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Motherhood and the pandemic has changed my life, goals, and habits beyond recognition. I know it’s the same for many people all over the world, with the pandemic making our lives so challenging and confusing. With plans suddenly coming to a halt, feeling lost, disorganized, and out of touch with our dreams has become a common experience for so many.

Investing in a good planner and going back to basics is one of the most inexpensive yet strategic first moves we can do to help ourselves get back on the saddle and live the best lives we can have in the new normal. Personally, I needed a planner that could adapt to this new me living in the New Normal.

Last year, I had five journals: a hardbound daily planner, which was chock-full of pages and so colorful, I ended up relinquishing it to my toddler who loved to doodle on its beautifully designed pages; three datebooks, one of which I used for pedia appointments, while the two also ended up being my toddler’s doodle books; and a hardbound lined journal for my reflections.

This year, I think I’ll just use one: the Self-Made Sunday Planner. It took me a while to decide on a planner for 2022, but it was love at first unboxing for the Self-Made Sunday Planner.

It has a classic, minimalist design, with a soft tan PU leather cover. Even my husband liked how elegant it looked. You can take it with you everywhere, from your home to the office or even on vacation. The ivory inner pages are printed with clean lines and text to give you the most space for your own creative writing. I love the smooth quality of the paper, which makes me enjoy writing on it so much.

What I really love about it is, apart from a single page with a note from the creator and how to use the planner—plus a few pages for inspiring mantras and motivational quotes—it’s all about me, my life, my thoughts, and my to-dos. It goes so well with the lifestyle I’ve adapted since the pandemic began: simple, minimalist, just the essentials, very private and personal, living life a day at a time and one priority at a time, and more introspective, without pretenses.

It also complements my journaling and planning habits. As the name suggests, it is recommended you spend an hour every Sunday to plan for the week, the month, and the year ahead, before Monday blues kick in.

It’s just refreshing to pick out a planner like Self-Made Sunday that has no frills. No extra pages promoting products I don’t even get to consume because I’ve been stuck at home with my baby ever since the pandemic began in 2020. I don’t go out for coffee or to dine out, and definitely not to shop, so I have no use for coupons that made most of my past planners too thick and cluttered. No excess baggage, no added stress (especially that which comes with the rush to collect stamps to earn a planner, and then the pressure to use coupons before they expire.)

Self-Made Sunday Planner helps you plan ahead and navigate life even when surrounded by uncertainties. More than just helping you organize your to-dos, it is a life planner that guides you to look at the big picture first then shifts your focus on the things you can control. It also helps you visualize the life you want to live. The planner has a goal-setting system that will help you break down your goals and dreams into a loose plan set by year, months, weeks, and days, leading you to new habits and routines, and a life with clear intention.

To make sure you don’t neglect self-care and fun, it has allotted pages for “flavor of the month” activities, journal, and reflection pages. Like a life coach, it guides you to filter out the noise and discover more about yourself, passions, gifts, dreams, and purpose, and empowers you to set personal, professional, financial, and recreational goals.

Now all I have to do is keep it away from my toddler and ensure she gets lots of other notebooks to doodle on so this remains mine, all mine, haha.

Whether or not you already have a 2022 planner, you can still get your own Self-Made Sunday Planner at self-madesunday.com or give them out as belated holiday or birthday gifts. Get 20% off by using the code GIFTPH upon check-out.

A bonus I like about this planner: A portion of the proceeds will go to International Justice Mission (IJM) to help to fund rescue operations to save cyber-trafficked girls in the Philippines who were forced to work sexually online in the midst of the pandemic. Not only does it help us take control of our lives, we also help save one in the process.

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