Did we all breath a collective sigh of relief when that clock struck midnight or what? I look forward to beginning a new year every December 31st. I love a fresh start, a blank page and the promise of rejuvenation. Some chapters in life are hard to close. I’ll admit, I’ve had some banner years where I thought, “Man, I can’t top this year.” But let’s be real…2020 was not one of those years. I was ready to turn that page and begin a new chapter just as much as I’m sure everyone else was as well.

Yesterday on Instagram, I asked what people’s word of the year was and I got some great answers. Positivity, Intention, Balance, Organization, Conquer, Health, Perseverance, Invest, etc. My word for the year is Additional. It is probably the strangest word of the year I’ve ever had, but it means everything to me this year in so many ways. And it makes me so excited for what lies ahead.

These words all speak so loudly. It shows that we have all been affected in one way or another by the year that was 2020, yet we are all determined to press forward anyway. I was so encouraged to see just how many people feel the same way I do. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so excited to start a new year. It oddly brings me a sense of giddiness to think about the new possibilities that 2021 could hold.

One of my very favorite things to do is to order my new planner for the year ahead. For the past four or five years, I have purchased a Day Designer as my yearly planner. This is for a few reasons. 1) The founder is from Oklahoma (holla!) 2) The designs are GORGEOUS and far more beautiful than any I’ve ever seen 3) I’ve never in my life seen a planner that fits my needs, anticipates even more and has a space for everything. This is the most well thought-out design for a yearly agenda that I’ve ever encountered. It starts with pages to intentionally envisions and plan out the life you want; from listing out your values, strengths and priorities to drafting goals and even charting a visualization of ideal days, weeks and months. And every day includes meal planning, to-do lists, a notes section, a gratitude box, reminders, financial notations, etc. Oh…and there are stickers.

But the best part? IT’S A NORMAL CALENDAR YEAR!! I remember the days when you couldn’t find one of those to save your dang life. Every “yearly” agenda started in August. While that makes sense for a student, it doesn’t make sense for anyone else and I didn’t even like that as a student. I want to start a planner on January one and no other day. The mere thought of it makes me feel real rage.

I digress.

If you want to check out Day Designer for yourself, https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1669239&u=2642336&m=98362&urllink=&afftrack=">Day Designer 2021 Plannersclick here!

Disclaimer: I do receive 15% commission on any sales acquired by clicking that link and shopping. However, this blog post or any post on social media is not in any way sponsored by Day Designer.

Now…let’s discuss something else I touched on earlier and that would be the very important topic of stickers.

RIGHT?!

I can’t be the only one that diiiiied over my sheets of Lisa Frank stickers during the annual back to school shopping trips. Lined paper? Boring. Pencil Box? Meh. LISA FRANK STICKERS? SIGN ME UP! And suffice it to say that the sticker craze has not been outgrown, but it has been significantly elevated (no shade to Lisa). Although I do really like and use the stickers that already come with my Day Designer, I loving finding cute ones to add on as well. Last year I used some stickers from Bloom, but this year I found some ultra cute ones from an Etsy seller that I’m dying to share with all of you. They’re unique, fun, beautiful…and they just add so much fun to what could otherwise be a mundane task of planning and scheduling. If you’re anything like me, you actually look forward to waking up each morning and grabbing your planner. Stickers make the whole experience that much better. I’m a firm believer in living a well-designed and thought out life and adding stickers to the pages of my planner definitely helps me do that.

Shop the stickers I bought this year here:

And last but not least, you can use this widget to shop some of the items from the graphic at the top of this post:

I hope this first blog post of 2021 has inspired you to live a well-designed life as well and has fired you up to grab a planner if you haven’t got one already and to fill its pages with beautiful, intentional moments, memories, and milestones.

Happy shopping and happy planning!

XOXO,

Thessali

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