Here’s the truth: I suck at organizing.

There was a point in my life where I juggled one full-time job, two part-time gigs, took 18 credits at university, and still made time for my friends and family at the end of the day.

Needless to say, I was a train wreck.

So when one of my friends suggested the Passion Planner to me, I gave it a try. And I have to say… Where was this my whole life?

What Is a Passion Planner?

The Passion Planner is a planner that focuses on what you want out of life. The planner was developed by Angelia Trinidad, a college graduate who felt incredibly lost when figuring out where to go next. She developed the Passion Planner for herself, to help her sort out her goals.

The planner is:

• Goal oriented – It organizes your goals by making sure you are working towards success in baby steps.
• Personal – The planner keeps you and your personal growth as its central focus.
• Compact – The planner has several sizes, but it is designed so for you to have one place to put all your thoughts, schedules, and plans.
• Customizable – You can make your planner cute, professional, quirky… whatever you want!

Here are some of my favorite and not-so-favorite things about the Passion Planner.

It Breaks Down Your Goals Into Bite-Sized Pieces

One of the great things about the Passion Planer is on its first pages, titled “Passion Roadmap.” Here, there are specific rules about how to properly gauge your goals. The planner asks you to:

1. Dream Big – For five minutes, write down your biggest dreams. Anything you’d like.
2. Break It Down – Then, choose one goal that you believe will have the most positive effect on your life. Write down the steps that you would need to take in order to achieve that goal.

The planner then gives a monthly and daily schedule planner that is designed for you to achieve that goal.

Personally, I loved this part. I designated a lot more time to my Passion Roadmap, because I wanted to put more thought into the goals I had hoped to achieve. I think the Passion Planner does a great job at giving people the opportunity to dream big, and then hone down to a more realistic level.

The Schedule Templates Are a Godsend

The Passion Planner uses a blank daily routine schedule for each day, which spans from 6AM until 11PM. This is where you can map out your day. It gives a physical representation of how you spend your time.

It only took me a couple weeks to see how much time I allotted to certain things that were not helping me at all. This is actually one of the reasons I decided to quit my retail job! I realized how much time it was sucking up from my schedule, and it caused me so much unhappiness. Yuck!

It Leaves Room For Creativity

This is my favorite part of the Passion Planner. There is so much space for you to make it your own! They give you lots of options to personalize your planner.

• Blank pages – The planner leaves blank pages that you can use however you like. Some are completely blank, and others are bulleted.
• Separate work and personal goals – On the weekly breakdown, there are separate goal trackers for work and personal goals. I color-coded mine based on priority.
• Online templates – Some of their online templates include a habit tracker, finance tracker, and calorie tracker to add to your planner.

I love that the planner can be customized completely to your lifestyle.

However, It Can Be Overwhelming

I won’t lie to you. The Passion Planner, at first, was a bit overwhelming. For people who don’t like writing out their schedules and carving out time to orient their goals, this planner is not for you. You do need to take time out of your day to schedule the next week in order to meet your goals. So if you are not self-motivated, then this planner might not be for you. The Passion Planner is designed to be an involved accessory rather than “just any ordinary planner.” So, if this kind of lifestyle doesn’t appeal to you, it might be better to look for another planner.

Their Website Offers Free PDFs

This point does not necessarily have to do with the planner itself. But one of the things I love is that Passion Planner allows anyone to use their journal, free of charge. Their website offers templates of the entire planner for anyone to swing by and print out. The organization also host contests where they give away free planners to those in need.

I think it’s important that the company isn’t only looking to make a profit. I like that their mission is to help everyone reach their goals, regardless of their financial situation.

Conclusion

Overall, the Passion Planner is a great tool. It helps you:

• Orient your goals
• Take steps towards personal growth
• Create a personal planner that is unique to you

If this sounds good to you, what are you waiting for? Go get your Passion Planner now!