Welcome back to this month’s series on Goals! Today, I want to show you the tools I use to plan my days and track goals I am working towards.
I’ve already mentioned during the Goals series this month how important it is to plan to make your goals happen. Planning is an essential part of my day. I am easily distracted, and if I don’t have a plan, I won’t accomplish much. I want to tell you about the three tools I use to keep track of everything that is going on.Using all three is probably too much for many of you, but it works for me. Hopefully, just one of these resources might help you be better prepared for your day.
3 Tools I Use to Plan and Track Goals
1. Bullet Journal
Bullet journals have flooded social media over the last year. Their popularity comes from the flexibility and creative freedom they give users. Bullet Journals combine calendars, to-do lists, notes, random thoughts, inspirational quotes and much more into one little notebook.
I began bullet-journaling in August of last year. Over the last few months, I have been able to figure out how to make my bullet journal work for me. If you aren’t familiar with bullet journals, check out the official website. They have a video that explains how the journal works. Pinterest is also full of ideas, and I have my own bullet journal board there. The bullet journal can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. I love adding color, stickers, and washi tape while others keep it black and white.
I use my bullet journal for all non-business related appointments, thoughts, and tasks. It is my life planner. I use it as:
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A monthly calendar
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A weekly planner
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A daily journal
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A habit tracker
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A cleaning checklist
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A project planner
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And, of course, a goals planner
Bullet journals are great for their flexibility, but they do require more time to set up than a typical planner. I really enjoy the creative process, but timing is something to be aware of when choosing to use the bull
2. My iBloom 2017 Life and Business Planner
This is the second year I have used the iBloom planner. I featured it on the blog last year. Since I am using my bullet journal to keep track of my personal life, I am using the iBloom planner to keep track of my blog and business tasks and goals. This planner contains a goal-setting section with space for a vision board, project ideas and planning, project timelines, and more.
I love the weekly spread format that provides projects lists, daily to do lists, and daily appointment calendar. The projects lists allow me to determine all that I need to do during the week. I can then fikter thise tasks into my daily to-do lists. I like to block off time on my appointment calendar for different projects, as well.
3. Create 365 Happy Planner
I use this planner for evening reflection. There are three blank rectangles for each day on the weekly spread, so at night I ask myself three questions:
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What went well today?
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Where could I improve?
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What am I grateful for?
This month, I am using the monthly calendar for a doodle-a-day challenge (of my own doing, I’m not following any particular plan). It’s another chance to express my creativity. I may do something different next month, but we’ll see.
I hope my 3 tools inspired you to think about how you are planning and tracking your goals. Maybe one of these options would work for you. Maybe you need to rethink how you’re using what you already have. My tools are “mine.” What will work best for you? All the cute planners in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t use them. Find something you want to use and set aside a few minutes each day to think through your goals and the steps you should take to accomplish them.
Do you have a goal-tracking system that works for you? We would all love to hear methods “real” people use.
Come back Thursday, and we will continue our Goals series!