Keeping It All Organized: My Passion Planner

On my road to mindfulness and self-fulfillment, I've found I need a little guidance. My planner is the one thing that keeps me together and helps me to focus on what needs to get done in order to be the best possible version of myself.

I have used a myriad of planners over the years. From school-provided ones that have all the handbook information in it as well to petite ones you buy at the bookstore. They all had their pros and cons. Throughout all this experimentation I learned that there are several things I prefer in a planner:

• I prefer lined pages, no graph or blank pages for me.
• A vertical set-up works, but a horizontal one is better.
• I need a weekly planner, with a month-view prior to the first week of each month.
• My preferred size is around 5.5"x8". The big ones just overwhelm me & don't fit in my purse.

All that being said, I discovered my favorite planner last year. The Passion Planner is an incredible tool for guiding you along your pursuit of your passions. I didn't work it as well as I could last year, but this year I have found the way to succeed with the set-up.

The vertical set-up through me off for the first few weeks because of how large my handwriting can be. Once I figured out that I didn't need to write everything out, just the basics to help me remember the important parts, things became a lot easier to sort.

Even better are the embellishments I use to keep it all organized. From washi tape to stickers, there is no shortage of wonderful tools at my disposal to get everything lined up how I need it to be so that I am on-time with my goals and responsibilities. 

If you haven't heard of a Passion Planner, feel free to check them out. They've recently become a buy one, give one company like Toms. If they're not your cup of tea you can always look into Filofax or Erin Condren Life Planners. Another blogger I follow, Riley at Fiveleveninety, has used these and gives her opinions as well as updates.

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Facing Negativity & Rising Above: 5 Key Strategies

The worst feeling in the world is helplessness. The inability to care for something important to you can be devastating. Protection and avoidance techniques can only go so far. Sometimes negative situations just have to be faced and dealt with. How you choose to deal with them will define who you are today and who you become tomorrow.

Today was a rough day for me. I stayed up later than I should last night finalizing my final project for my last class in my graduate degree program. The morning was a bit rough, but I managed. I had prepared myself well for my presentation and while nervous, was still ready to roll.

Until I wasn't. The presentation order was changed, pushing my time slot back from the first position that I was ready to be in. Then, during my presentation, it dawned on me when I was given the 5 minute warning that I had mis-prepared. Instead of having the 15-20 minutes I was prepared for, I only had 10 total. My brain switched into high gear, my mouth went dry, and panic clawed at me. 

I survived. I made it through the presentation as best I could, skipping lots of fantastic details I had worked so hard to lay out along the way. As I sat in my chair trying to recover I realized my eyes were watering. "There was no way that this should make me cry!" my brain called out. As the next presentation started up I focused on my breathing and tried to remember my mindfulness and meditation practices.

5 Key Strategies to Facing Negativity and Rise Above It

1. Breathe! It sound so simple, but people often hold their breath without even realizing it. This breathing pattern gif is saved on my iPhone so that I can pull it up easily.
2. Focus on a repetitive practice. I finding counting to be soothing because of the predictability and pacing. It allows my brain to zero-in on a task and ward off negative emotions to allow for processing.
3. Use a "touchstone". A meditative object that has a predetermined and dedicated purpose is key to reigning in my emotions. I made a simple prayer-bead-like item. I can count the beads, roll them, or rub the Ahimsa charm. Just touching this object gives me peace and satisfaction enough to begin calming down.
4. Look to the positive. I know "looking on the bright side" is not revolutionary, but it does important work. Even though I felt like I bombed my presentation, I thought about the fact that it was over and I could not change it. I had done my best and was good with that.
5. Enlist help. Sometimes I really can't bring myself back up. That's when friends and family are important. We all hit rough patches and how we care for ourselves and others is what we give back. Helping someone and sharing the load makes for faster recovery work.

These are not the easiest things to remember in stressful times. It has taken my several years to realize the worth and value of some of these practices. Most of the time I did not even realize I was already doing some of them until someone else pointed it out to me.

What would you add to this list?

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