Functional Planning

Discbound Planners 101 | How to Get Started with the Discbound System

In today’s video, I am showing and teaching you all about Discbound Planner Systems. I will be covering why they are my most used system, the different branded systems, the essential elements you need to know about and how to put everything together to create your own custom planner.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

On and off throughout the years, my planner binding method of choice has been the discbound system. If you are not familiar with the disc binding concept, it is similar to the idea of a spiral notebook, but instead of a solid metal spiral holding the notebook together, you have metal or plastic discs that can pop in and out of a cover. These discs being removable means that you can add and remove paper to your disc bound system as you like, so long as the paper has been punched with a disc binding punch.

As you may already know, the current planner I am using was created with the help of the disc binding system and I want to teach you more about the system so you can see just how easy it is to customize your own planner or notebook organization system. I will of course be leaving resources to as much as I can throughout this post to help you get started.

First, lets talk about he BEST Features of a Discbound System

  1. Customization: The main reason I love using a discbound system as my planner is because it is completely customizable. I can create my own custom planner inside the binding and add and remove items on a whim. I find the disc binding to be very secure, but also easy for you to add and remove elements at the same time.
  2. Interchangeability: The next feature I love about discbound system is that they are interchangeable for the most part. In just a moment, I will outline some of the most popular discbound planner systems to give you an idea of the options available, but with each system the discs, refills, accessories are interchangeable so you can pick and choose what you want to use from one collection or another to build your perfect system.
  3. Flexibility: The final feature I love about discbound systems is that they fold over onto themselves like a spiral bound notebook. I love this flexibility because I am someone who does like to fold a notebook over to write. Although my personal discbound planner is kept inside a notebook cover, I frequently remove my planner portion from the cover to write in it, and of course I fold the system over like a notebook when I do!

Next, let’s talk about The Most Popular Discbound Systems

As I mentioned earlier, there are a number of discbound planner systems out on the market currently. Here is a list to help you browse some of the most popular systems to find the right elements to help you build your perfect system.

Now, let’s talk Discbound Planner Essentials

  • Discs: The major element of a discbound system are the discs themselves. Across the different branded systems you can find a variety of sizes, colors and materials like plastic or aluminum.

In terms of disc sizes, across different brands they range from 1/2” to 1.5” diameter

  • ½ inch discs hold 50 – 70 sheets of paper
  • ¾ inch discs hold 90- 120 sheets of paper.
  • 1 inch discs hold 110 – 150 sheets of paper.
  • 1½ inch discs hold 140- 220 sheets of paper

Now, in terms of materials, you can get discs in either plastic or aluminum and they come in a variety of colors and finishes. Plastic discs tend to be the most affordable option, however, I prefer aluminum because I find that there is a smoother page turn with aluminum rather than plastic.

Also, in terms of ease of use, I find that smaller discs are easier to turn the pages on, but thats also what I’m used to using. With larger discs I find I need to be more deliberate when I flip through pages, but I do still use the largest size discs with some notebooks because I need the increased capacity.

As with everything in life, there are benefits and drawbacks to each option that you choose.

  • Front/Back Covers: Each different branded system for discbound has a variety of different binding covers from thin plastic covers that make simple notebooks to thick leather covers with built in organization elements. Even Etsy and Amazon sellers now make personalized or custom covers for discbound systems, so you can find a style that fits your personal preference.

Even if, like me, you are using a slip style cover, you still need to use a hard cover to anchor the system into the cover. 

I’d also like to mention here that with the majority of discbound systems (not including Mambi’s Happy Planner) there are two main sizes of planners and covers. First, is Full Size Letter, which is also compatible with A4, and the second is Junior Size which is Half Letter and also compatible with A5.

The Happy Planner has 3 proprietary sizes of covers and pages:

  • The Classic Happy Planner covers are 7.75” x 9.75” and the pages are 7” x 9.25”
  • The Mini Happy Planner covers are 5.125” x 7.5” and the pages are 4.5” x 7”
  • The Big Happy Planner covers are 9” x 11.25” and the pages are 8.5” x 11”

So, please keep this information in mind when purchasing Happy Planner covers, inserts or accessories- the brand is not 1 for 1 compatible with other discbound planner systems on the market.

  • Punch: Of course, if you are interested in creating a customizable system like me, you are going to need to get a discbound punch. I recommend getting one from the system you use most. I personally use the Arc version and love it because although it is a bit larger, it has wonderful guides to help you punch a variety of sizes of paper. When it comes to choosing a punch, I recommend choosing a sturdier punch even though they can be more expensive. My arc punch was maybe $40-50 but it is at least 6 years old so that was an investment that held up for me. If I had to purchase again, I might choose the levenger punch, because its also very sturdy and perhaps a little more compact. But avoid the travel size punches, i’ve not heard the best feedback about those. 
  • Cover: Although there are a variety of discbound system covers as mentioned earlier, I also use a leather notebook cover to protect my system. My current cover comes from Chanel and is no longer available, but I also have notebook covers from GiGi New York or Graphic Image NY, and I’ve even removed the rings from a Filofax to create a cover for my discbound system. The key with using covers is that you need one that has a back slip pocket to anchor your book to. Unless you are using a cover like this discagenda by dokibook, that actually anchors to the discs themselves!
  • Other accessories: There are many other accessessories available to help you create your custom discbound organization system. Things like, page markers, dividers, pockets, etc. I recommend browsing the selections of each brand to see all the fun extras you can add to your system to make it personal to your needs and desires.

How to Create a Custom Planner with the Discbound System

Another very necessary element of a discbound system are the inserts or refills you use. Now, as you may already know, I use the Master Plan System of inserts from my own shop to create my planner system, but most of the major brands already mentioned also sell calendar, project planning and note taking pages and refills, so if you are not into creating a custom planner with printable inserts like I do, you do have some options. More and more, however, I see that sellers on Etsy are also giving the option to purchase pre-printed and pre-punched discbound compatible inserts, so you have that option as well. Just make sure to check the size compatibility for your inserts with the system you are using before proceeding with this option.

If you are interested in a creating your own custom planner using the discbound system, here is a video tutorial I created that walks you through the very simple process. Definitely check out this video and the links I’ve left in this article to help you find the different elements of your ideal planner system so that you can build a planner that is all your own and custom to your needs!

So that is everything I think you need to know about discbound planners to get you started. I hope this information has been helpful to you as you evaluate the option of a discbound planner system for yourself. Of course if you have any other questions about the system, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to help you get the information you need to create your perfect planner system! 

xoxo,

Productivity

The Importance of Self-Control in Productivity & Success

At the start of quarantine there was a popular video challenge making its way around the internet in places like Instagram and Tiktok, in which a parent would leave their young child alone with a bowl of candy or some sweet treat for a short period of time and record how the child reacted while the parent was away. It was a cute challenge and in most of the videos I saw the kids were able to wait for the parent to return to get their treat. So obviously this was a popular challenge because cute kids seeming to have self control, I imagine it made the parents feel good about their kids to see they were obedient, but every time I watched one of these videos I cringed a little bit because this challenge wasn’t actually an indicator of the childs self-control mechanism, in fact, it was what I would say was a poor knock off of a real life series of experiments that have come to be known as a real indicator of future success and self-control in children.

So I want to talk about that experiment today, the parameters of what it was about and how the results of that experiment have taught researchers a lot about the importance of self-control or delayed gratification as a predictor of future success and productivity.

First, let’s start with the real life experiment that I think in the inspiration for that self-control Tiktok challenge. It was known as the Marshmallow test and if you are curious to learn more there is a book you can read all about it, called The Marshmallow Test. My OG followers may remember, I read this book I believe back in 2017 and I did find it fascinating.

Okay, so the first thing you should know about this experiment is the parameters of how the testing was done. Roughly speaking here, what they did was took young children (and they experimented with a variety of ages) and put them in a room where a researcher, NOT their parent- this is kind of important- offers them a single marshmallow on a plate. In different renditions of this test it was chocolates or other candy or treats, but the original test was a single marshmallow. The child is offered the marshmallow freely, but before they accept it, a condition is offered to them. If they can wait alone in that room for the researcher to come back in 5 mins, if they do not eat the marshmallow, they will get two!

So, the test is about instant gratification vs delayed gratification, in a situation where there is a clear benefit for exerting self-control, and yet, there is no negative pressure associated with them eating the single marshmallow immediately. I think this is an important difference that the Tiktok challenge missed. One because it was a parent or guardian who was giving them the direction of “Do not eat this until I come back”– which was a pressure by someone they love and trust, as opposed to an offer of you can have one now or two later, it’s your choice, do what you think is best. So, in the true experiment the child is being asked to make the decision, not simply follow the direction of their parent.

Now, that was just the first part of the marshmallow test, because the most important information that experiment gathered was not how many kids ate the marshmallow and how many waited for two- but rather, the researchers followed up with those same children years later into adulthood to see how successful of a person they became and there was a very strong correlation between the children who waited for the second marshmallow and who were successful in life, vs the children who didn’t have the impulse control were far more likely to have made a string of unsuccessful life decisions in the future.

Now, I have no intention of diving deep into the metrics, if you are curious, definitely read the book, they go into amazing statistics and demographics, but the point I want to focus on that was learned from the experiment is that self-control, delayed gratification, impulse control- that is the most significant factor that goes into the general success and productivity of a person in the future.

And this is a belief I have seen work out in my own life and in the lives of others I have been close to. Speaking for myself, I clearly see how my ability to distinguish between and frequently choose between actions that would bring me either short term gratification or long term gratification have been the key to success in my life and the key to my productivity.

For me to be able to choose over and over to take action on my plans and do the work, when perhaps I could easily be distracted by other more immediate or more instantly gratifying activities is absolutely why I am where I am in life. And this manifests itself in a number of ways.

To give some examples:

  • The choice to stay in and do my college work instead of go out partying
  • The choice to develop a side hustle while I also had a 9 to 5 and use my free time to work instead of play or relax
  • The choice to save money, to intentionally live on less so that I could save more, instead of shopping all the time.
  • The choice to execute on the tasks I lay out for myself in my plans as opposed to focus on something else or watch Netflix
  • The choice to eat the healthy meal as opposed to getting take out

All these little choices, almost micro decisions we make on a day to day basis, when you are choosing from a place of being very clear on what the short term benefit is vs the long term benefit, if you choose that long term benefit more often, you are going to be in a better position in the future. It’s about making a short term sacrifice so you have an even greater outcome in the future.

And I feel like self-control or delayed gratification isn’t always discussed so much in the topic of productivity. And I can understand why because it’s a hard factor to account for. People often ask me how I get myself to do things, and I have shared different hacks to help trick your brain, or develop routines or how to bribe yourself into stick to your plans. All of these tactics are simply ways to get you to control yourself and your decisions.

So, I want to lay out a method for you that is simple, but by no means going to be easy to execute.

If you believe you struggle with impulse control or delayed gratification- if you see that you too often choose the option with the short term benefit to the detriment of long term plans and outcomes, this is my suggestion for you.

First, before you make the choice itself, you need to be self-aware and mindful that a decision point is happening. I think for many of you, you experience this feeling, likely has a sense of concern or anxiety. You know you are being faced with a choice that may temporarily derail or delay progress towards a long term outcome you desire.

So, when you get this feeling, you need to force yourself to pause. You need to stop what you are doing and get quiet inside your own mind to work out the choice.

I think this is often the first mistake people make is that they get the feeling that they were making a bad choice but instead of stopping for a moment to consider it, they bulldoze right through it. And I get why- because sometimes you are in a situation where there is a level of chaos around you. Easy example of this is your choosing dinner for the night and your kids are screaming that they want pizza- I can imagine it’s hard to be mindful in that moment. But it’s important to find a way to pause, even if you have to run to the bathroom and chill for a minute to get clear on making the right choice.

Okay, so once you are paused, you need to look at each option. Option 1 is the option that will bring you a short term benefit and option 2 is the one that will give you long term success. When you stop, you need to literally spell it out for yourself what each option is and why. So option 1 is to lay on the couch and watch a movie because you are tired and would like to relax, but option 2 is to sit back at your desk and write that article for the blog you always wanted to start. What happens to you if you choose option 1? You get to relax, sure, but you also yet again delay work on that project you really wanted to start. What happens to you if you choose option 2? You actually accomplish something you’ve been wanting to do but you might be very tired later or the next day. Which would you regret more? That’s a key question to ask yourself. I don’t like to dwell on regret or what might have been, but in this situation, if you are someone who chooses instant gratification or short term wins over long term ones, you very likely deal with a sense of regret a lot. It’s probably taken a toll on your confidence and self-esteem to some extent.

Okay, so you get to that choice point, you pause, you stop to evaluate your options and then you choose. That choice point could be an excellent opportunity for you to reach out to someone like an accountability buddy or someone who is aware of your objectives and struggle, to get their feedback. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I want to buy something and I think it might be an impulse purchase I will often tell on myself by asking the opinion of someone I know will say not to buy it. But eventually the choice has to be made, so hopefully this pause gave you time to reflect on the better choice, and hopefully you made the better choice. If you didn’t, if you choose poorly, the final step to this process is to forgive yourself and remember this situation for future reference. Perhaps you can keep a page in your planner dedicated to recalling these situations for future, or maybe you can write it out on the notes app of your phone, or perhaps you have a conversation with a trusted person that you can reach out to in the future when faced with the same situation and hopefully they will jog your memory. Because sometimes I think it’s easy for us to forget. In fact, I know this is true. The human brain is a wonderful machine that often forces us to forget important information, like that we made a poor choice in the past, so that we can live with ourselves. So, if you can find a way to document the experience, I think that will go along way to helping you remember and helping you to reflect in the future when faced with a similar choice.

The last thing I want to say about this whole process though, is that something you will notice if you start this process and start making more of those better long term decisions, is that it will actually become easier for you each time. There is a certain momentum and confidence that comes from being aware of the decisions we make and why and how they are positively impacting our lives. So, the more you make those better choices, the more you are stepping into the reality that you are a more put together, successful person who does what they say they are going to do. And there is a tremendous amount of powerI believe in being able to honestly say, I am someone that gets things done. I am someone who can trust my choices, I am someone who knows how to make good choices for myself. Building that momentum, will bring you to that mindset and ultimately that mindset completely changes a persons life. So, expect big things from this shift.

Well, that is everything I wanted to share with you about self-discipline and success and productivity. I hope you found this information interesting and of course actionable. I would love to hear your thoughts and how this process works for you once you are able to give it a try.

Best wishes for a productive week ahead!

xoxo,

Business

$25 OFF the CEO Strategy Planner THIS WEEK

Have you been curious about the CEO Strategy Planner but haven’t made your purchase yet?

If so, you can consider this post your sign that now is the time to secure your copy of this ultimate business planning tool because now thru August 16th, you can take $25 OFF the CEO Strategy Planner with the code CEOPLANS.

BUT, if you are still on the fence on whether or not the CEO Strategy Planner is for you, here are some things for you to consider:

#1. The CEO Strategy Planner is the BEST business organization tool for paper planner lovers on the market. Get your ideas out of your head, onto paper and get down to business with the peace of mind that your objectives are organized into one elegant system. 

#2. The CEO Strategy Planner includes over 60 print on demand insert designs PLUS Bonus’ for added inspiration, organization and motivation!Watch the video walk thru by clicking here and see first hand exactly what you get in the planner. 

#3. The CEO Strategy Planner is more than a planner. It’s a strategic business planning process.Take your business from idea to execution with the help of the same system I use to run my 6 Figure Passive Income business! Click here to watch the workshop on the process and get first hand insight into why the CEO Strategy Planner is the best business planning tool you can keep in your planner.  

So, what are you waiting for?

It’s time to finally get your business ideas and plans mapped out and streamlined to make your life and your business the best it can be. 

xoxo,

P.S. If you missed it, yesterday I posted a video on YouTube all about discbound planner systems. If you haven’t seen it yet, click here to watch, but I use a discbound to hold my CEO Strategy Planner and so I can definitely recommend it as a great option once you make your purchase 😉!

Functional Planning

How to Create a Functional Monthly Plan

In today’s video I am walking you through my monthly functional planning process. Watch as a plan my month and share exactly what functional planning principles and guidelines I integrate into my monthly calendar.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

When I first developed the methodology of Functional Planning back in 2016 I defined a set of parameters to use as a guideline to ensure your planner and the way you were using it were functional. I assigned 3 roles to the functional planner:

1st is to Schedule Events
2nd is to Track Tasks
3rd is to Plan Actions

Now, in the way I execute on the Functional Planning methodology, the Monthly Calendar Spread is the way I choose to keep track of scheduled events and items.

Here are a few popular types of events you might want to ensure you are scheduling into your planner, specifically on the monthly calendar.

  • Reoccuring Events: A scheduled event that happens on a consistent frequency
    • Things like bill due dates, trash days, paydays, events with a predictable pattern- for myself as a content creator, this may also mean using my monthly calendar as a place to map out the days content will be posted so that I remain on schedule with those items.
    • Now with reoccurring events, a major tip I always share is that although it might be nice to schedule everything in your calendar- unless you need the information for reference or because you are taking a specific action related to it, I think less is more- especially in a monthly calendar spread where space is usually limited.
  • Appointments: A non routine event that takes up a block of time in our schedule
    • Things like doctors visits, classes, meetings, anything that will take up time and you may also need to prepare ahead of time for. You will keep the schedule in your monthly calendar, but then any associated tasks or prep should go on a master task list for the month or directly into the daily or weekly spread you use.
  • Special Days: Holidays, birthdays anniversaries etc
    • I know some people might keep a list of holidays or birthdays on a separate reference calendar, but I think its good to transfer that information to your monthly especially because its much more functional to see those days in your calendar so you can plan accordingly. I can’t tell you how many times I missed a special event because it was on some other list I wasn’t in the habit of checking regularly!
  • Due dates: If you have projects or work with specific due dates, I also think its important to keep these on your monthly calendar. Again, you will likely keep specific task information on your Master Monthly Task List and transfer it to the day or week it belongs to as well, but having that big picture view of your month is important.

And I want to be clear, it doesn’t matter what type of monthly calendar you are using. Here I am using a Month on 1 Page, but, these parameters still apply for Month on 2 page as well. You will still be tracking the same types of events, but depending on your spread, you may have more or less room for detail- choose the monthly spread that works for you, and use whatever means works for you to mark down information on your monthly. If that means writing in appointments or using highlighters or color coding to indicate things wonderful. I use some stickers to help me indicate specific things on my calendar. Just do what works for you and what you like. As long as you know what everything indicates create whatever shorthand works for you.

Of course, in terms of the monthly spreads I use that are designs from TheCharmedShop.com my monthly calendar is always followed up by a Master Task List for the month.

Like I mentioned earlier, task tracking is essential to the functional planning methodology and on a monthly basis I make sure to compile a full list of tasks that apply to the month and transfer them to this master monthly task list. The tasks that go on this list may be individual tasks but they may also be projects taken from my project planning or business planning inserts. Sometimes with projects there are really too many tasks to list out on the master list individually so I find it acceptable and still functional to list out the project itself so long as you have those individual steps of the project broken out somewhere for reference.

I’ll also make sure to populate a top 3 priorities for the month as well. The concept of prioritization is also a major element of Functional Planning. Not only do we always need to know what is on our plate, we need to have some sense of hierarchy. Having a monthly top 3 gives me clarity throughout the month that no matter all the little tasks or projects I might touch- I am clear on the fact that the priority ones deserve the most attention to ensure they are completed.

So that is how to create a functional monthly plan. I hope this information has been educational and inspiring. If you would like to purchase my Monthly Calendar Inserts, I will leave you a link below. Of course you can expect that I will be creating more content on functional planning in the future that walk through weekly and daily planning as well as project planning and more.

→ MENTIONED IN THIS POST

✔︎ My Exact Planner System
Choose Month on 1 Page and Week on 1 Page Option

✔︎ Get the 2021 Dated Month on 1 Page Insert

✔︎ Get the 2021 Dated Month on 2 Pages Insert

Best wishes for increased productivity and success for you in the future!

xoxo,

Online Business

Entrepreneurial: A Break-Thru with my Content Schedule

Hello My Charmed Ones!

I hope you had a wonderful and productive month of July. I know I, yet again, took a step back from the blog last month in order to focus more fully on completing and launching my 2021 Planner Insert Collection, but I am back and I have amazing news for you!

Last week, I had a TREMENDOUS BREAK-THRU! And it has to do with my content.

If you’ve been following my Entrepreneurial Journey for the past few years, you may recall that there was once a time (2016 and few years previous) that I had been posting consistently across all my major platforms. I blogged several times a week, posted weekly videos, even updated my Instagram feed multiple times per week. But in 2017 I burnt out, I took a step back and pretty much since that time, I have been struggling to get myself back onto a consisting posting schedule across all my platforms.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying, I would set out with the best of intentions to reignite content on my platforms but for no substantial reason outside of a major mental block, I couldn’t make it work. There was something in my mindset, some limiting belief about what I was capable of and what would be sustainable that ultimately continuously threw me off my content creation schedule.

Over the last few weeks since the launch of my inserts, you may have seen I had been posting 3 videos a week, trying to catch up on essential videos I knew I needed to produce to answer key questions you in my community have been asking me to address, particularly around my inserts. The launch was the optimal time to get that content out to you and I was able to make it happen, of course at the expense of posting to other platforms.

But last week I had a break-thru. During a particularly High Vibe Business Planning Session, I sat down and felt inspired to map out a complete Marketing Plan for all my platforms. Blog, YouTube, IG, and even my email list. And in that moment something major clicked for me. Like the proverbial switch had been flipped and the lights turned on. I had a reasonable content creation schedule sitting in front of me that was populated with content I was actually excited to create.

Now, I’m not going to claim this break-thru was completely sudden. It was definitely the result of some mindset work I have been doing over the past few months to help me get out of that weird funk I had been sitting in because of all the world drama that was emotionally draining me. Particularly, in just the few days before that High Vibe Planning Session, I had done a few excellent journaling and future writing sessions where I believe I unclogged a lot of negative gunk that had accumulated in my mind over the past few years.

There is a quote I love from Marianne Williamson that says “God is the water, and you are the faucet.” I think my faucet had been clogged for quite some time and I needed to do the work of removing it from my psyche so that the water could flow again.

And flow it certainly did!

You know, several times over the past few years, I have hit a peak with my mindset after a period of stagnation, and I feel like each time those small break-thrus helped me take more and more steps into alignment. Even though valleys ultimately followed those peaks, right now in this moment I feel an even greater sense of clarity and confidence that I will be able to follow through on this new endeavor because this time it feels like a missing piece has been found. I’m seeing my future vision so much more clearly then I have in a long time. And for the first time in a long time, my content schedule isn’t merely a fill in the blank schedule, it’s actually filled with exciting content ideas.

So, of course I want to share my new content schedule with you! Here is what you can expect:

MONDAY
Instagram Post

TUESDAY
Blog Post

WEDNESDAY
Instagram IGTV Post

THURSDAY
Blog Post

FRIDAY
Instagram Post

SATURDAY
YouTube Video

SUNDAY
Email to my list

Yea, that is one heck of a content schedule, right? Daily content from me and I feel very positive about it.

Of course, if you want to make sure you catch all the wonderful content I produce, you are going to want to make sure to do the following:

  1. Bookmark my blog http://www.StrangeCharmed.com
  2. Follow me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat
  3. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you don’t miss my videos
  4. Subscribe to my email list by clicking here

Next, let me give you a short preview of the types of content you can expect from me moving forward.

  • Planning & Productivity (of course!)
  • Online Business Strategy
  • What I’m reading and book recommendations
  • Mindset shifts
  • Metaphysical topics
  • My success rituals
  • Inspiration and motivation to live your best life and pursue your dreams
  • New monthly freebies, downloads and updates to TheCharmedShop.com as well!

There is so much I can’t wait to share with you moving forward! I do hope you will continue with me on this journey and that we can use this opportunity to grow closer together as a community. I would love to hear about what content you would like to see from me and have me integrate into this new content schedule, so don’t hesistate to leave me a comment, send me an email or drop me a DM on Instagram!

Wishing you a productive and successful month ahead!

xoxo,

Functional Planning Productivity

NEW 2021 Planner Inserts are here!

Hello My Charmed Ones!

Today I have some very exciting news for you!

I am very pleased to announce that the 2021 Planner Insert Collection is now officially available on The Charmed Shop!

Click the button below to shop the collection of printable inserts now.

New & Noteworthy

There are over a dozen new print on demand insert options in this collection ranging from new calendar and agenda spreads, to new a la carte insert options and even a few new bundles.

The biggest change that has been made in The Charmed Shop for 2020 onward, however, is that all the PDF inserts have been reformatted and when you purchase a design you get BOTH the Half Letter AND Personal Size File. Included with each purchase is also a highly detailed set of Print Instructions that will walk you through printing your inserts at Personal, Half Letter, A5, Full Letter and A4 size!

AND that’s not all! So many of you have been asking if my inserts can be printed to fit the Happy Planner and it’s proprietary dimensions of 7in W x 9.25 in H and I am pleased to announce that the answer is now YES!

I have included a dedicated page on The Charmed Shop with full print instructions for printing your inserts at home for Happy Planner… and of course, these directions work for many other varying size insert as well!

2021 Master Plan System

One of the most significant changes to the 2021 Planner Insert Collection has been made to the Charmed Life Master Planner. Now called the Master Plan System, this print on demand functional planning system now includes multiple different options for Monthly Calendars and Weekly Agenda spreads. For monthly spreads you can now choose between Month on One Page Calendar or Month on Two Page Calendar. For weekly planning you can now choose between Week on Two Pages, Week on One Page or Day on One Page inserts. There are also options for you to purchase all the monthly or weekly insert options as well at a special bundle price. All the print on demand inserts have been reformatted to be even easier to print at home, and are a breeze to mix and match. It’s never been easier to swap and customize your planning system to fit your evolving planning and organization needs as the year progresses!

2021 Planner Insert Launch Party

Now, of course to celebrate all the new planning goodies launching in The Charmed Shop, you are invited to the LIVE Planner Launch Party I am hosting on YouTube TOMORROW Saturday July 11th @ 2pm EST. I’ll be emailing out a direct link to the launch party on Saturday morning to those on my email list if you are interested in joining me. During the party, you’ll get a chance to see all the new inserts in action and ask me all your planning and productivity questions!

So, I hope to see you LIVE on Saturday for the launch party and get a chance to introduce you to each of the new inserts in The Charmed Shop personally!

Of course, all the new inserts are now available so click the button below to start shopping now!

xoxo,

Functional Planning

2021 Planner Launch Update + July Free Planner Insert

Hello My Charmed Ones!

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy at home with your families during this quarantine time.

Today I want to give you an update on a project I am working on, specifically, the launch of my 2021 Planner Inserts and I wanted to share my latest monthly freebie from my shop!

But the first thing I would like to express before we get into all that is that Black Lives Matter.

Now, if you take any issue with that statement, I don’t think I’m the creator or business for you. My channel, my platforms, my business, work and mission in life is to help people identify and move closer to their goals and dreams for their best life ever, and if you objectively cannot see or understand that a significant population of people have been intentionally and systematically stunted from that opportunity that many of us take for granted, than this isn’t the place for you and I encourage you to take time away from my content and learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement. I’m going to leave some resources linked here for you to check out if you need them.

Now, let’s talk 2021 Planner Inserts!

So, I am in the process of updating my 2021 Master Planner inserts and I am going on a completely new direction with the format of my master planner system. I don’t want to give anything away too soon, but I am adding more planner spread options to the master planner and also turning it into a more flexible functional planning system by giving you mix and match insert options.

It is my intention right now, to hold the live stream launch party for my inserts on Saturday July 11th @ 2pm eastern standard time. At that time, you’ll be able to purchase the newly formatted designs and I will walk you through all the options and how this new system works.

So if you would like to join me live for the launch, please mark your calendar for July 11th @ 2pm!! Those of you on my email list will receive the direct link to the event that morning.

Now, with that being said, I also wanted to reach out to you in my community, to see what other inserts you need for your system that I don’t already offer. I know over the last few years I have been streamlining my planner options down as my planning needs changed and became more streamlined, but I’m seeing things differently now and changing my own planning system up, and I want to start creating a more varied and flexible system that will work for more people. So, please let me know in the comments what types of inserts you would like to see from me. Do you need a specific layout that doesn’t exist or that you think I would improve the design of? Are there supplemental inserts you would love to have in your planner outside of just calendar spreads and project plans. I am going to be releasing a Finance bundle with this launch, which was highly requested, but you tell me what you need and want in your planner because I want to create it for you!

Speaking of things I have created for you, if you didn’t know, each month this year I have been designing and releasing new free printable inserts, and my freebie for July is ready for download. It is a set of print on demand half page lists. I love a good half page list, they are a great way to add a task list to your planner spread if you are running low on room, or perfect for making a shopping list to take with you while you run errands. I love them and of course I design and use my own, and I wanted to share them with you. I recommend printing out and prepunching a bunch of them to keep on hand. Or you could even laminate them and make them reusable. Here is a link to a video I made a few years ago on creating reusable to do lists if you are curious.

Here is the link to the July Freebie Printable Half Page Planner Task Lists!

I wish you all the best for a productive June and I hope to see you at the Live 2021 Planner Insert Launch Party over on my Youtube Channel on Saturday July 11th, 2020 @ 2pm ET!

xoxo,

Personal Development

Entrepreneurial: Making the Executive Decision to Choose Joy

Welcome to June 2020 My Charmed Ones!

I sincerely hope you and yours are doing well, staying safe, healthy and productive at home. As you may already know from my May #ICYMI post, the past month was something of a mental struggle for me social distancing for so long in this remarkable time we are living in. This is the thing though, I have gone through so many dark periods in my past that I know how important it is to first honor the way I am feeling in the moment, but also not to let myself succumb to it for too long. So yes, I was struggling this month, but I had to just let those feelings out once and for all and then force myself back into a positive mindset. One thing I know can happen to me when I go through a rough patch is that if I don’t actively fight it, I can stay in that sad mindset for way too long. It’s certainly not easy for me to shift out of that place, but I have an arsenal of mindset shifting tools that I use to help me, and if I don’t execute on them, I know I can get stuck for a longer time than necessary. It all starts for me with making the executive decision that I’m not going to allow myself to stay in that mindset, especially not without a fight!

So, what are those tools? How do I dig myself out of a dark place when I’ve fallen into one? Here are some strategies and tools I use.

Gratitude: I think gratitude is one of the most underrated and glossed over topics when it comes to managing your mindset. It’s easy to take for granted, that’s for sure, but no matter what is going on in your life at any given moment, each of us has dozens, hundreds maybe even thousands of things we can be grateful for if we choose to tap into that energy. It is, of course, a choice to feel grateful, and I think one of the problems around the idea of gratitude is that we hear about it so often or we can rattle off a quick default list of things to be grateful for, but we fail to tap into the feeling of gratitude when we do so. I could make a list of a hundred things I am grateful for right now, but just approaching that task as a catalog won’t shift my mindset. Instead I need to stop and focus on each gratitude item and think about how that item functions in my life and what my life would be without it. It’s certainly true that we often don’t appreciate things until they are gone, and to evoke a true emotional response from myself while making a gratitude list, this is a prompt I often use to help me really feel the energy of gratitude and experience the benefits a gratitude practice has to offer.

Rampage Meditation: There is a subgroup of meditations out there that are known as “rampages.” Go ahead, type Rampage Meditation into the YouTube search bar and you will see what I am talking about. This is a specific style of meditation that has grown in popularity over the past few years, usually, but not always associated with Abraham Hicks and Law of Attraction, but I find that this type of meditation is a really great tool to use to shift my energy. Essentially, this meditation type is a guided meditation where someone is feeding you prompts, affirmations and insight intended to help you shift your dominant emotional energy (aka your vibration) upwards to gratitude, love, happiness, joy, etc! If you think about your emotions as a sliding scale where sadness, depression, anger, etc are at the bottom and happiness, joy, contentment are at the top, the point of these guided meditations is to wind your energy up towards the more positive feelings on the scale. When I am particularly sad, this type of meditation often works the best for me. Because just sitting and meditating on my own is something I can’t do easily or effectively. But these rampage meditations give me the thoughts to think and help encourage me.

Journaling: Whenever I am feeling bad about something in my life or feeling like things aren’t going the way I want them to, journaling helps me so much to identify my limiting beliefs and overcome them logically and reasonably. Journaling is often a tool and strategy I use to self-coach or give myself a mock-therapy session. Now, if you have never done any sort of coaching or therapy, let me walk you through my general process for how I journal out my feelings. First, I always identify what I am feeling and the reasons why I believe I am feeling the way I am feeling. I know that for myself, there is usually some issue in my life that is not going the way I want it to that ends up causing my emotional distress. In the case of how I’ve been feeling recently in lockdown, I know the problem for me is that I start feeling powerless that I cannot just do whatever I want right now. So I start with that situation and feeling and I rant it out to my journal. I complain it all out to my journal until I feel like I’ve exhausted my feelings on the matter and laid them all out. Then, I play the role of coach or therapist for myself and force myself to recognize logical reasons why whatever I am complaining about is not true. For example, even though I can’t go out and do all the things I want to do right now, there are still plenty of things I can do and want to do, and it’s important for me to identify those things and why those are very important for me to do if I want to adjust this feeling. Then the final thing I like to do in this journaling session is make a plan for moving forward. Essentially I ask myself what I am going to do moving forward from this journaling session in a way that combats the negative emotions I was experiencing to begin with. I might list out steps, brainstorm ideas, or make a to do list, but I always like to end these journaling sessions with a plan for self-management to help me avoid the trigger again. Then I have this list or this plan to come back to if and when those feelings creep up at me again, which they do- but having the plan acts as a sort of defense for me. Like “no, we are not going to go down this road again, you already solved this problem, here is the plan, focus on the plan.” And honestly, this helps me a lot to break out of the negative emotional patterns and focus on establishing the positive emotional pattern instead.

So, that is what I do when I get into a low place, like I was in during May, and this is a strategy I am going to continue to focus on as I move into June. Because the trigger itself isn’t going away, I am still in isolation, so I need to stick to that plan to keep myself positive and execute regularly on those strategies that help me stay positive and motivated. This is my executive decision to choose joy and focus on that instead of letting negative patterns take over my mind and ultimately derail my life and happiness. But if it does happen again, and I do go dark again, it’s okay because I have these strategies to help pull me out and each time I get stronger and stronger. It’s progress not perfection we are aiming for here!

I hope this installment of Entrepreneurial has been insightful for you! Here is to another great month ahead. I would love to hear how your May went and what you are up to in June, so please do feel free to leave me a comment and tell me about it!

xoxo,

Business Functional Planning Personal Development Productivity

#ICYMI May 2020

Hello My Charmed Ones!

How was your May?

I have to admit, this month was something of a struggle for me. Being at home on lock down since my birthday in March, it’s been a mental battle staying productive and positive for so long in such unusual circumstances. So, if you have also been struggling, my heart goes out to you as well and just know you are not alone. So many people are struggling right now in so many different ways, but just know that your feelings and experience are valid and worth taking the time to acknowledge and understand.

Despite the mental anguish May brought to me, I have to admit, creating content for you was certainly a welcome outlet and reprieve from my own mind. This month I created 12 pieces of content for you that I hope you were able to enjoy and learn from, but if you missed something, don’t worry, I have catalogued it all for you here in this post for your quick reference.

As always, I do hope this post is useful to you, and I do find that for those who like to share my content, this is always a great post to share with friends, family and co-workers because it gives a nice overview of a months worth of content on various topics with easy links to everything new! So, don’t hesitate sharing this post above all because it really is a nice bit of reference for all the content and information I publish in a month.

ICYMI: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

• My Home Office Tour
• Entrepreneurial: My Formula for Consistent Action
• INSIDE MY BUSINESS PLANNER
• 10 Things Creative Entrepreneurs Should Keep in their Planner
• 10 Books that Changed My Life
• How to Plan a Marketing Campaign for Your Business
• 6 Assets that are More Important than Your Business Plan
• How to Find Balance as a Small Business Owner
• How I Built My Business Website | Blog, Shop & Membership/Course Sites
• 5 Mistakes I Made In My First Year of Business
• MY LIVE CLASS SCHEDULE FOR THE REMAINDER OF MAY 2020
• FREE Television & Movie Tracker Printable Planner Insert *

*Indicates an associated download

I hope this roundup helps you locate any content of mine you may have missed this month. I’d love to hear which content was your favorite from the month and what you’d like to see more of from me in the future. Please leave me a comment below and share your thoughts!

xoxo,

Functional Planning printables Productivity

FREE Television & Movie Tracker Printable Planner Insert

Hello my Charmed Ones!

June is right around the corner, so you know what that means? Time for another fun monthly freebie!

When I was outlining the designs I wanted to create for my new round of freebies this year, I original had listed that I wanted to create a printable travel packing list for June just in time for summer in the northern hemisphere. However, things change of course, and with most of the world still on lockdown and social distancing, I thought that insert design wouldn’t be the most applicable. Instead, looking at my own life for inspiration, I realized I was watching a lot more shows and movies now and that I needed a little tracker to help me remember all the titles I wanted to watch and their schedules. So, that is what I decided to create for us for June. A Television and Movie Tracker insert!

The Television & Movie Tracker Insert is a FREE Planning Printable you can use to keep track of all the television shows, series and movies you want to watch. The versatile design makes it easy to list out the title of your show or movie, then circle the day of the week the show airs and below that the time. You have room to denote the network or channel for reference, whether you have your DVR set to record the show and finally if you have watched it. Simple as that- now you have one simple insert to use as reference when you are planning out your week so you make time for all the shows, movies and series you are interested in!

The insert is delivered as a printable PDF file sized for half letter 5.5″ x 8.5″ without cut lines when printed at 100% scale, but feel free to print in larger or smaller scale as needed.

Click here to download your copy of the FREE Television & Movie Tracker from my shop, and while you are there take a little look around and see if there are any other inserts, tools or classes you might be interested in. I have been spending a lot of my time during quarantine researching and taking classes myself, so now it a great time to improve your productivity skills or brush up on your goal setting process to help keep your mind active and your intellect increasing.

And of course, if there is anything you need from me, any questions you have for dealing with your productivity or life during this challenging time, please let me know how I can support you and bring you the solutions or resources to make things a little easier for you!

Stay safe, healthy & productive at home!

xoxo,