9 Unique Ideas on How to Use The Astral Planner Notes Pages
Notes pages can be utilized in many different ways and are a space for infinite possibilities. Below are 9 ideas directly from The Astral Planner Headquarters on how the Founder utilizes the notes pages in the back of her Astral Planner.
1. Project Management Checklist:
One of the first lists that you’ll find in the back of my 2022 Astral Planner is a checklist of what needs to be updated (dates, transits, copy, etc.), inclusive of new features to incorporate, for the 2023 Edition. We send out a customer satisfaction survey at the beginning of each year and after internal review, I incorporate our customer’s feedback into my updates list to keep in mind as I design the next planner edition. I think it’s quite poetic that the notes pages in The Astral Planner serve as the jumping off point for the next edition—like a phoenix waiting to burst into flames only to be reborn.
2. List of Home Organization & Improvement Projects:
Working full time tends to leave only the weekends available for any home organization or improvement projects. As someone that works from a home office, there is a sense of calmness and mental clarity that comes from having a beautifully maintained and organized home. Keeping a list of things that need to be done around the house in my daily planner helps me stay aware and plan ahead (timewise and financially!) to ensure I am productive with my time off. For example, the last five projects I tackled on my home organization/improvement list were:
Fix Air Conditioning Unit! ($$$)
Closet Clear Out/Donation Pile for both my husband and myself (long overdue and took an entire weekend!)
Organize vanity table, clear out expired make-up, and order make-up organization trays
Organize travel photos and souvenirs (. . . from two years ago)
Clear-out and organize kitchen pantry, freezer, and spice cabinet
3. Content Ideas List:
I’ve discovered that keeping a Content Ideas List in the back of my daily planner to be convenient and helpful, especially since I use my Astral Planner to plan content and time-block marketing tasks for my business. If, like me, you utilize social media to build awareness for your own product or service, having a list inside the paper product you use on the daily makes it easily accessible to remember and jot down ideas. Since I’ve started maintaining my content ideas in my daily planner, items on the list have consistently been checked off as they’ve been completed—the power of writing things down on paper!
4. “My Current Areas of Stress” List:
As our small business and product range expands, my list of responsibilities as the Founder also expands. There are times when I am leading several big initiatives at one time and I need to remain focused, manage progress, and stay on top of deadlines. One self-created strategy I’ve incorporated this year is to brain dump everything I am stressed about at the moment into a bulletin-list. It’s not always organized at first but the purpose is to get my stress points out of my heart/mind and onto paper. Then I begin to comb through the list to prioritize projects, batch similar tasks together for maximum efficiency, see what I can delegate to free up bandwidth, and break down big projects into clearer, smaller steps.
This list strategy can also be used for your personal life—whether it’s caring for a sick family member, healing from a break-up, or getting used to a big life transition—there is something cathartic about the simple act of writing down what is currently causing you stress and anxiety . . . and dare I say takes away its power and puts you back in control of whatever you’re dealing with!
5. An “Act Despite Fear” List:
Fear is a universal emotion that we all experience at times. It could be fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of performing a certain activity, or fear of an anticipated/unwanted outcome creating the inability to act. Fear could be a motivator or it could be a debilitator in our lives. Another self-created strategy I’ve incorporated into my personal development this year is an “Act Despite Fear” List. The objective is to write down what you are afraid of—and then doing it precisely because you are afraid of it. For example, if one of your fears is singing in public, you would actively seek out to do an activity that puts you head on with that fear in order to overcome it (karaoke, for example). If one of your fears is public speaking, you would actively seek out platforms in which you must present. The purpose is to get over that wall of fear so it no longer has influence over you. This is meant to build up trust in yourself, which increases self-confidence and in turn also increases your willingness to try new things.
6. Self-Care List:
A couple years ago I watched a holistic health webinar by plant-based nutritionist, Kimberly Snyder, that really resonated with me and served as an inspiration for creating an annual Self Care checklist. (We have something similar upcoming in the 2023 Edition of The Astral Planner. Watch this space!)
Depending on your needs and desired changes, this list can be utilized as a health overhaul or as an improvement list. For example, I have six categories on my list. Without over-sharing my personal details, I’m only going to dive into the pain management category as I feel it is likely the most relatable. I tend to get frequent headaches and have incredibly painful menstrual cycles, for which I would always take a painkiller for. I realized I needed to find alternative, herbal methods when it got to the point where I was taking a painkiller almost daily. My intention for 2023 was to evaluate and implement holistic remedies to manage various types of pain or discomfort. Some things that have worked for me are transitioning to using custom blended essential oils (different oils for different types of pain), and CBD balm for menstrual pain, and listening to binaural beats (via headphones) for my tension headaches. These holistic remedies were not an overnight cure and it took discipline to stick with them when I wasn’t feeling immediate relief but after a few months my body adapted (or perhaps increased its tolerance) to managing pain holistically.
7. Book Tracker:
In the back of my Astral Planner, I keep a list of books I would like to read. This list is especially helpful in quickly jotting down the title/author whenever I come across a recommendation on social media or something I saw online that piqued my interest. I’ve recently discovered a handful of young adult authors on TikTok who have self-published their first novel whom I would love to support by purchasing their books as I work through my list.
8. Shopping Wish List:
Creating a shopping wish list is a great financial strategy to help you get into the habit of saving up for a big purchase, minimize impulse buying, and teach you to live within your means. One big item that is currently on my Shopping Wish List is a stationary bike for our home gym, for which I have been saving up for.
9. Holiday Gift Tracker & Budget List:
Similar to the shopping wish list, maintaining a Holiday Gift Tracker throughout the year will help you to financially plan ahead for the holiday season and keep you organized and stress free when all the holiday sales begin. I use this strategy to jot down gift ideas for my friends and family throughout the year, especially if they mention something in conversation that would make a great gift. This list has helped me out year after year and saved me from frantically scrambling at the last minute and preventing me from paying a premium for the same item!
I would love to know how you’ve been utilizing the Notes pages in the back of your Astral Planner! Any cool list-making ideas you’d like to share? Please feel free to connect with me and the rest of our community by leaving a comment below.