I get it. Life gets overwhelming. But with a little planning, you can eliminate that chicken with her head cut off feeling. Here are 6 easy steps to follow to control the chaos:
Step 1: Reflect on last month before jumping into this one. Look at everything you managed to achieve, make a note of anything you didn’t, and figure out what went wrong. Your plans may be more manageable for the next month if you take the time to understand what didn’t go so great before. At The Midlife Modernista, we refer to this as a debrief. We review the past month’s activities and brainstorm ways to enhance the following month. To keep track of how well certain parts of our plans worked, I enter key metrics at the end of each month in my personal planner. But if that’s not your jam — you do you. Maybe just a few sentences jotted on your planner’s monthly page or wall calendar is a good enough highlight reel. We won’t judge.
Step 2: Now, on to the plan. So, what are your goals for this month? Big or small, your objectives should be well-defined and well-stated. Pick one thing you’d like to change or improve and make it a priority. Ideally, we’d recommend one for each area of your life that you feel needs tending to: romantic relationships (date nights are mandatory), personal finance (give a no spend day a shot), learning a new language, etc. (there’s an app for that!) Those who feel they need a little extra inspo can find a slew of planners online. Here are some of my faves:
Hobonichi Techo Cousin – They use the dreamiest Tomoe River paper, a soft, thin weight that many pens glide over with ease. I’m sure you paper nerds out there hear me. Plus, it is your one stop shop for all of your life planning with weekly, monthly, as well as daily planner pages. Yes, you read that right. The lightweight paper makes this very doable. I love having everything in one place and the vertical layout makes things very easy on my eyes.
Commit 30 – I love their concept of committing to a certain goal or habit for 30 days at a time. Plus, they have great free printables to keep you motivated.
Passion Planner – This planner offers a great way to map goals out, plus they have gorgeous covers to choose from. Bonus: the paper is heavy weight (no pen bleeding, yay!) and they have loads of free printables in all the different sizes offered so you can try the format before you commit to purchasing. This is the best “try before you buy” I’ve ever seen.
The Bullet Journal Method – This book by Ryder Carroll is the bible for this method of mindful planning. What I love about this style is the freedom to set it up in whatever way makes most sense to you. Some folks get super creative and elevate their daily planning to artistic masterpieces with hand drawn spreads that are awe inspiring. Do a hashtag search for #bujo on Instagram or Tik Tok and you will see what we mean. Beware you may get hooked!
Step 3: Create a monthly map of important dates and special events. Keeping organized is easier when you can see all of your obligations at once. You can do this as a stand-alone bullet list or in the monthly view of your planner or calendar. We tend to like the monthly view because it gives you a clearer visual of where potential bottlenecks may occur or if there is downtime in your schedule. We are wholeheartedly in favor of scheduling down time, sexy time, me time. Whatever you want to call it. Do it, it’s important!
Step 4: Use Habit Trackers! The foundation of a happy and successful life is a set of habits. If there are any habits you’d like to form or keep up, you might want to add a habit tracker to your planner. Keeping track of your progress encourages accountability and helps you stay on track, whether it’s increasing your water intake, meditating, or reading every day. Here’s where you can incorporate “tip-ins” (extra sheets that get taped or 3 hole punched into planners) or stickers for each habit you’d like tracked. Here are a few to check out:
Sometimes basic is good. Like these colorful and easy to read stickers. Or get creative and personalize these with your own artistic flair. I like these for their simplicity, and they’re great for vertical layouts!
Step 5: Incorporate Motivational Images and Quotes
A little motivation at the beginning of the month can go a long way. If you want to stay motivated and achieve your goals, sprinkle inspirational quotations or pictures throughout your planner. I love my Polaroid printer for just this purpose. Best of all, the photos are stickers so you can make super cute collages in your planner to inject your sparkling personality into the mundane day to day. Printing out fave moments throughout the month is also an excellent low hassle way to memory keep. I love looking at my stuffed planner at the end of the year and enjoying my own special highlight reel.
Step 6: Make Time for Regular Evaluations
Every week or month, give yourself some time to reflect on your success and tweak as needed. Maintaining and improving your planning process can be achieved through the practice of regular reflection. And if this sounds like step 1 – it sorta is. See how that works!
