By Kimine Mayuzumi
My relationship with the Passion Planner is as long as my blogging experience. Ever since I decided to launch this blog, Being Lazy and Slowing Down, more than four years ago, I have been using the Planner. I clearly remember when I went to the Blogging School in DC in 2015 and shared a hotel room with two other participants, I was excitedly showing off my very first brand-new Passion Planner to them.
Because I enjoy using it everyday and every year along my blogging journey, I have spread the word within my own network including my academic friends and clients. Some of them started using it immediately and expressed their joy with it. Then I thought I could become a rep/affiliate for Passion Planner. After my second trial of applying, I was selected to become one.
In this post, I go deeper about my experiences with the Planner. I wish to inform the readers of not only the product but also why I use it – in a more personal way. It would be helpful for those who want to review their lives with their own planners and/or who want to consider their new reflection/planning system.
What is the Passion Planner?
The Passion Planner’s own description says:
Passion Planner is the one place for all your thoughts. It’s more than just a planner – it’s a tool that helps you break down your short and long-term goals and incorporate them into your daily life. It has been designed to encourage you to plan for the future, reflect on the past, but most importantly, act on the present. Think of it as a paper life coach!
That is true – it can become a life coach, but only if the users understand why they do what the Planner asks them to do. The Planner becomes more effective when the design, the concept, and the tones align with what the users value and how they want to pursue it. I think they align with what I value, which shows in the five reasons why I use the Planner below.
Why do I use the Passion Planner? – 5 reasons
1. It was created by a woman of color, Angelia Trinidad
This is honestly one of the reasons why I started using Passion Planner and still keep using it. When I encountered the product, I felt, “this is a planner finally for me” because it was created by a woman of color as opposed to many other self-help products that were created by white counterparts. This fact aligns with our blog that has intentionally featured many people of color. And her story is amazing.
2. I love the Passion Roadmap
In the pages for my Passion Roadmap, I can make a diagram by jotting down my wishes in different stages of my life based on my values and desired feelings. I like the visual thinking: I feel more organized and become clearer about my priorities and my goals. It leads me to create specific plans for my gamechanger. The instructions on the pages are clear and concise.
More importantly, once I have the Roadmap done, I can go back to it regularly to remind myself of the bigger picture including what to prioritize, why I do what I do, and what’s next. It prevents me from getting stuck with a tedious task or to-do list.
3. It values my personal life as much as my work life
Throughout the entire Planner, it has the same amount of space for personal goals and projects as for work goals, which encourages me to take care of myself. In fact, my personal goals are as important as my work goals. I use the space only for myself, not for my family or kids, so that I can pay attention to my own needs and desires. In summary, having the personal section reaffirms my value in holistic lifestyles, which aligns with what the blog also advocates for.
4. I love the monthly cycle of reflection and planning space
Having the monthly pages encourages me to reflect on my life on a monthly basis. I like the frequency of about 30 days – not too frequent and not too sparse in-between. I spend about 30 minutes for reflection sometimes at a coffee place or during my daughter’s soccer practice. The reflection pages have great questions like what the most memorable part of the month is and what or who I am grateful for. It leads me to set my tones, attitudes and goals for the following month.
5. I love the layout of weekly pages
The weekly pages are on the two open (left to right) pages. They are crucial for me because it is the pages I fill in when I do weekly reflection and planning on Friday. During the actual week, I look at the filled pages every morning to see what my plans are for the day and what tasks and goals I have for the week.
Other than the time log, there is space for “good things that happened” during the week. I celebrate positive things each week by making bullet points of my good things. (I also repeat this in our family reflection time on Friday evening). This way, I can always go back to a particular page to remember the positive events/feelings on the week. It’s useful when I reflect on the past weeks later (e.g., during monthly reflection). It encourages me to celebrate the life I have and also keeps me moving forward.
The top left is “this week’s focus” where I place one or two thing(s) when planning for the week. It directs me to have a focus or theme of the week.
Final remarks
The common theme between my blogging and the Planner is passion – the strong feeling for believing in my work connected to the outer world and my own and my beloved ones’ lives. Admittedly, there have been both ups and downs in my blogging journey. I have lost passion and felt unmotivated and inadequate. But when I am in a passionate state working on specific blog posts and other related projects (e.g., Slowing Down Circle, webinars) with unfathomable joy and sanity, I do use the Planner well – regularly, neatly, and enthusiastically. The Planner helps me connect with myself, my imagined audience and other guest bloggers and interviewees whom I work with. It reinforces my passion and accompanies me during both fun and tough times.
Having discussed all the good things about Passion Planner, I am open to other kinds as well. If I can find one that has better reasons for me to use, I would explore.
Featured Image by Kimine Mayuzumi
Affiliate link removed on Sep. 2, 2020