The Happiness Planner
In my Reflections post (which I am always referring to because I feel like it was the start of me getting back into my blogging mojo and not just because it was January 1st, FYI), I mentioned that I had bought a new planner. The 52-week Journal is about setting weekly goals, weekly overview, weekly reflection. It also comes in different colours ? It is honestly one of the best things I have invested in (aside from the two pillows I bought from Primark because I need elevation, you get me?).
Before you start the planner, there are several pages with exercises that help you reflect on yourself. The goal is to plan ahead and integrate happiness habits into daily life.
I have a process when it comes to my planner. On Sunday evening, if I haven’t made plans (or if I have then I’ll do it during the day), I take some time out for my planner. It’ll start off by asking me to describe the past week in 3 words and then move onto the week’s highs/lows, what I’ve learned that week, who and what I’m thankful for and what I’d like to improve on/what I hope for.
There’s even a chart to mark how you felt during the week: unhappy/happy, bored/excited, tired/energetic, stressed/calm, unhealthy/healthy and you rate 1 to 5 how you felt. I like this section of my planner because it lets me unload what I’ve been thinking. It’s like a diary but much better because you don’t have to be so angsty.
At the beginning of each week page, it asks you to list what you’re looking forward to in the week, your personal and work goals and happy things you will do. Having weekly goals, no matter how small they are (for example even just meal prep) works for me. I especially like the happy things I will do because it ensures that I will find time to do these things, and even if I’ve had a shit week I know that I can do these things to pick me up (I mostly put down reading because that is life).
On the opposite page is a weekly layout and you are able to fill these boxes with whatever you want. For example, I mark down what I’m planning to do and then through the week I mark down whether I managed to do that task or good things that happened that day. This helps me fill out the previous section I just wrote about and go into more detail. My planner also came with chart sheets: My Goals, My Bucketlist, Change a habit in 30 days, My New Year’s Resolutions. I had a blast filling these out; I won’t delve into too many details but I definitely feel I’ve made progress, if only minimal.
Thoughts: I’ve definitely become more organised since starting the planner. I’m proud of myself for keeping up with it for a month already because I’m notorious for starting something and being too lazy to continue (re: my Doctor Who colouring book, which I got given 2 YEARS ago). The planner has helped me reflect and notice parts of myself on which I need to work on. I’m excited to see my progress and being able to looking back at the end of the year, and say, “I fucking did it.”
It’s not for everyone as people have different methods of getting their shit together (coincidentally, I am currently reading “Get Your Sh*t Together” by Sarah Knight and I am LOVING it), but I personally feel it is a good investment. It’s just really calming to be able to unload anything you may have swirling in your head and setting goals and coming back to find you’ve achieved them through determination and dedication. I opted for the 52-week journal because I didn’t want the pressure of having to start on January 1st (even though I actually did ?).
They also have a 100-day version, Jan – Dec version and Jul – June version.
8 Comments
Tara
Now that’s what I call a loaded planner. This is a planner I would never use because I don’t want to spend my time filling out the goals and reflections portion, but I can see why some people would want to use it! I think it’s great that this has been working out for you 🙂 You’re right that we all have ways of getting our shite together, and it’s clear that this method is working for you! I can’t wait for you to reflect at the end of the year with this planner and see just how much you’ve accomplished and changed in a year ^^
Maroon Caludin
That sounds like an awesome planner! I love ones that have that kind of stuff in it! May have to try it someday. But I’m glad you find it helpful!
Nancy
I love how thin your planner is! You can get everything you need journaling in without having to feel like you’re carrying a brick around (story of my life). It’s great that this journal makes you reflect on certain things. Being able to track your goals/bucket list/changes in a 30 day period is super helpful!
I’m glad that you’re loving the planner so far. The layout of the planner looks super neat. Hope you’ll continue planning things in the journal for the full 52 weeks ;). I always have a section of the year when I totally forget about my planner @___@.
Kerry
My favourite thing about this post is the fact that you said your Primark pillows are one of your best investments.
But, that aside, I’m so glad that you’ve gone in-depth with your opinion on the Happiness Planner. I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while, but wasn’t sure if it was worth it. After reading this though, I’m putting it on my shopping list. I need to get everything together, rather than having scraps of paper all over the place.
Pauline
This planner sounds awesome! I’m glad it’s helped you stay organised and positive! It seems like such a good investment. I’ll look into it because I’ve been looking for a physical planner for a while now. I was thinking of getting a Bullet Journal again but hated the effort I had to put in, I think that it would ultimately make me lazier. 😛
Everything I do now – journaling and organizing stuff is now online but sometimes writing stuff down is 10 x better and gets more engrained into my memory!
Thanks for sharing that book! I’ll look into it, it sounds exactly what I would love to read xD
Rezina
It’s cool to hear more about your happiness planner! I think it’s interesting to see the different ways people utilize their planners and also how many different planners there are out there.
I also use a planner but it’s a lot more free form. But I can see how having a template with a set number of things to fill out would be helpful. The diary portion of the happiness planner sounds really nice! I think it’s a great way to look back on the past week.
Cat
Wow, that’s a really cool planner! I’m a fan of taking things week-by-week and doing shorter term goals. I’m currently trying out monthly goals, and at work, I do week sprints with my teams. They like it because it gives them frequent progress and feedback. I like the idea of taking time each week to reflect on the past week and to look forward on the next one. I may have to look into this for myself!
Georgie
I actually like the idea of the 100-day version! As for being notorious for starting something and being too lazy to finish… I FEEL YOU. I feel you, man. That happens to me a lot with written stuff like planners and notebooks. I decide to do something a certain way and then I never continue. This is also one of the reasons why I don’t own a physical planner or diary. I feel like I would neglect it and forget about it. But since this worked for you… maybe I should try it? Maybe I should give it a go? ?
I like the idea of dateless planners and notebooks too. No pressure to start at the start of the year. Maybe I actually need to try this instead of just going for blank notebooks all the time.
Plus I also love the idea of “filling in” a book. It’s like an activity book!!!! ERMAGWEWSDDD also colouring books FTW.