I was born at a time when women were demanding equality in both the workplace and at home, when they no longer wanted to be subservient to the predominantly male population of the 1960’s. The submissive 1950’s housewife was slowly disappearing and women were now able to choose between staying home or going to work.
It would now be all about choice.
As a baby boomer I am a proud to be one of 38 million midlife women benefitting from the changes that took place in the 1960’s. To quote the website the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, we are part of the “healthiest, wealthiest and best educated generation of women to ever hit midlife.” We surely are.
I’m looking forward to 2016 because I’ve made a few choices about my life that I want to stay focused on. It’s going to take a bit of planning and a lot of commitment on my part, so I need some help.
I’ve never been good at using schedules to hold me accountable. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. So far so good but I don’t think it’s going to cut it next year.
I’m not used to using technology to help me plan my schedule. I’ll admit to using Google Calendar (when I remember to) and sync it to my cell phone. But if a reminder beeps on my phone even one hour ahead of time sometimes my post-menopausal brain leaks data and I forget about the reminder.
What’s a midlife girl to do?
I’m going to rely on the new (and incredible) CHOICES 12 Month Planner to help me define and track my goals. Now I can throw away the colorful Post-It notes plastered around my house that I use as reminders. Good-bye notes!
Now I'll finally have a planner that’s different from any other planner I’ve ever seen before. That’s because its creator, Kimberly Montgomery, has a savvy, entrepreneurial spirit. You can see Kimberly’s skills as a professional illustrator and business owner at work as you leaf through each beautiful page of this spiral-bound notebook.
CHOICES also doubles as the kind of journal you had as a little girl, only now your hopes and dreams are the adult kind. I can’t wait to fill my pages.
This slim, sleek notebook is the answer to my prayers. I can use it to plan out my life in 2016. It’s going to help me reach my personal and professional goals as it follows me everywhere. That’s because I’ll be leaning on it to keep my eye on the prize.
Here’s a tour of what’s inside:
I love having a quiet place to write what I’m grateful for. Counting my blessings is important and helps me feel grounded and ready to face a new day. It’s genius to have blank pages titled GRATITUDE LIST, ready for me to fill it up with all of my blessings by next December. No problem!
The pages for all twelve months have areas for daily and monthly entries that are surrounded by power words such as ACCEPTANCE, HUMILITY, APPRECIATION and CURIOSITY. There’s also a place to write SPOTLIGHT TASKS and HAPPINESS, TOP WORK PRIORITIES and TOP PERSONAL PRIORITIES.
Talk about covering it all.
At the end of each month it’s a good idea to reflect on how you did and how you feel. CHOICES provides a place to write down your thoughts.
I talk a lot about my Bucket List, whether it’s a dream destination or having a book published. CHOICES provides a place for BUCKET LIST items and I’m so happy it does. Now I’ll have my (ever) growing list in one central place.
Finally, if you’re like me you’re always scrambling to find a piece of paper to quickly jot down some notes. Phone numbers, social engagements, book titles or email addresses have all been lost. Now I finally have a central place for all of them with the blank pages CHOICES provides for NOTES. Yay!
Take a look at Kimberly's video about CHOICES as she gives you your own private tour.
I have two free copies of CHOICES to give away. Simply leave a comment below to enter. The winners will be notified by email. Contest ends December 21. (Sorry, U.S. only.)
How will you get organized in 2016? Order your copy of CHOICES here to get started on organizing your best year yet! (HINT: The notebook also makes a great holiday gift.)
DISCLOSURE: I was provided with free copies of CHOICES 12 Month Planner but all opinions are, as always, completely my own.
I'm and organization junkie! Very comprehensive planner and she explained it thoroughly in the video.
Looks like a great planner! I like the extra space for notes, goals, etc...
The stories we could tell... I think I was born a feminist. I know I was the first child in my family to tell my father "No!" and I was 3! 🙂 We have to be organized and on top to make it!
It looks so lovely, Cathy. Sadly shipping to India would make it uneconomical.
Wishing you a wonderful 2016!
Wow! That is one really neat looking planner. I would agree that it looks like something that would actually work well.
I have one & I absolutely love it. It's already filling up and I'm using colored pens and highlights plus washi tape to color code it.
Well Cathy Squared has more in common every day. I am SOOO a fly by the seat of the pants girl. This looks amazing. Think I'll put it on my birthday list...a bit late to pressure those Christmas Elves. But my birthday is January so Yay for me!!!! Thanks dear friend, now let;s put our meeting with each other on that list of choices!!!
Hi Cathy!
I keep seeing this planner around the web and I have to admit, it is very well organized. I am a planner freak! I can't have just one. I've already purchased two smaller ones and continue to add to my wish list! Egads! I'm nuts!
This is a beautiful planner and I would love to have one! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it with us as well as giving us the opportunity to win one!
I got my planner this week and signed up for the Kimberly's goal setting course. Both are just wonderful
This is such a great planner, and I love that it includes personal goals and bucket list items. My goal is to finally get organized in 2016 and I think this will really help.
Kimberly has invested a lot of great thinking in her design of this planner. Kudos to her. It's going to be a catalyst for a lot of good things for a lot of people. Thanks for the review, Cathy.
Looks like a fabulous journal. Not just for organizing day to day tasks, but for reflecting and gathering your thoughts and goals. And to help you budget and keep focused. Definitely great for those of us with cognitive issues.
This does look like a fantastic planner because of it's originality!
Mine came in the mail as a gift the other day and I am thrilled! I actually recommeded using Kimberly's planner to another friend this morning as we were talking about getting organized with a purpose. I love it and am so excited about moving my daily guide off my phone again!!!
Oh, what the heck. I love planners! It can be a problem when I have too many of them, but it doesn't stop me from trying.
So happy to hear you are enjoying your Choices Notebook Cathy! It's a treat for me to hear how each person is applying all the different features into their lives. I can't wait to get started on designing next year's Planner!!!
Kimberly XO
Have one! Works!
Im an organization freak...in my past life I was a corporate trainer that taught time management and organizational skills. This looks like an easy way to translate that kind of journaling for my personal life now that Im an early retiree due to MS
It actually made my heart flutter a bit when you mentioned getting rid of your sticky notes. I cannot live without my stickies! Still, I'd like to give it a shot by winning this journal. 😀
Good luck to you in sticking with the journal and refraining from posting notes.
xoxo
Would love to use this planner to make 2016 a year of better choices!
This does go above and beyond your ordinary planner. It's as much about what you want to do as what you have to do. Great idea. I wonder if Kimberly's customers are mostly women, or if there are also guys who want to take the opportunity to explore topics like gratitude. Just curious.
What a fantastic looking planner! Kimberly clearly put a great deal of thought into it. I agree with you--the electronic reminders just don't do it for me. I really need something written down and all in one place.
Looks like a nice way to look at both the big picture and daily details of living a grateful and productive life. Very cool.
How awesome! Always trying to find something to write that extra thought, appt or to do list. Tried others in the past but this looks like it wins the prize. Would love one. Merry Christmas!
This looks like a great planner and I just happen to be in the market for a new planner! So excited to read about this great new planner, and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that I am the lucky winner!
Well I'm hoping to win one of these copies and organize myself that way!!! I am not very organized, not in a traditional way at least. I have always relied on my memory but with three kids and recently turning 50, that plan is no longer working so well! Lol! Thanks for a great post, keeping my fingers crossed!!
I am a low-tech girl, as in sometimes writing my blog post out in longhand first. It just helps the creative part of my brain awaken. I live the way Choices has a space for all the random, spontaneous thoughts I get during the day that I would otherwise forget. And even a spot for a gratitude count. I'm in!
Since every year I have the same resolution - to get better organized - maybe this would help me not have to make that resolution over and over (and over again!)? Would love one!
There's also about writing down tasks vs using technology. Sounds like a great planner!
A planner, a journal, a dream capturer, a gratitude reminder-- how perfect! Looks beautiful: I could use one to keep me organized and mindful!
I would love to win and start my year off on the right track!!!
Need to plan dates with my favorite blogger!
Kimberley has done such a great job with this - I've never used a planner but the more I hear about them, the more I think I might need one in the future. Shame I'm in Australia and can't win one! Happy Christmas xx
Wow, it is lovely and I've been searching for years to find the perfect one. I make lists and lists of lists - in a compostion notebook - so I can see what I've crossed off! Just looking at this planner would inspire me to write more.
I'm seriously a planner addict. I can't help it. I love them. This one looks great!
It's a great planner. I have mine but would love to win another, to gift!
I am a big fan of organization! Being organized allows me to do more, enjoy more and stress less! This looks like a great tool. Love the "Reflections" Section!
I admire all of you organized women. I haven't seen the top of my desk in years, and I lose my reminder notes. I don't know if I could ever change, but it's never too late to learn.
I have stacks of partially used boring planners. None of them motivated this obtuse unfocused rabbit trail junkie. But I may have finally found one that thinks like I do. CHOICES has a place for all my brain scraps. Whew! Finally a planner that does the organising for me.
Thanks for sharing all these great tips, i love the planner, it has all the things i need to start up my day and it also have like an end of the month summary to help me assess my goals. Great work.