What’s your damage, Heather?
While I was waiting for the results of the test, I played a little game. I wrote down some of the things I consider symptoms;...
Planner Thunderdome 2023: Legend Planner Pro Weekly
Y’all. Look at this COVER! I so, so, so, SO wanted this to be The One!
Did I buy this one just for the cover? Well, no, but the cover sure did help me want this to be The One.
So imagine my disappointment with a list of 100 dreams. Since there’s not enough room there to write out dreams one has when one is asleep, I’m guessing they mean 100 things you want to do. Which… 100 things in the year? Or 100 things in your life? Again, this is not the kind of thing I personally need in a planner I’m using for work, but it might be good for some.
Awareness and Self Discovery, and Most Important Life Questions. OK, I bought this one because it had “pro” in the title, and I thought that meant for “professional”… as in, a planner I can use for work. So far it just seems to be about life, and I think we’ve already established that I’m not looking for a life planner, I’m looking for a work planner.
My Journey: My current situation –> My Vision –> Why I want it –> My strategy. Just… no. If I were 20 something and looking for a little more thought security? A little more active “what do I want to be when I grow up” then sure, maybe. But I’m 53 and looking to get a planner that will – hopefully – help remind me to do shit on time. My current situation is that I forget a lot of shit. My vision is to remember that shit. I want it because I’m tired of forgetting shit all the time. My strategy is to find a planner that will help me coordinate my shit in one place.
My Vison. My Mission. How are these pages different than the previous ones?
And then a set of goals, again, for life stuff. I don’t want personal life goals, I want something that helps me remember I wanted to release a new thing six months from now so it would be smart to work a little on that thing every week so here’s a page where I can list out what I need to do in that six month time frame and I can cross shit off as I do it.
I’m sorry. All this personal goal setting stuff is starting to make me cranky. Am I cranky because I can’t find the perfect planner? Or am I cranky because my goals are things like “get through the fuckin’ day” and I don’t like being reminded that I should have other goals?!
Speaking of goals, here’s a page for my most important one year goals (as if the previous pages of goals weren’t enough), and a page for a mind map (maybe to help me get to those goals?).
Skills, Habits, and People. Daily Rituals. Listen. Planner makers. I get it. Having a thing written down that reminds you what to do every day is important. But I need stuff like “getting orders out” and “doing a supply inventory” and “do your quarterly sales tax” and “things that need to be updated on the website.” Not affirmations, not things I’m grateful for, not distracting things to avoid to have a happier life.
One month goals, and tactics. HOW MANY GOALS DO THEY THINK I NEED TO HAVE, THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. I mean, I get it, it’s probably a breakdown of year long goals, things to do every month to achieve the uber, boss goal. If this is all somehow in the instruction page on how to use this journal, they should make the type larger if they want people to be able to read it! I don’t need to scan it and enlarge it on my computer, good lord, ain’t nobody got time for that.
Another monthly spread that could be larger if the things like “yet another place to list my goals” and “things to make myself feel like shit about if I don’t manage to make this month great” areas weren’t there.
Another monthly reflection I wouldn’t use, and a big page for notes that I do love. More note pages, please, and thank you.
At last, the weekly spread! With zero dot grid or graph or blank note space. Ugh. OK, I do like that all seven days of the week have the same size ratio on the page (as someone who works just as much on the weekend as during the week, I appreciate that). Goals for the week, OK. I’d call them priorities, but OK. Habit Tracker, OK. I’d call it a chore list, but sure. Work and Personal to-do lists, OK. Things I will do to make this week great (and then feel like shit about if I don’t accomplish), no thank you. Something I’d like to learn this week, something I’m excited about, big wins this week, lessons learned and what I’ll do better next week. Nope. No thank you. Not useful for me.
Why is this called a “Pro” planner? Is it just me? Do I incorrectly think “Professional” when I hear “Pro”? There was virtually nothing in here geared towards professional business (or even unprofessional business). Nothing here about how to track follower count, or breakdown areas for social media posts that do well vs don’t do well, nothing for planning launches of new products or anything. Sigh. I keep hoping some day I will find a business planner that’s for craft business run by one person who does everything, and needs a planner that can act like an executive assistant. Instead, all I get are either “what will you do to make next month great?” or “here’s how to schedule all your Zoom meetings.” There’s not much in between those two. I don’t want personal, I don’t want corporate. I also don’t want to take the time to make my own because trust me, I know that’s a rabbit hole I can FALL DOWN INTO FOR WEEKS and then I find one tiny thing I don’t like about my own design and I never pick the planner up again.
Brains are dumb.
Anyway, stay tuned, next post I’ll tell you the one I chose and how I slightly modified it.
Previously:
Journal #4: The Legend Planner
Journal #3: The Go Girl Undated Weekly & Monthly Planner
Journal #2: The Go Girl Agenda Planner
Journal #1: The Clever Fox Planner
Lore, you’re not in the special-interest group that needs a “con” planner. That has things like “Buy a tiny mask that just covers your eyes” and “Have the striped prison suit dry-cleaned, in case of apprehension.”