Review | The Design Trust 2020 Planner For Creatives

If I’ve learned anything from blogging and being self employed it’s that you need to have goals, try not to procrastinate and plan, plan, plan. However, there’s only so much you can do without the right tools. Finding a diary or a planner that worked for me and that encompassed my blogging schedule and my home schedule has been so important.

I’ve spent each year trudging through different types of planners, each time hoping that they’d bring some kind of order to my life and it’s always gone well for a month or two and then it starts to slide. Or if I did keep going with it, it didn’t have space for everything I needed. There’s always been something missing. Now, please don’t think I’ve spent a small amount of change hoping for a big impact because I have spent upwards of £100 on a planner after loads of recommendations and found that, actually, it was rubbish and didn’t suit me at all despite it being ‘personalised’ – I do still occasionally use the stickers for crafts with the kids though, all is not lost.

The Design Trust 2020 Planner

One planner, specifically for creative professionals and businesses, that I’ve been made aware of is from The Design Trust and even though I’ve not used it thus far, I can already tell this is absolutely what I’m looking for in a planner and more.

The Design

The Design Trust planner comes with either a gorgeous dark teal or dark orange colour with 2020 embossed across the front. It’s a robust front cover that would be happy to take a few hits in your work bag when out and about.

This planner is ring bound on the inside and is able to lie flat which is pretty much an ‘absolute’ for me. I need full open pages that I can write on without having to wrestle with one side of the book.

Pages 1-49 talk about The Design Trust, why the planner was created and goes into depth about how this diary-cum-planner works. Without a doubt it’s absolutely worth taking the time to really breathe in these 49 pages if you want to get the most out of your time and business. Some of the time there are some really basic things in there like goals being ‘S.M.A.R.T’ but sometimes peeling things back to basics is what we need to reset. It also asks you questions to get you thinking about the things you can do now or in the future, about where you want your business to go and what’s important. This is much less a planner for the year than it is a stepping stone to planning for your business future.

It talks about time management (hello me!) and goals for 2020 as well as finances and marketing. Though there are questions to help you along, as I said above, there are also some practical and creative exercises to help you get ten steps ahead of where you think you need to be. I sat and read this in awe and finally felt like the planner of dreams had dropped through my letterbox and I hadn’t even turned to the January page yet.

Each Quarter

The first proper section you’ll come to will be on your first quarter of the year. It’s your time to ‘check in’ with your business and yourself. It’s these pages that will help you determine where to focus your efforts, ensure you’re still working towards your goals or even to reassess what’s important.

You’ll need between 2-4 hours and it’s definitely worth scheduling these in to make sure you’re taking this time to reflect. During the quarter plan you’ll be giving yourself marks out of 10 in different areas of the business. You’ll set new goals, work out what activities you need to be doing and finding what you could do differently.

Times of reflection like this are so important when it comes to being a creative professional; I know I’ve burned out way too many times trying to focus on too many things at once thinking they were all equally important when that really wasn’t the case.

Each Month

Each month there is a “what will you do?” section that helps you keep on top of those seasonal activities that come with being in business. January tax return? Reviewed what you’re selling this year? All valid questions that you’ll need to answer to increase success. This is followed by a social media planner which is great if you’re a blogger like me; planning content and having a focus for each month is a great idea and a lot of us tend to work ahead of the calendar year too. Oh, and there are some content ideas at the bottom of the page if you get stuck.

The monthly view is where you can view the month at a glance and put in important dates; birthdays, anniversaries or “you time”. Alongside this is a space for your goals and activities. Don’t feel like you have to put something under every heading just because it’s there. Sometimes the overwhelm can be real, so if you only feel like setting 3 goals then just do that and once they’re done fill in the rest.

I’m especially impressed that there’s a space for ‘mind and body’. The planner doesn’t just care about you taking your business to the next level, it appears to genuinely care about the driving force behind it – you. Taking some time for self care is great for physical and mental health and this is one space you should always fill in.

Each Week

Each month is broken down into a week, which is spread across two pages. Each day gives you space to write from 7am until 9pm. You can put a ‘theme’ for the day if you wish and there’s also a space to write down 3 goals that you want to achieve that day. Three is the magic number, though we know these things tend to be easier said than done!

You’ll also find in the corner an ‘action question’ which encourages you to journal about your business journey.

Annual Wall Planner

There is also an annual wall planner available which I can’t recommend enough. There are prompts, space for goals and plenty of dates put in the planner so you know what seasonal things will be happening at a glance.

This is great for people like me who try to plan content ahead for the seasons, and it’s amazing if you need to see the year at a glance.

Extras

Should you choose to invest in this planner which, at £45, is an insanely good price for what you get and has already geared me up more than other planners I’ve had in the past you’ll be invited to a private Facebook group with other creatives. You’ll be able to ask questions, share ideas and results and have a real sense of community.

You’ll also be invited to take part in two online workshops early on in 2020. These sessions will be around making the most of your planner, setting goals and business planning. There’s also a quarterly Q&A session with developer and creator, Patricia.

Without a doubt this is one of the most comprehensive and dreamy planners for creative businesses and individuals. If you’re looking to take your business and yourself one step further next year, then you’ll 100% need this planner!

Win

If you’d like to win a 2020 planner by The Design Trust, then enter below! You absolutely won’t regret it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the next, and previous, giveaway.
Day Twenty Five – Morse Toad Stocking Fillers
Day Twenty Seven – Hape Discovery Scientific Workbench

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This competition will open on 26th November 2019 and will close on 7th December 2019 at 11.59pm
• One winner will be selected at random
• One winner will receive one 2020 planner by The Design Trust in dark teal, as well as an annual wall planner
• You must be a UK resident aged 18 or over
• No cash alternative will be offered
• The winner will be contacted by email and announced on Raising the Rings Facebook and Twitter
• The winner will have 28 days to respond to their winner’s email
• You must enter using at least one of the entry methods in the Rafflecopter widget above, they are not all mandatory
• Prize will be provided within 28 days from winner’s response

*I received this product in return for a review. All views and opinions are my own.