Tag: Planning

On my bookshelf with shelf of Catholic fiction

An Open Book: Self-Improvement Edition

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#OpenBook: (Month, Year) Reads

The first Wednesday of each month, Carolyn Astfalk hosts #OpenBook, where bloggers link posts about books they’ve read recently. Since it’s January, “new year new you” and all of that, I thought I’d focus on some self-improvement books that have come my way recently.

I read these differently than I read fiction, dipping into and out of them and flipping around, rather than diving in (as I do with a novel) and not coming up for air until I’ve finished.

A different kind of planner

nullI was offered a review copy of The Saintmaker Catholic Life Planner, and I’m always willing to try out a new planner. This is different from any planner I’ve used before. First of all, it’s a quarterly book (and it’s as big as a full-year week-at-a-time planner already). It has daily, weekly, and monthly planning sections as well as goal-setting sections, a generous notebook section (that’s my “bullet journal” for various lists, monthly meal planning, things like that. There are three ribbons to help save my place in the different sections of the planner as well as three virtue tracker bookmarks, one for each month the planner covers.

There’s a lot in here, as you can see from this photo of the 2-page daily spread. I have not used all of this in the course of a day, but as the week has gone on, I’ve tried these various sections—appointments, to-do list, notes are my big three, and there are also gratitudes, daily cross, devotions, meditation journal, and examination of conscience. Slowly I’m figuring out what works for me. Even with all the structure this planner has, there’s room for flexibility and customization, which I appreciate!

Bonus features include weekly examination of conscience worksheets, discernment journal, prayer intention list, Catholic themes for day, week, and month, and novena starter guide. I’ll be sharing more about The Saintmaker planner on my social media as the quarter goes on.

You can save 10% on The Saintmaker planner with affiliate code FRANCISCANMOM.

 

Habits of Freedom

nullI am not very familiar with Ignatian spirituality, but I have heard it said (more than once) that the saint was very practical-minded, and I am all about that! Habits of Freedom: 5 Ignatian Tools for Clearing Your Mind and Resting Daily with the Lord by Christopher S. Collins, SJ (Ave Maria Press) is an excellent book for a new beginning.

Discerning how to proceed with life—not just with big decisions, but with more immediate habits of daily living—is crucial if we want to stay on track. To be happy. To be free. To be free enough to love and to live fully. (ix)

Each chapter ends with Exercises to Cultivate Habits of Freedom. These are great journal prompts. And at the back of the book, there’s a small-group discussion guide that makes me wish I were part of a small group reading this book.

My friend Deanna Bartalini has been dedicating episodes of her Not Lukewarm Podcast to a chapter-by-chapter discussion of this book, and I’ve enjoyed hearing a second perspective on what I’d already read on my own. I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.

 

Ignatius on Forgiveness

nullIt’s pretty curious that two Ignatian books have landed in front of me at the same time, but sometimes that’s how things happen, and that often means God’s trying to tell me something. The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness: 10 Steps to Healing by Marina Berzins McCoy (Loyola Press) is an excellent guide to letting go of the paint that keeps us from moving forward with forgiveness, and with our lives.

The author walks you through stories from Scripture, Ignatian teaching, and real-life stories in each chapter, concluding the chapters with prayers and (often) practical ways to apply the principles described in each chapter.

I’m still reading this one, bit by bit in the Adoration chapel. This is definitely a book that lends itself to this approach.

 

Too Busy? Read this one!

nullI moved The Busy Person’s Guide to an Extraordinary Life by Deacon Greg Kandra (The Word Among Us Press) to the top of my “to be read” pile when I realized I’d purchased it more than a year ago and never gotten around to reading it. There’s no excuse! I’ve been a longtime fan of Deacon Greg’s work because his writing is clear, precise, simple, and accessible. There’s nothing complicated here; Deacon Greg is a terrific writer and inspiring storyteller.

Chapters are brief and can be read in any order. They include a meditation, which sometimes comes with an anecdote or three; “Consider This” with long quotes to ponder; “Try This” with a challenge; and “Pray This.”

 

This Bible Is Much More than a Pretty Face

nullThe brand-new Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible from Ave Maria Press is undoubtedly beautiful, inside and out. I don’t know who did the book design for this, but the design team outdid themselves on this one.

I think it’s good to have a beautiful Bible. First of all, beauty invites you to look inside, and the first step to reading the Bible is opening the Bible. There are lovely touches throughout, from colorful headings to invitations to further reflection to the “Women of the Word” and “Living in the Light of Faith” and several other series of reflective essays sprinkled throughout the book. These essays, along with the boxes labeled “Take It to Heart” and the ruled journaling space on nearly ever page, offer opportunities to personalize this Bible by frequent reading, reflection, prayer, and writing. If you want to read the Bible more this year, this is the Bible for you. (Review copy received from publisher)

 

Visit the January #OpenBook post to join the linkup or just get some great ideas about what to read! You’ll find it at Carolyn Astfalk’s A Scribbler’s Heart and at CatholicMom.com!

Copyright 2023 Barb Szyszkiewicz

Links to books in this post are Amazon affiliate links. Your purchases made through these links support Franciscanmom.com. Thank you!

Where noted, books are review copies. If that is not indicated, I either purchased the book myself or borrowed it from the library.

Plan Your Days with the Christian Planner: Catholic Edition

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On a bookshelf in my office, you’ll find planners dating all the way back to 2013. I recently found a few more in a box in my basement and will be adding them to the shelf as well. For me, a planner is not something I use all year and then throw away. It’s an essential part of my record-keeping for home and work. 

While 2020 has meant that out-of-the-house activities and work travel came to a screeching halt in mid-March and still haven’t really resumed, that doesn’t mean I don’t still need a planner. In some ways, I need it more than ever. I’ve been exploring new-to-me ways to use planners and new planner formats, and I’m very impressed with the new Catholic edition of the Christian Planner. You can use this high-quality planner at work, home, or school — and it doubles as a spiritual journal. 

I’m a beginner at using planners for spiritual journaling, but it’s a practice I’d like to try more often, ever since I listened to a recent episode of the Catholic Momcast in which Lisa Hendey shares how she uses her planner as a spiritual journal.

The Christian Planner: Catholic Edition offers a weekly two-page devotional spread. At the bottom of one of the pages you’ll find references for the Sunday readings and a quote from Sunday’s Gospel. The rest of the space is for you to use however you’d like; one page is blank and the other ruled, so you can doodle, letter a quote, write … or even use some space for pre-planning the week ahead.

The spiritual content in this planner begins as soon as you open the book, with an overview of the liturgical year and four pages of “Seeking Sainthood” worksheets with prayer/journaling prompts, bucket list, and yearly spiritual goals.

I prefer that my planners contain liturgical-year information; the monthly views in the Christian Planner: Catholic Edition boast feast-day information and the liturgical designation for each Sunday of the year.

Another aspect of the monthly view I’m finding useful is its 6-week format. You won’t see those split boxes with two days jammed into the space for one because the planner only offers a 4- or 5-week grid. With a 6-week grid, there’s plenty of room, and it’s good to see the extra days preceding and following the current month. The dates for the current month are in bold type, so they stand out.

The monthly pages also contain a to-do list, Scripture quote, and reflection/action questions to help you celebrate your blessings and contemplate ways you’ll serve God and others in the month ahead.

The weekly pages in this planner are divided into day and evening sections, but do not have specific times written in. That allows for flexibility to use those sections for appointments, scheduled tasks, or simply to-dos, whichever you prefer. There’s also a list section in the side margin, a habit tracker, Scripture quote, and some extra “free space” for whatever you need.

In the photo above you can also see that instead of tabs for each month, this planner has a little shaded index section. No more bent tabs, but it’s easy to flip right to the month you want to view.

The Catholic Edition of the Christian Planner is available in hardcover with a lay-flat binding and elastic to help keep your page open, as well as two bookmark ribbons so you can easily flip from monthly view to weekly view. There are three color options, including plum, celery, and this lovely sapphire blue.

The paper in this planner is high-quality, bright white 70-lb. paper, and the planner measures approximately 7 inches wide by 9 inches high. There’s also a slip pocket on the back cover for those extra papers or receipts.

Do you like to try before you buy? You can download free PDFs of the Christian Planner to see if the format works for you. These PDFs don’t include the Catholic content, but the basic format is the same. You’ll be asked to provide an email address, and then you’ll immediately receive access to the downloads.

Copyright 2020 Barb Szyszkiewicz
I received a free copy of this planner for review purposes. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

Trying out the bullet journal: Never say never @franciscanmom

Never Say Never: My Bullet Journal

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The Bullet Journal is THE THING in the planning & productivity world these days.

“It’s a fad,” I said. “A bullet journal is not going to work for me.”

And then last week I went on vacation. I didn’t take my computer and I didn’t take my planner.

So I started a bullet journal in the small notebook I’d brought with me, in case I needed to write anything down.

It just seemed to make sense. And that whole index-at-the-beginning thing? A lifesaver!

My Michele Quigley Catholic planner. @franciscanmom

I’m a confirmed fan of the paper planner, and a loyal customer of Michele Quigley, whose planners I love because they are beautiful, well-made in a family business, functional and contain all kinds of useful Catholic data like the daily readings, saint of the day, quotes from saints, papal prayer intentions and more.

My Michele Quigley Catholic planner. @franciscanmom

I purchased the notebook addition for the back of the planner and use that as my “bullet journal” for work. I also have a section there for organizing book reviews, because I don’t want those to fall through the cracks (that’s not the way to stay on the good side of authors and publishers!)

I wasn’t using a bullet journal for anything else, but did have a brain-dump notebook that I used on and off through the winter and spring. That sort of fell off when summer came along.

Since I double-dog-dared Deanna Bartalini to try (and report on) using the bullet journal and have actually begun using one myself, I figure that the least I can do is play along and link up at her CatholicMom.com post.

Like Deanna, I’m not out to create a work of art here. I might use a ruler to make a vertical line–that’s it (my notebook is ruled, not graph paper). And look: I don’t even use the same color pen for everything. It’s random–and that’s OK.

My bullet journal @franciscanmom

Unlike Deanna, I’m not using this as my planner. It’s a notebook with indexed pages for whatever I need to write down at a particular time. During my vacation, I used it to track:

  • micro-reviews of books I read on the trip (7 total) for input into Goodreads after my return
  • some brainstorming for the regular feature I’ll be writing for Today’s Catholic Teacher
  • a list of dinner ideas
  • items to discuss with TheKid’s guidance counselor regarding what his classroom teachers will need to know about diabetes
  • “random airport sightings” — things that popped into my head while we sat in the San Juan airport for 6 hours. (Times like that, I wish I were a fiction writer. There was lots of story fodder going on, and I don’t mean that in an uncharitable way. Airports are fascinating places for people-watching.)

Once I let go of the idea that it had to LOOK good, I found that the bullet journal really can work for me!

Have you tried using a bullet journal? Join the linkup at CatholicMom.com and share what works (and doesn’t work) for you!

Trying out the bullet journal: Never say never @franciscanmom

Show Us Your Planner!

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Today I’m participating in a “Show Us Your Planner” linkup at CatholicMom.com. Since the middle of the summer, Lisa Hess has been writing about organization for students, for your home, and finally for your personal time-management issues. Lately, she’s been talking planners–one of my favorite subjects!

Show Us Your Planner logo

A couple of weeks ago, I found an article online that refines to an amazing degree what I am already doing: the Strikethru method. I don’t use all the steps to the method described in that article, but since I am, in Lisa Hess’s terms, an “I Need To See It” person (and even more than that, “I Need To Write It”) this planning method works for me.

Basically, my planner is in two parts: a notebook and a planner.

Notebook and planner for SUYP

I got the notebook at Barnes & Noble, because it was cute. But you can use looseleaf, or a legal pad, or whatever for the notebook part.

I get my planners from Michele Quigley, a Catholic mom who makes beautiful planners. These planners contain a monthly 2-page view and a weekly view. They also include the readings of the day, feast-day listings, quotes from the saints, monthly papal prayer intentions and some prayer pages. (And note the beautiful cover with the San Damiano Cross! There are quite a few cover choices but this one is my favorite.)

show us your planner (5)

Here’s what the weekly view looks like: Sunday through Wednesday on one page, Thursday through Saturday (plus quote and tiny monthly calendar) on the other.

I start by using my notebook as a place to dump out all the things I need to schedule into my week.

show us your planner (4)

After I get that list out of my head and onto paper, I start adding items to days in my planner.

For me, it helps if I use keywords in caps, like CALL, SEND, WRITE, BUY, ERRAND, HOME, EMAIL.

A little circle next to an item means I’ve added it to the planner. A check mark means it’s done. YES, I do write things down on the list after I’ve done them, just so I can have the satisfaction of checking them off.

And the dinner plan is done in pencil for a reason. That is the most subject-to-change part of my schedule.

show us your planner (3)Next weekend when I look at that list again, I can go through and see if anything has to be carried over to the following week.

This planner has a section in the back that I use for work notes and book-review lists, so I can keep those items separate from my home and family tasks and appointments. That section is really a lesson-planning supplement, an add-on purchase, but since it’s basically a 7X6 grid across 2 pages, it can be used for anything and it works well for me. Most of my work stuff is on a shared Google calendar anyway.

I do add personal appointments to my own Google calendar so I can access that info on the go, but I feel much more in control of my schedule when I can write it down in a planner.

Show us YOUR planner! Write about your planner at your blog and link it over at CatholicMom.com. If you don’t have a blog, share into about your planner and how you use it in the comment box.