My Favorite Planning Systems

In bed with my favorite planners

​Like most people in 2021, I wear many hats and have a lot of responsibilities. I want to be the best dad on the Earth, an amazing husband, I’m trying to improve as many people’s lives as possible, and I’m managing multiple businesses.
 
The days of just simply working 9-5 and then coming home and relaxing aren’t even a part of my memory because life has been speeding up for everyone since I was a little boy. All the technological advances that were supposed to bring us relief seem to demand more of us than they help.
 
For that reason, planning my life with intention is something I take very seriously.
 
There are people who make millions of dollars to plan your life for you – whether that is the good people over at Facebook or Twitter, the advertisers at Nike, the political campaigners, the developers of Candy Crush – they all have a plan for your life if you’re not going to step in and make one for yourself.  

​For ordering your brain and your life, Tony Robbins’ RPM system is one of the best options on the market. While it is a very robust and time intensive endeavor, at its core it is a simple way of thinking about your life encapsulated in the acronym RPM:
 
Result - What measurable result are you after?
Purpose – Why do you want that result? What is the driving emotion behind it?
MAP (Massive Action Plan)- The nuts and bolts and tasks of how you get to the result (the most easily changeable part.
 
If you do nothing else but start thinking about your life in that formula, you will start increasing your impact and your happiness right away.
 
This system is my go-to when I am thinking about my own life or when I am helping clients in front of me. It serves a great framework for achievement in any area.
 
The only downside of the system is that it is very time intensive. It comes with 4 books in the set and each book serves its own purpose.
 
Recently, just for a little variety and a waning enthusiasm in planning every day, I purchased another planner: The Monk Manual. This planner is all over websites like Instagram and has slick marketing and speaks to me since I admire the simplicity of monk life.  
 
It is a beautiful planner, and it is a little quicker in execution than the RPM method while still trying to improve the psychology of managing your day to day. It has your schedule, but it also improves your focus in your day-to-day life by getting you to briefly focus on things like what you are grateful for, what your high-level priorities are, and when you felt best and worst in your day – all great practices for a more enriching life.
 
In one week of using it, it has been a breezy experience. It takes only a few minutes, it sets my focus, and it’s such a physically beautiful book that I just like having it in my hands – this is more important than you might think.
 
Both planning systems are amazing, and, in the end, I don’t know which one I’ll use as my primary – time will tell. I may just go back and forth.
 
What’s refreshing for me as a life coach is that there are so many great options for all of you to start organizing your lives and making improvements in your psychology. In contrast to working with a coach yourself, which you should still definitely do, the financial investment is low to start seeing your days in a whole new light, upping your productivity, and feeling better about your life.