In so many ways, I’m ready to say “Good Riddance” to 2018. It was a trying year, at best. At worst, it was a hellish landscape filled with trigger upon trigger for anyone who’s been sexually assaulted. And on top of that, time seemed to both creep by and go at the speed of lightning.
I’m ready for a new start, and nothing says new start to me than a new planner.
I’m actually a little behind on the planner, considering tomorrow is the new year, but that’s the beauty of undated planners. You can start any time you want! I’ve been holding out for a sale, but it never came for the new journal I want to try. I’ve been using the bullet journal method for the last few years, and while I love aspects of that freedom, there are other parts that have actually held me back from being as productive as I’d like to be.
I need a better way to organize my goals, priorities, schedule, and life so I’m in control instead of being whipped about in the storm of life.
Today I bought my peach-pink Clever Fox planner, and it should arrive in the second week of January. I’ve been using the Leuchtturm1917 dotted bullet journal in lime green for the last several years. I still have over half the pages unused, but I really want to start fresh.
No, I need the fresh start.
My daughter has been using the Clever Fox planner since October, so I’ve seen it in action. While I love the idea of the bullet journal, I need a bit more built-in structure. As is, I avoid writing out my goals or my weekly plan in the bullet journal because first I need to create a layout. With the planner, most of that is done for me. It’s not dated, yay, and it’s also set up close to what I’ve been doing on my own when I have enough energy to sit down and lay out my week on my dot journal.
I’m hoping a new journal will help with my productivity. I didn’t accomplish nearly as much writing as I wanted to in 2018. I was blocked by fear of failure yet again. Or by characters refusing to talk to me. Or by constantly allowing other tasks to pummel my desire to write.
So in 2019, I’m going to beat that. I’m going to write fearlessly. I’m going to take chances. I’m going to write like I did way back in the beginning where I put words on the page and didn’t think twice how they were going to be received until I was in the editing phase.
I make it sound as if I accomplished nothing in 2018, and that’s not true. I didn’t realize this until I went after some numbers, and when I gathered those, I was proud I got that much work done in this hellish year. And to add stress to chaos, my daughter started driving, she moved to a new high in another town, and she’s been dealing with medical drama. All through that, I was able to stay sane and work.
How do you manage to keep yourself motivated? What planner do you use? Are there any tips that have helped you reach your short- and long-term goals?
I’d love to hear them!
