Last week, we looked at the first four prompts located on the day spread of our Monthly booklet. If you missed that post, it’s worth a read, but here’s a quick recap of the “why” behind these prompts:
We built these prompts around the best habit practices productivity gurus regularly write about, and we’ve seen huge benefits from using these prompts daily. When something feels off in our planning rhythm, it’s often because we’ve let the habit of using these prompts slide. Using these prompts again and again and again and again each day will build initially small, but long-lasting habits around creating targets and goals, reflecting on your days, and pivoting where needed.
Today we’re going to look at the final four: Self Care, Movement, Seasonal Goals & My Why.
A quick reminder before we jump in…
If seeing all of the prompts overwhelms you, start with 1-3, commit to practicing them regularly, and see what happens (you can even cover the others with washi tape while you get into a good mental groove with the ones you’ve chosen). We made this planner for you, so use it in the way that best fits the season you are in today.
Self Care
Such a simple phrase, and yet we have attached so much meaning to it. Sometimes, we feel guilty for taking the time do something so… positive. Other times, we make self-care too complicated, or we obsess over it. Self care doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply embracing the job you have to take care of yourself, so you’re in a place to serve vibrantly. If you find yourself staring at the “self care” space wondering what to put down, take a deep breath, push away the cultural expectations you’ve attached to that phrase, and write down what you need. When you cultivate abundance within, it overflows into your world without effort.
Movement
Unlike any other time in history, the majority of us in first-world countries can live our entire lives sitting on a couch. We can run an entire business empire while lounging in bed. We can order all our groceries without even getting up from our desk, and then pick them up without getting out of the driver’s seat (or have them delivered straight to our door). But movement is key to keeping us grounded in the real physical world. Exercise pumps fresh oxygen to our brains, detoxes the body, lowers stress levels, and can help balance hormones. It can re-energize us in a way no podcast or motivational video can. Movement doesn’t have to mean running 10 miles every day. It can be as simple as having a dance party with the kiddos or strolling through the neighborhood after dinner, but can also be used to track seasons of intense physical training. Do you—but make sure you’re incorporating movement into your daily rhythm!
Seasonal Goals
Have you ever spent days, caught up in the fervor of resolutions and possibility, pondering all your goals for the new year…only to get to May and realize you’ve made little to no progress on any of them? We’ve all been there. The reality is this: unless those big, life-changing goals are in front of you every single day to inform your decisions, you’ll never have the space to follow through. We included a “seasonal goals” prompt every day in our Monthly, so you can get serious about what it’ll take to make your dream a reality.
By daily envisioning a life-giving future, you’re providing for your mind an anchor for you to focus your creative efforts and problem-solving energies. You’re giving yourself a target at which to aim when you set up your schedule and develop your boundaries. You’re leveraging your God-given gift of imagination in order to do something that only you can do to cultivate abundance in a space that only you can fill. You’re taking your most noble hopes out of the realm of daydreams and formulating a plan of action.
My Why
Connected to your “seasonal goals” is the prompt that asks you to put into words your motivational “why.” The value of this question cannot be overstated. If you don’t know the “why” behind your alarm is going off at 5:30am, you’ll push snooze. If you don’t know the “why” behind the budget sacrifices you’re making to chase that side hustle, you’ll spend money haphazardly. Stating your “why” each day is going to fuel you on the days you make massive progress and help kick you back into action on the days you’d rather binge Netflix.
Your “why” is an opportunity to consider your core calling, and make sure everything you’ve planned for the day is aligned with that. There have been countless times when we’ve decluttered our brains onto our day spread, and by the time we get to our “why,” we can see our priorities with such clarity that we adjust our plans then and there, pivoting immediately into a stronger day. The quality and effectiveness of the activities that fill up your day is directly linked to the strength of your “why.” As you lean into purpose, you’ll find your resolve growing stronger.
The daily rhythm of planning with each of these prompts is a domino-habit that can serve to keep your goals and intentions in front of you so they can sink into you, and begin to influence your decisions. Get your thoughts organized so that you can build a working memory around the things that matter most to you in life. This kind of quiet work builds a foundation for the will power it takes to make those many small but vital choices you have to make, hour-by-hour, that train your time and your focus toward your priorities.
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The Evergreen Planner system is comprised of three unique pieces: the Cover, the Annual and the Monthly. Here at Evergreen we believe in self-compassionate planning and want to inspire women to craft a lifestyle that both fuels their dreams and serves their daily rhythms. Learn more about our system here!