Best Self
When the Lord gives you big audacious dreams, it often feels like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish all that He is asking of you. I know I certainly have felt that way this past year as the Lord breathed life into the ministry that I thought was ending. It was August of last year when I realized I was forgetting tasks and certainly NOT accomplishing all that was on my God breathed to do list.
Then I remembered a little book I had received as a Christmas gift a few years ago. It is the Self Planner from Best Self. The self journal is a planner, but it is not tied to a calendar. It allows you to enter the day and date you are planning, and even skip days for rest and vacation without feeling like you are wasting time or pages.
You can see an example of one of my early days in 2021 in the photo above. The left page is for planning your day hour by hour. What they call “no white space”. I make note of my work outs and my meals as well as the work blocks I plan for the day. I personally use the right page to make note of specific tasks I need to accomplish that day, in this case writing video scripts and selecting artwork for the videos. I will often make a note of emails that need to be written and sent, calls to make, etc.
I am an artist.
When I first thought of a “no white space” approach to my day, I thought it would feel like a strait jacket. What I found is that I accomplished more than ever, because I could rely on my planner to remind me of what needed to be done before the end of the day when I close the shades and turn off the lights in my home based studio. I believe God met me as I was faithful to the call and the work. I truly believe He multiplied my time while decreasing my stress. He enabled me to do far more than I could ask or imagine.
This is simply one of many planners out there. I have tried a few, and this is the one I come back to. Each Self Journal has pages for 13 weeks, 7 days per week. Since I don’t work 7 days a week, my planners usually last for 15-16 weeks. Reflecting back on the time from starting to ending a planner is a great way to recognize all that the Lord has done through the journey.
The Self Journal by Best Self is not the cheapest planner on the market, but I have found it is worth it. I order mine from Amazon. You can also order them from the Best Self website.*
*I am not an affiliate with this company. It is simply the planner I know and like.