3 Extraordinary Planners that Will Help Move You Toward Your Goals

A Shift in Planner “Status Quo”

While on my search for a new weekly planner earlier this month, I first considered ordering the same style I’ve been using for 2014. Confident I had settled in my decision, I began to search for it online and had almost purchased it when I ran across a different, more unique planner.

And when I first laid eyes on it, I knew it was the next planner I would be trying out for the new year in 2015.

This newfound planner wasn’t like the ordinary one I had been using all year with the typical format most offer: Monthly layout with daily/weekly slots for filling in the same old overwhelming tasks and projects.  You see, I had experienced a calendar overload in 2014, and I was ready for a change.

No, this one was extraordinary; what you might call a “Next Level” planner. It didn’t have any “bells and whistles” or try to impress me; rather, it had all the tools I needed to inspire me to take massive actions that moved me toward my goals.

But before I go into the details and benefits of this particular planner, I would first like to introduce a few other options I discovered—and also found very intriguing—along the way.  Let’s see if you can guess which planner I chose…no skipping ahead, either!

The Passion Planner

The Claim:

Passion Planner is the life coach that fits in your backpack.

One of the most appealing planners I found while on my search is called the Passion Planner. Originally begun as a Kickstarter campaign by Angelia Trinidad, the Passion Planner is designed to help you stay focused on what really matters to you: your passions.

With an eye-catching design, an appealing layout, and free samples (you can even download the entire Passion Planner on pdf to try it out), I’m convinced this tool is sure to be a popular option for recording and working towards many people’s goals.

Features: Some of the great features that set the Passion Planner apart from standard, ordinary planners include:

• A new inspirational and motivational quote each week
• A section dedicated just for writing down “Good things that happened” in the week to give you momentum for facing each consecutive day’s tasks
• A section for brainstorming, doodling, journaling that won’t get in the way of your appointments, meetings, and tasks
• A design so simple you can’t help but want to jump in and take action in achieving your goals
• BONUS: A chance to get your very own Passion Planner FREE via their sweet referral program

My thoughts: This is definitely a tool I’d recommend for anyone who needs an accountability partner to help keep them on track—whether it be in human form or paper form.

The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner

The Claim:

The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner will help you unlock your purpose, potential, and passion to transform your professional and personal lives.

The most recent daily planner I’ve come across is one called The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner.  Developed by time management strategist Allyson Lewis, this is a step-by-step 90-day plan of action.

When I saw it only included 90 days, I felt kind of ripped off, but then I realized that some of the most popular life changing programs, seminars, and webinars base their courses over a 90 day period.  The idea is that if you can commit to a plan of action for 90 days, it becomes an ingrained habit, and you are more likely to succeed at it because you’ve already committed three months of your life to the project, course, program, etc.

Features: The premise is simple: What if you took just “7 Minutes” a day to create a daily written plan of action? This planner will teach you how to:

•  Reignite the passion for your daily work
•  Unlock your purpose, knowledge and strengths
• Clarify your goals
•  Establish realistic priorities and written action steps
•  Prioritize, Organize and Simplify your work for greater productivity
•  Implement time management techniques to reclaim your day
•  Turn your ideas into action

My thoughts: I like the idea of just how much you can get done in just 7 minutes. How much easier would it make life if even the longest tasks could at least get moving in that small amount of time.

If you like The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner, consider getting the companion book, also by Allyson, The 7 Minute Difference.

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The Action Day Results Planner

The Claim:

Action Day® products are the only ones with layouts Designed for Action®. They make it easier for you to plan and get things done!

A number one bestseller on Amazon with over twenty 5-star reviews and one of the coolest planners I’ve found in my search is the Action Day® Results Planner.  This one is unique to other’s I’ve seen in that it follows a lot of the methods by some of the best time management gurus out there such as Steven Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and David Allen (author of Getting Things Done).

The layout is very fluid and allows for a simple 4-step system for organizing your work flow based on the many helpful and action-oriented tips listed in the introductory section.

Features: Just seeing the images above gets me excited! Some of the amazing features Action Day™ has to offer are:

• Over 10 pages worth of great time management, goal setting and action strategies like the ones seen in the images above
• A layout designed to get things done
• An elastic closure and elastic pen loop
• 29 pages for note-taking
• Material type acid-free paper, thread-bound hard cover for exceptional durability

My thoughts: Personally, since reading Getting Things Done (GTD) this past summer, I have to say it’s one of the most effective methods of time management and productivity I’ve ever seen or tried—and I’ve tried plenty this year!

Because of this, the Action Day™ looks to be one of the most effective tools that will help move you toward your goals in 2015 or any time thereafter.

The Verdict: Which is the Perfect Planner?

So which planner did I decide to go with for helping me achieve my goals in 2015? Drum roll, please…

For me, the obvious choice was the Action Day™ Results Planner…in orange. After experimenting with various ways for achieving my goals for 2014 and being such a fervent convert of the GTD system, I couldn’t see myself being happy with anything else.

I actually received my Action Day™ last week and was surprised when it came with an included pen (albeit a thin, fairly cheap-looking one; though it writes well). I ended up driving to a local coffee shop for a couple hours to look over the planner and begin getting ready for next year’s goals and aspirations.

Since we’re still in 2014, I haven’t had the chance to use my Action Day™ yet, so I can’t honestly say if it is the perfect planner or not. What I can say is there is definitely a lot of potential for this to help me stay organized, make actionable decisions, and keep me moving toward my goals for 2015 and beyond. And I’m confident it will help you achieve the same.

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Question: So what’s your favorite planner?  Maybe you have found the “perfect” planner.  Leave a comment below and tell us all about it. 

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