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I’ve seen a lot of self care planners. Really a lot. And they never seem quite right. But I am so impressed with the Clever Fox Self Care Journal and I really think this might be the one! Keep reading to see why I love it so much!
I received the Clever Fox Self Care Journal for free from Clever Fox. This review is honest and my own. I only promote products that I love and are helpful.
Review of the Clever Fox Self Care Journal: Could this be the one??
There are a lot of self care planners out there. Some are dedicated entirely to self care, some are regular planners with self care aspects in them. But I’ve never found one that I was truly satisfied with. I think many of them are just full of fluff instead of actual actionable planning.
Why is Self Care Even Important?
Mental illness rates seem to be rising. It hurts my heart because I know first hand how sucky it can feel. And I really believe that we can reduce some of the anxiety, depression, stress, and overwhelm just by taking care of ourselves.
Of course mental illness goes much deeper than that. And what we normally consider self care to be isn’t going to cure it all. But consider this, couldn’t therapy be considered self care? Surely anything that helps reduce mental health issues and helps us live a better life can be considered self care.
Self care is so much more than relaxing and pampering. Those are good too. I’m not against those at all. But there is just more to it. And honestly, if I could think of something better to call it, I would. Just because I think the words “self care” are overused and don’t mean that much to people anymore. Unless you really understand what it is that YOU need to do to take care of yourself.
And that’s why I love the Clever Fox Self Care Journal.
Clever Fox Self Care Journal
The first thing in the Clever Fox Self Care Journal (besides the title page) is a list of self care ideas. And these are really good ideas! Some of them are more traditional like, “get a nice scented candle” or “get a massage.” But others are more unique, like “limit the time you spend reading news” and “create a weekly meal plan.”
Want to see more about the Clever Fox Self Care Journal? Check out the YouTube video:
In line with most Clever Fox planners, the Self Care Journal starts off with a few pages for reflection, goal setting, and space for a vision board.
This is an important step to take before moving into the rest of the planner (or any planner based on self improvement) because you need to know where you are starting and where you want to go. Without this information, the rest means very little without a purpose.
Monthly Self Care
The next section are four monthly planning pages. There is a page to complete at the start of the month and a page for reflection at the end of the month. I love that there are four pages in this 90 day planner. That means that you can start anytime, even in the middle of the month, and still have enough monthly pages for the full 90 days.
Daily Self Care
After your monthly planner, it goes into the daily pages. There are two pages per day, and similar to the monthly pages, there is a page for planning at the beginning of your day, and a page to review at the end of the day.
The Clever Fox Self Care Journal daily pages include sections and prompts that feel more helpful to me than most self care planners. Besides the sections for planning your day, I really like that 2 of the 4 daily reflection prompts change every day. When the prompts are the same all the time, it can feel stagnate and unhelpful. But by reflecting on different areas of your life each day you will get a more well-rounded view of where you are thriving and lacking.
I also love the prompts that just allow you to look at areas of your life that you may not have noticed. Like “Do I feel like I have enough energy recently?” and “What is my biggest worry, and how am I dealing with it?” It gives focus to mental health and physical health, while also giving you space to process and reflect.
The prompts that are the same every day are, “How I felt today” and “I am looking forward to.”
Weekly Self Care
After 7 daily pages, there are two pages for each week.
The first is a weekly exercise that changes each week. Again, I love that there are so many parts of this self care planner that are different so you’re not just answering the same questions over and over again.
The second page is a weekly review with “this week’s wins” and a habit tracker. And of course, more prompts for reflection. Similarly to the daily review pages, the weekly review has two prompts that are always the same and two that change every week.
Clever Fox Planners Always Have Notes Pages
In the back there are 9 dot grid notes pages. Every Clever Fox planner I’ve tried has notes pages in the back (even the Password Book). I’m always a fan of notes pages. It gives you space to include your own ideas and things that are important to you but that aren’t already included in the planner.
The Planner Info
This wouldn’t be a true review if I didn’t mention all the physical features of the Clever Fox Self Care Journal.
First, the paper is amazing. It is more of a smooth paper, but not glossy or slick. I love how thick it is! I’ve tried so many different pens and markers/highlighters on Clever Fox paper and nothing ever bleeds through or even shadows.
The Self Care Planner is a hard cover book. Mine is in the color Light Blue. And it has an elastic closure to keep it protected if you need to toss it into your bag.
The inside of the back cover has a pocket for storing extra loose papers, and an elastic pen loop attached to the cover. The pen loop is nice and big to hold all sizes of pens!
There are also three ribbon bookmarks. It’s really nice that they are all different colors too so you can actually tell the difference between what they are marking.
And the Clever Fox Self Care Journal also comes with 3 sheets of stickers to use in your planner. They also fit really nicely into the pocket in the back.
Could this be the one?
I’m so excited that I found the Clever Fox Self Care Journal! With all the different ways that I’ve tried to track and manage my mental health and self care, I think this one could be exactly what I’ve been needing.
If you want to try it out too, you can use coupon code MSBL10 for 10% off your order, plus they offer free shipping to the US.
