed Shop’s BIGGEST ANNUAL SALE is about to begin.

>>CLICK HERE TO GET ACCESS TO THE EXCLUSIVE SALE CODES FOR MY EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS<<

NOW IS THE TIME to start making your holiday shopping list for the special friends and family in your life that you will be gifting to this year AND don’t forget #1, YOURSELF!

While you are out shopping this weekend and over the next few weeks generously thinking of others, you don’t want to forget about picking up a few essentials for yourself. The end of the year is always a stress-filled, action-packed season, and it’s so easy to loose track of time and your own priorities when you are feeling the weight of a never ending to-do list on your back. Commit to Working Smarter, Not Harder this season and give yourself the GIFT OF PRODUCTIVITY with some of these planning essentials!

Here is a Special Preview of what you can expect from The Charmed Shop’s Annual Holiday Sale that starts Thursday November 22nd and ends Monday November 26th! Make sure to read this email all the way through because I have a special Freebie for you at the bottom!

GET THE RIGHT TOOLS

The Master Planner

The Charmed Life Master Planner is a 3-in-1 Functional Planning System that includes all the inserts you need to generate ideas, formulate plans and schedule the time to execute successfully on it all!

The Print on Demand Charmed Life Master Planner now comes in 3 different size options:

Each planner includes:
  • Creating Your Master Plan (How to Use the Planner
  • 5 Functional Planning Worksheets
  • 12 Month on 2 Pages Calendars
  • 12 Monthly Master Task Lists
  • 12 Monthly Tracker
  • Vertical Week on Two Page Planning Pages for each week of the month
  • Yearly Project Tracker
  • 40 Project Planning Spreads
  • 20 Braindump Spreads
  • 20 Brainstorm Spreads
  • 30 Notes Pages
  • 8 Index Sheets
Build Your Own Planner Inserts

If you already have a calendar system you use and love but would like to add the functional planning inserts necessary to properly plan an execute on everything in your life, then the Build Your Own Planner Insert options are for you!

Choose from the following options, that come bundled with all 3 insert sizes for your convenience:

LEARN THE BEST STRATEGIES

Master Planning Master Class

The Master Planning Master Class is a Digital Video Lecture intended to accompany The Charmed Life Master Planner. If you are struggling to with one (or more!) of the 3 Most Common Planning Mistakes and would like to Learn the Complete Strategy for Using your Charmed Life Master Planner Effectively, this class will teach you exactly what you need to know to overcome:

#1: Overplanning OR Underplanning!

If you are struggling to understand exactly WHAT TO PLAN in your Charmed Life Master Planner, this Master Class will help you identify the key priorities you should be planning around to find success in your life.

#2: Focusing on Daily Tasks but Ignoring the Big Picture

If you are someone who focuses their productivity on their daily task list, but doesn’t spend enough time mapping out their plans for the week, month, quarter, or year, the Master Planning Master Class will show you how you should be approaching your planning so that you can do it all in due time!

#3: Following Thru with Essential Planning Processes

If you are not currently executing on essential planning processes for the day, week, month, etc you are ultimately going to fail to complete the major objects you have for your year. The Master Planning Master Class will teach you the essential planning processes you should be using to make sure you have a line of sight to your most important tasks each day!

What You Get with The Master Planning Master Class:

  • 2 hour video lecture with slides & notes handout to follow along with the class* (digital printable)
  • BONUS What to Plan Worksheet (digital printable)
  • BONUS Monthly Habit Tracker Sheet (digital printable)
  • BONUS Resource Guide (digital links on master class page)
You Got This Workbook + Video Series

For 2019, The Charmed Shop’s Bestselling You Got This Workbook is getting a MAJOR upgrade! You Got This is a Strategic Goal Setting and Planning Guide to Help You Achieve Your Goals and Organize Your Life that is going from 30+ pages to over 100! With more lessons, activities and worksheets for you to complete you’ll dig deep to identify your goals and get practical strategies for achieving them!

The You Got This Workbook is current on Pre-Order for just $29, so don’t miss out and make sure to snag your copy during Holiday Sale!

New Year Goal Setting Workshop

You are not going to want to miss out on securing your ticket to my New Year Goal Setting Workshop! Scheduled for Saturday December 29th at 11am Eastern Time, this workshop is expected to be a 3 hour event where I am going to walk you through my New Year Goal Setting and Planning Process. Complete with activities, strategies and worksheets to help you get organized for the New Year, this is one Live event you won’t want to miss, but don’t worry, you will also get the replay as well, so if you can’t make it live, you will have the replay to enjoy!

MASTER THE KEY SKILLS

Productivity & Planning Master Mind

The Productivity & Planning Master Mind is a 6 Module On Demand Video Course designed to help you finally overcome your productivity issues and learn a complete skill set for life-long productivity!

What You Will Learn:

• MODULE #1 GOAL SETTING FOR SUCCESS: ID your goals and convert them into actionable projects so you are working towards what matters to you
• MODULE #2 FUNCTIONAL PLANNING PROCESSES: A streamlined method for planning accurately and with time to spare
• MODULE #3 PRODUCTIVE EXECUTION TECHNIQUES: Understand your work style and which productivity techniques will help you Work Smarter, Not Harder
• MODULE #4 MASTERING HABITS AND ROUTINES: Overcome bad habits and replace them with routines for a successful life
• MODULE #5 INSPIRATION THROUGH INTERFERENCE: Learn how to overcome set backs and push through daily issues and interference through inspired action
• MODULE #6 THE PERSONAL GROWTH MINDSET: Continue your personal growth and skill set building for a long lasting positive change to your quality of life

What is included in The Productivity & Planning Master Mind:

  • 6 Video Modules
  • 6 On Demand Discussion Lectures
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Printable course materials, activities and workbooks
  • Access to the program and support for 365 days!
During the Sale, the Master Mind is going to be only $149- it’s LOWEST PRICE EVER! So, if you are ready to up level your productivity by focusing on the essential skills and strategies that will turn productivity into a habitual practice in your life, definitely take advantage of this excellent price while it lasts!

Empire Building Online Business Program

Are you ready to get started building your own online business using the marketing strategies I used to grow my brand and business from 0 to 100,000+? If so, Empire Building is your all-in-one on-demand solution! Empire Building is a 5 Pillar Method for Building a Business Online using tried and true methods and principles that I have learned as I have built my own media business over the past 10 years. Whether you are looking to start a Blog or YouTube channel to earn an extra income, or want to start your own Online Shop that gives you the flexibility of working from home, Empire Building is your guide to setting up and maintaining a successful business online!

During the Sale, Empire Building is going to be just one easy payment of $199, an amazing value for a limited time to help you get a jump on your Online Business Goals for the New Year! Empire Building rarely goes on sale, so if you are interested in securing your access to the program, private course website, all 6 video modules, bonus workbooks and so much much, take advantage of the special pricing during the sale!

EXTRA DISCOUNT CODES

As a subscriber to my Charmed eMail list, you will also get EXCLUSIVE insider discount codes for additional savings on the products in the The Charmed Shop! Those codes will be emailed out to you on Thursday morning and each day of the sale, I’ll email you a little reminder with the codes so you don’t misplace them!

TO DO & FREE PRINTABLE BONUS

The Sale is still a few days away, but I don’t want you to miss out on these great discounts because they are seriously a once a year occurrence. So, to help you prepare for your busy week ahead, I have some helpful tips for getting yourself prepared, plus a FREE Printable Bonus for you.
  1. Make a note about the sale in your planner, it starts 11.22.18!
  2. Check out this video, My Seasonal Stress Survival Guide, to get some great tips and strategies for finding peace during the busy holiday season
  3. Print out this FREE Holiday Shopping Check List to keep track of everything you need to purchase for yourself and others this holiday season!

I hope you have enjoyed this Holiday Sale Preview! Don’t forget to print out your FREE Holiday Shopping Check List and start making your list of must-have items to snag during this once a year sale!

xoxo

Functional Planning Productivity

My Weekend Checklist

Happy Friday!

I just created a simple little checklist that I wanted to share with 5 to dos that I strive to complete over the weekend. I know we don’t normal think of the weekends as a time to complete a to do list, but for me, I feel a sense of purpose when I can achieve some simple, intentional actions over the weekend that put my weekend to go use. These tasks not only help me enjoy the weekend, but also prepare me for a productive week ahead, so I highly recommend saving the list and giving it a try this weekend!

Just as a reminder, with the new month right around the corner, I have a live monthly planning workshop scheduled for Sunday September 30th @ 1PM EST over on my YouTube Channel. If you are on my list, you will be emailed the link Sunday morning before the event. If not, click here to get on my list and download your FREE Productivity Toolbox to help you get started Functionally Planning your month.

Hope to see you on Sunday and have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Productivity

Get the FREE Productivity Toolbox!

Are you ready to have Your Best Week EVER?

Enter your information down below for my latest FREE Productivity Toolbox, which contains:

• A CHARMED LIFE MASTER PLANNER Printable Sampler: Test drive my Best Selling Planner by mapping out your monthly calendar, weekly plan, and projects with the help of 8 productivity focused planning spreads.

• MONTHLY DASHBOARD: Highlight your important goals and tasks for the month with this redesigned reusable monthly planner dashboard.

• TECH WALLPAPERS: Stay inspired to make the most of your days with your digital devices as well with this exclusive new wallpaper set formatted for smartphones, tablets and computers!

• YOUR BEST WEEK EVER Planning Guide: Get step by step instructions and strategies for how to use the printable and digital tools included in your Toolbox in this helpful guide.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR DOWNLOAD OF THE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLBOX!