WEBVTT - Choose your planner 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to choose your planner for next year.

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<v Speaker 1>Having a good planner that meets your needs vastly increases

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<v Speaker 1>the chances that you make planning into a regular ritual, and,

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<v Speaker 1>as longtime listeners know, planning is the key to making

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<v Speaker 1>a complicated life work. Today's tip comes from Sarah hart Unger,

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<v Speaker 1>who is my co host on the Best of Both

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<v Speaker 1>Worlds podcast and who recently launched her own podcast called

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<v Speaker 1>Best Laid Plans. Best Laid Plans covers all things planners

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<v Speaker 1>and planning, from reviews of products and systems to interviews

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<v Speaker 1>with productivity pros. October is a great time to choose

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<v Speaker 1>a planner for the upcoming year. You don't have too

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<v Speaker 1>many commitments yet, so you can still think about time holistically,

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<v Speaker 1>but you may be starting to have some things that

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<v Speaker 1>go on there. If you start thinking about this now,

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<v Speaker 1>you can choose something great for two one. Sarah says

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<v Speaker 1>that before diving into a storefront, online or real, think

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<v Speaker 1>about what you want your planner to do for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people rely on electronic calendars for scheduling and what

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<v Speaker 1>their planner to mostly organize daily to do lists and

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<v Speaker 1>provide an analog place for goal setting. Other people love

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<v Speaker 1>being able to sketch out their week's schedule on paper,

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<v Speaker 1>so think about which best describes you. In my case,

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<v Speaker 1>I use a paper calendar for time specific stuff, and

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<v Speaker 1>I use a planner for listing priorities and notes. The

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<v Speaker 1>options might seem endless, and Sarah notes that several brands

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<v Speaker 1>allow for nearly infinite customization, so it can be easy

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<v Speaker 1>to get bogged down, she says, but here's the truth.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no planner piece, she says. You can choose

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<v Speaker 1>something that feels good enough rather than hunting for something

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<v Speaker 1>that is perfect. Because it's likely that a number of

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<v Speaker 1>systems will work just fine. You can try it out

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<v Speaker 1>and if you hate it, there is no law against

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<v Speaker 1>ordering a different planner and starting in February seriously, So,

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<v Speaker 1>as Sarah says, you just have to make sure your

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<v Speaker 1>essentials are there. The top things to consider are the

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<v Speaker 1>size and weight. Do you need this to fit in

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<v Speaker 1>a bag you take to and from work or will

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<v Speaker 1>it just sit on your home office desk all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>You might also note the paper quality, though Some people

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<v Speaker 1>care more or less about this note the format, is

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<v Speaker 1>it bound or does it have the option to move

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<v Speaker 1>pages around? Again, some care more or less about this.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you can't move any of the pages, you

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<v Speaker 1>might have to think a little bit harder about how

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<v Speaker 1>you organize the whole thing. And let's be honest, we

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<v Speaker 1>all want our planners to look nice. As Sarah says,

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<v Speaker 1>a beautiful planner with a great layout is more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to get used. She uses products from Hobanici that she

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<v Speaker 1>orders from Japan. There are lots of great products from

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<v Speaker 1>Golden coil, inkwell Press, full Focus, Planner, Amplify, and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>Me well, I use a notebook that I bought at Target.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably need to know yourself here. Finally, Sarah says,

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<v Speaker 1>don't short change yourself when it comes to writing instruments.

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<v Speaker 1>Decent pens are in the grand scheme of things, not

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<v Speaker 1>terribly expensive, but a good pen can make writing more fun.

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<v Speaker 1>I always say life is too short for bad pens,

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<v Speaker 1>and there we are in absolute agreement. So today, take

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<v Speaker 1>a little time to look at the planner market. Think

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<v Speaker 1>about whether you need something that's more like a calendar

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<v Speaker 1>or more like open pages. Think about what size you need,

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<v Speaker 1>and sure, go ahead and judge your planner by its cover,

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<v Speaker 1>but know that whatever you choose, it will most likely

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<v Speaker 1>be a KAY, and if not, you can change it.

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<v Speaker 1>The key, as Sarah says frequently on her Best Blade

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<v Speaker 1>Plans podcast, is to have something you want to look

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<v Speaker 1>at frequently, so you start looking at your planner frequently.

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<v Speaker 1>When you think about how you'd like to spend your time,

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<v Speaker 1>you vastly increase the chances of spending time well. And

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<v Speaker 1>that is something we can all get behind. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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