Five planning tools for 2022
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is right around the corner - especially since some days my brain still thinks it’s 2020 🤔
Many of my coaching clients are beginning to think about 2022 planning and goals. Recently, I’ve been working with some grad students and faculty around how to get organized and manage their time in new ways.
Enter 2022 planners!
Now don’t get me wrong, I know better than anyone that a new planner won’t solve everything, as much as we might hope. A planner is just another tool to have in your productivity toolbox.
But, planners can be really useful. Even if you’ve been using a particular planning system for a while, if you’re finding that it’s not working for you anymore, it might be time to switch things up.
If you’re thinking about planner systems for 2022, here are some that I recommend checking out:
The Get to Work Book: The Get to Work Book is my ride-or-die planner! I’ve been using this one on and off for the last several years, and every time I come back to it, I’m reminded of why I fell in love - the simplicity of the design, the clean layout, the gridded planning sheets, the motivational prints for each month, the list goes on. I also love that you can purchase blank sheets from older versions of the planner to test if the system will work for you!
Passion Planner: I know so, so many people who love their Passion Planners. The Passion Planner is really nice because there are several different varieties of printed planners (daily, weekly), different sizes of planners, and even digital planners. Having that variety makes it much more likely that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for!
Powersheets: [Note: I no longer recommend Powersheets as the parent company, Cultivate What Matters, was acquired by a company that doesn’t align with my values.] Powersheets are a really unique planning tool. They’re more focused on big-picture goal planning than on day-to-day task planning. The planner walks you through different steps to identify the goals and areas you want to focus on during your year. One of the things that I like most about Powesheets is that it asks questions that are very similar to what a coach might ask you to reflect on while clarifying your goals. If you want extra support identifying goals for the year, this can be a great addition to your planning toolbox.
Notion: Okay, this one is definitely a little non-traditional, but it also has a lot of advantages. The biggest benefits to Notion are that it’s free to use AND it’s fully customizable. I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely had times where I find a planner that’s close to what I want, but not exactly right. I love that Notion lets you customize everything - however, one downside is that there can be a bit of a learning curve to get it up and running! If you want to give Notion a try, I do have a few free Notion templates that you can check out.
If you’re not quite ready to dive into 2022 planning, or if you’re not ready to spend money on a new planner, check out my free planning workbook: Plan with Purpose: A Quarterly Planning and Goal-Setting Workbook for Academics. This workbook walks you through my step-by-step planning process and provides structure in purposefully planning to achieve your goals!
