Planning Your Life One Month at a Time

How amazing would it be if we could manage everything we need to do each day without forgetting any important details or events in the process? Wouldn't it be just perfect if your schedule was already set in your mind and you were prepared for exactly what you needed to do and when you had to do it? If life was really that easy, then we would live perfectly peaceful lives right now with no problems, complaints, or missed appointments. The reality is, though, that does not happen on its own. That is why we have tools and resources such as daily planners, organizers, and to-do lists.

When designing the SPICER Planner, I wanted to provide everyone with the space to plan their daily and weekly activities and start the month off by thinking ahead of what we wanted to accomplish. I hope everyone can move away from a "life is happening to me" way of thinking to an "I am making life happen" approach to life.

Each month of the SPICER Planner contains space for you to really think through your goals. We want you to think through what you want to accomplish the month ahead and what main events or activities should be coordinated. Unlike daily and weekly planning, where you can see the details hourly, monthly planning is like the overview or summary of all your essential schedules for the month.

Today I wanted to dive deeper into the format I have established for the SPICER planner, so you have a better idea of how to make the most out of the spaces provided.

The first section of the monthly SPICER Planner is called the Top Spicer Goals. This is where you will list no more than five goals you want to work towards this month. The objective here is not necessary to accomplish these goals in one month. It is more to declare that you are dedicated your attention and resources towards making progress in these goal areas.

Next in the SPICER Planner Monthly section is the Creative Goals section. Your goal-setting adventure should not be all work and no play. Business-centered goals are essential, but they aren't the only things you should focus on. Your personal development is just as important and valuable to your holistic growth. So here, we focus on providing space to plan different creative growth opportunities for the next month. This includes habits to start or stop, small changes to improve your health, a relationship you need to grow or mend, and so much more. Again the point here is to be personal and reflect on other areas of your life that need development that isn't just focused on your business.

Lastly, our monthly section provides a space to judge yourself. Okay, not really, but it is a space to reflect and assess how you progress in the different SPICER areas. You are encouraged to give an honest rating of where you are and how strong you feel your growth is in each area. And then calculate your total growth to give yourself a SPICER Score. We include this process to allow you to track your growth and progress.

Now, you will only rate yourself each month, so it isn't every day or every week reflection. And your rating can and should change each month. Some months you will see that you are strong in one area, and then a few months later, you are weaker in that same here. This is a process, and you noticed that you will grow and develop each SPICER area at different rates.

This rating process isn't meant to shame you or discourage you at all. It is more a tool to see those ebbs and flows of life. You may already be aware that you are more robust in different seasons. Getting into the habit of tracking and monitoring these changes can help discover any patterns or triggers that you may have never noticed before and help you prepare for the future. The entire SPICER Planner is designed to help you plan your life and understand yourself on a deeper level.

To make the most of your SPICER Planner, it is best to commit a few minutes each day to complete the different sections. And then plan on a few extra minutes to plan your monthly passions each month. It's a daily commitment that isn't extensive or overwhelming. Ultimately, it will help you manage your time on a much more efficient level.