Hey everyone,
I have been going back and forth playing with ideas of when and how to host a workshop about creating your own inspiring 2016 dayplanner. This is something that I have loved doing the past couple of years, and am so excited to share and hear what other fun and creative ideas you all have. To keep this accessible and in the spirit of giving, I have decided to create this as a free tutorial through my blog. Whether you are making one of these for yourself or for someone in your life, you can be selective and intentional with the spacing, the amount of Q&A, the addition of color or pictures, quotes, reminders, etc. This is yours to make however you want.
With that said, here is my basic outline that you can modify, expand, reduce, or shift entirely.
1. Get a notebook with at least 100 pages. Depending on how thick of a notebook you buy, you can have one whole page per day of the year, or half a page per day (as I did below).
2. On the first page, leave space for some Goals, for your word of the year, for any initial words of motivation or inspiration behind the creation of this dayplanner.
3. Decide if you want space for weekly reflection and/or monthly reflection. This could be one or two pages at the end/start of each week and one to two pages for reflection and re-setting your focus at the end or start of each month.
4. You could take this a step further and have prompts, quotes, reminders, and space for learnings or 'top priorities' for each day.
5. Once you have your basic skeleton set for creating the day planner, start adding in the dates and spacing out the reflection prompts as you see fit. Take this part somewhat slow, there are a lot of dates to fill in, so maybe do one month, double check the spacing and ensure you have the dates correct before you move on. You will get into a rhythm and get all the dates and reflection Questions written a lot quicker than it seems you will.
6. Your reflection prompts could be anything that you think will support you in developing the habit of slowing down to reflect on your day, your week, or your month to gather your learnings and notice what you notice. I find it helpful to have reminders throughout to let-go of failures, of missteps, of imperfections, and to embrace the journey, embrace a Growth Mindset, embrace the moment, etc. Use language that resonates with you. Choose prompts and questions that will spark curiosity and remind you of what truly matters.
7. If it tickles your fancy to add color, pictures, random lists of what you are curious about or maybe a Bucket List to add to as the year goes on, then do that! Let this dayplanner be a book of play, fun, intrigue, passion, attraction, ideas, or whatever else you want to explore.
I would love to see what you create. Please take a picture and post on social media. Tag me (@malymc13) or send me a note to check it out. And reach out if you have any questions or want to engage as you work through this process.
**And for more about creating a Word of the Year, come to my workshop on Sunday January 3 from 7-9pm at The Village (4039 Brentwood Road NW). We will dive deep into 2015 reflection and learnings, gain direction and set goals for 2016, and nail down a word of the year and put it on canvas - that embodies how you want to show up and what you are committed to. Reach out to register or check out more details in the Workshops tab on this website.
Have fun and Merry Christmas xoxo
