You already know that a planner helps you keep your life in order.
It’s a place to schedule your appointments, errands, and meetings. And record all of your important tasks and reminders.
What makes our Ink+Volt planner so special is that it combines all the essential features of a planner with research-backed systems to successfully reach your goals.
Research has shown that writing down your goals and making an action plan will make you more likely to achieve them. And the Ink+Volt planner has been specially designed to help you successfully reach your goals, every step of the way.
To help you get the most out of your Ink+Volt planner, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on all its key features. You’ll learn how to manage your daily life and use your planner to reach your biggest goals.
Key features of your Ink+Volt yearly planner
Yearly theme and vision
This first section is to help you get clarity on what you’d like to bring forth this year. Think about the dreams you’ve always wanted to come to fruition, and then come up with a theme to help you stay focused throughout the year. For example, your theme can be “say yes” or “community” or “growth.” A theme sets the tone and intention for your year.
Timeline and key milestones
Turn your dreams into something concrete by plotting them out on a timeline.
A timeline forces you to look at your entire year and set deadlines and key milestones for your goals. Otherwise, it’s so easy to forget about your goals or procrastinate on them.
Yearly goals and other things you want to accomplish
This section is all about setting your goals for the year. These are the kind of big goals that require time, effort, and planning to achieve. Examples of yearly goals include: finding a new job, writing a novel, launching a side business, buying a home, lowering your cholesterol, eliminating debt, etc.
There is also space in this section to set small and medium-sized goals. These are goals that are important to you, but probably won’t take up the bulk of your focus and attention. Examples of small-to-medium goals include: developing a meditation routine, writing in your journal, learning a new language, making new friends, decluttering your house, etc.
Creating an action plan
So you set your goals for the year. Now what do you have to do to get there?
In this section, you will break down your big goals into actionable steps. After all, you wouldn’t run a marathon overnight. You’d need to train, plot out your route, and get yourself ready before running that big race.
Think of your action plan as all the mini steps you have to take before crossing that finish line.
Make a list of the various tasks you have to do and write down potential obstacles you might face. Anticipating your obstacles will help you prepare for them when challenges arise.
Monthly calendar and goals
In this section, you’ll schedule your appointments, meetings, deadlines, etc. for the month. It’s good to know what you have on the horizon so that you can plan accordingly.
There’s also space for you to write down your monthly goals. This is when you break down your yearly goals into smaller pieces so that you can work on them throughout the month.
So, for example, if your yearly goal is to launch a side business, then your goal for January could be: make a list of my professional strengths, brainstorm 10 business ideas, ask friends for their feedback on my business ideas, choose one business idea by the end of the month.
30-day challenge
The 30-day challenge is a way for you to build a new habit or drop a bad one. Maybe it’s taking more walks or spending less time on your devices. When you have good habits in place, you’ll have an easier time staying focused on your goals. You can also use the 30-day challenge as an opportunity to take small risks and get out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s challenging yourself to take a new class or inviting an acquaintance out for coffee or speaking up in a meeting.
Weekly calendar and goals
In this section, you’re getting more specific and granular with your planning.
There’s a weekly layout where you can schedule your personal and professional tasks along with tasks related to your goals.
There’s space to define your biggest priorities for the week so that you’re locked in on what’s most important. And there’s also space to reflect on your week and check-in on your progress. This is a great way to assess how your week is going and hold yourself accountable to your goals.
Weekly inspiration prompts
Our weekly inspiration prompts are just that–inspiration! They serve as a springboard to your thoughts and get you to look at things from a fresh perspective. The prompt is usually an inspirational quote or a question that asks you to think about the way you currently work or go about your days. You can respond as you see fit. You can jot down a few lines. Or write a more detailed essay. Or make a list. Or even doodle. You can even take the prompt in a completely different direction.
End-of-year accomplishments and reflection
You’ve done the hard work of sticking to your goals and now it’s time to celebrate a job well done!
Taking time to reflect on your goals and progress will help you stay committed to them. And if you’ve already accomplished your goals, reflecting on its success will make the experience all the more satisfying. This will also give you a boost of momentum as you head into the upcoming year.
There’s also a section with end-of-year reflection prompts to help you look back on the year and evaluate your experiences. So much happens in a year that we tend to forget all the meaningful experiences we’ve had. It’s a great way to end the year on a confident note.
Notes pages
You can use the blank pages to jot down notes, write down inspirational quotes, make a list of books you’ve read or movies you’ve watched, or start brainstorming ideas for next year’s goals.
Written by JiJi Lee
