How I Hit My 2020 Goals with My Mål Paper Planner

I'll start this post by clarifying that my plans and goals for 2020 changed drastically after COVID-19 hit (goodbye dreams of honeymooning in Corsica...), but they did not disappear all together. I've always been a goal-oriented person.

I thoughtfully create my New Year's Resolutions each December, and diligently write to-do lists and reflect on my goals every few months to assess where I'm at. I also cave in and buy a beautiful planner every year (Kate Spade, Ban.do, I've tried them all!) - I tend to use the planner for approximately two weeks before it starts collecting dust.

You'd think that I would learn from that mistake, but I always tell myself that I'll make it work the next time. After all, I love putting pen to paper to keep myself organized - I love writing! The thing is, there just hasn't been an agenda that's worked for me.

That changed when I tried the Mål Paper "Daily Goal Setter" planner.

The Planner

I felt like this planner was designed with people like me in mind! It has the standard planner features, including "month in review" pages, "week in review" pages, and daily planning pages. It's also undated (you fill in the dates yourself), which I LOVE. There are also notes sections, motivational quotes, and two ribbons included to help easily flip between sections.

But the real genius behind this planner is the prioritization system. There are sections for you to write your short, medium, and long-term S.M.A.R.T. goals. To hold you accountable and help you reach those goals, the "week in review" and daily planning pages encourage you to prioritize your tasks using the A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3 method (from Eat that Frog!).

Let me give you two tangible examples using my medium-term goals.

How I Hit My Goals

One of my medium-term goals in 2020 was to save a certain amount of money by the end of the year. In my goal section, I wrote that I would do this by saving X amount of my pay cheque (every two weeks). In my "week in review" section I would write "Transfer $X to TFSA/RRSP", and I would also write that on the applicable corresponding pay days in the daily planner. In my "month in review" section, I would note down how much I saved each month. We're not quite in December yet, but I can happily say that I am on track!

The second medium-term goal I set was to exercise 5-6 times a week until the end of 2020. I wrote that I would do this by scheduling 30-60 minute workouts in every morning, and create exciting workout plans to keep me motivated. I then wrote these workouts into my "month in review", and always kept "workout" as the top priority/A1 goal in my "week in review" and daily planning pages. I feel like just the act of writing out this goal, and seeing it at the top of each prioritization list helped me stick to my plan!

The goal-setting and organizational aspects of this planner are awesome, but my favourite part has to be the daily gratitude and affirmation sections. I used to keep a separate gratitude journal, but bringing this into my planner is so handy! Filling out these sections brings moments of positivity to my day, that gradually build to improve my overall mood.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, the planner is aesthetically pleasing inside and out. I love the smooth ivory pages and sans serif font. The soft PU leather looks luxurious, and gets even better with wear. It's also the perfect size to carry around or travel with. It's also extremely affordable compared to other yearly planners, and makes a great gift since the dates are fully customizable!

 Mål Paper has other planners and journals available, in addition to this gem. I love what the company stands for - they focus on creating products that give the user clarity on what they want to achieve with a clear path on how to get there, all while promoting a positive mindset to carry over on to their daily activities.

 Mål Paper gifted me this planner, but I would 100% purchase it again with my own money. I waited months before writing this, so I could fully test it out and give my honest review. I love it, and feel like it's added great value to my life :)

I hope you found this post helpful! You can check out all of  Mål Paper's products here, and check them out on Instagram here! Thank you so much for reading :) xoxo