It’s 2019- And I’m Still Loving Passion Planner
photo credit: Olivia Pandora Stokes
When I started using my first Passion Planner I was a bright-eyed, moderately optimistic college student. My idea of organizing at the time was a ridiculous amount of neon sticky notes overlapping each other in my college planner. I felt like it was a decent system, but I figured there had to be an easier way. Enter, Passion Planner.
As I’ve learned, sometimes it’s not about being the smartest most clever person in the room, it’s about being the most organized one. When we’re able to get our life in order, everything else becomes easier. I know planner addicts (or maybe just normal people) can be specific about what they want, so I’m going to give you a couple of reasons why I’m still using Passion Planners after all these years.
The Power of Writing Things Down
Technology has made a lot of us very plugged in. For example, the adults who told me to stay off my phone are always on theirs. Yes, the world has changed and we should think of new ways to address this. What should we do in a high-tech world??? One of my ideas, go low-tech. Using pen and paper as a tool can be transformative. I spend most of my time on my laptop, typing away. Yet, I feel like when I write things down, they become official.
If you’re like me, there are times when your life doesn’t go as scheduled. You have to call the cable company, you clean your apartment instead of working, or your day is just off. For days like that, a planner can feel stressful, almost like you’ve backed yourself into a corner. But even when your day doesn’t go as planned, it’s helpful to know what you did and what you didn’t do. If you have to catch up on a homework assignment or project, it’s best to know.
When I was still in college, my Passion Planner saved the day a lot. After I got a deadline for an assignment, I would immediately write it down in my planner. This protected me against the “when is that due?” question college students ask a lot.
I also feel like the layout of Passion Planner’s help me to honor and prioritize my goals. The guided section, in the beginning, asks you questions about your goals, both short term, and long term. I feel like we should all be intentional about creating a life we appreciate and cherish, Passion Planner will assist you in doing this. There is also a section where you’re able to reflect on your month and brainstorm about your weekly and daily goals.
In addition to keeping these goals in your mind, there’s also research showing if you write down your goals they’re more likely to happen. Call it manifesting, prioritizing, either way, we have the science to back it up.
According to Forbes,
“Vividly describing your goals in written form is strongly associated with goal success, and people who very vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals than people who don’t. That’s a pretty big difference in goal achievement just from writing your goals on a piece of paper.”
So, by all means, be your own hype person. The job, the opportunity, the apartment, the hobby, the skill, the pet, the romantic partner, or whatever you want. I think writing down goals helps you because it reminds your brain to start working towards them. So, let’s say I want to become a faster runner. After I write this goal down, my brain reminds me of this goal. This will encourage me to research training methods, start running more strategically, and eventually reach my goal. And with Passion Planner, you would probably write those goals down a couple of times or even a dozen. Imagine how that could change your life!
The Memories It Holds
A great deal of my life is documented, not online, but on paper. When I was a little girl, I started journaling. As an early fan of history, it fascinated me to read the journals of famous historic figures. Although I didn’t feel like I was living a life people would read about for generations after me, I thought it could interest any future family I would have.
I also journaled for myself, it was my way of navigating through all of my thoughts and feelings. Words have always been how I make sense of things. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t journal as much as I used to. The daily routine of journaling has been hard for me to maintain. After I graduated high school, I journaled less and less. However, when I started looking through my older Passion Planners, I realized they held a lot of my memories. Birthdays, graduations, visits, calls from friends, career accomplishments. Some of these were small reminders of the things I love, others mark events that required intentional effort like my college graduation.
Now, I have records of the mundane and the not so mundane moments in my life. Even the way I decorate my Passion Planner each week holds memories. I think this makes my Passion Planners as magical as they are efficient, which is a gift.
There are many ways to organize your life, but after years with my Passion Planner, I can confidently say I’ve found a tool I love. It appeals to my love of having a record of important details and allows me space to reflect on different moments in my life.
If you’re interested in checking out Passion Planner’s, head over to their website . They also have a brunch of free downloads for you to try out or use in your planner!
