Every goal setter, and I know this includes you, has a certain desire to find just the right goal planner to catch all the things, all the thoughts, all the ideas, all the goals for the year at hand. 

With 30 years’ worth of planners surrounding me today, I thought I would give you some intel on my five faves from the group thus far.

First, the Day Designer planner, a beautiful choice to be sure.

The number one thing I liked about the Day Designer Planner was its feminine beauty. If you go to www.daydesigner.com, you will see 10 to 12 different designs that are just beautiful. 

Each one has  pocket in the front, useful for tucking away notes or receipts. 

At the beginning of each month is a monthly calendar. 

Each page begins with a quote from a thoughtful person. 

As far as the rest of the page layout – it had a space for the top 3 priorities, a to-do list and a notes area, as well as a separate space for Daily Gratitude notes.  

I used this planner primarily for my work life goals and carried it with me to all events and meetings, and I was proud to do so because it was that pretty. 

However, practically speaking, it was bulky and heavy so when carrying on planes and in taxis, etc., it was a bit annoying.  

That being said, this planner’s beauty and functionality overshadows its bulk. Check out all the designs at www.daydesigner.com. I think they even have mini versions now!

Next up, was My Bliss Book planner. This was my choice for 2019 and I found it as I was literally enjoying one of the most blissful periods of my life at that point, spending my days tending to my daughter and her newborn baby at the time, Miss Molly. 

MyBliss Book, by Lara Land, was fun and interesting to try out.  She designed it to tap into our ability to do some forward visioneering and had space within each month to draw out our goals as well as to journal about them. 

Then, at the start of every week, she designed a page dedicated to rewriting the week’s goal, and aligning it with the monthly goal, the yearly goal and your ultimate Bliss vision toward which you were working.  It also contained prompts for a word of the week, giving back to others and to yourself. 

Every undated daily page had space again to write out the number 1 goal for the day, a way to tie it back to your vision, etc.  Each page also contained space for appointments throughout the day, notes, positive things done well that day, and the day’s affirmations.

As you can see by this description, this planner is really a system to train its user to incorporate some positive habits on a daily basis, all the while keeping the bigger picture in front of you.

From the standpoint of design and form, this planner is elegant,  bound in a buttery soft leather. Its pages are gilded and at 5x8, it was easy to tote and not cumbersome at all.

She also created some neat videos to encourage you along the way and throughout the year. 

I’m glad I tried it out for the year; however, I will say that two things that would make it better would be bible quotes and a monthly calendar to begin each period. 

Don’t get My Bliss Book if you don’t enjoy lot’s of repetition and journaling because that is a big part of the system. Check it out for yourself at www.laraland.us.

My next fave is one that I received as a gift, and was called the Goal Digger planner. First of all, I love the name!

It was created with a cover of white with gold dots and bronze looking binders, and was the 8x5 size.  So --it was pretty, feminine, sturdy, yet a really good size for carrying around.

This undated planner did have a monthly calendar which you could write in the dates. I am fine with that so it worked for me. 

One thing I loved was that the first two pages of this planner prompted me to write a letter to myself about the awesome year to come. I re-read it as I prepped this podcast and 90% of the vision was in fact, achieved. 

The page layout was a week at a glance, so 7 days over 2 pages of paper. Each page included space at the top for 5 brief goals, and then each page had room for five tasks/appointments/notes for each day.

Then at the end of each month, there were 2 pages dedicated to goal analysis: accomplished, changed and coming up goals. Finally, at the back of the planner were 10 Notes pages. 

What didn’t work for me was the lack of room to capture all the tasks and appointments needed on a daily basis. This planner would be good for someone who has fewer than 10 total notes/appointments/tasks and goals to write and keep up with each day. 

So on balance, this planner was pretty, had a great name, but was not functional for me at that time. 

As a matter of fact, I supplemented it with a second planner, which in the end was not all that efficient. I don’t believe this particular planner is available anymore, but since it was one of my favorites, I thought I’d mention it.

Next up is the Commit 30 planner.  So many things to like about this one. 

First of all, it is leather bound, and all of the colors are vibrantly beautiful. I have had the blue, the gold and the magenta versions...all beautiful in their own right. 

This planner is designed around a great idea: you can commit to one goal each month and at the end of the year, you will have achieved 12 goals that are important to you. 

Each month starts with a page for your monthly goal and the 5-6 action steps you will take to achieve it. Also, it has analysis on the page asking you to answer why you did or did not reach your goal, how you would rate your efforts, and your next steps. 

On page 2 there is a prompt to write out what you commit to doing for the next 30 days with the reward for committing, planning and succeeding.

Each month has a full monthly calendar to lead it off, and then the week is spread out over 2 pages.  Along the borders of each page there are sections for Life and Work to dos, and notes.

Oh, and another design element I really liked was that each month began with a full page motivational quote. Love that!

At its size of 5x8, I was surprised at how well it worked for me as a life and work goal planner. The layout and the prompts really speak to the disciplined and committed part of my soul😊.

This planner is one I highly, highly recommend for its functionality and its form, both which are beautiful. I used it for 3 years in a row and gave many copies of it out to my friends and family. Check it out at www.commit30.com.

As much as I love the other planners, my favorite of my life so far is my 2020 planner,  the Christian Planner. 

The one I have is bound in beautiful teal leather and is the largest in size by measurement, at 10 x 7.  Because its planning pages are laid out with a week over 2 pages, it is still pretty sleek.

This planner combines God and goals, and that’s one of its main attractions for me. 

At the front of the planner, It has a few pages dedicated towards your vision board and bucket list, and also a page for healthy habits and a page for your annual goals.

These are followed by 2 annual calendars. In addition, each month begins with a monthly calendar.

Each week begins with a page for weekly sermon notes and a page for bible study notes. As a Christian seeking to integrate my faith and my goals, this is perfect!

As I mentioned, the week is laid out over two pages and there is plenty of room due to the size of the page for all the things. There is dedicated space for notes, daily healthy habit tracking and journaling. 

But my favorite thing is that each week comes with a scripture for that week. 

Love that.

At the back of the planner, there are an additional 12 blank note pages.

The main improvement I would like to see with this planner would be to shorten it to the 8 x 5 size and perhaps make it a page/day format.  

I like planners that are more the size of books than notebooks, don’t you? You can find the 2021 Christian Planner at www.christianplanner.com.

So there you have it, a recap of some of the best planners I have enjoyed as I have lived out the life of a goal crafter.

Do you have a favorite that you’d like to share? I’m sure the community would enjoy hearing about it. Just leave a message in the comment section and all the subscribers will see it.

2021 is approaching pretty quickly now. Select and order your planner now before the year gets away from you so that you can begin planning for another incredible year of goal crafting and achievement.

I pray that the goals you have set are progressing and that God honors the work of your hands and you flourish, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Be blessed!