I’ve always been someone that follows a planner religiously. In college, I switched between those made by Moleskine and New York Public Library. However, after the end of the academic year in June, I wanted to find something fresh and new. That’s when I heard about Passion Planner. This planner helps you schedule your days from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Photos by Danielle Corcione
Because it was so micro-organized, I decided not to invest in it right away. By providing your email address on their site, you can access a free PDF file of the layout they use. I started using this back in mid-October, and it’s been great ever since. Although I don’t always schedule my days down to the hour, it helps me pay attention to how much time I have. It helps me challenge myself and consider how I use my time.
At the beginning of the year, you have the opportunity to think about your passions. It helps you map out what projects or ideas you want to act upon during the new year and beyond. Although I haven’t done it yet, there are so many things I want to tackle. If you’re like me, it’s exhausting thinking about it.
There’s a monthly layout to use, too. I plan to use the month calendars to remember specific meetings and events happening at large, so I can better access my weeks. For instance, I sometimes forget about recurring meetings at work and often, my colleagues remind me — that’s a something specific I want to improve on in 2016!
At the end of each month, the planner asks about what you did towards your established goals. It gets you in the habit of reflection, which is so important. For instances, some questions include the following.
- What was the most memorable part of this past month? Describe it.
- What were the three biggest lessons you’ve learned this past month?
- From 1 to 10, how do you feel overall about this past month?
Earlier this month, I made the next step and bought a 2016 planner. I chose the 8.5×11″ calendar over the compact alternative. I counted down the days until the package came — and it’s finally here!
Do you use a planner? Have you used a Passion Planner or something similar? What other ways to your organize yourself? Tweet @decorcione with your reply!