I often get messages from this community, and questions from colleagues and friends, about how I manage to do so much. Have a full time corporate job, be a Mom to the twins, have a personal life, and run Haute in the Hill Country – let’s talk about it!
My Favorite Planner EVER
You’re not going to move a mountain overnight, so you’ve got to focus on day-by-day steps and incremental growth to get you towards your goal. And how can you know where you’re going if you don’t have a map? Let’s say you know what your desired destination is, but you have no clue how to get there. That’s where a map – a plan, a process – comes into play. If you are working towards personal and/or professional goals, you’re going to need a map and I’d like to introduce you to mine.
Every single day I start my morning with a large cup of coffee and my map, the Panda Planner Pro. This unique planner format helps me do the following:
1. Start my day with gratitude. As Oprah famously says, the more thankful she became the more her bounty increased because what you focus on expands.
2. Separate the priorities from the tasks. If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. I love how the planner helps me commit in writing to what is most important and what can wait.
3. Committing to a schedule! After my 5am workout, I have coffee with my Panda Planner Pro around 6am. This is when the schedule of the day starts on the right-hand side of the page and I begin analyzing my time – what did I list as priorities, how much time will it take to get them done, what are my meetings for the day, etc. Voila! You now have a road map for your day.
If you’ve never used a daily planner before, the Panda Planner might seem overwhelming at first. It’s asking you to fill out quite a bit of information every time you visit it – however, just like manifesting goals, you have to be intentional with what you’re asking for in your day.
When I first started using this format, it might have taken me 30 minutes to complete the day plan – now it takes 15. Filling out your affirmation and gratitude can be the most difficult at first because these are BIG questions to answer. BUT, you need to start dialing into those attributes as it will help you find joy and focus in your day. It’s like training a muscle, once it gets stronger the work gets easier.
Now Let’s Talk Daily Habits
Good, bad, or ugly we’ve all got habits and know how hard it is to change them.
First I introduced you to how I map my daily success using the Panda Planner Pro, now I want to introduce you to my long-term goal tool from the same company– the Habit Tracker.
It’s a pretty simple concept, but a lot harder to execute. The Habit Tracker has a circle for every day of the 52 weeks in a year. Did you do the habit you’re trying to learn – like exercise everyday? Or meditate? You did?! Awesome! Scratch that baby off and reveal the blue check mark below.
Research shows us that a habit loop starts with a visual cue (a reminder) that leads to the routine (a habit) and ends with the reward. This poster is the cue and the reward is scratching off today’s date. The visual reminder holds you accountable so you can finally stick to your new habit.
If you’ve been following me lately you know I signed up to run my first Half Marathon later this year! You know what’s going to get me there? The Habit Tracker, baby.
Free Advice That’s Actually Worth It, Straight to Your Inbox
I’ve got one more tool to share! It’s a GOOD one and doesn’t cost a thing. Get ready for some short and sweet but powerful motivation direct to your Inbox called Routine Hacker.
Routine Hacker is a free weekly email from Panda Planner that is sent out every Tuesday. Note I said once a week, not daily – this is not going to overwhelm your Inbox! The email contains a productivity tip, wellness tip, and breaks down a routine from a successful person like David Beckham, Marie Kondo, and Jeff Bezos. You can find the link here to sign up!
Questions or comments about how I use the tools listed above to keep moving forward towards my goals? Drop me a comment below! I’d love to hear from you.
Cheers Y’all! – Stacy
The Stacy Strategy 