I don’t know about you, but I never get all my planning done in the first week of January. Usually I take the whole month to plan, and this year? I want to make sure I’m building a solid foundation that takes into account everything (not just number-based business or income goals, like I have a tendency to do), so I’m still not 100% done with my 2014 planning; I expect to wrap it up by the end of February. (I know, I know! Bad productivity nerd! But what good is planning if we don’t do it well, amirite?)
Anyways, for the other late-planners in the house, I wanted to round up all the posts, resources, and planners I’ve found useful thus far, along with some that I haven’t used yet but have read rave reviews of.
Techniques, tricks, & resources
From ye olde archives: How to review your life and plan an amazing new year (which is really a resource roundup in and of itself…)
Again from the archives: The easiest tactic to actually make that habit stick in the new year
How I plan out my life & business in 2014
The making magic in 2014 hangout video is worth watching – good stuff within.
The S.M.A.R.T. goal planning manifesto
Books:
The Desire Map is wonderful, and it’s been really useful to me (like pretty much everything Danielle has put out!). Of course I still have goal-goals – this is me we’re talking about – but given my tendency to be overly metric focused and to only set work goals and let the rest of my life fall by the wayside, this book was incredibly helpful.
I’ve raved about it before and I’ll rave about it again – the Accidental Creative is great for learning how to revamp your productivity systems. (I’m overdue for a reread, myself.) I think it’s a safe assumption his new book, Die Empty, is just as good, though I haven’t read it yet, and I’m not sure how it applies to yearly or quarterly planning. Same goes for Pam Slim’s Body of Work – I’ve heard great things, and I’d think it’d be useful in yearly/etc. check-ins, reviews, and planning, but I haven’t read it myself yet. (Hopefully soon…but I have this whole deal about trying to read my massive backlog of books I currently have, first. 😉 )
Apps & sites
Decent round-up: Best goal-setting apps
My favorite apps that I predict will be the most useful making this year work:
- Way of Life – there are a lot of goal-tracking apps out there, but I think this is my favorite. It’s flexible and simple to get started but has more depth than a lot of the “streak” apps. It did take me a bit to really figure out how to use it but the tour helped. Free, $4.99 upgrade to do more than 3 tasks.
- SmilingMind – great meditation app; so far I love it. It’s intended for small children but you know what? It’s been great at training me to meditate more again! Free (possibly with a paid upgrade? not sure!) for iPhone.
- SleepBot – beautiful, simple sleep-tracking and alarm app. Free for iPhone and Android.
- Azendoo – full review coming soon. I LOVE IT.
Other:
- I haven’t tried Lifetick, but it looks interesting
- Same for Beeminder – y’all know I love to quantify things
- For those of you who like minimalist-style tools, this is an excellent how-to on Workflowy (which I just.can’t.get.into myself but I know people who love it)
Planners & other tools
Planners:
- There are, of course, the Bombchelle planners! You can get the 2014 planner, the weekly planner kit, or both in one bundle at a discount.
- Free planners (with paid versions) – at Productive Flourishing, for creative freelancers
- The Desire Map day planner is a nice companionto the book.
- I haven’t used the Day Designer planners, but I see others raving about them.
- Last but not least – Weekdate!
Other:
- Free printable Don’t Break the Chain calendars – in three different colors + black
- Free printable four week calendar that uses the same idea
- Awesome free printable tools, with paid versions, at Dave Seah – concrete goals tracker, emergent task planner, etc.
- Everyday Hustlin’ 2014 calendar ($24)
- Goal Setting & Action Workbook (free)
That’s all I’ve got – what favorite resources did you find in January?