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Do you know which direction you are moving in? I love goals because I always feel like I have more direction and purpose when I have a plan. Today I’m reviewing and comparing three different 2020 goal planners so you can choose the one that will work best for you.
I received the Erin Condren Petite Goal Planner for free as part of this post. The other two planners were both purchased with my own money. All opinions are 100% honest.
I LOVE setting goals. It’s one of those things that I believe is crucial to productivity and creating a life you love. Because if you don’t know where you want to be, or how to get there, how can you ever make progress?
And having a place to keep track of your goals and progress towards them is the first step in actually getting something done.
Because if you don’t write them down, and check back with them, then you are way more likely to forget the actions you were going to take to get there, or maybe even what it was that you were aiming for.
And I know this from experience. While the categories of my goals tend to stay pretty consistent, the specific things I want to accomplish seem easily forgotten when I am not tracking them.
So I have three different goal planers that I wanted to compare for you today: Powersheets, inkWELL Press, and the Erin Condren Petite Planner. Each one has different features that may work better for different people. And they range in price from $14 to $60.
So let’s go over some of the features of these 2020 goal planners so you can find the one that will work best for you.
Reflection of the Previous Year
The Powersheets and inkWELL Press 2020 goal planners have pages dedicated to looking back; both for 2019 and also again at the end of 2020.
Whether or not this is helpful to you will vary. I have found that these pages are often hard to fill out when just starting with goal planning. For instance, in the inkWELL Press goal planner, there is space for achievements from each of the previous 12 months. If that isn’t something you were tracking all year, it would be really hard to use those pages.
But I also understand how those pages can be useful. Sometimes it can be helpful to know where we have been, so we can know where we need to go.
One of my favorite pages in the Powersheets is a list of things that have worked for me in the past, and things that haven’t worked. But what I like about it is that it’s not specific to this past 12 months, but it still requires me to look back and figure out how to use the past to help myself in the future.
I love that they have reflection pages in the back, which all three of the goal planners have. Once you have spent a year working on, and especially tracking, your goals, you have something to look back on to evaluate how the year went.
Prep Work
Something that all of these planners have in common is that they all have a section of prep work at the beginning.
The Erin Condren Goal Setting Petite Planner has the most minimal section of prep work, with only five pages to fill out. And two of those pages are a vision board. What I love about this planner is that part of the prep work is a focus on your values. And I think knowing and acknowledging your values is extremely important in setting goals that will fit you and what you need to focus on.
The inkWELL Press Goal Inserts have 10 pages of prep work, including the reflection pages. These pages have prompts such as the life wheel, shifting perspective, and defining your future self. The prep work pages in this planner are actually my favorite part of this planner. I think there are some great prompts. But there are also some that I struggled with, like the page of looking back at 2019 month by month. It was really hard to track down when specific things occurred during the past year.
Powersheets also have awesome prep work pages. In fact, that’s what they seem to be known for. It is by far the most in depth of any of these goal planners, with 59 pages before the monthly tracking sections begin. Although, the page you write your name on doesn’t start until page five, and many of the pages are not ones that you fill out. But that brings me to another important point of the Powersheets…
Powersheets has many pages within the prep work where it explains how to fill out the prompts. And the creator, Lara Casey, says over and over that it’s okay to change things on the pages to make them work for you. If a category doesn’t fit your life, change it. If you want to draw, write, or glue pictures on a page, do what works for you.
How Many Goals Can You Track?
Each of these 2020 goal planners have room for tracking multiple goals. But keep in mind, that even if there is room for 6, 8, or 12 goals, that doesn’t mean you need to have that many. Don’t feel like you need to create goals just to fill up the space. If you only want to work on one or two goals at a time, that is perfect. Do what works for you and what you need right now.
The inkWELL Press Goal Setting Inserts have the most room to track individual goals. They allow for 12 different goals. These could be set up all at once, one a month (since there are 12), or just one at a time as you decide to add them into your goal plan.
The Powersheets Goal Planner is second with room for eight goals. But one of the unique features of this goal planner is that every quarter is another page for writing your eight goals. So as the year progresses you can decide on a whole new set of goals, take off the ones you have accomplished and add in new ones, or just remove the ones that are no longer priorities.
The Erin Condren Goal Setting Petite Planner has space for tracking six goals. These goal sections take up most of the book, and each has what seems to be space for four weeks of daily progress check in’s. But since they are not dated, you could use them for longer term goals and just check in during the times that work for you.
Monthly Goal Setup and Tracking
This is the real meat of each of these 2020 goal planners. Because really, this is where the work gets done, and where you should be referencing most often.
EC Petite Goal Planner
The Erin Condren Goal Setting Petite Planner has a setup that is very different from those of the other two. Instead of having space at the beginning for all your goals, there are six sections, each with a single goal planning page. There are spaces for 10 small steps. And then that is followed by what I think is four undated weekly spreads where you can track your goal action items and progress.
Like I mentioned earlier, they can easily be adapted if you prefer to work on all six goals at the same time. Instead of using those “weekly pages” for each week, use them for check points through the year when you evaluate your progress.
inkWELL Press Monthly Section
The inkWELL Press Goal Inserts monthly section is also pretty basic, but also has a lot of blank space to make it what you need it to be. It starts with a hexagon pages where the prompt asks which steps from the individual goals are you going to work on this month. You could use this to either track larger tasks that you want to accomplish during the month, or to break down tasks into weekly goals.
The next page is a focus page where you set some benchmark points and habits that you would like to accomplish and work on. The final guided page is a review of the month. It seems that the first two pages would be completed at the beginning, while the last would be at the end. It also includes a lined notes page that could be used for anything that helps you to reach your goals that month.
Powersheets Monthly Section
And then we have the Powersheets monthly section. It starts off asking you to look at the month ahead. This helps to plan for the things that you know are going to happen, as well as things that you are excited or worried about. Powersheets is also the only one of these goal planners that has a monthly calendar spread. You could use this for all your monthly plans. Or use it to just plan out specific goal action steps on certain days. This can help to make sure that you aren’t planning more than you actually have time for.
The next page is a brainstorm to figure out what goals you would like to focus on for that month and the action items that go with them. And once you have that figured out, there is the tending list page. This is where you list out the one time actions or larger monthly projects, the reoccurring weekly actions items, and the daily habits or action items that you want to work on. Each month in the Powersheets also includes a page of reflection with 10 prompts to see how things are going and look back at the month.
Another thing that is unique to the Powersheets are the blank pages in each month where you can add in what they call “wildcard pages.” They have templates that can be found on their website that you can print and add into your planner to further customize it into what you need it to be. Or do something else entirely. There are no rules; just turn it into what you need, even if you want them to stay blank.
Other Check-ins
Both the Powersheets and inkWELL Press goal planners have quarterly check ins.
Each inkWELL Press check in has a reflection page to look back at the progress you’ve made on your goals, a goal adjustment page, and another life wheel. Then each quarter there is a different motivational page to reflect on from that quarter.
Powersheets also has a different, seasonal page for each quarter. And a goal refresh section where you will evaluate the different areas of your life, similar to the prep work. Then use that to decide on any changes that you want to make to your overall goals moving forward. There is also a space in case you decide that you want to change your word of the year. Or use it to rewrite the one you picked previously.
Which of These 2020 Goal Planners Should You Get?
These are three very different goal planners. And I think each one would work so well for completely different situations.
Powersheets
I would say that Powersheets are the most comprehensive and guided of these 2020 goal planners. This makes it ideal for anyone who:
- has never focused on goals before.
- has no idea where to start but is serious about making a change and making progress.
- wants to make a little progress in lots of different areas in the same month.
They are on the expensive side though, at $60 for the 12 month version, and $44 for the 6 month undated version. But they have the quality to back up the price, with a hard cover and durable tabs.
You might also like:
Powersheets Goal Planner Review
inkWELL Press Goal Inserts
inkWELL Press is also very detailed, but seems to put a focus on only working towards one major goal a month. Although, with the flexibility of the disc system, you could make it work for working on more than just one.
The inkWELL Press Goal Inserts would work best for someone who:
- is already using an inkWELL Press or Happy Planner and wants to keep everything consolidated in one planner.
- works well with the SMART goals system.
- prefers more structure in their goal planning, with specific steps to take and deadlines.
This planner is more moderately priced around $30 (and you might be able to catch it on sale). But keep in mind that you aren’t getting a full book, you are getting disc bound inserts. If you don’t have discs and a cover already, you’ll either need to purchase them or use the pages loose. And inkWELL Press is probably my favorite planner paper ever. I have yet to find a thicker, smoother paper in another planner.
Erin Condren Goal Setting Petite Planner
The Erin Condren Goal Setting Petite Planner is the most flexible of the 2020 goal planners. It is set up in a way that you could focus on one goal at a time. Or keep it as reference for multiple goals you are making progress on. The ones who would benefit most from this planner are those who:
- already have a general idea of what their goals are.
- need an inexpensive option to get their goals down on paper and track their progress.
- don’t want to focus on the time frame of their goals.
This is also by far the least expensive option at $14. Plus by signing up though my link you can also get $10 off. The planner itself is part of the Erin Condren Petite Planner series. They are smaller soft cover notebooks that are approximately 8.5 x 5.5 inches. But don’t get me wrong, these are still nice books. The cover is thick, smooth, and durable. It comes with a pocket in the back and a sheet of stickers. And the paper quality is amazing.
It’s rare that any planner is going to be an absolute perfect fit for you. But I do believe that at least one of these 2020 goal planners should resonate with you more than the others. And just like Lara Casey says, if some part of it doesn’t fit your life, it’s okay to change it. Make the planner your own. Because if it doesn’t fit what you need, it won’t help you to achieve your goals.
And when it comes down to it, that’s the absolute most important part of your 2020 goal planner.