Why Planners Don’t Work (And what to do instead!)

I think it’s fair to say I’m a bit of a planner junkie.

One of the things I did on this blog LONG before I started creating my own products was review planners. I’d order a bunch of different planners (with my own money, on a limited budget 😬) and spend many, MANY hours filling them out, taking photos, and reviewing each one.

And every time I reviewed a new planner, I’d think, “THIS IT IS!! I found the perfect planner for me!!”

My life fit perfectly into all the boxes, I had space for what I needed, and it genuinely felt like a pretty perfect planner. 

Until it didn’t.

Without fail, something in my life would change – my schedule, my commitments, my priorities – and then the planner just simply wouldn’t work anymore.

So, I’d head to Target and pick up a new planner, confident that THIS TIME, I’d find one that worked.

Rinse and repeat, every. single. year.

Shop the planner that actually changes when YOU do!

Did planning just NOT work for me?!

After spending a billion dollars on a billion different planners (those are exact numbers, I’m sure), I felt fairly defeated. Nothing worked long term. Was it the planners? Was it me? Was I just bad at planning?

Being the stubborn girl I am, I dug into these questions, because I really LOVED planning. Spending time thinking about that I needed, what my family needed, and how to best go about meeting those needs in an orderly fashion kinda gave me life. And I KNEW that when I planned out my days, I got a lot more done than the days I just flew by the seat of my pants.

I ended up learning 3 things:

1. Most planners are designed for one type of person, in one season of life.
   A planner that contains a single layout is designed for a person whose life fits into the boxes of that layout. It will work for that person as long as her life keeps fitting into those boxes, and doesn’t change.
2. Life changes.
   Therein lies the problem. LIFE CHANGES! What fit into perfect boxes 3 months ago no longer fits into those boxes today. And that’s not my fault or the planner’s fault – it’s just the way life is. 
3. I could not afford to keep buying new planners when life changed.
   Listen, most of us are on a pretty fixed budget, and we cannot go around buying those billions of planners. It’s just not feasible long term. WE NEED TO EAT, PEOPLE. All our money can’t be spent on planners. 

So, what’s the solution?

Flexibility, friend. The solution is flexibility!

What I needed was a planner that would change WITH my life. Something that could shift as my seasons did. Honestly, I needed a planner with a variety of layouts that I could mix in when my planning style needed to shift.

I needed structure for crazy busy weeks, so I could keep track of everything going on. And I needed extra space for those weeks when I had a little time to work on projects, conquer lists, or just write down my grocery list.

I could not find that planner, so I made it. 

Meet the S.O.S. Planner!

Shop the planner that actually changes when YOU do!

Of all the things I’ve made in my life, besides my two children, this planner is pretty high up on the list of things I’m proud of. It’s been an incredible tool in my own life, and the only planner I’ve stuck with for years on end – through every type of season.

It’s also done wonders to curb my planner budget. 🤣

The S.O.S. Planner is designed to be completely customizable – giving you everything you need to create the planner that is right for YOU, in YOUR season of life.

It comes with 13 different layouts, and you get access to ALL of them, so you can switch up your layout when your season changes. It includes yearly, quarterly, and monthly prep so that you have BUILT IN TIME to reflect on what you and your family need at each stage of the year.

Plus, it comes with training to help you figure out what kind of planning (and which layout) is going to work best for you in your season of life.

Shop the planner that actually changes when YOU do!

It’s not you, it’s…every other planner. 🤣

I just want to end today’s note with a little bit of encouragement – if you’ve ever felt like planning just does not work for you, may I suggest that it might not be planning…and it might not be you?

Maybe it’s actually that you’re trying to fit your very full, constantly-changing life into boxes designed for someone else.

My deepest hope with this planner is that I can help you find a planning routine that works well for you, so that you can benefit from all the AMAZING bonuses that come as a result of intentional planning:

• The ability to focus on the things that actually matter to you
• The incredible feeling of getting the important things done, and knowing when the rest will be taken care of
• The freedom of margin, allowing you to slow down and quit hustling
• Having a place to get your brain on paper, so you don’t have to worry about all the things you might be forgetting

As women today, we are often managing far more than our brains can hold. (This is another conversation, for another day!) We NEED a tool to help us manage our lives well, and identify what is possible (and even GOOD) to offload.

I designed this planner to help you (and me!) do exactly that – help us live our lives WELL, focusing on what matters most and building in time for true rest.

It’s the one tool that has absolutely simplified my life. I hope it simplifies yours, too!

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P.S. Want to look inside every page of the planner? We’ve got you covered!! Check out the video below to see everything you’re getting when you purchase the S.O.S. Planner. ⬇️