Let’s talk about goals. I suck at them. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve written a blog post full of goals only to immediately forget about them as soon as I hit publish. Not to mention how many lists of goals I’ve written just to lose the list a week later. A change has to be made. No good business person (hell, no good person in general) can go through life without goals.
The solution on how to make better goals became clear after seeing PlanwithLaken’s YouTube video reviewing the Cultivate What Matters Planner. It hit me like a ton of bricks. This could be the tool to answer all of my goal setting problems. The holy grail to get my ass into goal-setting gear.
When my gorgeous planner arrived stickers greeted me. Always a good sign. A planner that has its own stickers knows what’s up and who they’re catering to. In my excitement I showed Alex the planner expecting him to be like, “Yeah, yeah. Another planner…” Shock is the only word to describe my reaction when he seemed genuinely interested in this one. I tentatively asked if he wanted to work on it together. He said yes…and I did cartwheels in my head.
Fast forward a few months and here we are now. Every week Alex and I meet to do a few more pages in the planner. I talk about this a lot more in the YouTube videobelow if you’re interested in how it’s impacted my relationship. I want to keep this post more review based. But seriously, it’s been marriage-strengthening.
The first 40+ pages are all about figuring out who you are, what you think is holding you back, what matters to you, and why you’re taking steps to make better goals. It’s fabulous and difficult at the same time. Each page breaks things down in a clear, concise way, but the entire planner is designed in a way that you can easily set it down and pick it up based on your schedule.
Once you’ve completed the initial pages and have your goals, you move into the action plan stage. This is where you figure out the hows and whens of your goals.
The planner helps you break down a large goal into smaller, bite-sized pieces. It takes something that can feel incredibly overwhelming and makes it seem doable.
My favorite part? It checks in on you. It doesn’t just help you make some goals, pat you on the back, and says, “Good luck.” Every month you can review how they’re going, what progress has been made, what might need to change, and what happens next.
The monthly (and quarterly) check-ins are exactly the type of things I need to keep me accountable. It stays with you the entire year.
There are a ton of other accessories and items on the website to look over if you’re interested including this gorgeous goal-setting sticker book. I love it because it includes stickers you can use in your main planner to remind you to check back in on your goals.
My biggest complaint about the planner is the coil and cover. I wish they were a bit more heavy-duty and sturdy. It’s not the type of planner you tote around with you every day, but one you leave at home to check back in with a cup of tea and an evening free.
I’ve enjoyed the process with Alex so far and can’t wait to dive in deeper and start really developing our goals for 2019. It’s the perfect time to snag yourself one of these Cultivate What Mattersplanners with the new year right around the corner. Maybe we’ll finally be able to keep our New Year’s Resolutions after all?
This year I’ve been on the hunt for planner companies I’ve never heard of. I wanted to bring you more than just another raving review over Erin Condren products. I wanted to provide you with tons of options in all price ranges to help you start 2019 right. My journey led me to Golden Coil Planners and it’s like I found the mecca of customizational planners.
The entire planner is customize-able. No lie. From personalizing your front page to picking your layout and adding in birthdays, you can design your planner from scratch. There’s a set number of total pages for your planner, but you decide what those pages are.
There are options of pages you can add to the front of your planner before the monthly view begins.
There is a standard monthly view option (that starts on a Monday!). You choose which month your planner starts and ends on as well. So no waiting for the start of the year to dive right in.
There are over 18 different weekly spread layouts to choose from. I opted for this horizontal on one page and weekly to do list on the other since it’s a layout I rarely see. You can choose anything from daily pages to standard weekly pages.
Now this is where things get really cool. Once you’ve picked your weekly style, you’re able to fill up the rest of your remaining pages with TONS of add-ons. There are more than 35 different layouts to choose, from baby trackers to meal planning. You’re able to choose how many of each page you want and create something completely unique.
Although the planner is around $60, it’s a fair price considering you’re creating a completely custom planner tailored just to you. The website is so incredibly easy to navigate and use. If you’re picky with your planners, this could be a great solution to give you everything that you’re looking for.
inkWell Press Planners. I’ve heard about them for years since getting seriously into the planning game, but couldn’t truly understand what the fuss was about until I had one of their disc-bound planners in my hands. I get it now. Oh do I ever.
If you’ve been following my planner journey for a while, then you know I usually avoid disc-bound planners like the plague because they’re usually flimsy and more trouble than they’re worth. inkWELL solves all my woes by giving the planner a seriously thick cover. The discs stay firmly in place and I don’t feel like everything is going to get beat up if I put the planner in a bag.
This planner has a TON of awesome pages that give it a little extra something. This big events page is a favorite for writing down monthly accomplishments, but you can also use it as an overview of the big events coming down the pipe.
Goals are going to be a huge focus for me in 2019, so seeing a nice section to break down goals into categories has me very excited. Plus it helps you to break them down into quarters for serious productivity.
Throughout the entire planner is this gorgeous geometric hexagon theme that I cannot get enough of. It’s simple, elegant, and a great place to write out plans and goals for each month.
Classic monthly view, but I love the little addition of the Top 5 to add a few items that need to get done that month.
Now the weekly view. This is where things have me all sorts of confused. It’s a fairly standard looking vertical layout with lines and three large boxes at the bottom for “Top 3” tasks/events. So simple, yet so effective. As soon as this planner arrived I set up a spread for the current week and used the bottom section to write appointments/meetings/events etc. and left the top section for a good ol’ to do list. Obsessed.
I’ve fully come to accept that planner switching is the name of the game so I’m eager to introduce this planner into my rotation officially when it starts in 2019 to see if it works for my current lifestyle. That’s the thing about planning my friends and you’ll hear me say it over and over, planners need to change and adapt with you.
The back of the planner has some gift lists and travel pages, some notes pages and project pages, but I’ll leave all the little remaining details left for you to discover on your own.
The Pros: It’s gorgeous, professional, and simple in all the right ways. It leaves a ton of room for customization, but you can still deck it out with stickers if that’s your scene. It also has a lot of extra pages to eliminate the need for other planners or notebooks to track travel and gifting. On the website you can choose from a bunch of different layouts as well if the classic layout isn’t for you.
The Cons: Honestly, I can’t really find any. If you seriously hate discs than maybe that? But even this disc hater is coming around to the idea of it…The color scheme is a soft pastel so rainbow lovers may want more color, but at this point I’m just looking for cons for the sake of it.
The Price: It varies. The planner I have is around $70 for all of the features. You’re able to purchase the pages, cover, and discs separately to build your own planner. So depending on your planner needs your price could be more or less.
Who it’s Good For: Everyone. It’s a good all-around planner that could work for any age and lifestyle. If you’re on a tight budget, this one probably isn’t for you, but if you’re planning on investing in a planner, this is a great option.
With all the travelling we’ve been doing lately I’ve had plenty of opportunities to put a lot of new makeup to the test. All-day wear tests, hot days, and long flights. So these are really more like second impressions, but that’s not a very good blog post title…There are a lot of misses in this roundup and very few hits, so settle in and get your “do not buy” list ready.
The Urban Decay Elements Eyeshadow Palette* is downright gorgeous, but honestly not terribly practical for everyday use. The brown tones are gorgeous and of course UD quality, but the rest of the shades are more for special occasions rather than any ol’ Tuesday. It’s such a fun palette, but you’ll be able to find a lot of the shades in other, more travel-friendly palettes. Save your pennies on this one unless you’re in it for the wow factor of the palette itself.
I picked up the DevaCurl Wave Maker after I chopped my hair off again hoping it would help add curl and style to my new hairdo. It did absolutely nothing for my hair. I used barely any of the product the first few times to no avail, so I bumped up how much I was using. It left my hair feeling greasy and flat. Avoid this one for sure.
I’m obsessed with the IT Cosmetics CC+ Creamso when they released the Oil Free Matte* version my interest peaked. I usually avoid matte bases like the plague as my skin is already a dry desert, but this cream didn’t leave my skin looking dry or patchy. I do still prefer the original formula, but this is a great option if I ever step away from the dewy skin vibes. It’s long lasting and can be built up for more coverage.
I scooped up the Lancome Monsieur Big from a recommendation from The Anna Edit and I must say I’m not overly impressed. It lengthened my lashes, but I’m always on the hunt for bold, voluminous lashes over length. I’ve been pairing it with the IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara for to add some volume, but I won’t be repurchasing this in the future.
IT Cosmetics recently reformulated their Full Coverage Waterproof Concealer* and I’m loving it. It’s thick. Like very thick. And the shade range is MASSIVE so finding the right shade takes a lot of time and guesswork. But it seriously works at covering dark under eye circles. I definitely recommend setting it with a light powder to keep it in place and mattifying it a little bit, but if you struggle with looking like a dead zombie, this one’s for you.
Even though the weather is getting colder in Michigan, with all the travel to warmer areas I’ve still needed a good facial sunscreen. The Derma E Sun Defense Mineral Oil-Free Sunscreen* has been fantastic at feeling light-weight on my face while giving me some extra protection. It also sinks into the skin quickly which is a definite must for me in the mornings as I run around constantly late.
Have you tried any new beauty bits lately? What have been your favorites?
It’s one thing I suck at. Celebrating small accomplishments when you’re running a small business is nearly impossible. You’re always moving on to the next thing, planning out the next release, and constantly going, going, going.
It’s safe to say that this is one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced working for myself and with my husband. We’ve become so engrossed in the next project that we rarely pause, look up, and see how far we’ve come.
The other week we had the opportunity to make promotional products for Milani Cosmetics through our promotional company we started a little over a year ago. It’s one of those “pinch me” moments. Never in my life would I have ever thought we’d be making items for a makeup brand to give out to buyers of companies like Ulta. Like, what?! It wasn’t until I took the time to shoot a few photos of the products for our Promo Facebook Page that I really stopped to realize what we had accomplished. And in that moment I kinda became quite sad. What other huge milestones did I not appreciate because we’re always so focused on the next thing?
If there’s one thing I improve on as we quickly approach a new year, I want it to be my ability to celebrate small accomplishments. To take even just a second to pat myself on the back, hi-five Alex, and be truly happy for everything we’ve done so far. We’re nominated for Small Business of the Year through the Grand Rapids Chamber. It’s a huge deal and I want to make it feel like one.
So no matter what you’re doing in your life, make it your mission to celebrate a small accomplishment at least weekly. It can be something as small as finally folding that pile of laundry, but it’s so important to give yourself recognition for the work you’re doing.
