16 Must Haves for your Goal Planning Sessions

It’s time to sit down and have a good old fashioned goal planning session so you need to have the right tools to help you.

From notebooks to pens, to planners, and traveler journals to to-do lists, when you sit down to plan out the next year, it’s best to have what you need on hand.

Arc Leather Notebook

First off, for your planning sessions, you have to write down the results of your brainstorming sessions and goals somewhere.

I keep my notes regarding goals online on Scrivener. But for on the go and in the office, when I want to put pen to paper, I use customizable notebooks like the one shown above. I have two and plan to purchase more.

There are several brands on the market now but the two brands I use are the Arc system from Staples and TUL from Office Depot. Both can be found on Amazon as well as in stores. And both have various types of pages and accessories that can be purchased separately to make your notebook more fun to use.

The notebook pictured above features:

• A black leather cover, however, several colors are available and Office Depot seems to often have limited edition colors as well,
• Each notebook comes with 60 repositionable narrow-ruled paper printed on heavyweight paper
• The leather cover has a built-in pen holder and business card slots
• Various sized discs can be purchased separately in order for you to create a notebook that can hold the number of pages you desire, depending on your needs.
• Dividers, pocket dividers, task pads, page flags are available and sold separately.

Arc Desktop Paper Punch (optional)

If you want to add your own forms such as our goal-setting printables, then you will need the Arc desktop paper punch.

• The punch is easy to use.
• It delivers perfectly placed hole punches every time, up to 11 per sheet.
• The paper punch comes only in gray, the color shown above.
• It has an 8-sheet punch capacity

Arc Poly customizable notebook

The Arc poly customizable notebook is the same system as the leather notebook above, except, of course, it has a poly cover.

• The poly notebook, like it’s leather counterpart, lets you add and take away pages in a flash. It’s just much more affordable.
• The notebook is perfect for keeping track of your goals for the year. Add sections to separate out your yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly goals and brainstorming sessions.
• Add a section for your free black and white goal setting printables. They can easily be added to your notebook. Just punch holes with the Arc hole punch and add them where desired.

Panda Planner

If you want a goal-setting planner that is already bound, the Daily Panda planner may be for you.

• According to Amazon, the Panda planner has been named the best small planner for 2019,
• The Panda Planner company claims the planner is scientifically designed to make you happier and more productive.
• And INC.COM says, “This personal planner is all about accountability, guiding you through setting monthly, weekly, and daily priorities and goals.”
• The daily planner pages are spacious, giving you plenty of room for listing out tasks, priorities, and your twice-daily check-ins.
• The Panda Planner is part calendar, part goal planner, part journal, and part life organizer.
• The Panda Planner is suitable for students, professionals, moms, teachers, and entrepreneurs,
• It comes in a variety of colors and can be purchased in either daily or weekly formats.
• The company says, “This planner will help you get more done and feel happier or we’ll give you your money back,” So you have nothing to lose when you purchase this one.

TUL Fine Liner Felt-Tip Pens

If you have the notebooks, then you need the pens! We’re going to discuss 3 different sets in this article. I especially like the variety of colors in this package.

• The TUL Ultra-fine point pens are a must-have for your home or office.
• The liquid feed technology helps ensure the pens write to the last drop.
• The porous point promotes smooth writing.
• The ink dries quickly to prevent smears.

The High-Performance Planner

The High-Performance Planner is our next star product. Brendon Burchard is a leading high-performance coach. Along with being an author of 3 New York Times bestselling books, including High-Performance Habits, he has created the High-Performance Planner.

About The High-Performance Planner:

• It’s a planner with morning and evening journal prompts
• Each planner covers 60 days. They are not dated so you can start using a new planner anytime. Because each one is only for a 60 day period of time, you do have to buy several per year. It’s cheaper to buy them as a 6 planner set.
• Each day features a morning mindset section and every evening an evening review scorecard,
• The weekly pages include the High-Performance Habits Assessment.
• Monthly Pages help you align with long-term goals and strategically think ahead
• The planner includes a free online assessment to track your habits and accelerate your personal growth!

TUL Brilliance Gel Pens

• When engaged in your goal planning during your weekly planning sessions, it’s important to have a reliable writing instrument to use.
• These smooth-flowing ballpoint pens provide a consistent flow of ink, so you can capture your thoughts as they flow.
• The pen’s plastic barrel has a textured TPE grip to allow a firm hold. They are great for everyday use in your planners and notebooks.

Webster’s Pages Travel Journal

When I am on the run and I don’t want to use a full-sized notebook, I write my notes in a traveler’s journal like the one shown below. It’s the perfect size for capturing notes, ideas, or quotes during brainstorming sessions and meetings, If flowers are not your thing, this journal comes in a variety of colors.

• All Webster traveler’s journals are of premium quality They are durable and compact and designed to withstand the heavy use of daily planner users.
• Each journal includes 4 strands of elastic to hold your notebook refills. Each one has stitched pockets and an elastic pen loop.
• The Webster journal comes with one standard size, blank Kraft notebook (4.25″x8.25″). The journal fits inserts that are standard and oversized.
• The traveler’s journal from Webster’s Pages will help you stay organized and focused as you chase your dreams helping you accomplish any goal you set.

TUL Retractable Gel Pens

• If you use different colors to code various goals or you just like a pop of color then these smooth-writing TUL gel pens are perfect for your weekly planning sessions.
• The vibrant hues make it easy to create a color-coded note system that helps you find the information you’re looking for.
• Each of the TUL pens features a metal tip with a 0.5 mm tip which creates fine, precise lines. and perfect writing precision.
• They have a rubberized comfort grip.

Modoker Vintage Laptop Backpack

Because you’re not always sitting at a desk when you have your brainstorming sessions, then your ability to capture your thoughts need to be portable. Therefore, you need a way to carry all of your notebooks, pens, your sticky notes, laptop, tablet, and phone with you.

The Modoker backpack is a casual way to carry everything you need for great notetaking sessions.

• This Modoker Backpack is lightweight and is made of high-quality nylon fabric that is scratch-resistant, anti-tear and water-resistant,
• It holds a laptop up to 15.6 inches in size.
• The Modoker backpack features an external USB charging port and a set-in charging cable, offering a convenient way for you to charge your electronic device even when walking.
• The backpack has a total of 6 Compartments to carry everything you need.
• The backpack strap is well-padded and adjustable to fit your body type making it comfortable to carry.

Laptop Bag for Women

If you need something a bit more professional and attractive to carry your belongings, then this tote may be for you.

• This women’s tote features a classic design and metal drop handle. It will easily carry a 15-inch laptop, notebooks, sticky notes and pens for everyday personal and office use.
• One main protective layer with a top elastic clasp provides enough safety for your laptop and other important items.
• The tote is made up of the main center padded laptop section, a medium-size zipper bag for power bank and office supplies, two small pockets in the front and a back wall zippered pocket. The various pockets make things easy to find
• It’s perfect for casual work business/all-purpose use.

Giant Dry Erase Calendar

• Effective weekly planning sessions start out by planning out your entire year. And, once you have your yearly goals on paper, why not map them out on a huge wall calendar.
• The Lushleaf Designs Jumbo Yearly 2020 ultra thick calendar has a layer of long-lasting, easy to clean laminate. Just spray, wipe and reuse!
• The large boxes are big enough to see from across the room. It boasts 2.13” x 2” boxes – some of the BIGGEST in the industry – making it easy to keep your goals organized and visible.
• Say goodbye to chaos and hello to reaching your goals this year with this huge wall calendar.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving your every day.

James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, in his book, Atomic Habits, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. In Atomic Habits, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:

• Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy)
• Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower
• Design your environment to make success easier
• Get back on track when you fall off course
• And much more

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits – whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit bad habits, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears

According to Pastor Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker, “Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn’t just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. It’s a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.”

Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life than what you’re experiencing? It’s time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker – a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people.

What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around? Mark Batterson will help you uncover your heart’s deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer. This is a must-read to give you the inspiration and faith you need to believe your dreams and goals are achievable.

Desktop Weekly Planner Notepad

• Organize your life and improve your productivity with your own desktop weekly planner notepad. See your entire week at a glance and know exactly what you need to achieve each day to achieve your weekly goals.
• The weekly planner pad is perfect for scheduling your activities. It has 6 optimized sections: weekdays and weekends, a place for notes for the next week, weekly priorities, a to-do list, a habit tracker and a dot grid for notes or graphs.
• Your undated weekly notepad comes with 60 sheets of 8.5×11” pages. Here you can document your weekly habits in the habit tracker section and then use the dot grid to jot down notes or create graphs to monitor your improvements.
• The letter-sized pages mean you can hole punch the pages and keep them in your customizable notebook that we discussed above.

Weekly Planner Pad by Julianne & Co 

• The weekly planner pad by Julianne and Co. is smaller than the desk pad discussed above. This notepad may be a good option to carry in your backpack or tote.
• Both notepads can help you easily organize and plan your week to make sure you stay on target for reaching your goals.
• Both offer enough space to write down your weekly activities and tasks from your weekly planning sessions.
• Boost your productivity by scheduling those things from your to-do list. Organize and keep track of your goals on these undated tear-away paper sheets.

Sticky Notes Set

Purchase two of these and throw one in your backpack or tote and leave one on your desk.

• This sticky note set will help you get everything organized. You can color-code your documents and calendar pages and bookmark the important pages in your journal.
• And they are portable and super handy to use when flagging goals in your notebooks and on your calendars.
• The adhesive allows for easy re-positioning. You can easily take them off and move them to different pages without tearing your notes.
• They are handy to use and comes in a little notebook that fits in your purse, tote or backpack.
• These sticky notes use water-based (not chemical-based) non-toxic adhesive.
• Each note pad is made of assorted bright and vivid neon colors
• Each sticky notes set includes 60 Ruled notes (3.8×6’’), 48 Dotted Notes (3×3.8’’), 48 Blank notes (2.6×3.5’’), 48 Orange and Pink, 150 Neon Color Index Tabs, 402 Total Tab Divider Notes.

Review

The following is a review of your planning sessions utilizing the tools we have discussed.

Get out your Arc notebook and TUL pens or print out your goal sheets.

Write down the following list of categories: Faith, Finances, Family, Health and Career across the top of your page or pages. (If there are other categories you prefer to focus on, list those instead).

Next, brainstorm all of your dreams, desires. and goals…everything that you want to accomplish over the next year for each category. Make sure they are specific and measurable. List everything you can think of under each of the categories.

Once you have exhausted your list, start narrowing your focus down to the things that are the most important to you and that are achievable in the next year.

Next, Pick the top goal in each category that really jumps out at you. Those are the goals you are going to work on for the year.

Transfer those goals to your yearly wall calendar.

Now, break down each yearly goal according to what needs to be done by the quarter, the month and the week to accomplish those big goals.

Add that information to your wall calendar.

Next, take your weekly planner pads and add the appointments and goals for the week that will take you closer to your monthly or quarterly goals. You can also pencil in your monthly and quarterly tasks and goals on your desk pad.

Take out the Panda planner or High-Performance planner and schedule the daily appointments and tasks that will move you toward achieving your goals for the week.

Each week, review your progress and come up with a plan for the next week that will keep your momentum going.

As stated in the previous article,

• Your weekly planning sessions and daily to-dos are the backbones of a successful year. Breaking down goals into manageable bites and following through with day to day tasks is what ultimately leads to your success.

• Check-in with yourself and/or with friends or a spouse during weekly planning sessions to monitor how you are progressing. Hold each other accountable but be supportive and encouraging at the same time.

And remember:

“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” . ” – Robert Collier