Day 1- Sometime during July:
So, I got this in the mail yesterday...
So, I got this in the mail yesterday...
I thought, "I like planners. Free stuff is cool. Sure, why not?"
Then I actually get it in the mail, carefully wrapped in tissue paper.
And I realize that this thing is no ordinary planner.
This is a carefully structured, highly intensive, multi-step program for discerning the will of God and taking control of your life.
And that's before you get to the parts that actually resemble a planner. Which are also designed to hold you accountable to your given goals.
This isn't a book full of pages of empty squares, divided by weeks or months, for you to log who you're having over for dinner next Thursday, maybe embellished by a pithy quote on the margins.
No, this thing is a complex, multi-step process meant to help you structure your soul.
And that's before you get to the parts that actually resemble a planner. Which are also designed to hold you accountable to your given goals.
This isn't a book full of pages of empty squares, divided by weeks or months, for you to log who you're having over for dinner next Thursday, maybe embellished by a pithy quote on the margins.
No, this thing is a complex, multi-step process meant to help you structure your soul.
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| This is the first thing you do...list all your goals and aspirations |
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| Then there's five or six sections like this, where you read this intensive guide and fill out another worksheet type deal. |
What have I gotten myself into?!
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Eh, I could probably use a good kick in the pants.
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A Week In:
One of the things that Stirling does in her book is to provide a few timelines to help people finish that first, intensive part of the planner. She has plans for finishing it in a day (the 'Eager Beaver'), two days ('Likes To Sleep On It'), a week ('Mull It Over Mary'), or a month ('My Hair Is On Fire').
I've found myself firmly in the 'Hair in Fire' camp. Life has been INSANELY BUSY lately, and so I've been working on this in whatever time I can find to sit down for a moment (and it's been competing with home school planning, trying to put down infrastructure for a schedule and routine for me and the kids, this blog, and planning out a home school co-op class that I agreed to teach this year).
I'm currently a little more than halfway through the first tabbed section of the planner (and there's still another tabbed section to go before I actually get to use the 'planner' part). So far, I've filled out worksheets on personal boundaries and releasing personal doubts, and read pages on discernment, figuring out how to evaluate your goals (how important/viable are they, etc), maintaining willpower, and the different types of goals that you can set.
I still have several pages to read and fill out on what sorts of activities I feel I ought to be pursuing, what activities I feel I should be avoiding, and how I think my past year went (in several different areas, including marriage, faith, and relationships with extended family). Whew!
So far, it's been pretty easy to read and follow, though very intensive (hey kid, wanna fill a page with all the doubts that plague your soul?!). It is also a very professional, sleek format, and very well put together (though page 22 and page 23 seem to be accidentally switched. The page numbers are correct, but the content seems out of order. This is the only typo that I've noticed though).
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1 Month Later:
Still haven't finished the thing to the point where I'm using it.
I DID finally get to the section where I actually got to set goals!!
I liked how the book takes you from very general, big picture (what do you want to be able to tell yourself a year from now?), gives you a chance to brainstorm, then leads you through the brainstormed ideas. You pare down your goals, rank them (using the handy- dandy calculation that reflects the impact on your life and amount of work that any given goal takes), and then go through them individually and figure out needed supplies, skills to acquire and possible upcoming challenges for each one.
Then you finally get to the part that looks a planner.
The planner bit is divided into quarterly 90 day timelines (you pick three goals to prioritize, and up to five goals to dedicate smaller amounts of time to), and two week "sprint" timelines.
I'm currently stalled on the 90 day bit. Once I get that finished, I can finally fill out the two week timeline, use it, and let you know how helpful I found it.
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Sometime in early December:
Alas, this review will never be truly and fairly finished.
It's been months since I've attempted to work on it, and at this point many of the goals I set have been reached or substantially altered. So to really get an accurate feel for it, I would need to start completely over.
Despite the fact that I didn't actually manage to try it out, I did like the look of the setup for the two week sprint pages. There's some excellent, probing journal-type questions that invite you to honestly evaluate how things went and what you need to do to change them for the next two weeks. Sort of like having a life coach or mentor, but in book form.
Overall, I liked how this was formatted. It is a LOT of work to set up, but if you have several goals you want to reach, and feel confident that you can set aside enough time for the initial goal forming bits (the author recommends a month maximum timeline, and I'd agree with that--much time beyond that and your circumstances may very well change too much for your initial work to be useful), it seems like it would be a genuinely useful resource. I just don't think it gelled well with my current circumstances or time of life.
Another note, this is definitely a faith based resource. The author goes out of her way to encourage her readers to seek out goals that will direct them to be saints, and does one or two retreat-type prayer/ psychological exercises.
I'll be honest, those bits didn't really resonate with me. I'm also a fairly cynical, overly rational, kind of emotionless person when it comes to my faith though (pray for me, I'm working on it), so I think that was more on my end than on the author's.
To sum up--
Extremely rigorous, but quite possibly a good starting point for building structure and finding some direction with goals. Not a casual undertaking at all, but would probably be a good fit for someone looking to stretch themselves (and willing to commit to the time it will take to do this properly).
If you're interested in this, or any other of Stirling's various programs, you can learn more about them or purchase them here.
-----------
A Week In:
One of the things that Stirling does in her book is to provide a few timelines to help people finish that first, intensive part of the planner. She has plans for finishing it in a day (the 'Eager Beaver'), two days ('Likes To Sleep On It'), a week ('Mull It Over Mary'), or a month ('My Hair Is On Fire').
I've found myself firmly in the 'Hair in Fire' camp. Life has been INSANELY BUSY lately, and so I've been working on this in whatever time I can find to sit down for a moment (and it's been competing with home school planning, trying to put down infrastructure for a schedule and routine for me and the kids, this blog, and planning out a home school co-op class that I agreed to teach this year).
I'm currently a little more than halfway through the first tabbed section of the planner (and there's still another tabbed section to go before I actually get to use the 'planner' part). So far, I've filled out worksheets on personal boundaries and releasing personal doubts, and read pages on discernment, figuring out how to evaluate your goals (how important/viable are they, etc), maintaining willpower, and the different types of goals that you can set.
I still have several pages to read and fill out on what sorts of activities I feel I ought to be pursuing, what activities I feel I should be avoiding, and how I think my past year went (in several different areas, including marriage, faith, and relationships with extended family). Whew!
 |
| KEEP UP, LADIES!!! |
So far, it's been pretty easy to read and follow, though very intensive (hey kid, wanna fill a page with all the doubts that plague your soul?!). It is also a very professional, sleek format, and very well put together (though page 22 and page 23 seem to be accidentally switched. The page numbers are correct, but the content seems out of order. This is the only typo that I've noticed though).
-----------
1 Month Later:
Still haven't finished the thing to the point where I'm using it.
 |
| Seriously. This is taking me WAY too long. |
I DID finally get to the section where I actually got to set goals!!
 |
Then you finally get to the part that looks a planner.
The planner bit is divided into quarterly 90 day timelines (you pick three goals to prioritize, and up to five goals to dedicate smaller amounts of time to), and two week "sprint" timelines.
I'm currently stalled on the 90 day bit. Once I get that finished, I can finally fill out the two week timeline, use it, and let you know how helpful I found it.
------
Sometime in early December:
Alas, this review will never be truly and fairly finished.
It's been months since I've attempted to work on it, and at this point many of the goals I set have been reached or substantially altered. So to really get an accurate feel for it, I would need to start completely over.
Despite the fact that I didn't actually manage to try it out, I did like the look of the setup for the two week sprint pages. There's some excellent, probing journal-type questions that invite you to honestly evaluate how things went and what you need to do to change them for the next two weeks. Sort of like having a life coach or mentor, but in book form.
Overall, I liked how this was formatted. It is a LOT of work to set up, but if you have several goals you want to reach, and feel confident that you can set aside enough time for the initial goal forming bits (the author recommends a month maximum timeline, and I'd agree with that--much time beyond that and your circumstances may very well change too much for your initial work to be useful), it seems like it would be a genuinely useful resource. I just don't think it gelled well with my current circumstances or time of life.
Another note, this is definitely a faith based resource. The author goes out of her way to encourage her readers to seek out goals that will direct them to be saints, and does one or two retreat-type prayer/ psychological exercises.
I'll be honest, those bits didn't really resonate with me. I'm also a fairly cynical, overly rational, kind of emotionless person when it comes to my faith though (pray for me, I'm working on it), so I think that was more on my end than on the author's.
To sum up--
Extremely rigorous, but quite possibly a good starting point for building structure and finding some direction with goals. Not a casual undertaking at all, but would probably be a good fit for someone looking to stretch themselves (and willing to commit to the time it will take to do this properly).
If you're interested in this, or any other of Stirling's various programs, you can learn more about them or purchase them here.
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