As much as I love digital calendars, I am still a huge fan of the paper and pen planner.
While I use Google calendar to book out appointments and meetings, I rely on – and enjoy – being able to jot down my ideas and goals on paper. I had been using a great planner for the past two years, but was unable to find it again this year – thus began a quest for the perfect planner. I went through a series of products and reviews on Amazon and finally stumbled upon the Panda Planner and guys, this one is a WINNER!
It’s a beautiful, clean book filled with high-quality paper. It also contains an inner pocket (which is perfect for holding business cards or expense receipts when traveling!) Aesthetics aside, the planning sections it contains on the inside are just as beautiful. It’s loaded with content that is not just geared towards planning your days and months, but planning your GOALS. The days and months are undated, which means that you won’t waste missed days.
It has three types of planning sections: a daily planner, a weekly review, and a monthly review.
Daily Planner:
In the daily planner, there’s a gratitude section; on each day, there is a place to list three things you’re grateful for and three reasons why the day ahead will be great. There you can also list a daily affirmation, focus, and exercise.
Below that, there’s a spot to list the day’s top 5 priorities.
On the right page, there’s a section for the day’s schedule, a task checklist, and notes.
At the end of each day, there is a place to review the day’s wins and list out three ways to improve tomorrow.
Weekly Review:
The weekly review pages start with an opportunity to review the past week’s top wins and list three ways to improve in the current week.
Under that is a section to plan for the week ahead. There is a spot to list three plans to make the week great, what you’re looking forward to, and habits you’ll focus on developing.
On the right page, you can list all current projects and break them down into required steps. Those steps can then become priorities and tasks in the daily planner.
Under that space is a place to list 5 goals for the week.
Monthly Review:
The monthly review pages all have undated calendars. On each day, there is a little checkbox where you can check off completing the daily habit.
At the top of the right page, there’s a place to put a monthly focus.
There’s also a goals section to list out the top three goals of the month and establish how they’re measured. At the end of the month, you can review three big wins and list how to improve next month.
All in all, this is an awesome product! It’s almost like a little life coach in your pocket – and the best part is, how much you utilize it is completely up to you. It was out of stock on Amazon for awhile, but I was lucky enough to purchase a copy for myself. I liked it so much that I reached out to the company and they were kind enough to give me one to use in a giveaway with this review. And I have to say that the creator, Michael Leip, has quite the inspiring story. He suffered from a traumatic brain injury and Lyme Disease, yet overcame both to create this product. From what I’ve observed, it’s clear that he genuinely cares about the impact the planner can have on the lives of those who use it, and I really respect and appreciate that. If you’d like to enter the giveaway, head on over to my Instagram and follow the instructions under the post.
Happy planning!
xx Amanda
Giveaway c/o (care of) Panda Planner. My own planner was not gifted.